<p>Although all rankings are somewhat suspect, rankings of engineering programs are particularly suspect because they corrolate so strongly with the size of the program. Engineering programs, which require a lot of equipment and faculty, are expensive to operate so smaller programs that seek excellence tend to specialize in certain disciplines where they can compete with the large universities, while putting less money and emphasis (or totally ignoring) other subfields. So a school likes Hopkins can be #1 in biomedical engineering and very strong in related subfields yet have minimal presence in something like nuclear engineering.</p>
<p>Very large schools like UCLA, at least when the money was flowing more freely than today, could sustain strong programs in virtually all engineering disciplines—so they tend to have the highest overall rankings. But they also have the large class sizes and other issues you mentioned in your posting. Remember that the rankings are really more reflective of the graduate program (PhD program in particular) and the research and writing output of the faculty. Generally speaking, the larger the department, the larger the number of PhDs that are being awarded and the greater the output of research and publications. So with the notable exceptions of MIT and CalTech, many of the top ranked engineering programs are at public flagships as opposed to top private universities.</p>
<p>Mechanical engineering at Hopkins, while it is not going to recieve the type of institutional support that biomedical engineering does, has been part of the Whiting School of Engineering since its origins. It will be very small compared to UCLA but, from an undergraduate’s point of view, will offer several advantages. You will get to know the faculty well and, if you choose to do so, work with them closely in a way that is simply impossible at huge public university. If you were applying for a PhD in mechanical engineering and had the same choice of institutions, I’d say you were better off going to UCLA because of the size and specializations within the department. But as an undergraduate (assuming that the difference in cost is not determinative), I’d strongly recommend Hopkins. It is, as they say, a “hand-tooled” education.</p>