how do these three schools stack up against each other with regards to engineering?
We visited all three. All are mid-tier engineering schools with good reputations. My take:
SDSM: really rural and isolated, small , very personal, excellent value and outstanding job placement. Great for geology and all sorts of resource oriented engineering. They even have paleontology!
UTD: A semi-commuter school, good programs, lots of links with DFW area businesses so good coop and internships
Bama: I was really surprised at Bama. The engineering dean is a force of nature, and the Bama president is also an engineer (outstanding admistration). Facilities are very new with NMF kids concentrated in the engineering school (~ 50% are scholarship kids). Very large school, very good at undergrad teaching, not as much grad emphasis. Tuscaloosa is BBQ heaven. Excellent sports facilities and dorms, but the town away from the U is a bit run-down. Dorms are nice but you can only stay a year.
There are better engineering schools but all are good values. If you have scholarships that makes the outstanding values.
University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa is different from university of Alabama in Huntsville. “Bama” is state flagship . Huntsville campus is much smaller, but has a solid reputation. UAH flies under the radar for most students, but could be a good choice for a student who does not need huge sports or Greek atmosphere .
thanks. I know he will get at least full tuition at UT-D and Bama, and full tuition+housing at Huntsville. he seems really interested in SDSMT but i do not know what kind of $$$ he will get there.
SDSMT does not say much about merit scholarships on its web site.
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=927 says 19.8% of students without financial need got merit scholarships with average amount $2,829.
However, the list price of SDSMT is relatively low, even for non-residents.
Best to compare all of his offers, you may be surprised (good and bad). OSU, MSU, Purdue and some others have good OOS merit / FA, it may be worth looking into. Some like Vanderbilt have lots of merit scholarships (full ride), others have excellent FA.
UAH graduates engineers that are very employable. Huntsville is full of co op possibilities, and the college is located right in a Research Park area. NASA and Redstone Arsenal are also big employers in town. I don’t know how strong the reputation has spread nationwide, but if the student wants to stay and work in the southeast, the UAH name would be fine for seeking employment.
UAH is a small campus, and does not have the traditional college atmosphere. Not a huge emphasis on sports or school spirit, so you have to figure out if it is a good fit for your student. The small class size might be an advantage over larger universities.
Personally I loved UAH and the city of Huntsville. It’s a little gem. Cost of living seems inexpensive, lots of things to do, etc. You can fly into Nashville pretty easily (and inexpensively) and drive south on I65. The campus is relatively small population-wise, but seemed spread out when it comes to acreage. Honors dorm is beautiful. Honors program dean was great and is trying to grow the program.
My only negative with UAH was that you need 128 credit hrs to graduate (at least in CS), instead of the 120-ish at other schools where we looked.
Our son is not into big sports programs or greek life, which was another plus for UAH. They do have greek life, though, for students who are interested.
Son did not end up going there, but I would have been fine with if UAH had been his choice.
@SouthFloridaMom9 where did your son end up?
@3scoutsmom - University of Florida
Long story, several interwoven factors a couple of which have nothing to do with the school itself. But he’s thrilled to be part of the Gator Nation! 