@parentofsix, my son asked my uncle who has a PhD in engineering from Stanford to tell him more about the institution. He’d spent the first half of his career in academia and the second in industry. My son was eager to get his perspective. He said the graduate school was great, but really only consider it if you’ll go on to get a PhD and pursue research. Otherwise, he said, if you want to be prepared to actually be an engineer, pick a school known for preparing students to do that. You want a good teaching school like Iowa State. Sounds like your son made a wise choice.
Also, regarding this: "Granted small engineering consulting boutique firms do like named schools to add to their “announcement.” However, I find small consulting firms limit my experience. " My son applied to a smallish firm in San Diego. They have the “we’ve trained at the top universities around the country and the globe” page. On the top line, the hometown school UCSD along with Berkeley. Like 2, MIT and the school in question, Cal Poly. Caltech, Georgia Tech, Purdue, way down the list. I guess it’s a matter of perspective as to what schools folks find impressive, and ranking doesnt have much to do with it.