
How to find reputation for a college’s engineering program? - mud_dauber
HN’s, my nephew is being courted by several colleges in the mid-Atlantic area. He has top-1% test scores and is really interested in aerospace engineering.<p>How would you learn about a school’s program reputation? I will send this question to some industry recruiters but could use some other ideas. His family lives 2000 miles away from me &amp; will be heavily dependent on scholarship money. Thoughts?
======
brudgers
Most engineering education in the US is fungible, particularly at the
undergrad level. The curricula are standardized. There are elite universities
like MIT and individual engineering programs at very ordinary universities
with special circumstances, e.g. aerospace engineering at UA-Huntsville's
proximity to Marshall Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal provides
students easier access some world class opportunities that rankings might not
reflect.

Elite universities aside (possibly), making a decision on the basis of
economics is not unreasonable because engineering credentials are mostly
treated as equivalent. By design, engineering credentials indicate basic
competence not relative expertise.

~~~
mud_dauber
Thanks - that's good to hear. He is getting offers from schools that I didn't
know had AE programs. The UA-Huntsville option is one that I bet he hadn't
considered.

