A UVA license plate frame will look better when you're driving your BMW to the golf course.

My senior Hokie is in one of the smaller engineering majors, like 50 students per year, so she's gotten to know classmates and faculty well, advising has been great, and she's done research, had paid internships every summer, and had multiple job offers for post-grad. The design team she's on placed 2nd at Nationals last year, and she loves the tech school vibe and being surrounded by classmates all in on engineering. The engineering LLC helped draw her in, and she's had a fantastic 4 years. It was totally win-win with regards to being in a smaller program but at a school with lots of resources.

She got into a private T10 with strong engineering but turned it down for a number of reasons, among them the smallish size of their engineering school and the very small cohort in her discipline of interest. Combined with the sense that many were headed for a med school track (primarily the BMEs) and non-engineering careers like management consulting, it just wasn't the vibe she was looking for.

I got into both and chose Virginia Tech. Graduated ChemE.

I really don’t think it matters other than cultural fit of the overall university, and there are innumerable threads on that.

I do vehemently disagree with the “challenged by cohort” and grad school argument PPs have made. At one time VT Engineering quietly pulled everybody over 1500 into a separate intro track class and that was my cohort. It was about 70-80 freshman total. Students from that intro class got into Stanford PhD, Caltech PhD, and Princeton PhD just off the top of my head.

This this PP.

Sorry for the long post.

I would also mention that VT because of its size seemed to have a lot more visiting professors and TA sections that taught big lecture hall classes vs. the tenured faculty that VT is known for.

Also, that whose smaller size thing doesn't really apply to CS. Both programs are huge, maybe too big, about 1,000 students for each. Then UVA has like another 1,000 in CS for Liberal Arts and Sciences.

And about the UVA being more business or management oriented. I was talking about the future. She got the gist that there were more UVA engineering students had aspirations to switch over to business or management roles vs. stay in more technical roles.

I am sure there plenty at VT that are like that too, but it seemed more pronounced at UVA. Less really nerdy techie kids.

DD was deciding between UVA and VT engineering (also UCSD and USC).

This was her decision making. VT was the better overall program. The rank was justified.

More resources for pretty much everything related to engineering. Great school spirit, higher stature of engineering program for within the school (it was the pride of VT).

But it was a much bigger program and had a lot of the disadvantages of big programs, large class sizes, hard to get to know professors, students in the bottom half struggled to get high quality jobs (they did OK, just not great), little academic support or advising, more weed out type classes and atmosphere, just overall more competition for all those resources.

UVA was smaller, less majors, less tenured faculty, worse facilities and labs, less engineering clubs and competition teams. But the school was half the size and it was easier to get to know fellow students in your major and professors. It was easier to get research and it wasn't a competitive free for all for everything. Students weren't so reliant on career services for jobs and had more varied interests in what they wanted to, not everything was gunning for the same big companies. People seem to network more.

It was a lot harder to get into UVA and the students seemed to be more consistently high caliber. So there wasn't a lot of weedout stuff going on. VT seemed to have more rural, private school (meaning like small Christian schools not big Catholic or selective private schools) and poorer students that didn't take Calc. in H.S. or had a ton of IB or AP. There were a lot more community college transfers at VT than UVA for engineering. So the top half of the VT students were of similar quality at UVA but the bottom was a lot worse.

She didn't like how UVA overall was way more affluent and snobby, and like the more middle class vibe at VT.

Felt more UVA engineering students were probably tilting shifting to business and management vs. typical technical oriented tracks. Seems VT was better for nerdy kids like her.

She was really on the fence, but I think the thing that tilted in UVA's favor was that it was easier to transfer into VT than UVA if she ended up not liking it or wanting to switch majors. For example, to switch from engineering to say business is really hard at UVA. It would be easier for her to transfer to VT or JMU to do business than do an internal transfer at UVA.

She's seems to like it, but it isn't perfect.

Funny thing, one thing in favor for VT was its school spirit and how they are really into their sports teams. UVA seemed very aloof about their sports teams. Then out of nowhere, UVA's mens and womens basketball teams have great years and the football team nearly won the ACC. She had more fun at games than she thought she would. But I warned her that UVA may not be that good next year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

Quite frankly, this doesn't sound like you have any idea what you're talking about.

I know a lot about it because I have talked to people in the field and DS has as well, during two different prestigious summer internships, industry and national lab. Engineering professors who have also worked in industry are a great source. There are many. We are lucky to have them in our family. They have taught at various unis from ivy/MIT to outside T50 Professors are not too different from ivy/MIT to T50, but the students are. They cannot teach at the same level. PhD programs in engineering disciplines are well aware of which undergrads have rigorous stem courses, above and beyond ABET minimums. You need a phD if you want to lead innovation, whether it be in the private sector, university, or govt/DODefense in particular. PhD matriculation matters when deciding undergrad, for any student who wants to have those engineering careers open to them. Startups look for PhD as well because seed funding for startups often depends on whether you have phD on your staff or have hired consultants with phD. For those who want tech consulting, the top consulting companies hire many phD engineers(or applied physics/quantum computing/CS phD). Consulting is seen as a bit of a sell-out job to research based industry or academic types, yet it is a lucrative career in engineering. They hire BSE as well but almost exclusively from Stanford/MIT/ivies/UCB/CMU.
If phD is a possibility, UVA is the better pick over VT.

Interesting. USNWR just released the 2026 Top Engineering Graduate Programs. Top 4 aren't surprising.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings

DP. And VT is ten spots ahead of UVA in this graduate school ranking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

Quite frankly, this doesn't sound like you have any idea what you're talking about.

I know a lot about it because I have talked to people in the field and DS has as well, during two different prestigious summer internships, industry and national lab. Engineering professors who have also worked in industry are a great source. There are many. We are lucky to have them in our family. They have taught at various unis from ivy/MIT to outside T50 Professors are not too different from ivy/MIT to T50, but the students are. They cannot teach at the same level. PhD programs in engineering disciplines are well aware of which undergrads have rigorous stem courses, above and beyond ABET minimums. You need a phD if you want to lead innovation, whether it be in the private sector, university, or govt/DODefense in particular. PhD matriculation matters when deciding undergrad, for any student who wants to have those engineering careers open to them. Startups look for PhD as well because seed funding for startups often depends on whether you have phD on your staff or have hired consultants with phD. For those who want tech consulting, the top consulting companies hire many phD engineers(or applied physics/quantum computing/CS phD). Consulting is seen as a bit of a sell-out job to research based industry or academic types, yet it is a lucrative career in engineering. They hire BSE as well but almost exclusively from Stanford/MIT/ivies/UCB/CMU.
If phD is a possibility, UVA is the better pick over VT.

Oh, I remember you and your constant stream of BS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

But for Cornell....Ivies suck for Engineering

DCUM fallacy. Six of them have real engineering with rigorous labs and intense undergraduate research. According to top PhD programs and prestigious summer engineering internships, they are in high demand along with JHu, NU.

hmmm...

https://americancaldwell.com/articles/f/want-to-work-at-google-or-apple-look-at-these-schools
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

But for Cornell....Ivies suck for Engineering

DCUM fallacy. Six of them have real engineering with rigorous labs and intense undergraduate research. According to top PhD programs and prestigious summer engineering internships, they are in high demand along with JHu, NU.

So what engineering schools do you suggest the Top Engineering firms are hiring from? Provide an ounce of evidence please.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

But for Cornell....Ivies suck for Engineering

DCUM fallacy. Six of them have real engineering with rigorous labs and intense undergraduate research. According to top PhD programs and prestigious summer engineering internships, they are in high demand along with JHu, NU.

None of them can compete with the opportunities in research and prestigious summer internships that the tippy top programs can. The top firms know where to go for the best and most prepared engineers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

But for Cornell....Ivies suck for Engineering

DCUM fallacy. Six of them have real engineering with rigorous labs and intense undergraduate research. According to top PhD programs and prestigious summer engineering internships, they are in high demand along with JHu, NU.

Anonymous wrote:UVA if your kid has an inkling they might change majors, which 80% of students do at least once. It was for this reason that my aerospace engineering kid picked UVA over Ga Tech, Purdue and VT. And after Calc 3, he decided that he was a humanities kid and switched from engineering to Arts & Sciences, as did his best friend. It was the right decision. Entering Yake Law in the fall.

yikes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

But for Cornell....Ivies suck for Engineering

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

Quite frankly, this doesn't sound like you have any idea what you're talking about.

I know a lot about it because I have talked to people in the field and DS has as well, during two different prestigious summer internships, industry and national lab. Engineering professors who have also worked in industry are a great source. There are many. We are lucky to have them in our family. They have taught at various unis from ivy/MIT to outside T50 Professors are not too different from ivy/MIT to T50, but the students are. They cannot teach at the same level. PhD programs in engineering disciplines are well aware of which undergrads have rigorous stem courses, above and beyond ABET minimums. You need a phD if you want to lead innovation, whether it be in the private sector, university, or govt/DODefense in particular. PhD matriculation matters when deciding undergrad, for any student who wants to have those engineering careers open to them. Startups look for PhD as well because seed funding for startups often depends on whether you have phD on your staff or have hired consultants with phD. For those who want tech consulting, the top consulting companies hire many phD engineers(or applied physics/quantum computing/CS phD). Consulting is seen as a bit of a sell-out job to research based industry or academic types, yet it is a lucrative career in engineering. They hire BSE as well but almost exclusively from Stanford/MIT/ivies/UCB/CMU.
If phD is a possibility, UVA is the better pick over VT.

Interesting. USNWR just released the 2026 Top Engineering Graduate Programs. Top 4 aren't surprising.

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ah, the UVA booster is back to claim that the two engineering schools have "significantly different groups." The insecurity dripping from your (multiple) posts is just pathetic.

These two schools do not get "significantly different groups." And, lest you forget, here are their engineering rankings:

VT - 14

UVA - 35

The US News rankings are purely based on the peer survey, right? Not on salary or hiring data.

+1 and not PhD matriculation data.
For engineers who want to have a career driving the leading edge of innovation rather than an average engineering job one can get with a BS, UVA is the better pick over VT. Of course Stanford or Ivies or Hopkins is even better than UVA, but those are not options for OP.
VT is not a program that tracks into the top sector of the broad array of engineering careers.

Quite frankly, this doesn't sound like you have any idea what you're talking about.

I know a lot about it because I have talked to people in the field and DS has as well, during two different prestigious summer internships, industry and national lab. Engineering professors who have also worked in industry are a great source. There are many. We are lucky to have them in our family. They have taught at various unis from ivy/MIT to outside T50 Professors are not too different from ivy/MIT to T50, but the students are. They cannot teach at the same level. PhD programs in engineering disciplines are well aware of which undergrads have rigorous stem courses, above and beyond ABET minimums. You need a phD if you want to lead innovation, whether it be in the private sector, university, or govt/DODefense in particular. PhD matriculation matters when deciding undergrad, for any student who wants to have those engineering careers open to them. Startups look for PhD as well because seed funding for startups often depends on whether you have phD on your staff or have hired consultants with phD. For those who want tech consulting, the top consulting companies hire many phD engineers(or applied physics/quantum computing/CS phD). Consulting is seen as a bit of a sell-out job to research based industry or academic types, yet it is a lucrative career in engineering. They hire BSE as well but almost exclusively from Stanford/MIT/ivies/UCB/CMU.
If phD is a possibility, UVA is the better pick over VT.