Anonymous
03/31/2026 11:16
Subject: Re:Engineering, several acceptances
Love Purdue. My DC picked it over Virginia Tech. He loved it. He liked the Midwest vibe and wanted to go to a school where only a few from his high school attended. They did a great freshman optional orientation the week before school started and he made and kept friends from that first week. He majored in EE/computer engineering and got a great job from his last summer internship.
Anonymous
03/29/2026 14:11
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think this is the right priority order, and for the right reasons, but there’s also a strong argument not to borrow trouble and just to let him commit to Purdue. It’s the best aero program of this strong group.Anonymous wrote:I would visit Case. I think that the smaller private school experience is substantially different from the big public experience and he should see if he likes it.
I also agree that UIUC is one to visit because it stands out on your list for reputation.
Finally, assuming you are in the DMV, I would visit UMD. It’s a great school and it’s easy to get to. I think that every school you visit has an opportunity to realize “Hey, I didn’t know C mattered to me until I visited a school that had (or didn’t have) it”. So UMD gives you an opportunity to see more and maybe have that moment.
Also does he have other preferences? My kid likes cold weather. He wouldn’t pick solely on that, but if he got into such a great list of schools it might be enough for him to cross UF off. On the other hand, if your kid loves warm weather that would be a reason to visit.
Congrats to your kid on a fantastic list!
Agreed. Purdue has a great Aerospace program.
Op. We really loved Purdue campus (the only ones we can compare to were UVA, VA tech), and the fact it is fye, where it gives them chance to clearly make informed decision when committing to actual major end of freshman year. Most other schools were accepting direct aerospace . Reading comments here, I feel we will keep our case tour we scheduled awhile ago, and add UIUc and maybe UMD.
In terms of price below is the order from cheapest to most expensive. Our two in state flagships with no merit are the least and most expensive.
VA tech
U Florida
Case western, Purdue honor
Ohio State
UMD
UVA
[/quote
VT is the cheapest and UVA is more expensive than UMD even though you are instate for VA? Yikes.
Anonymous
03/29/2026 12:39
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
I have no idea what is in the head of someone hiring an engineering student for roles outside engineering. Maybe name of university is their first thought.
When hiring an engineer to do engineering work, the first filter is which upper-level in-major electives did they take. Most fields of engineering have specialties within that field. Normally upper-level electives a student takes will narrow their competence to some specialty under their degree.
As an example, if I have an opening for an ECE logic designer, I look to see if they took advanced logic design electives during their senior year. Someone who instead of taking those took advanced three-phase Power electives will be great for PEPCO, but won't be good at my digital logic design tasks.
Even students from MIT or Caltech (or where ever) will not be suitable for my logic designer opening unless they took those advanced logic design electives (usually offered as 4xx level classes for their senior year).
Same principle applies for any sub-specialty within virtually any engineering degree.
College name is secondary at best. Choice of upper-level in-major electives is primary.
When hiring an engineer to do engineering work, the first filter is which upper-level in-major electives did they take. Most fields of engineering have specialties within that field. Normally upper-level electives a student takes will narrow their competence to some specialty under their degree.
As an example, if I have an opening for an ECE logic designer, I look to see if they took advanced logic design electives during their senior year. Someone who instead of taking those took advanced three-phase Power electives will be great for PEPCO, but won't be good at my digital logic design tasks.
Even students from MIT or Caltech (or where ever) will not be suitable for my logic designer opening unless they took those advanced logic design electives (usually offered as 4xx level classes for their senior year).
Same principle applies for any sub-specialty within virtually any engineering degree.
College name is secondary at best. Choice of upper-level in-major electives is primary.
Anonymous
03/29/2026 12:03
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
But students with options don’t just apply everywhere, right? I’ve participated in hiring for my division at multiple (granted, non-engineering) firms. Your school name is a benchmark reference point when positions are competitive.
Anonymous
03/29/2026 09:37
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:DC applied for engineering /aerospace, got accepted in several good universities.
Assuming below are same price tag, which would make sense to visit for admitted events if DC visited one so far ( first in the list) and ready to commit.. We think it makes sense maybe to do at least one or two other visits just to see more than one?
Purdue Honors
UMD
Ohio State
Case western
Uflorida
UVA
VTech
UIUC
What did your DC decide? My DD is still deciding. It is coming down to Vtech and UVA.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 22:40
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
I think the word you’re looking for is conflating.
Stopped reading when poster said Rankings don't matter for Engineering.
+1
It's the same poster who makes this claim all the time because their favored school is ranked really low in engineering. It's a very transparent way for them to save face.
UVA booster will tout UVA ranking when it is high on the list, but not when it's low. Then it's "it doesn't matter", or "70% chance your kid will change majors so go with the university that is high on the ranking list overall."
Exactly! So incredibly obvious. Call her out every single time she tries that nonsense.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 18:06
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
I think the word you’re looking for is conflating.
Stopped reading when poster said Rankings don't matter for Engineering.
+1
It's the same poster who makes this claim all the time because their favored school is ranked really low in engineering. It's a very transparent way for them to save face.
UVA booster will tout UVA ranking when it is high on the list, but not when it's low. Then it's "it doesn't matter", or "70% chance your kid will change majors so go with the university that is high on the ranking list overall."
Anonymous
03/02/2026 17:35
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
I think the word you’re looking for is conflating.
Stopped reading when poster said Rankings don't matter for Engineering.
+1
It's the same poster who makes this claim all the time because their favored school is ranked really low in engineering. It's a very transparent way for them to save face.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 14:02
Subject: Re:Engineering, several acceptances
Hedge your bets: UIUC, Purdue, UMD, VT, UF, UVA
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-engineering/
Anonymous
03/02/2026 13:47
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
You are not the only hiring manager on this board. There are 5 or so schools for engineering where there is absolutely a difference. Constantly produces some of the brightest engineers. This is not a coincidence.
5? Sure. Hence the word "mostly" in my sentence that you quoted.
Yes, and of those top 5 or so USNWR got it right in my opinion based on outcomes.
Cal at 3?
Cal and Georgia Tech tied at 3.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 12:56
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Actual aerospace engineer here...
That's a fantastic list! Congrats to your kid. You truly can't go wrong with any of those schools, and future career prospects will be much more driven by your kid and the classes/internships/experiences he has at any of those campuses.
So if he were my kid, I'd probably make him go visit another school or two, just to avoid any concerns about "wonder if" down the road. But at that point, whichever he is most excited about and feels like the right "fit" is the best option for him.
That's a fantastic list! Congrats to your kid. You truly can't go wrong with any of those schools, and future career prospects will be much more driven by your kid and the classes/internships/experiences he has at any of those campuses.
So if he were my kid, I'd probably make him go visit another school or two, just to avoid any concerns about "wonder if" down the road. But at that point, whichever he is most excited about and feels like the right "fit" is the best option for him.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 12:34
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
You are not the only hiring manager on this board. There are 5 or so schools for engineering where there is absolutely a difference. Constantly produces some of the brightest engineers. This is not a coincidence.
5? Sure. Hence the word "mostly" in my sentence that you quoted.
Yes, and of those top 5 or so USNWR got it right in my opinion based on outcomes.
Cal at 3?
Anonymous
03/02/2026 08:14
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
I think the word you’re looking for is conflating.
Stopped reading when poster said Rankings don't matter for Engineering.
Anonymous
03/02/2026 06:38
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:UVA has aerospace. I have a kid at UVA Engineering and he knows of students who are graduating in May who have already landed jobs at Blue Origin and NASA.
How UVA compares to Purdue in this major and employment outcome? Considering Purdue ends up being $5k less
DP. There is no comparison at all. UVA doesn't rank in aerospace engineering and is waaaay down the list for general engineering. All of the other choices on this list would be better than UVA.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate?myCollege=engineering-doctorate&_sort=myCollege&_sortDirection=asc
US News is irrelevant for many fields, including for engineering. ABET means that ranking and prestige do not matter as much for engineering as most other fields.
You are a broken record. And you are still wrong every time.
You all are confounding different posters, which I suppose is an unavoidable risk on an anonymous forum.
I pointed out that US News is mostly irrelevant and I am a hiring manager for engineers, so I have first-hand experience working with engineers from a wide range of US universities and even a few engineers from non-US universities. However, I am NOT the poster whose student went to UVa for AeroE. Sorry that your suppositions are wrong.
I think the word you’re looking for is conflating.
Anonymous
02/28/2026 14:19
Subject: Engineering, several acceptances
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Of this list, I would recommend Virginia Tech. Is the cheapest on your list with strong placement into aerospace. My son graduated from VT engineering, had a great experience and has multiple friends that got aerospace jobs out of VT at places like Boeing. He loved the school spirit and the campus at Virginia Tech.
+1
+2
It’s a terrific school, all around.