The Top 10 Most Underrated Engineering Colleges in the U.S.
What’s Covered:
- How We Put This List Together
- The Top 10 Most Underrated Engineering Colleges in the U.S.
- For More Information
When people talk about choosing a good college, they often discuss college rankings. Well-known ranking lists by news sources tend to dominate the discussion and shape our perceptions of what makes a certain college worth considering.
On the contrary, these ranking systems aren’t the be-all and end-all of college research; if you dive into their methodologies, you may find that they don’t place enough emphasis on the factors that really matter to you.
With around 6,000 post-secondary educational institutions operating in the U.S. today, there are a lot of opportunities out there, and some lesser-known schools may be hidden educational gems.
Here at CollegeVine, we’ve been considering a particular category of colleges: those that are underrated, or which haven’t quite received the attention they deserve for the quality and outcomes they provide. In this post, we’ll explain our top ten picks for the most underrated engineering colleges in the country, based on the data we’ve collected over years of working with aspiring college students. Your future alma mater might be among them!
How We Put This List Together
There are a lot of different ways to approach the task of ranking colleges. For our lists of underrated colleges, we’ve chosen to focus on practical factors, especially those having to do with outcomes for students. A major purpose of getting a college education, after all, is to prepare you for a future career.
With that in mind, when we look at how successful colleges are, we look less at input factors like selectivity and average SAT scores, and more at outcome factors like return on investment (ROI), job outcomes, and starting salaries.
To determine our top 10 underrated engineering colleges in the U.S., we considered the following factors:
- Cost of attendance and generosity of financial aid & scholarships
- One- and five-year ROI after graduation
- Financial performance of specific majors
- Qualitative data on career outcomes like job placement and grad school progression
In our book, an underrated college is one whose prestige and public profile, including its mainstream college rankings, don’t truly reflect the value of the education you can receive there. Underrated colleges are often able to produce positive outcomes for students more affordably—and with less stressful admissions competition—than better-known schools.
For this list, we’ve chosen to look specifically at engineering programs offered by various colleges. The field of engineering covers subfields like mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering, among others.
This process shows another way in which a college can be underrated—sometimes a lower overall ranking or worse outcomes for certain majors conceals the fact that a particular program or major within that college actually offers much better results.
The Top 10 Most Underrated Engineering Colleges in the U.S.
1. San José State University | SJSU
Location: San Jose, CA
Acceptance Rate: 84%
Undergrad Enrollment: 28,000
San José State also appears on our list of The Top 10 Most Underrated Colleges in the U.S., and there’s a good reason for that. This public university in California, part of the California State University system, offers some of the resources and benefits of much more prestigious schools, but at a lower price and with a more accessible acceptance rate. This is particularly true in engineering fields related to technology.
San José State’s location in Silicon Valley means that students enjoy convenient access to the job prospects and cutting-edge innovation in that area of the country. The benefit of this proximity is real, and we’ve found its student outcomes to be very impressive compared to its public profile. While SJSU’s ROI ranks within a respectable top 40.
Learn more about San José State University and what it takes to get accepted.
2. University of Houston
Location: Houston, TX
Acceptance Rate: 66%
Undergrad Enrollment: 37,900
According to our research, the University of Houston’s engineering programs are significantly stronger than its overall rankings would indicate. The school also has connections and other features that make it worth considering for engineering.
Due to its location in Texas, the University of Houston enjoys especially strong connections to the petroleum industry and related companies, making it a particularly good choice for students who are potentially interested in working within that field. You’ll see that several other colleges on this list are in a similar position.
However, the overall strength of the University of Houston’s engineering programs, as well as its other STEM offerings, means that even if you’re not interested in working for an oil company, your engineering degree from this college will still benefit you.
The programs also might be a great deal for you financially; the university offers generous merit scholarships, including excellent provisions for students who rank highly in the National Merit Scholarship competition. The University of Houston’s career outcomes give it a top 50 ROI ranking.
Learn more about University of Houston and what it takes to get accepted.
3. Worcester Polytechnic Institute | WPI
Location: Worcester, MA
Acceptance Rate: 60%
Undergrad Enrollment: 5,200
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, commonly known as WPI, is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, an hour’s drive or commuter train ride from Boston. In addition to strong engineering programs, we’ve found that it provides solid offerings in business, pre-med, and other STEM fields.
One of WPI’s greatest assets is its proximity to Boston, which has a rich and growing job market in healthcare technology, software development, and other engineering-related fields. WPI may not have the cachet of some other schools in the Boston area, but it still provides engineering students with valuable access to career opportunities. According to CollegeVine’s data, WPI produces a top 35 ROI ranking.
Learn more about Worcester Polytechnic Institute and what it takes to get accepted.
4. University of Texas at Austin | UT Austin
Location: Austin, TX
Acceptance Rate: 29%
Undergrad Enrollment: 44,300
UT Austin is the flagship campus of the University of Texas system. While its rank of 30 on the popular U.S. News and World Report rankings shows that it’s appreciated for the excellent education it provides in many different fields, our own in-house analysis indicates that it deserves even more recognition than it’s received, particularly in the field of engineering.
One major benefit of attending UT Austin is that the school is exceptionally well funded, particularly for a public university. In fact, the University of Texas System has the second largest endowment among universities in the U.S. This healthy budget translates into improved resources for its students. They also benefit from access to burgeoning job markets in Austin, Dallas, and Houston.
While the cost of attendance at UT Austin varies by program and residency status, it’s generally an excellent deal for in-state students, and is affordable even for those from out of state. The strong career outcomes that we see among graduates give the university a top 25 ROI.
Learn more about the University of Texas at Austin and what it takes to get accepted.
5. University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, IA
Acceptance Rate: 86%
Undergrad Enrollment: 22,700
The University of Iowa provides better results for engineering students than one might think. Its cost of attendance (even for out-of-state students) is on the lower end of the range for Big Ten universities, making it fairly affordable while still providing the resources of a large state university. Its rural location brings with it the advantage of a lower cost of living, so especially if money is tight, it’s definitely an option worth considering.
Chicago, the nearest major city and job market, is around a 3-hour drive from campus, and that’s where many engineering graduates eventually end up. We’ve found that the career and salary prospects for engineering students are quite strong; overall, the university offers a top 25 ROI in this field.
Learn more about the University of Iowa and what it takes to get accepted.
6. Brigham Young University | BYU
Location: Provo, UT
Acceptance Rate: 69%
Undergrad Enrollment: 34,200
BYU is located in Provo, Utah, which is near Salt Lake City, an up-and-coming area of the country for careers in technology and engineering. The two cities and their surrounding suburbs are sometimes referred to as the “Silicon Slopes”.
With various large companies opening offices and facilities in this area, the job market for engineering graduates is promising, placing BYU students in a favorable position to grow connections and start their careers strong.
If you’re interested in BYU, you should know that the university has a very strong affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, popularly known as the Mormon Church. You don’t have to be Mormon to attend, but members of the church receive a tuition discount, and this affiliation has a significant impact on the campus culture and student life, which could be a positive or a negative for you personally.
BYU is quite affordable, even for non-members of the LDS church, whose cost of attendance is around $30,000 per year. This relatively low cost helps make the school a good deal for the quality of the education it provides. The school places in our top 30 for ROI in engineering, and it often ranks around the top 100 on national university ranking lists.
Learn more about Brigham Young University and what it takes to get accepted.
7. Oklahoma State University (Main campus)
Location: Stillwater, OK
Acceptance Rate: 68%
Undergrad Enrollment: 22,300
OSU’s main campus is located in Stillwater, OK. Stillwater is near Oklahoma City, so OSU students benefit from the job market there. It’s also about a 4-hour drive from the larger city of Dallas. Like other schools in the area, it has strong ties to the petroleum industry, and many graduates make use of those opportunities.
If you don’t want to go into the petroleum industry, our research still indicates that OSU is a worthwhile option for students interested in engineering. Regardless of where you eventually end up, this university will provide you with a strong engineering background at the reasonable price of a state institution. OSU’s engineering ROI is in the top 75.
Learn more about Oklahoma State University and what it takes to get accepted.
8. Texas Tech University | TTU
Location: Lubbock, TX
Acceptance Rate: 68%
Undergrad Enrollment: 34,000
Texas Tech’s is based in Lubbock, the major population center in the Northwest part of Texas. Lubbock may seem isolated, but it’s the second largest city in West Texas, and its role as a regional hub for a large rural area results in more resources available to students.
Like the University of Houston and Oklahoma State University, Texas Tech’s ties to the petroleum industry are particularly strong, providing opportunities for students who want to pursue that field. Tuition is affordable and the cost of living is low; overall, we’ve found the school to provide top 75 ROI and career outcomes for engineering students.
Learn more about Texas Tech University and what it takes to get accepted.
9. The University of Texas at El Paso | UTEP
Location: El Paso, TX
Acceptance Rate: 99.9%
Undergrad Enrollment: 21,100
Another member of the University of Texas system, UT El Paso (also called UTEP) is located in the westernmost corner of Texas. Situated right on the border, it’s part of a larger metropolitan area that includes Ciudad Juárez in Mexico and Las Cruces in New Mexico, making for a community with international ties. It’s also within reach of job markets throughout West Texas and in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
The “underrated” label definitely fits UTEP; while it’s typically ranked outside the top 300 schools in the country, our own research has shown it to offer a top 150 ROI for students looking to become engineers. Like other schools in the area, its engineering program has close ties to the petroleum industry, making it a particularly good choice if you’re looking to enter this field.
Learn more about the University of Texas at El Paso and what it takes to get accepted.
10. Virginia Tech
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Acceptance Rate: 55%
Undergrad Enrollment: 30,500
Virginia Tech is located in Blacksburg, Virginia, just a stone’s throw from the job market in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region—a plus for all graduates, including those in engineering. Based on the top 45 ROI this school offers for its engineering students, we think that traditional rankings understate VT’s quality in the field.
Virginia Tech has one of the largest enrollments in the state, and it’s especially notable for the size and active nature of its research portfolio. The university conducts cutting-edge research in fields including engineering, so undergrads might be exposed to some truly innovative avenues for academic work and other career opportunities.
Learn more about Virginia Tech and what it takes to get accepted.
For More Information
With these schools in mind, you may have found a college that aligns with your future med school goals. At CollegeVine, we’re committed to making college guidance accessible to all who want it. That’s why, on our college applications guidance platform, you can use our free chancing engine, build a best-fit school list, and learn how to improve your profile—all for free.
Sign up for a CollegeVine account today to get a boost on your journey to a college as a pre-med. Also check out Sage, our AI tutor and advisor, who can improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school by helping you show what you have to offer beyond the numbers!
Looking for more colleges that might slip under the radar, but offer surprisingly good outcomes for their students? Stay tuned to the CollegeVine blog for more of our series of posts on this topic, starting with our list of The Top 10 Most Underrated Colleges in the U.S.
