Hey, don’t be knockin’ my Alma Mater. FWIW, I absolutely loved Cornell.
As for the original post: go with the college that you really have your heart set on. You’ll get a good education from most any college.
A free college education certainly has its benefits…if going to the mucho expensive school is going to put you in debt for the rest of your life, I wouldn’t do it. (although there are ways to pay for expensive schools without huge loans).
However, in a job interview, all other things being equal, most engineering firms are going to take an applicant from MIT over an applicant from Podunk State. School reputation definitely plays a role in examining applicants for your FIRST job. After that, I’d say that most of your worth as a job prospect lay in how you performed in that first real job. However, school reputation definitely doesn’t play the biggest role, and a top notch student at a lesser regarded school will mop the floor with a below average student from a fantastic school.
Anyway, for my $.02. ASU, GW, etc… you’re choosing from some really good schools where the caliber of the education will be pretty well comparable. I could have gone to UT Austin for rediculously cheap and even though I like it here, I think I could have liked it there too, for less money, and received the same level of instruction.
Point being, if you were choosing between a tiny school and a prestigious one you might need to weigh a few more things out, but all the schools you’re looking at will have no problem getting you where you want to go.
Disclaimer: this is just the opinion of a guy who has only so much experience, so heed accordingly.
I was a National Merit Finalist back in 1990 and had a few options open to me… Johns Hopkins was asking me to apply for their med program but I had no interest in medicine, Duke (who had first notice of me through their TIPS program) was offering me a tiny scholarship (maybe), and the University of Alabam offered me a free ride with a stiped. So, Tuscaloosa (U of A) was the choice for me.
I got a good education, primarily by being in control of the classes/teachers that I wanted. I took part in the Honors program. I got involved in extra-curricular activities centered around my career choice. How did I make out? You tell me…
…right after college, I interned in Finland for a year. I came back to the States and got a job consulting with Price Waterhouse. Five year later, I’m now living in Denver, doing internal consulting for a financial industry company, making nearly twice what I made with PW (now PwC). For a kid from Alabama, I think I’ve done ok.
In other words, you’ll get out of it whatever you put into it - but I think someone else mentioned that.
FWIW, I absolutely loved Cornell.