College Admissions 101: Introducing 10 of the Top Undergraduate Engineering Programs (+ Acceptance Rates for Class of 2023)

Are you thinking about studying engineering? From mechanical engineering to computer engineering, there are plenty of paths to explore. Plus, the field of engineering is expected to continue growing in the next decade, so you’d be looking at a strong job outlook for the future.

To help you start your exploration process, we’ve put together a list of quick facts about the top 10 engineering schools. For colleges who’ve published their acceptance rates, we’ve included their Class of 2023 admissions profile.

MIT

Engineering Program Highlights

Opportunity to start a company through the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program
Get trained on “the best equipment” at Maker Lodge
Flexible degree options, allowing you to build your own course of study

Here are the acceptance rates published by MIT:

Applications: 21,312
Admits: 1,410

Stanford

Engineering Program Highlights

Offers 16 undergraduate majors
Option to design your own program
10% of students double major

UC Berkeley

Engineering Program Highlights

$92,190 starting salary for graduates
Consistently rated top 5 engineering schools
Offers first-generation support through retention programs

Georgia Tech

Engineering Program Highlights

Awards more engineering degrees to women and minorities than any other institution in the US
11 undergraduate majors
Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering is one of the oldest and largest aerospace schools in the country

Acceptance Rates

Applications: 36,936
Admits: 7,000

Carnegie Mellon

Engineering Program Highlights

Real World engineering program takes place in DC, Silicon Valley, Boston, and more.
Study, work, or volunteer abroad opportunities
Half of undergraduates go to graduate school

Acceptance Rates

Engineering Applications: 10,374
Engineering Admits: 411

Cal Tech

Engineering Program Highlights

#5 in Best Engineering Schools
Research in several centers, including the Climate Modeling Alliance and Keck Institute for Space Studies

University of Michigan

Engineering Program Highlights

Entrepreneurs Leadership Program, including a summer internship program at a startup
Multidisciplinary Design Program
International work abroad opportunities

Cornell

Engineering Program Highlights

Over half of the engineering students are women
21% are underrepresented students
Co-op program, allowing you to gain industry experience and apply class learning

Acceptance Rates

54.9% of students admitted to Cornell this year identify as women
Applications: 49,118
10.6% acceptance rate
670 first generation students

Purdue University

Engineering Program Highlights

First-Year Engineering program - introducing you to your career path options
Option to create your own interdisciplinary major
Co-Op opportunities available

Keep researching

Whether you know exactly what you want to study or you’re torn between different fields of engineering, keep looking through different colleges and their unique program offerings. As you explore, take note of any summer programs colleges have. Summer programs are a great way to get your feet wet in the study of engineering and help you narrow down where you want to apply your senior year!