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American Engineering degrees?

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dreadknought:
I'm researching American universities to attend to get a Bachelors of Engineering in.  I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm leaning mostly towards Electrical Engineering or one of the many branches of Civil Engineering.  Can anybody give recommendations to universities, whether you attended personally or heard good things from other engineers who attended?  I've been looking at websites about Caltech, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Harvey Mudd College in NYC, but I'm extremely open to suggestions.  Quality of the degree is the main factor, although quality of life/location plays a role as well since I'll be spending around 4 years there.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

talex004:
I've spent a year abroad at Virginia Tech, in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department, and all I can say is: Hats off! That is an excellent school, and a great department. Food is also awesome :) Now I kinda want to go back there for a PhD... I highly recommend it!

tmw:
If you are looking at schools in California, be aware that CA has 2 different systems. One is called the California State University (CSU) system and the other is University of California (UC). The CSU system features smaller campuses (in general) and cannot award PhDs. The UC system has larger campuses and usually has all the world-renowned professors. At a CSU school, it is a more intimate setting and you have lots of access to the faculty. At a UC, it is more research oriented and the undergrads deal with PhD students a lot more than with the faculty directly. CSUs are a lot cheaper than UCs.

By happenstance I went to a CSU for my BS and a UC for my MS. In retrospect, this was a great way to go. Find a CSU school that is well known in whatever area you are interested in and go there for a BS. If you go for a higher degree, a UC is the way to go.

my 2 cents

tmw:
additional thoughts:
My brother went to Cal Poly SLO for aeronautical engineering. Seemed like a great school for engineering in general and a great place to be for 4 years. I went to CSU Chico for BS Computer Science/Electrical Engineering. The CS side was excellent but the EE was only OK (this was 30 years ago so things may have changed in any direction since then). The civil program was supposed to be good but I can't say anything about it personally. UC Santa Barbara is where I got my MSEE. Can't beat the location, the social life, the weather and top notch engineering faculty. It's a bit expensive in UCSB though.

Lawsen:
I have known people who attended Cal Poly engineering school are are happy with it.  I have attended San Jose earth sciences geology school and taken two semesters of geology engineering - foundations, walls, subterranean earth structures, portals and tunnels, and open pit mining.  The CSU are great for the BSci, BA, MA, and MSci.  Your Ph.D school, if you are up to it will be another school, that it does not have to be the same school with your first or second B degree.  A college or university education is not the ticket for good employment in the great recession.  You will also need a trade for a side job to keep you able to pay your costs.  The CSU are going broke as the California state government is unable to pay them.  You might not get the classes to graduate on time.  The San Jose State computer engineering program, an electrical engineering and computer software and architecture engineering as one degree has a high failure rate, that I knew more friends who failed out of that than graduate.  San Jose State's electrical and civil engineering program have a high success rate.  The San Jose State's over all graduation rate is 40% across the groups of various nationalities and languages.  UC are geared more for research, but costs more.  They do graduate you out a tad faster.  I attended a CSU.  California has one of the highest unemployment rates and expensive costs of living in the U.S. at the present. 

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