- One warning sign of a bad school is a high attrition rate. If more than a quarter of students quit the program before graduation, it may be due to an unfriendly faculty or poor administration. It also may reflect a challenging yet rewarding program, so inquire further with an admissions counselor before passing judgment.
- A university with a distinguished faculty of Nobel-prize winners may sound exciting, but not when you take a class from one of them in a 500-seat auditorium. In that situation, the professor may not even know your name, let alone read your term paper. Instead, inexperienced graduate school TAs may end up calling the shots on your work. Beware of schools that boast prestigious faculties but engage in "bait and switch" when it comes time to enroll in classes.
- Education is not just the acquisition of knowledge but a business decision. The worldwide recession has made gainful employment difficult for new graduates, especially in fields related to construction. More importantly, rising tuition has made educational loans an onerous burden for many. Before you enroll in a program, make sure that your potential income outweighs the costs. Tuition at a third-tier out-of-state school may not be justifiable if the employment prospects look bleak. Also, beware of the school's own postgraduate statistics. As demonstrated in the recent New York Times expose on law schools, universities may paint a rosier picture of postgraduate life than is warranted. Consult recent graduates for a realistic picture of the postgraduate employment situation.
- At a minimum, make sure you attend an engineering school that has accreditation. In particular, the school must meet the minimum standards set by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Otherwise, expect much difficulty in getting a job in your field. Consult the ABET website (see Reference section) to make sure the school has been accredited by them.
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