Is USC or Purdue better for engineering undergrad?

For undergraduate engineering specifically, Purdue is more often the school people point to for overall engineering reputation and depth. Its College of Engineering is one of the most established in the country, and employers and graduate programs know Purdue especially well across many engineering fields. USC is also a strong engineering school, but its reputation is usually discussed more in connection with interdisciplinary work, industry access in Southern California, and certain programs rather than sheer overall engineering breadth.

Purdue tends to fit the student who wants a very engineering-centered environment from day one. Engineering is a major part of campus identity there, and the school has longstanding strength in areas like mechanical, aerospace, civil, industrial, and related disciplines. If what you mean by “better overall for undergrad engineering” is the place with the broader, more traditional engineering reputation, Purdue has the edge.

USC makes more sense for the student who wants engineering in a more cross-disciplinary, private-school setting with especially strong links to entrepreneurship, tech, media, biotech, and the Los Angeles job market. The Viterbi School of Engineering is well respected and can be especially appealing if you value smaller classes in some settings, easier access to professors, and the flexibility to connect engineering with business, design, or cinematic and digital industries. USC often feels less purely engineering-driven than Purdue, but stronger for students who want engineering plus a wider network in adjacent fields.

So in terms of raw undergraduate engineering reputation, Purdue is usually the clearer answer. USC is not weaker in any simple sense, but it is more of a particular kind of engineering experience, while Purdue is the school with the more classic, widely recognized engineering-first identity.