Theory vs Practicality in Schools

I was looking at different schools for Civil and Mechanical Engineering when I stumbled upon this article: http://dailyprincetonian.com/opinion/2014/04/the-plight-of-the-princeton-engineer/ Essentially, it raises the point that Princeton engineering is very theory based, which I would most likely find less interesting than in an applicative environment. Can anyone validate the opinion of this article and also suggest any top engineering schools which would be more practical in nature? Thanks!