The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Saying you're an engineering major isn't near enough information for someone to tell what's a good fit for you.
As a general statement if I were in the market today, I'd probably opt for a Dell, mainly for the better return policy. You'll get better GPUs on the T500, but Dell has the Precision models if that's your cup of tea.
The E6500 is more expensive but has a more robust outer casing. On the other hand, the T500 has switchable graphics and a better GPU.
Dell lets you return your notebook with no restocking fee during the grace period. Contrastingly, Lenovo charges you a restocking fee with no grace period. That stinks.
IMHO, both computers would be good for engineering.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
