When I applied, a few things I considered were (in no particular order):

1) Location. Could I commute daily or stay on residence?
2) Size.
3) Quality of the campus. You're going to study there for several years so you want to go somewhere that you like, not where the scenery is depressing, smells foul and falling to shambles. The only way to do this is to go to the campus in-person, not to view photos online or read reviews.
4) Ranking. The university need not be among the top 15 in the world but when employers look at your resume, you don't want to explain where the university is; choose somewhere that has a high ranking and well reputable.
5) Areas of study. Choose universities that have a wide variety of subject fields. Even though you're interested in engineering, it's possible that down the road you won't be as interested in it. Should this happen, you don't want a university that has very limited subject areas.
6) Requirements to get a degree. Some universities will grant you a degree if you have 1 major, while others won't regardless of your GPA. The university I went to required at least 2 majors OR 1 specialist OR 1 major with 2 minors. If you didn't complete that, then no degree for you. Keep in mind, such systems generally are harder to go through.
7) Talk to graduates, current students or read magazine reviews comparing various universities. I used Maclean's Magazine, it's specific only to Canada but there are similar magazines for the USA. You could probably find them at Barnes & Noble or other major bookstores.
8) Further education or straight to the work field. If you plan to get a Masters degree or further, check to make sure your degree would allow that. In Canada, you can graduate with a BSc or HBSc (honours bachelor of science), however, some graduate programs only considered HBSc applicants. Alternatively, if you want to go straight to the work field, would you need any certifications, regularly maintain if it was a professional certification/degree, and so forth. If you don't know whether it's a professional certification/degree, then it's something to look into.
9) Funding. Check the total amount to pay each year (can vary according to program area) and whether you'd need financial aid. If your marks are good enough, you may be eligible for scholarships, however, they don't cover all the tuition unless you get the highest one possible.