<p>Hey CC,</p>
<p>I am a junior in a local Florida High School looking to major in Aerospace Engineering which is one of my deepest passions. I am looking for good Aerospace Engineering Colleges both in Florida and out of state. I do not want to go to the Ivys because of the insane stress that comes with them. Can you guys help me out??</p>
<p>A major question is what can your family afford? Another is why Aero vs. Mech? Many engineers in the aero industry have mech degrees. You can always look for ABET accredited aero programs through the ABET accreditation web site.</p>
<p>Well, there are some really good ones out there. I always had interest in Aerospace Engineering but I moved on to Petroleum Engineering instead. Here are a few colleges: </p>
<p>Air Force Institute of Technology (ABET)
Arizona State University (ABET)
Auburn University (ABET)
Boston University (ABET)
California Institute of Technology
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (ABET)
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (ABET)
California State University, Long Beach (ABET)
Case Western Reserve University (ABET)
Clarkson University (ABET)
Daniel Webster College (ABET)
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Daytona Beach campus (ABET)
Prescott campus (ABET)
Worldwide campus (ABET)
Florida Institute of Technology (ABET)
Georgia Institute of Technology (ABET)
Illinois Institute of Technology (ABET)
Iowa State University (ABET)
LeTourneau University (ABET)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ABET)
Mississippi State University (ABET)
Missouri University of Science and Technology (ABET)
Naval Postgraduate School (ABET)
North Carolina State University (ABET)
Oklahoma State University (ABET)
Pennsylvania State University (ABET)
Polytechnic Institute of New York University (ABET)
Princeton University (ABET)
Purdue University (ABET)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ABET)
Rutgers University (ABET)
Saint Louis University (ABET)
San Diego State University (ABET)
San Jose State University (ABET)
Stanford University
Syracuse University (ABET)
Texas A&M University (ABET)
The Ohio State University (ABET)
Tuskegee University (ABET)
United States Air Force Academy (ABET)
United States Naval Academy (ABET)
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (ABET)
University of Alabama in Huntsville (ABET)
University of Alabama (ABET)
University of Arizona (ABET)
University of California, Davis (ABET)
University of California, Irvine (ABET)
University of California, Los Angeles (ABET)
University of California, San Diego (ABET)
University of Central Florida (ABET)
University of Cincinnati (ABET)
University of Colorado at Boulder (ABET)
University of Florida (ABET)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (ABET)
University of Kansas (ABET)
University of Maryland, College Park (ABET)
University of Miami (ABET)
University of Michigan (ABET)
University of Minnesota (ABET)
University of Notre Dame (ABET)
University of Oklahoma (ABET)
University of Southern California (ABET)
University of Tennessee at Knoxville (ABET)
University of Tennessee Space Institute
University of Texas at Arlington (ABET)
University of Texas at Austin (ABET)
University of Virginia (ABET)
University of Washington (ABET)
Utah State University (ABET)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (ABET)
Washington University in St. Louis
West Virginia University (ABET)
Western Michigan University (ABET)
Wichita State University (ABET)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (ABET)</p>
<p>See which one interests you and pick a few 
</p>
<p>Embry-Riddle, one of the best in the world, is right in Daytona Beach.</p>
<p>What else is important to you? Do you want the “full college experience”? </p>
<p>What kind of insane stress comes with the Ivies? Are you expecting engineering to be easy anywhere?</p>
<p>@SD1996, you need to be careful in your program selection screen. AFIT (the first school listed) does not offer undergraduate degrees.</p>
<p>UF, UCF, and Embry Riddle come to mind.:)</p>
<p>Look into coming to SITE this summer at UA (can find dates on web site). One week in engineering programs for high school juniors and seniors - can help you validate your interest in Aeronautical Eng and learn about the other eng fields. Can compare UA to other in-state and OOS options.More than half of attendees are OOS.</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad My parents have a steady and decent income of approximately 100k since both of my parents work. I am looking mainly into Aerospace Engineering with a possible minor in computer science because I have a love for computers as well. I am leaning towards UF, Embry-Riddle, and UCF but with Embry Riddle I am worried about the cost since its a private school. I do not want to go to out of state and my parents encourage me to stay in state because of the Florida PrePaid Plan.</p>
<p>@SOSConcern What is SITE?</p>
<p>The University of Florida is your best bet. It is a state supported school with low tuition and an excellent engineering school.</p>
<p>Your concern about tuition at Embry-Riddle is well founded. More than twice the cost of UF, and no more respected. Unless you want to become a pilot at ER, then it is not worth the money. Not as fun as UF either, I suspect.</p>
<p>Only go to UCF if you live in Orlando, or if you cannot get accepted into UF.</p>
<p>Anyway, apply to all three. You can make your choice later. Everybody needs to apply to at least five colleges, preferably seven.</p>
<p>Looking out of state, consider Georgia Tech which has the best engineering school in the south.</p>
<p>If your interest in aerospace engineering is mostly about the “space” portion, then take a look at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) which has strong ties to NASA and the space industry located in Huntsville. Much smaller school than UF or UCF. UAH has a great engineering school, but it is not well known.</p>
<p>SITE is Student introduction to Engineering - that is the name of the program at UA. Some other engineering schools have these kind of summer programs. It is one week and very worthwhile - look at web site with the three weeks scheduled for summer 2014. <a href=“http://www.site.eng.ua.edu”>www.site.eng.ua.edu</a> My daughter attended last summer and solidified her interest in civil eng. You would see the facilities, interface with faculty, learn about everything UA has to offer. You can use it as a yardstick to compare to other schools. Look into the Engineering schools you want to attend and see if they have a summer program like SITE.</p>
<p>First, keep in mind that many Mechanical Engineers work in the aerospace industry. </p>
<p>In state, UF is your best bet, based on cost and job placement (it’s fairly well recruited for Aerospace). UF also has a duel degree program (between Aerospace and Mechanical) and a 4/1 “Combined Bachelors and Masters Degree” program. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mae.ufl.edu/undergraduate/Undergrad_DegreePrograms.aspx”>http://www.mae.ufl.edu/undergraduate/Undergrad_DegreePrograms.aspx</a></p>
<p>However, UF is never anyone’s safety, the holistic admission process always seems a bit more random than at many other schools. So follow NROTgrad’s advise and apply to several schools.</p>
<p>UCF is a good backup/alternative to UF. It’s engineering program is solid, and being in Orlando has helped it’s job placement (including for Aero). I believe it also has an accelerated program. If your grades are good enough to be admitted to UF, you’re likely to get a decent merit scholarship at UCF (think of up to $15K total, over 4 years). </p>
<p>It may be worth applying to Embry-Riddle, and see what sort of grants/scholarships can be offered. If it’s not to far from home, you should also do a tour, if for no other reason it will give you something to compare with UF and UCF.</p>
<p>Out of State, you’re going to want to look for significant merit at any public schools, as it can be very pricey. Georgia Tech does have the strongest program in the Southeast, but they’re not great on OOS merit/aid. Apply only if your family can handle the OOS tuition, or if you think you got a shot at one of the scholarships.</p>
<p>UAH would fit this model, as it has a decent Aero/mechanical program, is recruited based on it’s location, and offers significant OOS merit. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/merit-scholarships”>http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/merit-scholarships</a></p>
<p>Based on the above merit tuition scholarship chart, a 3.5 GPA and 1330 (out of 1600) on the SAT will earn you a 100% tuition scholarship. Several other schools offer decent OOS scholarships, including UA, Auburn, and Clemson. Check out the Financial Aid & Scholarships forum for more details. When looking OOS, you may want to think about getting a mechanical engineering degree, as it will still get you into the aerospace industry, but allows you to apply for jobs in many other fields. Some of the schools with the best OOS offers may not have Aero programs, but do have a decent ME program.</p>
<p>You have a lot of great options…</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>OP - can take advice to look at what Auburn or Clemson would have. We have been to Auburn numerous times for various things, but DD always preferred UA and so do we. Friend checked out Clemson; I have a friend’s DD going to Clemson for a specific engineering program in packaging (that is a very specific degree - may be eligible for common market now that I think about it).</p>
<p>If you went to UA’s SITE program (one week this summer) you can evaluate the other eng areas and broaden your conceptualization of aerospace eng. Maybe some of the Florida schools have some kind of a summer program.</p>
<p>OOS you can look at UA and UAH, however UA has great OOS scholarships (automatic general and in eng). We live in Huntsville area. Really like the benefits of UA’s Honor’s Program.</p>
<p>You do have great options in FL.</p>
<p>Make sure to visit campuses and not only evaluate by what you learn on-line. Can visualize some of the campuses with some of the video tours. Good luck with getting to a good decision for you.</p>
<p>At Emory Riddle or Florida Tech, you will get to use Bright Futures, the Florida resident grant(~$2500), and any other scholarships that need to be used in Florida. You can use prepaid, but they will only credit you with what you paid in (not a good deal).</p>
<p>My daughter is going to Florida Tech and, with merit scholarships, it is cheaper than UF or UCF. I suspect Emory Riddle would also have good merit. If you are looking for flight, it will be $15-20k extra.</p>
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<p>Try running the net price calculators on each school’s web site to get cost and financial aid estimates. But note that some schools may offer large merit scholarships.</p>
<p>May I suggest Johns Hopkins. You can get an ABET accredited Mech Eng. degree with a concentration in aerospace. NASA Goddard and Washington DC are very close as well.</p>
<p>^ and may I suggest that, while great, it would cost $60k per year.</p>
<p>Although not in Florida, you may also want to check out Embry-Riddle Prescott. They recently spent several million dollars upgrading many of their existing engineering labs/buildings, built several new labs, a new library and several new cafeterias. Strong ties to JPL, Edwards AFB, SpaceX, Boeing, Northrop, Lockheed, and Honeywell. The campus looks very nice, and is located in one of the prettiest areas in the US (IMO). [url=<a href=“http://prescott.erau.edu/about/campus-tour/prescott-az-campus-aerial-600x400-lg.jpg]Prescott[/url”>http://prescott.erau.edu/about/campus-tour/prescott-az-campus-aerial-600x400-lg.jpg]Prescott[/url</a>]</p>
![http://prescott.erau.edu/about/campus-tour/prescott-az-campus-aerial-600x400-lg.jpg]Prescott[/url](http://prescott.erau.edu/about/campus-tour/prescott-az-campus-aerial-600x400-lg.jpg%5DPrescott%5B/url){kind=link}
