Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering - Michigan vs. Georgia Tech vs. UIUC

<p>Hey people.
I am searching for colleges that are strong in undergraduate engineering, and I got University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and UIUC.
I also want to continue my education to the graduate school.
If you compare those three schools,
which one is better?
(in terms of schedule, number of students in classroom, school atmosphere, getting good grades, interaction with professor, internships&job careers etc.)</p>

<p>In terms of schedule, number of students (in Engineering), getting good grades, interaction with professors and internship/career opportunities (again, in Engineering), those three schools are pretty much equal. </p>

<p>Where those schools vary is in their environments. Michigan is arguably the funnest campus and the most ideally located. UIUC is also fun, but it is somewhat out of the way. GT is in Atlanta, which is a decent city, but the campus atmosphere can be a tad subdued at times. </p>

<p>If you have the chance, try to visit those three campuses.</p>

<p>Georgia tech has a really good aero-ENG program, but I definetely think that you have to decide by visiting and talking to alums.</p>

<p>In terms of quality, the OP cannot go wrong. According to the US News, all three have top ranked undergraduate programs in both AE and ME:</p>

<p>AEROSPACE ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>2. Georgia Institute of Technology</h1>

<h1>3. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>6. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<p>I am not sure about GT and UIUC, but I know that at Michigan, the 3 Aerospace giants (Boeing, NG and LM) are the most active recruiters of Engineers year-in, year-out.</p>

<p>MECHANICAL ENGINEERING:</p>

<h1>4. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor</h1>

<h1>5. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign</h1>

<h1>6. Georgia Institute of Technology</h1>

<p>Like I said, quality isn't going to be an issue at those three elite Engineering programs. Graduate school adcoms and recruiters respect those three Engineering powerhouses equally and on-campus recruitment activity for Engineers is roughly the same at all three school. </p>

<p>Size-wise, all of them are very large (5,000-6,000 undergraduate Engineering students). Luckily, they also have huge Engineering faculties (300-450 profssors each). That means all three are going to have large classes at intro-levels, but will also have the resources to allow personal contact with professors, particularly for research opportunities and in intermediate and advanced level classes.</p>

<p>A friend's on got an internship at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena when he was a freshman at GT. He spends his time mostly at the JPL rather than GT. </p>

<p>GT does have a rep for being nerdy. Ann Arbor beats Atlanta as a college town for the average kid.</p>

<p>macca, I'm in the same situation, but i def want to go aero. maybe AFROTC, too (just for the plus in the defense job market)
I heard Atlanta was a bad city to be in, though. not much to do and some... err... questionable areas.
And what about Purdue?</p>