<p>I'm only at the end of my junior year of high school, but since I've been thinking of college I've been set on engineering as my intended major. Anyway of the types of engineering aerospace and mechanical interest me the most. They seem to overlap in many catagories however, so basically, which one is better/ more useful?
Also of all the UC's and CSU's (not counting UCB or UCLA) which are best for the each?
Lastly, I'm set on going to atleast a masters, would it be better to go to an undergraduate school (like a CSU or somthing) and then tranfering, or going through 6-8 years at the same school?</p>
<p>Sorry if the last part seems to stray away from engineering</p>
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Lastly, I'm set on going to atleast a masters
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<p>Don't "set" yourself on a graduate degree until you know what you want to do. It's not something to take lightly and should only be undertaken once you realize a field in which you couldn't see yourself doing anything else. </p>
<p>As for the mechanical v. aerospace issue, I'd say that if you aren't sure.. go for mechanical. If you haven't grown up building model airplanes, and don't think about flying half the day... I'd imagine it would be difficult to really enjoy aerospace engineering. </p>
<p>Aerospace is less "useful" (as you say), but for someone who is truly passionate about it, it is a "better" degree for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>Cal Poly is likely the best of all the schools besides Berkeley. Cal Poly Aerospace is an extremely good program - to my knowledge UCs don't have a specific Aerospace degree, it's just a concentration.</p>
<p>I'm aerospace at USC, but then again I love airplanes</p>
<p>If you decided not to go to Berkley (should still try), go to Cal Poly. Burt Rutan graduated from there, and look where he is now. Also, there will be more technical emphasis, something I really wish USC had.</p>
<p>Both UCSD and UCLA have Aerospce Engineering degrees, and Berkeley doesnt. I would say that UCSD and UCLA undergrad Aerospace engineering programs are similar enough to to say that they are roughly equal. I would also think that UCSD and UCLA would be the best for Aerospace Engineering, since Berkeley really only has one class specifically about airfoils and aircraft design and UCSD and UCLA both are consistantly ranked higher than the Cal Poly's in Engineering. For ME though Berkeley is the obvious choice, UCLA and UCSD to a lesser degree (UCSD has the better grad engineering programs over UCLA, but not Berkeley).</p>
<p>UCLA/UCSD aren't ranked higher than Cal Poly in Aerospace (they are ranked with programs that offer PhDs, whereas Poly is ranked against undergraduate only programs). They are ranked on two different scales.</p>
<p>I suspect that Poly's program is superior though, because of well integrated labs and design projects. Who knows, maybe other schools have this as well.</p>
<p>Here at UCLA, the mechanical and aerospace is in the same department ( Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering MAE) Cal Poly has that hands-on experience which still interest me, since I'm learning nothing but theory at the moment.</p>
<p>Lastly, I'm set on going to atleast a masters, would it be better to go to an undergraduate school (like a CSU or somthing) and then tranfering, or going through 6-8 years at the same school</p>
<p>Best option then is cheap public university with research options (UCs) for undergrad. I would say UCSD would be the best place to start, though Calpoly is also pretty good.</p>
<p>Thanks for your opinions. My teachers are basically saying the same thing, and while I know I should wait before I plan into graduate school, I've always wanted somthing more than a B degree (Parents have a few each and Master sounds more impressive.)
As for if I should go into Mech or aero, I really don't know. I love building model rockets and airplanes, but also cars and other things. I prefer off the ground at the moment, but if it's too restrictive, then I don't see the point.
I'm not really sure why I don't want to go to UCLA or UCB. I think it's because while I have all A's and a few AP classes, I have virtually no EC and getting in is already hard. I suppose I'll have one of those "chance" threads next year.
Still have about 5 months before I apply for college anyway, so I guess I have time to think.</p>
<p>If you're not sure exactly what you want to study in the mae realm, I would do a mechanical engineering major. It's more general and probably your most versatile engineering degree.</p>
<p>chess2226, don't feel like you have to go either UCB/UCLA if you get into there. I got into UCLA for Mechanical and ended up going to Cal Poly because I thought it was a better program (and still think it is a better program).</p>
<p>I agree with GatorEng23, i would just go with ME. Also when i said that UCSD and UCLA are ranked higher than cal poly i meant two things: one that UCSD and UCLA are much more highly regarded, especially outside of california, and also in things like research money (hence research ops) and well recognized faculty (National Academy of Sciences membership) where they all can be ranked together. Don't get me wrong, Cal Poly is a great school, better for the sciences than many UC's.</p>
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Basically you just posted some numbers that have very little reflection on undergraduate education.
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those numbers point to research spending, and if he is set on grad school, obviously research opportunities are an influential factor. quit pushing Cal Poly to the front when it is really NOT clear where it stands in relation to mid- and upper-tier UCs. no one can deny it is worth a hard look, but at the same time it's not worth pushing out research universities.</p>
<p>going back to the original poster, i get the impression that UCD and UCSD have the strongest programs outside of Cal and UCLA. UCSD especially. also look at SB though, i don't know much about it. i am also debating between aerospace and mechanical, and i am quite certain that you don't necessarily need to love building model airplanes or anything like that to enjoy aerospace. it is a much more innovative field, partially because it is concerned with space exploration in addition to normal aircraft.</p>
<p>Yeah, its a tough decision, i would wait and see after your freshman or sophmore year whether you want to go into ME or AE (after talking to profs/students/TA's and of course taking classes), very similar lower division so switching wont be much of an issue. Remember that you can also major in ME with a few aerospace classes for the technical electives.</p>