So I have been excepted to three of the five schools that I have applied to, the other two will not let me know until April 1. I want to major in aerospace engineering. I have been accepted to University Cincinnati, Florida Institute of Technology, and Purdue. Obviously Purdue is the best of the three for aerospace, but it is also the most expensive. UC is the cheapest and has a good CoOp program, Purdue is the best and Florida Tech is next door to NASA pretty much. I know that Purdue and Florida Tech do a lot of work with NASA. What do you think is the best goal of the three based on price and the quality of education ? I am personally leaning towards Purdue but financially the University of
Cincinnati might make more sense.
How much is the cost difference?
How will you and your family pay for that difference?
If any of these places would leave you with more than the standard federal loan debt ($5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year), then it is probably too expensive.
What if you end up changing your major? Would you need to transfer to a different place that offers that possible major?
If you can only realistically afford U of Cincinnati, then go there. Do well there. The professors there will have the kinds of contacts that you need in order to get a job after you graduate.
Have you checked job placement rates in aero for all three? I’d want to know more about ease of internships and how helpful the school is. Many schools will only push coops.
Academic pedigree doesn’t have much of an impact in the world of engineering, therefore any of your three choices could provide a solid base from which to begin your engineering career. Your main concern at this point should be affordability, and thus it appears U of Cincinnati is your best choice. NASA and the aerospace corporations recruit engineers from everywhere. For example, there may be U of Cincinnati engineering alumni working at the NASA John Glenn Flight Center in Ohio.
@LakeWashington When I toured UC they said that several of their alumni are at JPL. From what I’ve read, it seems to increase the average starting salary to go to a better school. Purdue is $58k while UC is $41k.
@Rdtsmith Out of the 90 Aerospace students that Purdue asked in the survey, that had graduated the year before. 64 had jobs, 21 were getting a masters and 4 did not respond. But 4 where still looking for a job. Purdue has a good Coop program and they also have internships UC also has a good coop
“From what I’ve read, it seems to increase the average starting salary to go to a better school. Purdue is $58k while UC is $41k.”
That’s doesn’t mesh with comments I have read from people in the know on this forum such as Eyemgh or Colorado Mom. I believe they said that if a recruit got a better salary because his/her engineering school was more widely known, the difference is minuscule if any at all. There could be regional differences. From where do you get your data about engineering graduates of the U of California system? Which engineering discipline? My son attends an engineering university probably not as well known among lay persons and certainly nowhere near as big as Purdue. Yet the average starting salary for engineering graduates from my son’s university is nearly 60 grand.
Also contradicted by the results of this survey: http://www.wsj.com/articles/do-elite-colleges-lead-to-higher-salaries-only-for-some-professions-1454295674?mod=e2fb
@LakeWashington UC-University of Cincinnati. That was data from both IC/Purdue’s websites
@“Erin’s Dad” the results I posted were the average salaries for the Entire Graduating Class, not specifically engineering.
Speaking of salaries, the Economist tried to do a ranking of “value” by controlling for the mix of majors and calculating the difference between what the salaries of grads from a particular school are compared to what they would be based on the mix of majors, average SAT scores, and other factors. Don’t take it as gospel by any means, but an interesting approach to add to the mix. Anyway, based on that, Purdue is a better value than the other two.
Look here: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/10/value-university?page=5&fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fpe%2Fed%2Fourfirstevercollegerankings#sort-comments