<p>Hi, I'm currently in high school and looking for colleges that would be good for engineering. I am interested mostly interested in mechanical engineering but also in aerospace engineering. What schools would be best for those fields of study? The size of the campus doesn't bother me. Any help is appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>This is from 2010, but it should still be relevant. All of these schools should be good for MechE/AeroE.</p>
<p>USNews Undergraduate Engineering Specialty Rankings for Schools offering a PhD:</p>
<p>Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
3 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
4 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
5 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
6 University of Maryland–College Park College Park, MD
7 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
8 Stanford University Stanford, CA
9 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
10 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
11 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
12 Texas A&M University–College Station College Station, TX
13 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
13 Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA
15 University of Washington Seattle, WA
16 University of Colorado–Boulder Boulder, CO
17 University of California–Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
18 Iowa State University Ames, IA
18 North Carolina State University–Raleigh Raleigh, NC</p>
<p>Undergraduate engineering specialties: Mechanical
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
3 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
4 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
4 Stanford University Stanford, CA
6 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
7 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
8 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
9 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
10 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
11 Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA
12 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
13 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI
14 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
14 Texas A&M University–College Station College Station, TX
14 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
17 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
18 University of Minnesota–Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
19 University of California–Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
20 Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA
20 University of California–San Diego La Jolla, CA
20 University of Maryland–College Park College Park, MD</p>
<p>Don’t choose schools according to ranking. Use it as a reference. I am sure the alums here can provide their insights of the undergraduate program.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1168583-avoid-elite-chemical-engineering-programs-advice-grad-student.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/1168583-avoid-elite-chemical-engineering-programs-advice-grad-student.html</a></p>
<p>Don’t forget your local schools: city-level, state-level. They are cheaper and some of them are very good. </p>
<p>Think about location, weather, financial, size of the student body and faculty profiles.</p>
<p>Some regions are more for aerospace and mechanical. I don’t think Alaska is an aerospace powerhouse even if MIT is there. </p>
<p>Do you more a small class education, or do you want over 100 people in your major core courses???
You must think thoroughly.</p>
<p>Research. Not everyone wants to do research but what if you can’t find an internship or job during the summer? You are forced to find something to do. You don’t want to end up going to a school where none of their research focus interest you. Maybe the aerospace department is too small, and mechanical is mostly about robotics and renewable energy.</p>
<p>Well, you can use the rankings as a starting point, so long as you remember that you may well do better at a 25th ranked school that fits your costs, interests, and environment over the #1 school that is a poor match in every way but prestige. If you look at any 20-30 schools (for example, a particular range in the rankings) you will find several that will be good choices for you, and probably one or two that will be great, although they may not be what you expect.</p>
<p>If you want Aerospace, check out Caltech… Assuming you have the grades. The SURF program lets you do research and get internships at JPL.</p>
<p>Caltech doesn’t have an undergraduate aerospace degree! Geez, do you homework! GALCIT is a fantastic program, but it stands fr “Graduate Aerospace Laboratories California Institute of Technology” for a reason. Don’t just say things.</p>
<p>I noticed no one mentioned research/work opportunities. Look at what you can get involved with at any prospective university.</p>
<p>I have picked mine because they have an engineering team/professor that works with the DoD, General Atomics and a few other defense contractors on unmanned drone work and various military satellite projects which happens to be my interest.</p>
<p>I’ve found through work experience in the defense and engineering industries that while where you went to school can help, what you’ve done helps more.</p>
<p>Thanks for those things to think about! @xslacker what school is that</p>
<p>VA Tech… Not my “dream” school but good rankings, good research and in-state tuition…</p>
<p>Plus, I get guaranteed admission as a NVCC student. :D</p>