Hey everyone, I’m a student from Australia but a U.S. citizen and I’m trying to pick a school. I’m going to study aerospace engineering and am debating between these schools.
My heart is saying Cal Poly bc of the location, weather, and lifestyle in san luis obispo, but know that schools themselves are better quality at UF and tech. Help me pick!!
They are all good schools, with solid AE programs, and good industry connections. Salaries are highest for Cal Poly ($76k vs $68k for UF and $65k for VT), but that is almost certainly due to the CA job market, where the cost of living is also higher.
I’m not sure where you got the idea that VT and UF are better schools than Cal Poly. That’s highly subjective. They are certainly different, both academically and non-academically. I’m not a USNWR fan, but in every engineering category that they rank for schools that don’t offer PhDs, Cal Poly ranks #2.
You should go with your gut and know your results will be based on your efforts far more than the name in the degree.
They are all terrific schools. Is there a cost difference for you? A few dollars won’t matter, but a few thousand for 4 years is something to consider when they are all terrific engineering schools for AE.
How do you know this?
Pick a) what you can afford without significant debt and b) where you feel most comfortable - assuming you’ve visited.
They are all great.
have you been admitted?
Have you already been accepted or are you applying in the Fall.
Where do you want to work if its the Space Coast in Florida I would recommend UF.
If you are applying in the fall I would also recommend University of Central Florida UCF
They have a great relationship with the space Coast and Defense especially Mcdonald Douglas
If California is where you plan on working i would give the nod to Cal Poly
If you want aerospace engineering, then you absolutely should consider University of Alabama-Huntsville, which has an excellent aerospace engineering program, along with strong internship ties to all of the aerospace companies that have facilities right there in Huntsville.
Yep!
I think OP applied and is down to these three - or UAH and Florida Tech would have been great additional choices.
OP can’t go wrong with any of these three mentioned.
Where do you ultimately want to live when you graduate? Who do you want to work for? What are the cost differences?
I couldn’t tell. If that’s the case, then OP should disregard what I said! 
Just an FYI, th etop 10 employers, in order , according to LinkedIn are as follows.
Cal Poly: Northrop, Lockheed, Boeing, Raytheon, NASA JPL, General Atomics, Collins, ESAero, Maxar, The Aerospace Co.
Florida: Lockheed, Northrop, Boeing, USAF, Collins, NASA, Honeywell, L3, NAVAIR, Pratt and Whitney
ASU: Honeywell, Boeing, Northrop, Collins, USAF, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Raytheon, American Airlines, Orbital ATK
Wonder where SpaceX falls? For all majors, CP has 75 employees, Florida 85 and ASU 53