Is this a great safety school for aerospace engineering? I want to make sure that I will be able to find a job immediately after graduating and had never heard of this school until TODAY, so I’m not sure if it’s the greatest for job placement. I did see that it has a great return on investment and is ranked highly for schools without a doctorate (which I am not sure anyone needs in AE) but am concerned of the actual education provided.
Hopefully @fractalmstr, an Embry Riddle alum, will see this and respond.
I graduated from there in '07 (AE) and had an excellent experience overall. It is a fantastic school for Aerospace Engineering, and not just as a safety option, IMO. It should be on your short list, assuming finances are not an issue. The professors are all very knowledgeable, personable, and easy to talk to outside of class. The educational quality, IMO, is superb, based on my experience at USC’s aerospace engineering graduate program, which I attended a couple of years after graduating from Riddle. I felt comfortably prepared for the graduate coursework, which I think reflects positively on Riddle. Many of my friends from Riddle also went onto to other prestigious grad schools such as U Michigan, Stanford, Boston, and MIT, so I think that says a lot about E-R’s reputation and quality.
Other aspects of the school that I loved were the campus atmosphere (very laid back and comfortable), high quality labs/equipment, and a tight knit student body. The campus is very clean, and well maintained. The local area is beautiful, with lots of places to go explore and check out if you like the outdoors. Views from the campus are great. Nearby Prescott has a good selection of stores and restaurants to choose from.
As for job placement rates, the school is on-par with other top aerospace engineering schools, but (like other schools) your success will depend heavily on your grades/performance. The only minor drawback to doing an engineering major at E-R Prescott (due to the area’s lack of an engineering industry and remoteness) is that you will likely need to do your internships/co-ops in other cities, and need to move away for work after graduation. FWIW though, I did not find this to be a problem, however, I know that some folks like to work close to, or in the city where their college is located, so if you are one of these people, you may need to re-consider your options.
Anyway, I hope that helps with your decision. If there is something more specific you would like addressed, let me know, and I would be happy to help out.
I would be attending from SD, so my job could be just about anywhere. You mentioned the cost but when I run a net price calculator is predicts I’ll be around $35,000 a year, much less than Georgia Tech and Illinois being around $45,000 a year.
I’m also somewhat worried for graduate school. Is it stressful finding someplace to transfer?
Re: graduate school “transfer”, I am not quite sure what you are referring to. Do you mean the difficulty of applying to grad school after undergrad?
FWIW, I did my grad degree online through USC Viterbi while working full time as an engineer. Not the most stress-free option (LOL), but the process was pretty straightforward.