<p>So I'm majoring in mechanical engineering and have applied to UofR, RPI, CWR, RIT, and SUNY UB. Note, I haven't heard back from any of them, but my guidance counselor says I have good chances for all of them. What I'm more worried about is paying for them. </p>
<p>I'll go ahead and throw it out there that my dream job is to be a weapons/military equipment engineer, and would like to get my Ph.D. for mechanical engineering, possibly with a specialty in aerospace or robotics (are there other good concentrations for weapons engineering?). With this in mind, I'm really looking to go to a top grad school, and would rather spend my money on that (though I hear you can get good deals for grad school by working for professors - both my parents went to Cornell for free doing this). </p>
<p>I guess I'm asking what it will take to get into a top grad school like UC Berkeley or GATech (I would also appreciate some suggestions on what grad schools I might want to look into, considering my desired job). Can I make it somewhere like this with a degree from UB? Or how about RIT, since RIT focuses so highly on teaching and less on research? Will this be much of a disadvantage to getting into grad school? I imagine that UofR, RPI, and CWR would all be great starting points, provided I do well at them. But depending on aid, I might not be able to afford them.</p>