I think BU and WPI also have abroad opportunities for engineering which is rare.
1 Like
My comment about the South being the new home of auto doesn’t mean you have to go to college in the South. I remember at Colorado School of Mines day, one of the student panelist was going to GM. I do think certain schools place more - for example Kettering, etc. I know Purdue places well.
But you want to spend $25K - and there are schools that may get you there. Bama will get you less on auto merit - but as a URM, you’d likely get the URM scholarship - which is at least 4 years tuition and a year of housing but it may be more even. The Honors dorm at Ridgecrest is really nice. My son went there because of it, choosing it over Purdue that had a housing shortage and was putting kids in a barrack like place according to what my son claims to this day. But it’s large, it’s heavily (but not dominantly) greek. But they do have smart, focused kids - as they have the most NMFs in the country. Bama has auto merit - so you’re a minimum $30.5K assuming a strong SAT. So total cost without the URM scholarship - $18-20K a year. UAH is another public in Alabama - about the same cost. It’s smaller and less partyish.
MS State has an online scholarship estimator as does WVU.
Some schools like Troy or Louisiana Lafayette you might be able to go for free or extremely inexpensively.
I’d say find the right school. I don’t believe that location begets internships unless it’s during the school year. Companies bring in from all over.
My son interned twice at an auto OEM from Bama. Unfortunately he won’t end up there as they don’t do college recruiting but wanted to place him in March. He knew he needed to recruit in the fall and had five offers - evreywhere but the south btw - and will work in Aero. Funny - yesterday an auto supplier reached out to interview him but he declined as he’s accepted a role.
But when I say auto is the new home of the South - Ford just started building a TN plant and I think a KY one is coming. Nissan is in TN and MS. Honda in KY and Alabama. Toyota in MS, KY. Mercedes is in Alabama as is Hyundia. Kia is in Georgia. Rivian is building in GA. GM is in Spring Hill TN - the old Saturn Plant. Toyota and Mazda are going to build together in Huntsville, AL. BMW builds in South Carolina. Volvo in SC too as does Mercedes with its vans.
Business wise - Mercedes is HQ is in Atlanta, Toyota outside Dallas, Nissan south of Nashville.
Honestly, you should find the right school - and if you’d rather pay $25 than $50K, then go for it. And you can beat $25K.
You have the big ones I mentioned but then UAH which is smaller. If you are willing to go higher, a Missouri S&T is within range, a Rose Hulman with merit (very small) and even a Kettering, a UMN, and more such as an RPI and WPI.
I believe you can get to any industry from any ABET school - regardless of location.
If your student does a co-op, then they get a better leg up. Traditionally, co ops were Northeastern, Drexel, Cincinatti, Purdue, etc. but I see tons being advertised at Bama and I think most schools support. That could be a great way for your student to earn $$.
The last thing - while she has an AA (or will), given engineering follows a strict path, I’m not sure how quickly you want her to graduate or she can but I suspect it might take the full four years or close to it.
Some say - if you have an engineering core class credit from HS, take the class again and don’t take the credits. I wish my kid did. Others disagree with that.
You’ll likely experience all these twists and turns.
One suggestion - start googling automotive designers + lnkedin or autotmive engineer + linkedin…or you can add a company name - a Ford, GM, Nissan, etc. or supplier like Allison, Lear, etc. The first three i found with no company name - just random - two ASU and one Utah State.
Good luck.
3 Likes
Interesting. So for Michigan if accepted your looking at $72,000 /year. There are ways to reduce this but… No merit oos.
But you said Math and Business. Have a gander at Industrial engineering. My son graduated Michigan with that and was perfect for him. Many don’t really understand it but many paths you can go in. More then happy to answer questions pm me if needed.
So if you have a strict budget I would start with that first and also local since there are so many choices where you live then branch out. Make an excel spreadsheet then look at oos states schools. There are many. Too many in fact.
2 Likes
1 Like
I can’t speak for the others, but Cal Poly is certainly not that way. Calculus for example is capped at 32 students per section. Physics is 42 if I recall correctly. Virtually no TAs. They have very active SAE teams. Check out PROVE lab. It’s an interesting and unique team.
4 Likes
You already mentioned CA publics but if you want transfer credit, you pretty much need to go to a public school (or take a school-specific placement exam a la MIT). If your daughter feels confident in their math subjects, then it may be a benefit to go to a school where you can get credit for those lower-division classes.
For reference, some of my good friends in high school (all STEM-interested) and I were in the same math and science DE classes; they chose top-tier privates and I chose a UC. Once we got to college, they had to repeat freshman calculus b/c university policies and I had half of a degree.
In-state, the UCs will give financial aid.
3 Likes
Since you mentioned Michigan have a look at Michigan State honors program. It’s really good in mechanical and can’t get better then Detroit for automotive. Downtown is becoming a tech center with Wayne State, Michigan and Michigan State creating a tech hub in Midtown area. Also many kids go right into Ford etc but are well placed just about anywhere. Honors gets you instate tuition for OOS with mentorship, research and $5,000 for study abroad. It’s a nice laid back campus (really nice) and good dorm food… For automotive design many are starting to draw and design with Augmented Reality. Drawing in 3d is the new wave.
4 Likes
Has Michigan State moved its engineering department to Detroit? I thought it was in East Lansing?
One school that I’ve read good things about in terms of having a good hands-on education is at U. of Louisville. As Kentucky’s biggest city, there are lots of internship opportunities if she wants to try and find something during the school year. There’s also some good merit aid options there, too. And as a public school, odds are much better for a lot of your D’s coursework transferring.
1 Like
Speed modeled their program after Cal Poly, including appropriating their motto…Learn by Doing. Good school. Good value.
3 Likes
Great call - ford and related suppliers like Faurecia are already in Louisville.
2 Likes
Never said the school moved… The opportunities in Detroit with major companies on campus.
2 Likes
However, if the math (and perhaps other) course work is accepted for subject credit, that can allow the student to use schedule space for additional free electives. In some cases, prerequisite sequences can be completed earlier, allowing for more free electives later in the program which can be used for additional upper level courses of interest. Additional free electives can be used for any other course of interest, in or out of the major.
1 Like
If you want a safety school with great merit, Grand Valley in Allendale, MI has auto merit that automatically comes with instate tuition, plus additional merit, so it will be well below 25k. They have a great engineering program, and their program, along with several others, are housed in downtown Grand Rapids. There is a bus that connects the two campus, and the buses in Grand Rapids are free for students. There is a hockey stadium in Grand Rapids that is pretty popular to attend, at least among students. There are also over 400 clubs and there is an engineering LLC and a Women in STEM LLC with very nice apartment style dorms and they have decent food.
If you have any questions, I am a current student who loves their time there.
3 Likes
I actually agree about repeating engineering core class credits. Strong foundation. I am less inclined to have other courses repeated (Humanities ones, Foreign Language, etc.). I’d like for classes to be more specialized and allow for greater niche/special engineering classes to complement the degree path (while taking more interesting Humanities ones).
I did look up automotive designers a few years ago; could stand to update this again.
ASU and their Barrett Honors College looked pretty interesting.
You may also want to check out UMD’s Mech Engg program. It’s a highly ranked program within the engineering school. Brand new facilities and great honors living/learning program. They also provide merit up to $12k/year as well as a few full ride scholarships. Very competitive to get these awards, but having very high GPA and test scores, and being a female URM will all help.
1 Like
As strong as she is in math (A and one B grade in calculus and higher math in college), it is likely to be a waste of schedule space to repeat it. California community college students who transfer to UCs and CSUs as juniors in engineering majors do not repeat all of their math courses, so it would not make sense for an advanced frosh who took those same math courses to do so.
There can be more of an argument to repeating AP physics C credit, due to less depth and math use in the high school AP course versus physics in college (for physics and engineering majors). There may also be more of a similar argument for repeating AP chemistry if the student’s major requires more advanced chemistry courses beyond general chemistry.
2 Likes
Just spitballing here, but there are some engineering experts in this thread who can let you know if any of these are less than great ideas:
-
Iowa State: Might be too middle-of-nowhere for you, but this program consistently gets really good reviews for its engineering program, and generous merit aid should definitely be forthcoming for your D.
-
New Jersey Institute of Technology: If you’re looking for proximity to urban places, being in the New York metro has tons of opportunities.
-
North Carolina A&T: a public HBCU that’s really well-respected and has some strong programs in this area.
-
North Carolina State: The triangle area is really booming and with your daughter’s resume (nationally ranked athlete, what will likely be high standardized test scores, great GPA), she could end up being competitive for one of the small number of full-ride scholarships.
-
UNC-Charlotte: This one is known for race car engineering. Again, I think your D could be competitive for one of its full-rides. This area is also really growing and lots of major companies in the area.
-
Ohio State: Columbus is a really big metro area, and despite the rivalry with Michigan, I’d be shocked if there aren’t a lot of automotive ties with the alums here. This would be another one where your D might be competitive for one of the top scholarships.
-
U. of Arizona: Well-reputed honors college and there should be significant merit aid too for your daughter’s GPA.
-
U. of New Mexico: Significant merit aid should be available for your D and a more intimate university experience than at most UCs or Cal States.
-
U. of Utah: Another well-respected honors college here, and it’s also easy to get in-state residency after the first year.
Privates that could be interesting for your D and might get into your price range with merit (pretty decent chances of admittance, but reachier to get sufficient merit aid, but possible):
- Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY)
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Wentworth (MA)
- Worcester Polytechnic (MA)
2 Likes
A wise poster, you, advised my so to get old tests to see if he was ready to test out. He did and used AP for Calc 1 & 2, Physics 1 and DE for chemistry. It was great advice! Thanks!
2 Likes
My two engineering kids majored in mechanical, which at each of their universities only required one semester of chemistry w/lab. Neither of them had taken more than the required “high school” chemistry before college. Might be a class to take during a summer break.
2 Likes
Everything you’ve said about your daughter’s make up makes me think she really needs to explore WPI. Not sure what sport she plays, but with WPI being D3, she could easily continue in college if they offer it. I don’t think WPI gets the love it deserves in CA, but it is highly regarded in the Northeast. She will get out with hands-on/practical experience. Material moves quickly, since it’s a trimester system (allows for more classes and she can explore business classes to see if they are of interest), yet students still have a low key vibe about them. Everyone does a practical project/internship that is planned into your course work, so there wouldn’t be any juggling around sports/clubs, etc. They tend to give great merit to girls yet have a reasonable m:f ratio. While Worcester is no Mayberry, it’s a fun little city for college kids. We know tons of kids that have attended and they have never had any issues with the city and have all done really well upon graduation.
For a more “traditional” big college experience (meaning active greek life), Vandy comes to mind. Another school that encourages women in STEM.
I can also see her having an interest in Michigan Tech (car industry). Kids that go love it, but it takes a “special” kind. It’s really hard to get to. (We dropped it from our list for that reason, but will always feel like it’s the one that got away. Especially after an invite for a full scholarship competition) and I believe it’s something like 70:30 male to female. Once your manage to get there, the isolation actually seems to make the student body closer and more active. And despite the isolation, they have a heavily attended job fair with recruiters staying 3 hours away just to get a spot to interview MT students.
3 Likes