Engineering Schools that fit me?

College Search & Selection
1

This is my first post on this forum, but for the past few years I have always been reading the stuff that has been posted here as a way to see how competitive I really am and the information here has been invaluable.

I will be a senior this year and have started the application process this week for some schools. I am going through engineering schools and have noticed that your elite schools are absolutely the best (MIT, Cal Tech, ect.), but am having trouble finding schools that are more easily attainable and realistic. I currently live in Michigan and would love to attend U of M’s engineering school, but I know that their admissions can be spotty and I would love to attend there but I can not put all of my eggs in one basket. I am looking for more schools like U of M that I have a reasonable chance at, but that also offer a good engineering program.

Throughout high school I have focused my free time and classes around the sciences trying to show my interests. I tried even harder to back up these classes with test scores and extra activities. I really would like to go into aerospace engineering and am looking for schools that could offer a good program in that regard and mechanical engineering. Here’s a little about me:

ACT
33 Composite, 33E, 29M, 32R, 36S
32 Composite, 33E, 31M, 34R, 28S
34 Composite Superscored, 34E, 31M, 34R, 36S

AP Classes so far:
Stats: 3
Lang: 4
Bio: 5
World: 3

Next year:
Lit
Calc
Physics
Psyc

I think our school offers around 12 AP Classes so I will have taken 8/12.

Class Rank #2
GPA 3.99 UW (I don’t know what scale I would use to weight)

Activities
President of our Students Taking a New Direction club
President of Science Club (working on starting a TARC team)
Certified in High Powered Rocketry (one of 192 kids in the US to have this)
Member of Robotics team
Member of Student Council
Member of Varsity XC and Baseball
Regional Science Olympiad Placer

Internships:
Did an internship at Wayne State University in their CARES lab and built/programmed a biomechatronic hand.

I really would like to do something along the lines of aerospace engineering or mechanical. The schools I had in mind were the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and Purdue. My dream school has been MIT but I doubt my stuff is good enough there even though I may take a shot for it. What would all of you recommend school wise, and should I take the ACT one more time for that math score? Thanks!

2

Mich State is a great option. How much can your family afford? Also, if your school doesn’t use weighting for grades then you don’t have a weighted GPA. It’s defined by the HS (except for the UCs/CSUs which have a specific methodology).

3

I’d also consider NC State!!!

4

For in-state your top choices are UM, MSU, or Michigan Tech. Your ACT math subscore is quite low for an engineering applicant to top schools, I would retake and target 34-36. That should be sufficient for Michigan and give you a shot at the others. They will not consider your AP scores for admission purposes.

5

Colorado School of Mines, North Dakota School of Mines, Cal Poly, RPI, WPI, Case Western, etc.

If you would need a scholarship to go out of state then

U Alabama, U Mississippi, etc.

Lots of others as well.

6

Cost constraints?

Mechanical engineering is widely available at Michigan public universities:

Central Michigan University
Grand Valley State University
Lake Superior State University
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University
Oakland University
Saginaw Valley State University
University of Michigan *
University of Michigan - Dearborn
University of Michigan - Flint
Wayne State University
Western Michigan University *

  • Has aerospace engineering as well.
7

If you want to consider a smaller, private school, Rose Hulman would give you an excellent education.

8

There is no such place as ‘North Dakota School of Mines.’ If you’re talking about the highly regarding STEM school in Rapid City, then you must mean the ‘South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.’

9

This is a great site to start your journey. Take the rankings with a grain of salt but the lists are comprehensive…

http://best-engineering-colleges.com/

10

Thanks for all the replies!

Instate is the most feasible option considering my parents made use of the Michigan Education Trust which is why if I was able to get into U of M it would make the most sense. However, if there were schools that I would have good enough stuff to get money from those would also be an option, I just really don’t know how to look for those types of schools. That list @STEM2017 gave me is interesting, does anyone know how accurate it is?

11

I don’t think anyone CAN tell you how “accurate” it is. They don’t publish their rating criteria.

12

I really don’t pay attention to the rankings. I just use the list to inform me of engineering programs available in particular states.

13

Michigan State is a great option, especially for Mechanical. Their engineering program is very strong, and they have a lot of really cool features - such as the Cornerstone & Residential Experience, a first-year engineering living community. They also have very strong industry ties - students find internships and post-graduation employment at very high rates and often have opportunities to work on projects with industry professionals throughout their time in college. Plus in-state tuition for you, and somewhat easier to get in to than UMich.

14

Your best value is to stay in-state at UM, MSU or MT. The MET is ‘worth’ full UM tuition and fees, currently $15K for freshman & sophomores, and $19500 for junior & senior years and it will cover any increases. All you need to pay for are books, transportation, lab fees and living expenses. If you ‘cash out’ the MET to go out of state it is only worth around $12K per year. If you receive scholarships or significant FA this may change.

15

Sorry I was thinking of U North Dakota - College of Engineering and Mines. I think Michigan and the Dakotas have a reciprocity agreement.