<p>A few more tidbits of advice. 1) know yourself 2) talk to current students 3) internships 4) combined BS/MS</p>
<p>Don’t go to a “great” school if it’s not the right size for you, if the classes are too big or small, if its not in an area of the country or setting (urban/rural) you can see yourself in. And visit to get confirm things are what you expect, don’t just decide “I’m ok with large classes” without actually experiencing one. Not necessarily by visiting the schools you are considering, but go to a large lecture at a local public and ask yourself if you would be alright with it; same with a small class. </p>
<p>Knowing yourself comes into play in other areas. IMHO small classes are less necessary for cut-and-dry subjects like math, science, engineering. A big part of learning in a humanities class such as history or english is expressing your interpretation of something, then learning from others arguments for/against your view. Not really the case in engineering. Of course people will say “but in a small class you have a chance to be inspired by a professor” and that’s true; but at larger schools every prof has office hours set aside just for students in the class. You need to know yourself to know if you’re ever going to visit.</p>
<p>Brochures and campus tours can make every place seem wonderful; talk to current students either on a visit or when they’re home on a break in your area to get a better sense of what its really like being a student at that school.</p>
<p>Research is not that important to getting a job in engineering. Internships are the real magic. Do well at a place that’s seen you for a summer and you are pretty certain of a job offer when you graduate; and internships (and to a lesser extent big projects) really jump out when employers talk with you. Furthermore its not unusual for companies to pay for a year of schol to get a MS if you’ve done an internship with them and plan to join them after graduating. So spend time finding out how much help each school gives in finding internships, and how many take part. Every school is going to say they have a program; you need to find the ones that are really helpful.</p>
<p>These days you can get a good job with a BS, but there’s so much material in engineering that a MS is a better degree. Do it straight thru so you don’t have to quit a good job to go back, sell the car you still have payments on, and go from a nice lifestyle to starving student again. Many colleges have 5-year programs where you get both. These usually shave a year off of the time to do them independently, and a extra year of school is going to be something like $60K in lost salary plus college costs.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d weigh in. I’m an Indiana native and a U of Michigan grad. Michigan has more snow than Indiana but both have really nice springs and falls, and nice hot summers.
Both outstanding schools; Purdue altogether more conservative, Michigan more international. Ann Arbor and Uof M campus more spread out than West Lafayette and Purdue campus. I think Purdue might be a better value, cost-wise. The overall focus on engineering and program might be stronger at Purdue, but U of M and Ann Arbor offer very rich cultural and cross-disciplinary opps. You can’t go wrong either way if you want a big school. : )</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. Theres so much to consider xD</p>
<p>Michigan and Purdue are equals in engineering. Michigan>Purdue in just about every other way.</p>
<p>Something else you may want to consider, UMich is in a decent area, Ann Arbor is a cool city, whereas Purdue quite literally is in the middle of no where. Getting there from Cali is going to be a pain, youll prob end up flying to Chicago and then take some crappy bus line down to campus. I had to do that my freshman year, it blew.</p>
<p>Dang that does suck…where Purdue is. So I guess it seems like my top two choices right now are UMich and UIUC. Though I won’t know until visits and stuff. Is Aerospace Engineering one of the more competitive specialties to get into?</p>
<p>Im majoring in aero engineering at U of I, great program, but youll still be in the same boat as Purdue. Urbana-Champaign in my opinion is a nicer area and has more to do than Lafayette, but it still is in the middle of no mans land. </p>
<p>I applied to UMich as well and was waitlisted and then rejected mid-June. Both are incredible schools with equally well known engineering programs. </p>
<p>I wouldnt say aerospace is competitive, more specialized. Were basically mechanical engineers that work on air and space craft. The best way to decide on a college to attend is to visit. I traveled to both U of I and UMich, both have amazing campuses. I could have seen myself going to either.</p>
<p>This might help you make up your mind. It’s from USNWR 2008 rankings.</p>
<p>Undergraduate engineering specialties:
Aerospace / Aeronautical / Astronautical
(At schools whose highest degree is a doctorate)
Methodology</p>
<p>1 Massachusetts Inst. of Technology
2 Georgia Institute of Technology *
3 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor *
4 Stanford University (CA)
5 California Institute of Technology
6 Purdue Univ.–West Lafayette (IN)*
6 U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign *
8 Princeton University (NJ)
9 University of Texas–Austin *
10 Cornell University (NY)
10 Univ. of Maryland–College Park *
12 Texas A&M Univ.–College Station *
13 Pennsylvania State U.–University Park *
14 Virginia Tech *
15 University of Washington *
16 Univ. of California–Los Angeles *
16 Univ. of Southern California
16 University of Colorado–Boulder *</p>
<p>I think rjko’s rankings are actually prior to '08. Here are actual the 2008 aero undergrad rankings:</p>
<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
3 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
4 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN
5 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
6 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
7 Stanford University Stanford, CA
8 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
9 University of Maryland–College Park College Park, MD
10 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
11 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
Princeton University Princeton, NJ
Texas A&M University–College Station College Station, TX
14 Pennsylvania State University–University Park University Park, PA
15 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
16 University of Colorado–Boulder Boulder, CO
17 University of California–Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
19 University of Washington Seattle, WA </p>
<p>Since you are from california, I would add Cal Poly-SLO to your list. Again, unless you really want aeronautical science and not aero/astro engineering, I would strike ERAU.</p>
<p>There doesnt seem to be much difference between the rankings. So right now, this is the list of school I think I’ll be applying to. With an estimated GPA of 4.1-4.2W, 3.8-3.9UW, SAT of somewhere between 2000-2200, which would be safeties/matches/reaches? (Currently a Junior, but I’m pretty sure I know what grades I’ll get in my classes and SAT, pretty sure its in that range) And the CA schools are I guess a financial safety, and I would be apply as MechE for Berkeley.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SU San Luis Obispo
Georgia Tech
U Calif Berkeley
U Calif Davis
U Calif Irvine
U Calif Los Angeles
U Calif San Diego
U Illinois Urbana
U Michigan</p>
<p>Oh and are the LAC’s 3-2 engineering programs any good?</p>