<p>So I'm hoping to work at NASA. Which Universities will allow me the greatest chance at that. I'm thinking through co-ops and internships...any other ideas?</p>
<p>Schools I have so far:
Caltech (hah I wouldn't get in...)
Stanford University (hah I wouldn't get in)
University of Maryland
University of Alabama-Huntsville</p>
<p>UMaryland’s pretty hardcore.</p>
<p>Well, if you get into Caltech, it’s incredibly easy to get a summer internship at JPL through Caltech’s SURF program. I have several friends working for NASA over at JPL this summer. You can also do SURF as a non-Caltech student, but it’s then much more competitive to get.</p>
<p>Otherwise, U of Alabama would seem to be best “normal” bet, since you’re right there in Huntsville. UF might be worth a look, as well some schools in Texas (or at least I think NASA has something in Texas) like UT or A&M or Rice. Purdue as well. I think Embry-Riddle specializes in aero stuff, so check that out.</p>
<p>Otherwise, you’d just be looking at good engineering programs and applying to what you can find. So, Cornell, UIUC, RPI, RHIT, NC State, VA Tech, UCLA, etc., etc. Of course, there’s Harvey Mudd, Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, etc., but you already know they’re reaches. </p>
<p>That’s all I can really think of. Other people can correct me or fill in the gaps.</p>
<p>I know a ton of people from UF who spent time working with NASA.</p>
<p>Oh right, forgot to mention, I’m planning on majoring in engineering.</p>
<p>My stats are not too shabby…4.1W gpa, 3.8UW gpa, SAT around 2100, will have taken multivariable calc, differential equations, linear algebra before I graduate from hs (no more math in college?)</p>
<p>Highly doubt my stats will get me somewhere into Caltech, Stanford, or an Ivy.</p>
<p>Schools on my list right now are:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UC Davis
UC Irvine
Purdue
Georgia Tech
UMich
UIUC
UAH
U Maryland</p>
<p>The UCs are my financial safety, but seems like I will be able to get a full ride at UAH.</p>
<p>I’ll take a look at UF and some Texas schools.</p>
<p>EDIT: UMaryland is hardcore…? What do you mean?</p>
<p>You can go to basically any well known engineering research institution and it will have connections to NASA, and probably alumni employed at NASA. NASA has its fingers in quite a few institutions since it is really a research-oriented organization, so going to most of the big names, and some of the smaller names, should be good enough to get your foot in the door. That said, schools that are located near NASA research centers are probably the easiest to get internships from, but I have no concrete evidence of that.</p>
<p>Go to Cal Poly. Every year NASA comes here to pick 3 to 4 students to work for them at the JPL lab . Mostly ME and EE major. Just said If I apply, I will have to compete with among 1500 students in both department.</p>
<p>which colleges do u guys suggest for international students which are not only easy to get admn to but also bolster their chances for getting internships with NASA after the freshman year.</p>
<p>I think NASA requires citizenship to work on most of their projects, so I don’t know if you’d be able to do anything as an international.</p>
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<p>They do. You even have to have US citizenship to work for their contractors too (United Space Alliance, Jacobs Tech, etc). </p>
<p>Personally from what I’ve heard, NASA-JSC in Houston is largely comprised of students from UT-Austin and Texas A&M. I’d look into those schools as they both have very good Engineering programs and have strong ties with NASA-JSC. Caltech is obviously another to look into with JPL there.</p>
<p>JSC has students from just about every major engineering school. I have a friend that I went to UIUC with and he works there, and I know people from Purdue that work there too. That is just a small sample, so I am sure the same extends to many of the other major universities. Plus, I bet that there are more Purdue and Michigan people at GRC, more UVA, UMD, VaTech people at LRC, more CalTech, UCLA people at JPL, etc, etc, etc. NASA has research centers all over the country, and you can probably find people from every major research school in each center, with a more heavy representation by the closer schools.</p>
<p>My advice: look at the big-name (and some small-name schools that are near different research centers) and then visit them and see where you fit in best. The most important thing for getting in the door at NASA is having strong grades, so you need to be happy wherever you are so that you are motivated to work for those grades. On top of that, if you want to do NASA research, be prepared to go to graduate school, as many, if not most NASA scientists have graduate degrees.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I’m thinking, will it be easiest to get a co-op if the school is closer to NASA? Are there any internships during the school year? And does NASA pay for you to get a graduate degree?</p>
<p>And I want to work at Ames…live pretty close to it, hope to stay in the same area I’m in now after college is done.</p>
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<p>I think so. I know there are guys at NASA that take classes at GT.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>As someone who actually has worked for NASA over the last few years (and currently in the private spaceflight industry), here are the institutions that I’ve seen a lot of:</p>
<p>Undergraduate Schools:
Caltech (eng/sci)
Harvey Mudd (eng/sci)
Stanford (eng)
MIT (eng)
University Colorado, Boulder (eng/sci)</p>
<p>Graduate Schools:
Purdue (eng)
Georgia Tech (eng)
Stanford (eng/sci)
Caltech (eng/sci)
Cornell (sci)</p>
<p>“Working for NASA” is a funny thing to say… considering there are 14 NASA centers in the US. From my perspective, the goal is quite ignorant. What are your perceptions of NASA? Do you know how it works? What are your passions? What do you want to work on?</p>
<p>If you are not a US citizen, the process gets much more complicated, especially since China has been trying to steal US design secrets over the last 20 years.</p>
<p>Dang chinese…wait I am chinese. Heheh. Well I am an US citizen…</p>
<p>Well I hope to work for some goverment agency, NASA or a part of the DoD. I don’t know specifics yet; I will do more research on it. I heard that government companies have good benefits…including pay after retirement? (My parents want me to work at a government company too)</p>
<p>Wow, alot of University of Colorado Boulder? Didnt expect that.</p>
<p>UAH has a huge advantage…many of the professors have ties to NASA…</p>
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<p>Could this be from its proximity to NORAD?</p>
<p>Also, NASA is huge, works on tons of different projects, and I’ve heard pretty mixed stories from people working for them, so you might not want to set all of your aspirations on working for them.</p>
<p>Yea, I’m considering UAH. Still debating on a few factors tho…</p>
<p>Yea, I’ll look at all companies (or them looking at me?) but yea, NASA and DoD are in my list</p>
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<p>No, it is because Boulder is a very well-respected aerospace school.</p>