I agree you need to look at UAlabama -Huntsville. They are very well respected, well funded federal projects, and have undergrad research opportunities in aerospace.
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The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville is probably conveniently located for both UAH and AAMU.
For 4.0 / 1540, UAH would give a $19,900 scholarship, for a net price of $14,748 (billed) or $21,708 (total including books and indirect costs). For those stats, AAMU would give a full ride on billed costs plus $1,000 book allowance per semester (does not look like they estimate indirect costs).
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Accelerated 5 year BS to MS in engineering (includes aerospace) at St. Louis University.
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Strongly agree with this advice. My older son is a third year at Georgia Tech and many many kids who are mechanical engineers go into aerospace. It is a much more flexible major and can get you the same place an aerospace degree does.
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Thank you. Although I’m not going to be picky, I should mention that staying in Texas (or any place that attracts Texans) is definitely not a goal of mine. I am trying to get OUT of Texas and preferably avoid Texans. I’m not a fan of Texans right now. Lol Just saying. But at this point I’ll go anywhere for a great education.
Life is long…a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll have plenty of chance to get out.
What you want to find is the right school, a place for you to grow and mature. Bonus if you are spending less money, especially in engineering because college can be a major expense.
Where ever you go, you’ll be exposed to new people, new ideas, and a whole new world, within TX or otherwise.
Good luck.
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I’m willing to go anywhere but do prefer getting out of the south. (My fav right now is Michigan) I’m a liberal-minded person and so I’d love a more liberal school (although even UT fits that bill) I won’t qualify for need based money, I’m sure, so merit would be cool but my parents are willing to pay in full, if needed. As I said, at this point I can’t be too picky but I’m a classic “nerd” that doesn’t care about football or fraternities. But I’m not at all antisocial and can’t wait to make new friends. Would love a friendly campus. I prefer the cold over this nasty Texas heat. I’ve lived in a large city and I’ve lived in the middle of nowhere and neither bother me. I’m super flexible. My main criteria is that I want a school that either directly admits me into aerospace or has a reasonable standard for getting into it later. Because right now I have TAMU but you have to compete for spots and have to AT LEAST have a freshman year GPA of 3.75 to aerospace. So what if I don’t obtain that and my parents have spent thousands of dollars sending me to that school and I have to then either transfer or do something that I don’t want to do for the rest of my life? I just think the concept is ridiculous. TAMU let’s in too many people so then they have to weed them all out, Freshman year. It’s dumb. (I know TAMU well. Both my parents went there, so I don’t need any further clarification on TAMU. I know how they operate.)
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I think you’ll be very comfortable at CU Boulder. It sounds like you’ve already applied. Congrats on your accomplishments and good luck on your search!
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getting a 3.2 at Purdue they way they curve is probably as hard as getting 3.75 at TAMU
That’s my understanding. I have a cousin that went to Purdue and he said they are HARD graders!! So I may as well stick around here and get in state tuition, in that case, right?
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@momofboiler1 Do you know how competitive ME and AE secondary admission at Purdue is for those who get less than 3.2 GPA?
https://gradeinflation.com/ (list at the bottom) suggests that Purdue and Texas A&M have similar grade averages, but they are not math / science / engineering specific, and the most recent averages are 8-9 years old.
As pointed out by posters far wiser than me, mechanical opens up many possibilities for you and can still lead to aerospace down the line. If there are concerns about the culture of the school then why not consider LACs that have engineering? Olin comes to mind as does Copper Union. Rose Hulman is a fantastic school too.
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What you can do is email some people in jobs you would love to have telling them you want to follow in their footsteps and asking their opinions about colleges that can get you there. Kids from our school often do this and most people willingly respond being happy to help the next generation. If they give you schools to consider, check them out to make sure none turn you off and quickly apply since you’re at the end of application season.
You can contemplate specifics of places to figure out exactly where you want to go once you have acceptances and financial info in hand.
ETA you can do that with schools suggested on here too. If they don’t turn you completely off for one reason or another, apply and see what you think once you have complete info to consider. You don’t have to apply to 40 schools (made the number up), but pick your top favorites.
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AE typically is more competitive and if you don’t meet the threshold, probably is a no go. ME is historically not as competitive.
For the other poster, yes, Purdue is not a cake walk but the vast majority of students transition successfully to their first choice major. And note, the 3.2 engineering index (GPA of STEM courses) basically guarantees your first choice. The minimum GPA to transition is a 2.8.
You can also try a number of times to transition to your major, not just once.
" Over the past five years 93% to 95% of students who have met minimum requirements for transition-to-major have received their first choice. For those few majors where capacity outweighs demand the professional schools have the option of accepting or declining a student based on a variety of factors, which may include GPA, EAI, performance in select classes (eg. MA and PHYS), diversity factors, credit load, grade trends, performance in any advanced courses completed, and course repeat history. For minimum requirements, please review the current Enrollment Management Policy for transitioning into your first choice major.
Students who are not admitted to their first choice Engineering degree program have the option to remain in FYE, typically to retake courses in an attempt to improve grades, provided they are not currently in their fourth semester of FYE.
The T2M process happens three times a year—at the end of the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (December, May, and August)."
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To the extent that your nerves are related to the possibility that you won’t make the GPA requirement for your desired major, I’ll offer this.
Others on this thread are much more knowledgeable about the schools and requirements. You can talk with your parents and figure what is best for you.
But the engineering profession is not, and has never been, designed to favor ultra high achieving people like yourself. Being uniquely skilled in math and science, plus the personal characteristics of discipline and persistence are most important. You have no reason to be intimidated. You will encounter many with much lower ability.
This is an interesting thread as my daughter is in the same boat, yet she is in Florida. She wants to study Aerospace engineering. She has had extensive discussions with two ladies ( daughters of family friends) who are Aerospace Engineers (one at SpaceX and the other at a a Defense contractor). Both procured a BS in Mechanical Engineering, one from UF and the other from GT. The UF lady went on to an MS in Aero at Cal Berkeley and the other MS at GT. They both advised to go Mechanical undergrad for greater flexibility. You have great credentials and my daughters are very similar. She applied early to the following, in no order of preference
UF
UCF
Auburn
Clemson
Rose-Hulman - They want her to play Varsity athletics
Purdue
Colorado School of Mines - Loves Colorado
CU Boulder - see above - Lol
U of Michigan - reach school
She did not apply to GT because she felt Atlanta was overwhelming to her, though she knows GT is great and liked the Campus.
Not sure if you are interested but we were impressed with Rose-Hulman and Colorado School of Mines for small STEM focused schools.
As for State Flagships, obviously hard to beat Michigan and Purdue. UF is the best deal for us based on Reputation to Cost ratio, but her sister went there and is a Civil Engineer so she wants to blaze her own trail (Assuming my wife and I provide the fuel $$$)
Not sure, but at this late date, I think you can still apply to Rose, Mines, Auburn and Clemson if you are so inclined.
No matter what you choose, my money is on you that you will be successful and you will enjoy the experience.
Good Luck!
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Michigan has a strong connection with Nasa. You don’t need AS specifically. Many going into AS are mechanical engineering… FYI…
So every school has “weed out” classes and Michigan is no exception. Getting a 3.75 would be very challenging there but students do it. Transfer into another major once in engineering is pretty easy. Socially it’s what you make of it. I would challenge you to go to at least 1 football game and decide from there. It’s an experience. But you don’t need to or join frats etc. My son just graduated from there in engineering not AS and it’s a great culture. Lots of things to get involved with to help increase your career chances. You just need to take advantage of them like at any school.
Good Luck.
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Michigan has a similar system as Texas A&M and Purdue, where first year engineering students start undeclared. The big difference is the while Texas A&M and Purdue require GPA of 3.75 and 3.2 respectively to be assured of your first choice major, the GPA at Michigan is 2.0: Declaring Your Major – Engineering Advising Center
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