<p>My d is interested in attending UAH to study Aerospace engineering. We have visited the school and were impressed with the acedemics and the location, next to a NASA site and many aerospace contractors. Does anyone have info on how this Eng. college compares to others? Her other choice is Purdue.</p>
<p>It would help to know if your D is to be an undergrad or grad student</p>
<p>My D will be a freshman this fall. She is an A student and national merit finalist with 1500 SAT. She loves math and science and has been a space fanatic since about the 4th grade. She found out about the school while attending space camp in Huntsville. UAH is not a well know school nationally but seems to be well know in the aerospace community. She liked UAH because it is a smaller school (5K undergrads) vs. Purdue (30K+ undergrads). From what I can tell in my research, it is a good school for Aerospace Engineering but I am not in the industry, so I was interested in if others here had more information. Please let me know if you need additional information.</p>
<p>Both are good schools in this field. I am not an engineer, but I edit an engineering journal that covers aspects of aero/mech engineering, and we have frequent submissions from both schools' faculties. If it were my daughter, I would prefer UAH to Purdue for undergrad for precisely your reason, the size. She is much more likely to get good counseling there for her program. She should make sure she gets a rigorous course (of course I say this to every kid, including my 2 sons!!).</p>
<p>You should be aware, though, that NASA is currently undergoing a major restructuring and no one I know really knows how it's going to turn out. But aero covers a lot more ground than just NASA stuff (pun not intended, sorry!).</p>
<p>Another reason to pick UAH is undergraduate research. They probably don't say anything about that, but here's how you do it. First, canvass all the prof's websites for info about what they're working on. When you find a couple interesting ones, drop by the prof's office and tell him that you are interested in a work-study job in his lab, does he mind if you go by the lab and look around, and btw what's the name of the senior post-doc or grad student? What you are looking for is maybe 10 hours a week doing very basic stuff to start, like data entry. Every prof with a NASA/DOE/Navy/AF grant has money in it for undergrad help. But it's not about the money, it's about soaking up the lab environment and rapidly familiarizing yourself with the language and seeing how what you are learning in the classroom is actually applied. If you stick with this for a year or two (and don't gripe about the menial tasks, just do them), then by senior year, if this is really your calling, you will have a big part in a research project & maybe your name as a co-author on a paper in a prestigious journal (like mine :)) . But it is all, ALL, <strong><em>ALL</em></strong> up to the student--these things are never advertised or recruited for. Oh, and by all means join the student chapters of AIAA and ASME (Mom, this is a legitimate college expense).</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>wyogal...thank your for your great comments and suggestions.</p>
<p>Bump.......</p>
<p>There is probably not another college or a town like Huntsville that is so focused on aerospace...basically UAH was created to support and provide the needs of Redstone Arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.</p>
<p>I live about 10 minutes from UAH :) My brother is there majoring in Electrical Engineering. It's really a wonderful school for engineering and there are so many job opportunities as soon as you graduate that it's ridiculous. My brother had been deciding between UAH and Ga Tech... but decided to save Ga Tech for grad school. Huntsville is a great area to live and raise a family (though there isn't much to do). It's growing like crazy. I have a lot of friends whose parents work at NASA and love their jobs. I have a friend who is also considering Purdue and UAH. He's been accepted to both, but I think he's going with UAH because of the great price. I'm not sure how much it would be out of state, though?</p>
<p>irishred,
Thanks for the info on UAH. I think UAH will be my D choice. Like your brother, we also looked at Ga Tech. Purdue is also a great school and was a close second but she likes the people and feel of UAH's smaller campus. Also being close to NASA location and NASA contractors. Price at UAH about equal to Purdue for her with scholarships.</p>
<p>Bump.........</p>
<p>wow been awhile since anyone has posted here, but workingfor blue, I think I know your daughter, is she a member of Hab1.com? gone to space camp twice, in 2002 and 2003?</p>
<p>Dizzielizzie14-
Yes, all that info matches and she is going back to space camp in 2005, sounds like the same girl. She saw your post above and recognized you as well. Her handle on CC is nasaizmylife.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions on banking services in Huntsville that would be friendly/convenient to UAH students?</p>
<p>Most of my friends and I use Redstone Federal Credit Union. They are wonderful, helpful, and friendly, and I have never had a problem. Other banks in the area apparently ask for your fingerprints, which seems a little extreme to me... but Redstone doesn't. There are many locations all over the Huntsville area. My brother attends UAH, and this is what he uses.</p>
<p>I second the vote for RFCU, it's great</p>