innovative, creative undergrad mechanical engineering education?

College Search & Selection
1

I have taken my son, who is interested in mechanical engineering and possibly aeronautical (in that he designs, builds from scratch and flies quad-copters, gliders and drones- which is his latest passion in a childhood spent building everything imaginable, from a treehouse at age 4 to a motorized bike at age 15, with an uncountable number of projects, messes and experiments in between), to see many different kinds of engineering schools. We are looking for a place that he can really design and create, and have access to materials and a builders space and like-minded peers. Where can we find a focus on teaching and learning? Where does the undergraduate engineering curriculum allow for invention and creativity, ideally in a collaborative/ not a weed-out or competitive environment? We’ve seen several impressive state flagship schools, and the resources are incredible, if somewhat intimidating to access (we’ve seen Michigan, Purdue, UC Berkeley; and without visiting we can tell there are similar resources at Wisconsin, UW, Maryland-College Park, GA Tech…). Although not preferred, we know competition is a factor of life and, coming from an urban public school system, large classes and less than perfect circumstances can be managed, if that is the best way to have access to the resources the big universities can offer. However, it would be great to know if we are missing something, and there are hidden gems in terms of teaching and learning. It’s almost impossible to compare these universities with smaller colleges with engineering programs. The resources for engineering are just vastly different, but then again, so perhaps is the teaching? The lecture halls for 500 we saw at Purdue for example, with lecture notes downloadable after class, were not too convincing, however mind-boggling the facilities and list of prestigious graduates most certainly are.

He has good scores and grades to my eyes (31 ACT, may reach a 32; 3.8 uw gpa/maybe 4.1 or 4.2 weighted), but has not chosen the hardest possible path through high school (1 AP in 10th, 2 in 11th, probably 2-3 in 12th grade) in part due to sports and hobbies, and wanting to keep a balance. His large, urban public school has provided standard academic fare and he’s had all but three As, now closing out his junior year. It just seems like there must be something more exciting out there, that could really motivate and provide interesting opportunities for a mechanically-inclined and creatively driven kid, as he looks to the next step. We visited Rose Hulman, which is everything I could have hoped for in terms of curriculum, with two major drawbacks: gender imbalance, and location. So, I guess we are looking for a more typical college experience, though no Greek system or party scene needed- he spends his Friday nights building. Ideally in a nice location or great college town (of course, at age 17 this is his primary criteria). Where a kid who is not overly-intellectual but nonetheless a good student can get a strong education in the basic science behind all this building he’s been doing. In a place where he can build and invent without limits.That would be perfection!

Penny for your thoughts?

2

Have you looked at Olin?

3

First of all, have you looked at your financial plan for contributing to his college costs, so that he does not need more than federal direct loans ($5,500 first year, slight increase later years) and perhaps a few thousand dollars per year in work earnings? Be sure to know your financial limits and let him know what they are before the application list is made. Run the net price calculator on every college under consideration to get an idea of what financial aid will be like there.

As far as “weed out or competitive environments”, consider whether:

(A) The school’s engineering majors are not restricted admission. Mostly this is at well endowed private schools or at less selective schools.
(B) The school admits directly to engineering majors, but may have standards higher than the general admission standards, and may require competitive admission to change major due to lack of space other than from attrition. Common at state flagships (e.g. UCB, UCLA) and similarly selective schools.
© The school admits to undeclared or to a first year pre-engineering program, where students must compete by GPA (and sometimes essays) to enter their desired engineering majors. Common at state flagships (e.g. Purdue, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Minnesota) and similarly selective schools. (Note: although Wisconsin admits directly to majors, students must maintain high GPAs to stay in their majors, so it is effectively closer to this system.)

© is the most “weed out or competitive” environment, but (B) can be if the student wants to change majors. Some schools do (B), but also do © for those who meet the standards for admission to the school but not the higher standards for the major.

4

I wonder if he might like the smaller non flagship state schools better? We visited Rowan in NJ a few months ago and it was clear they were very hands on with the mechanical engineering curriculum. You could look at schools like U of MD Baltimore County, U of Alabama Huntsville and similar schools that have strong engineering and a typical college environment without the big state flagship feel.

5

These colleges tout a project based/ design focused curriculum that might meet some of your other criteria. Most (except #1) are private schools that offer significant merit scholarships. If cost is a factor, your son should consider spending some time this summer studying/taking practice tests to try and raise ACT or SAT score. The higher his test scores and grade point, the better the chance for acceptance and scholarships.

Cal Poly SLO
Illinois Institute of Technology
Marquette
Stevens Institute of Technology
WPI

6

Have a look at Cooper Union,Harvey Mudd, and Olin. They’d be reaches (and possibly even out-of-reach for his stats, but have a look).

Less selective possibilities:
Bucknell
Case Western
Colorado School of Mines
New Mexico Tech
Rensselaer
Rose Hulman
Union College

These are relatively small colleges with engineering programs (though I can’t vouch for the quality of their ME programs and some of them may not have aeronautical). USNWR has a longer list of good engineering programs at schools that do not offer doctorates.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering

7

These are great ideas, and I really appreciate them. I’d be interested in whether the imbalanced gender distribution at many of the tech schools is a significant or only minor issue for students who actually attend there. I wonder also how it feels to attend a Catholic college, if you are not Catholic, as Santa Clara has also come up in our search, as well as on the USNWR list sent by tk21769. Perhaps that should not be an issue at all- I will look to see if there are other threads on these topics.

You could eliminate or overlook important options by requiring too many things at once: the right program + appealing campus or location + something approaching a 50/50 gender ratio + not overly Greek + approachable costs! And of course we have visited at least one college mentioned here, which we eliminated for entirely the wrong reason (tour guide did not come across well.) So there’s a degree of randomness to this process too (what was the weather like? was the pizza any good?) I think ucbalumnus is right, in putting cost high on the list and keeping it well in sight, and in my eyes the quality of the program should be very close to that. The rest (gender distribution, location, social atmosphere, religious or political orientations, distance from home) may appear more important to a teenager, and may in fact make a big difference in a student’s experience, but I can see now that all wishes won’t be met in one place, and it’s time to figure out the priorities.

Thank you very much for all of your thoughts!