<p>Hey, everyone I would really appreciate some help. I plan on applying to Oregon State for Mechanical Engineering and I would like some feedback from people who are or have been in OSU's engineering program. Is it hands on like Cal Poly (I applied there too) because I just don't think I could enjoy a completely theory based approach? How does the program compare to other top engineering schools (nothing like MIT obviously, but compared to schools like Cal Poly or RPI)? Are there any other schools that you would recommend over OSU? Any other feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Bump. Interested in the answer too.</p>
<p>I have a son in mechanical at Oregon State and also one thinking about going. We have looked at a lot of programs. Engineering is very big at Oregon State - 23-24% of the students are in engineering. They do not have the great freshman design classes that you find at some schools such as Purdue. It was not a huge concern for us because my kids both had many years of robotics experience. They of course have more labs when you get to be a junior or senior. That being said, they have a lot of engineering clubs and they are really good so there is no reason that you can’t get hands on experience. One thing you need to keep in mind about Oregon State is that you are pre-engineering for the first two years. Then you apply to pro-school so you need to keep your grades up. Mechanical is one of the toughest to get into because there are so many applicants but I think if you have a 3.0-3.2 or so you won’t have any trouble. My son has never had any trouble getting the classes he needs which I understand can be a concern at Cal Poly. MECOP is also a big draw at Oregon State - it is their coop program. Undergraduate engineering programs are all accredited so you won’t find huge differences in the overall curriculum so you need to think about what is important to you. If you go to [Home:</a> American Society for Engineering Education](<a href=“http://www.asee.org%5DHome:”>http://www.asee.org) you can see online profiles of all engineering programs and get an idea of the size, majors, research dollars, etc. Good luck! If you want to stay on the west coast - you could also look at UW, Washington State, Uof Portland, Portland State, USC, UCLA, Berkely.</p>