<p>My son and I are analysing the pros and cons to attend Mechanical Engineering in the schools he was admitted: Cal Poly SLO, Rutgers, and UMD-CP. The total annual cost for him to attend each school is 38K, 27K, and 20K respectively. He was admitted directly into Engineering in Cal Poly and Rutgers, but will need to meet 3.0 overall GPA plus at least B- in Calc II and Physics I during freshman year to internally transfer to Engineering at UMD. He is fascinated about the learn by doing approach and location of Cal Poly, he likes UMD and knows it more than the others because my daughter is a happy sophomore there, and he is not so sure about his fit at Rutgers after a few visits. His top choice at the moment is Cal Poly, although he will visit it for the first time in two weeks; everything he knows about Cal Poly is from the Internet and from a friend who is a happy Engineering freshman there. Cost is not his concern, but it is my concern because I will pay for it. I am not sure if he will stay with Engineering, and Computer Science looks to be his Plan B. Our research shows that a change from Engineering to Computer Science is easy at Rutgers and UMD, but very difficult at Cal Poly. I will appreciate if students and graduates with knowledge of these schools can share their advice based on the situation that I have shared. I can provide more details if needed. Many thanks in advance.</p>
<p>A couple of tidbits to consider in the decision:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I wouldn’t worry about the internal transfer criteria at UMD. If he can’t meet that threshold then he probably shouldn’t major in Engineering.</p></li>
<li><p>DS#1 did not accept UMD-CP offer in CS but we both thought highly of the program. In the end UMD was just too close to home.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know anything about Cal Poly but the “learn by doing” concept is touted in one form or another by almost every Tech engineering program. The NSF guidelines for STEM education put an emphasis on every student having hands-on project work. So, almost every university will talk about a Senior Design or Capstone project.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I didn’t personally look into Cal Poly because of the distance, but I did look at Rutgers with my son. While the program/curriculum looked great at Rutgers, especially with the option for MechE to also have a certificate in Aero, neither of us were impressed with the campus at all. To me, the whole college experience is as important as the academic education. </p>
<p>ChrisTKD is right with his first point, as I have heard that internal transfer for engineering is not a big deal. The business school has a competitive internal transfer, but engineering does not.</p>
<p>As for learn by doing, did you hear about the freshman ENES100 course? Also known as the hovercraft class, [Introduction</a> to Engineering Design (ENES 100) | KEYSTONE](<a href=“http://www.keystone.umd.edu/courses/enes100]Introduction”>Keystone Courses | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland)
They have a whole curriculum of what they refer to as “keystone” classes
[About</a> Keystone | KEYSTONE](<a href=“http://www.keystone.umd.edu/about]About”>About the Keystone Program | A. James Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland)</p>
<p>Having just finished a swing through a bunch of prospective schools, I can tell you that the “learn by doing” approach is not uniform. A small minority are very hands on from the get go and continue to be throughout. Cal Poly SLO and WPI are the classic examples. At WPI there are three major projects, the first during Freshman year. The final project (MQP) can be pretty involved. A group is launching a satellite this year. The biggest knock against SLO is the poor 4 year graduation rate. Plan on at least 5. Good luck!</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason to turn down College Park.</p>