MIT vs U-Mich vs Caltech vs Cornell University? For engineering emphasized in automotive

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>In regards to mechanical engineering with an emphasis in automotive, which of these schools are the perfect fit?
I understand that hardly any university teaches automotive or applied science (hands on) automotive engineering or science, </p>

<p>with the exception of few: (<a href="http://www.canton.edu/csoet/auto_tech.html"&gt;http://www.canton.edu/csoet/auto_tech.html&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>that is why I went to a community college (4.0 avg.) to take an accredited (NATEF) automotive/general studies degree (as opposed to untransferable vocational school credits like UTI) and transferred to a 4 year state university to get a bachelors in Business of Industrial technology with emphasis of automotive (NAU if anyone is wondering).
I love the math and engineering behind automotive and my ultimate goal is to study at a prestigious university that has top of the line resources to lead me towards the path of success. In my community college I personally took a wide variety of courses of chemistry, physics, engineering, electronics (as a technologist engineer and in automotive) and electricity. I excelled in all of these fields (I am naturally keened to science since a young age) but now I want to focus on alternative fuel resources, mainly hydrogen (you may call this blind faith, but I have strong reasons).</p>

<p>If I want to pursue a career in automotive as an engineer whose aim is to develop hydrogen based vehicles (I currently work with BMW North America and I want to get into developing vehicles like the Hydrogen Seven series [since I already have thorough knowledge in Bimmers inside and out] or helping in developing this vehicle). Which schools of these would help me in my pursuit of not only giving me an edge in mechanical engineering, business, or in automotive degrees and programs, but help me in a sense accomplish my goals (which is ultimately contributing in the aid of yielding the most effective vehicles to the road, or helping in the research and development of hydrogen based vehicles ― well I am looking for the most integrated and leading degrees [nationally] and effective programs that integrate all of these fields together, if not I don’t mind transferring form one university to another). </p>

<p>I am not biased to only these schools as I heard many great things from universities such as Harvey Mudd College, many of the SUNY universities, and so forth I have not mentioned. I am opened to any options that anyone may provide with sufficient reasons. I am personally planning to attend SUNY Binghamton to study Hydrogen Economy, and cover hopefully an entire degree on alternative fuel resources focused on hydrogen (I hope to expand this into a degree as a technologist engineer with mechanical emphasis of hydrogen and alternative or integrated fuel systems).</p>

<p>The reasons why I have listed the universities I did above was because I heard for example that MIT has their automotive sloan program which is historically known but mainly focuses on hydro carbon fuels and desiel (carbon footprint), but they are also at the top with Caltech when it comes to mechanical engineering and physics and many other sciences and math. </p>

<p><a href="http://web.mit.edu/sloan-auto-lab/"&gt;http://web.mit.edu/sloan-auto-lab/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Caltech, well I heard they entered into competitions such as Formula SAE Competitions and X-prize but I have not heard of them ever having a department of automotive or programs like MIT does.</p>

<p>University of Michigan is ranked in the top 10 list of almost every engineering departments they teach nationally, and in some sciences (which im focused on). Aside from that (they don’t necessarily pair up in equal terms with MIT or Caltech but top ten nationally isn’t an understatement either) U-M does have a strong core in automotive specifically with an integrated system that’s combined with mechanical engineering and they have even been dubbed motor city. Their students have made landmark achievements when it comes to competitions of engineering and building the best car, they even outperform MIT in terms of x prize and formula sae.</p>

<p><a href="http://isd.engin.umich.edu/degree-programs/automotive-engineering/index.htm"&gt;http://isd.engin.umich.edu/degree-programs/automotive-engineering/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I haven’t heard too much about Cornell, except that it is an academically high end school and it teaches automotive as well, and that it has won many national automotive competitions and rivals Michigan within these terms.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-automotive-colleges-and-universities-in-the-us.html"&gt;http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-automotive-colleges-and-universities-in-the-us.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I am hoping that either of these schools or the schools you folks may have in mind does have a strong program or degree that involves automotive, mechanical engineering, alternative fuel resources and pursuing these into a higher degree as well and get me prepared for my future goals up ahead. Even if you believe that I am not cut out for MIT or Caltech, for the sake of answering this question and many others who might ask the same thing, which of these schools or combination of schools (with an order) should I consider taking that best integrates the field of studies that I want to pursuit? I have already done a bachelors in a business degree of industrial technology, and a strong understanding of automotive (a transferable associates degree) with an introductory to mechanical engineering, physics, chemistry, advance mathematics (already done with calculus) and so forth (all of the English and other electives such as humanities, social sciences, art, and etc. are all taken care of since a long time ago- thank god!). So what is your guy’s and gal’s take on my question? I am open and I take every answer seriously (unless you crack a very humorous joke, which I’ll still take the seriousness deeply into consideration)</p>

<p>And ps: I don’t mind if I have to retake courses again (worse case scenario) I really indoctrinate myself and immerse myself into this philosophy of personal enrichment, which to me $$$ isn’t much of an issue for many reasons, not that I am rich, but I work for a great company that would literally invest in me, and has for a long time had great benefits for its employees and would invest in them in any time to increase their profits and fortify their assets. </p>

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<p>Possibly a better option:
<a href=“http://www.kettering.edu/academics/departments/mechanical-engineering/undergraduate-degreesprograms/me-specialities/automotive-design”>http://www.kettering.edu/academics/departments/mechanical-engineering/undergraduate-degreesprograms/me-specialities/automotive-design&lt;/a&gt;
What is your home state? Can you afford UMich? MIT and Caltech you would have an infinitesimally small chance of getting into.</p>

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<p>thank you for the response Erin’s Dad,</p>

<p>As for cost and location, that is not that relevant for my question but I don’t mind moving around as I am not a permanent resident anywhere yet, but aside from that I’m an average 3.9-4.0 gpa (on a 4.0 scale) on every school I attend and been a gifted and honors student (i’ve been to a couple of schools now) and my background is really scholarly so that might be a challenge but I have a really good chance I think to be able to attend MIT and Caltech or almost any university for that matter.</p>

<p>I will consider Kettering into my equation</p>

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<p>I found a useful link, but I would need help from experienced individuals who know these universities and which one has more to offer such as in my case (any reliable input would help me break a stale mate here, and again cost and location isn’t such an issue with me)</p>

<p><a href=“Top Automotive Design and Engineering Schools: List of Top Programs”>http://education-portal.com/articles/Top_Automotive_Design_and_Engineering_Schools_List_of_Top_Programs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>The hard part is that many more selective schools accept few or no students for second bachelor’s degrees. Check carefully on that for each school.</p>

<p>Employment and internship prospects are often helped by being local to the employer, so schools near auto companies and their suppliers may be favored.</p>

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<p>MIT will not accept a student for a second bachelor’s degree. You must apply as a graduate student. </p>

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<p>Michigan or Kettering for automotive, hands down. I used to live in the Detroit area and the UM cult, er, alumni, are very into automotive engineering. Same as Kettering if you can take the location. Purdue and OSU are also into the automotive but UM is pretty much it.</p>

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<p>I think you are really overestimating your chances at places like MIT or Caltech. Having “a scholarly background” is not in any way remarkable by comparison with everyone else who applies there.</p>

<p>Further, you seem to be much more interested in the practical side of engineering, which would seem to rule out Caltech, as it cares a whole lot more about the hard science behind engineering and not as much about producing patentable products. MIT is better about that but still probably isn’t what you are looking for.</p>

<p>Stop basing your decisions on the US News rankings. The fact that you say things about Michigan like “they don’t necessarily pair up in equal terms with MIT or Caltech but top ten nationally isn’t an understatement either” leads me to believe you place way too much emphasis on just a few places in the rankings, and to be honest, the rankings aren’t useful for that sort of thing. Michigan is an excellent engineering school, and given what you have said so far, likely a better fit for you than those other two schools.</p>

<p>Try browsing the mechanical engineering departments at a variety of schools and find departments with professors doing research in the area of hydrogen power for automobiles. That’s your best bet for finding a program that will set you up well for that sort of thing. Alternatively, find out what the top academic journals in that field are and then browse through the research that gets published there and take not of recurring names. Then go look into those schools.</p>

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<p>Thank you guys for the heads up, I actually learned a couple things that I didn’t know, as for boneh3ad’s response, I have to say that I never said that I could have a secure spot for MIT or Caltech, and yeah, I have more than just a scholarly background, I am naturally keen to my field of study and literally all of the sciences and math out there and I am well aware of the competition that is why I just said at most, I had a good chance, but it is seriously not that important as the question at hand is asking which school is the best one terms of the criteria that i am looking for. Sorry for not stating this before but I am interested in both the theoretical and practical side of engineering, theoretical alone will only get you so far, (example learning how to play a violin just by only reading about it- don’t get me wrong, I am not stating however that theoretical is in anyway inferior, just that you could never substitute the practical with the theoretical only and actually being better off) </p>

<p>and I don’t base my decisions on US News rankings, but those rankings do tell you as a matter in fact how successful their departments are to the general public and how well known they are, (for example, not many people from the entire nation know that Caltech is a successful school, especially when it comes down to applicants from Caltech that are applying for law school or medicine, so if there are two applicants and one is from MIT and the other one is from Caltech and everything else equals, in terms of reputation and the weight that the MIT name carriers as opposed to Caltech, of course the employer would choose the MIT applicant, perhaps in the science department that would be a different story, but you get the idea form where I’m coming from) and I also stated that “Even if you believe that I am not cut out for MIT or Caltech, for the sake of answering this question and many others who might ask the same thing, which of these schools or combination of schools (with an order) should I consider taking that best integrates the field of studies that I want to pursuit?”</p>

<p>So I just want to know my best options right now so that I may know the best possible school to go for my degree and career (and of course to get an education :D) so that I may better prepare myself and actually build up to one goal to increase my chances, and when it comes to competitions (such as scholarships, boys state, boys nation, and many others) i’ve always been selected first place, for the field that I’m interested in I believe I have a really strong and unique background to say the least (not that there are many others that might say the same, but this is again really irrelevant as to answering the question)</p>

<p>But aside form all else, I thank you for the searching methods you provided me bonh3ad, I’ll get started right away as this decision isn’t going to be a quick one, but one that takes serious time I suppose to find an effective solution, and to everybody else as well, I thank you again. Everyone’s input provided me vital information that I would not have been aware of otherwise. Again THANK YOU, from behalf of everyone (including me) that you guys have helped out and continuously changed the life’s of. </p>

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<p>And I am telling you that this is not only not likely true, but also completely unremarkable from the perspective of places like MIT, Stanford, or Caltech. They get 10,000 other applicants just like that. What makes you stand out from that crowd?</p>

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<p>It really doesn’t though. It tells you who wins the popularity contest among other engineering departments and that’s about it. The real debate is then how well that popularity contest correlates to actual quality of the program. Really, those rankings end up placing each school in the correct rough tiers, so school #5 is very likely going to be better than #50, but not necessarily discernibly different from #8 in terms of program quality. This is without even addressing how you define “program quality.”</p>

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<p>The problem here is that this is not true at all. The admissions committees from law schools and medical schools around the world know that both of these schools are renowned institutions and there wouldn’t be a clear cut favorite between two students, all else being held equal. That’s beside the fact, though, because we are talking about engineering here, not medical school or law school (unless you do have those goals and simply didn’t say that). Further, there is no guarantee that a Caltech or MIT graduate would get hired over, say, a Penn State graduate for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that once you get that interview, 90% of getting the job is your personality.</p>

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<p>The problem is that there isn’t a correct answer here. It’s a big balancing act between cost, reputation, recruiting footprint, personal goals, and personality. You have a pretty specific idea for your end goal, so I think my previous advice still holds in terms of finding the departments who actually do work in that area. After you find a few that interest you, however, it comes down to the more subjective issues like personal fit or the money issue, which we can’t really help you with. You might also take a look at the list of companies coming to the recruiting fairs from the schools that interest you. That is generally a pretty good idea of which companies seek out that school’s graduates and should give you a rough idea of where you might be 4 or 5 years down the road.</p>

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<p>I have to agree with some posters here, UofM is a great school for automotive, in fact, one of the reason I was hesitant about it is its closeness to the automotive industry.</p>

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<p>Ann Arbor to Detroit is about 10000 miles apart in terms of ‘closeness’… Trust me on this one. The problem with the ‘automotive industry’ was more internal than related to what kids were being taught in the top colleges.</p>

<p>Keep in mind the field is global and has a huge learning curve. </p>

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<p>I’ll give you another approach to take. Find schools that use Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken and Milliken as a textbook. Serious and math heavy, and supposedly used by about 20 schools. That list would likely represent a good starting point for your search. There are undoubtedly other texts that could form the basis of your search, but this is the only one of which I am familiar.</p>

<p>Or another approach- contact SAE directly. </p>

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<p>I’m not sure how to interprete turbo93’s comment but according to UofM’s career survey, GM is one top organizations that hires the most full time engineers from UofM, page 10</p>

<p><a href=“http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/07/Annual_Report0910.pdf”>http://career.engin.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2013/07/Annual_Report0910.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>2009 would have been a really not so good year for the auto industry in general and the Big 3 in particular. U of M (and note I am a Purdue grad) has a lot of management type people at the Big 3, and that helps… In the Midwest in general there is a lot of ‘regional’ hiring, and we recruit from schools we know and love. That’s how it works. I don’t know how it is on the coasts.</p>

<p>The auto industry is global those days; GM does a lot of design work in Germany and Asia, so it’s not like ten guys working on a local project any more. Everyone does it. Everyone has design and engineering centers overseas.</p>

<p>There is a huge learning curve. I had some friends who worked for the automakers and it took years to get to work on anything remotely meaningful. A friend of mine spent years working on one automaker and his responsibility was the courtesy lighting *-:)… If anyone thinks that they will be given quick responsibility like in the computer industry, I kinda doubt it. </p>

<p>Also advanced degrees are sort of required for a lot of the higher positions. During my time in Detroit in the 80’s there was a lot of money spent on R&D that ultimately did not pan out. </p>

<p>ETA: the auto industry is also specialized to incredible extent. It’s not like the computer industry where skills coding C++ are quickly transferable to Objective C or what not. There are engineering rotations (or used to be when I was working in Detroit) but once you’re cubby holed it’s not always easy to try a different area.</p>