My DS had his heart set on Virginia Tech, and that didn’t work out. Now we are scrambling to figure out the best option. We the good news is that he has some good options. The challenge is figuring out what is the BEST option for all involved - him for an education that will get him where he wants to be (working in space industry) and me, not eating catfood and working until I am 95 to pay for it. I am not in, nor do I have contacts in this industry, so I am not a lot of help. DS is learning towards one, but not sure what his basis is. We have only been to one in person and with time left, we won’t be able to visit them all, so hoping to narrow it down to the best choices first. Google only tells me all are great/terrible, so I need help. His options, all OOS tuition less merit $$:
Auburn - approx $35,000 per year. Allegedly great school, with great relationship with NASA/SpaceX, etc. R2 research school. About 12 hrs from home, so travel costs are additional to the above.
Arizona State - approx $27,000. Also great school with industry relationships. R1 research school. Very far from home, higher travel costs.
Kent State - approx $19,000 per year. No idea about this school, he applied upon recommendation from counselor. R2 research. 5 hour drive from home.
West Virginia U - approx $23,000 per year. Double major in AE/ME, also get in-state tuition. Is an R1 research school. Not sure about relationships with industry, or overall reputation. 3 hour drive from home. :D
Kent State only established it’s aerospace engineering major, in the 2016 Fall Semester. It’s not ABET accredited (that takes a few years after a program is up and running), and I’m sure it’s not well recruited (for AE’s).
What’s your ability to pay? All of them are reasonable values, if the numbers you gave include, books, room and board, etc. Do you have to borrow, or do you have savings?
I have heard ASU is much easier to navigate if you are in the honors college versus not.
R1 vs R2 research school doesn’t matter much at the undergraduate level.
For each school, see if they list the number of aerospace majors graduating each year. It’s usually on the department website or under institutional research. That will give you an idea of the size of the program.
@eyemgh All of the schools on the list are within our ability to pay, though Auburn would be pushing it with the cumulative additional cost over the others. If it would be worth it in the long run, then we would borrow if necessary.
@Gator88NE Thanks for pointing that out. I obviously didn’t do my research. I feel like we had Kent on the list because it was an option, not necessarily because it was a good one. One down. Thanks!
You may find this link useful. It gives profile info for each of the colleges, including how many AE’s they have, how many degree’s they award, how much in research they spend, etc.
There are only 66 ABET accredited AE programs in the nation, so any ABET accredited program will be pretty good. Interestingly, West Virginia has been ABET accredited longer than the rest. Accredited in 1953, it only trailed VT by 5 years. Auburn is the next oldest, accredited in 1960. ASU is still mature with accreditation in the late 80s. I know it’s a lot to ask and time is getting short, but is there any way to visit?
