<p>It seems easy to find Engineering Schools that are extremely competitive to get into. We need some help in identifying some decent undergrad schools that have engineering programs in EE where you can get a solid education.
When we take prestige and the schools with admission rates of less than 20 % out of the picture, what small to mid size colleges and universities offer a solid engineering education?</p>
<p>My son is looking for a school that is:</p>
<p>Small to mid (6000 +/-) size
Has strong design/ hands on labs and coursework-the earlier the better
Has a campus with a strong sense of community
Midwest OR not more than an hour/ 90 minutes from a major airport
Preferably offers coop (but not a deal breaker if it doesn't)</p>
<p>Are Rose Hulman and RPI similar?
We were very impressed when we visited Rose, and we are looking for similar qualities in an engineering school.</p>
<p>Counselor O Matic is helpful in coming up with lists of schools--but it can't offer any insight about the nature and quality of the engineering programs. That's the kind of insight and information that the CC community often is able to provide.</p>
<p>Colorado School of Mines, Illinois Institute of Technology, Michigan Tech. All 3 schools are great engineering schools, small to medium sized, two are in the midwest. Michigan Tech offers scholarship money to OOS students, Illinois Institute of Technology is generous with merit scholarships, Mines did not seem to offer as much scholarship money.</p>
<p>Everything that everyone has said so far are great schools, but I think your son should also consider the location of some of these school. Will it matter to him if he's in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of a city, etc?</p>
<p>Thanks for the ideas so far. As to location, he is a suburban kid who loves the outdoors (when its not winter). Green urban, like Vanderbilt is fine with him. Even Worcester was ok with him when we looked at Clarke. But an urban school located in an area like IIT, where you need good luck and street smarts to stay safe is more questionable. </p>
<p>As to the middle of nowhere, it depends. Rural, inaccessible and hours from a city, especially with a harsh winter like Michigan Tech, is an absolute no. But rural on the coast like St. Mary's of Maryland would be a dream for him if they had engineering. </p>
<p>And while he doesn't love winter, he would happily deal with a New England winter to attend Olin.</p>
<p>The campus is small and buildings are linked, so students are out in New England winters less often than students at more traditional-sized campuses!</p>
<p>Several Olin students, and parents of Olin students, post here and are happy to answer questions.</p>
<p>Yes, ChrisD is right. I'm an Olin student. </p>
<p>I walked.. at the longest 100 feet? outside to get to class this winter. It was bearable. I was also a transplanted Texan, so winter was a whole new idea for me.</p>
<p>There are lots of schools that fit your criteria. </p>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology
RPI
Case Western
Worcester
Lehigh
Lafayette
Bucknell
Villanova</p>
<p>The question is, what can you afford to pay? If not $40+K/year then will you qualify for financial aid? If not financial aid, will he need merit money? All that will affect the mix of schools you'll probably have to apply to, and your list may have to include some of the larger, but excellent, state U's like Ohio State, Penn State, Pudue, U Wisc.</p>
<p>Everybody likes to recommend Olin, but getting in is really tough (24% last year). Here are their stats:
Class of 2009 at a Glance:
48 men/29 women
Applications Received: 546
Candidates (Finalists) invited to campus: 177
Admitted: 134
Enrolled: 77
65% recognized by AP Scholars Program | 40% National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists
17 AP Scholars with Distinction
15 AP Scholars with Honors | 8 Valedictorians / 2 Salutations
Average GPA: 4.2/4.0 Scale
Middle 50 percent of SAT scores: 14501550</p>
<p>I'm going to recommend WPI like waleedk87 said. If your son is really interested in hands on work they are great (the hands on stuff is what caught my eye about them), they have projects that you work on throughout your education there... you can check out the website for more on those. If he was ok with the area of Worcester where Clark is, then he should probably like the area of WPI too. The only thing that doesn't really match up with what you have said is the size. WPI is around 3000 undergrads... so its a little bit smaller than what you had hoped for, but its worth checking out.</p>
<p>3000 is not too small for him, so we will look at WPI. He really wants to attend a small college.</p>
<p>Yes, we visited Olin, and he loved it. And yes, we are aware that it is competitive to get into, as are some of the other schools that he finds attractive. That is what prompted my question to begin with.</p>
<p>And yes, finances are an issue. He will need merit aid at some of the more expensive schools. But the big state schools are out of the question. They don't fit his learning style or his personality. He would go to UW Platteville before he would go to UW Madison. Or do a 3-2 program at a smaller LAC.</p>
<p>The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith fits well into what he is looking for. We are about 6000 students and have a student-focused engineering program. We offer ME and EE degrees and a lot of scholarships! We have excellent professors and small (average = 20) class sizes. PM me if you are interested.</p>
<p>There are lots of good 3-2 programs, but in general they are not highly recommended on here for a number of pretty valid reasons. Depends on the kid and the finances I guess.</p>