I’ve been accepted to UCLA Mechanical Engineering. I would love inputs - is anyone doing undergrad research ? How has your experience been w.r.t Mechanical Engineering ? How easy it is join automotive clubs ?
I got in regents at UCSB and really enjoyed the Chancellor’s reception. They are quite undergrad focused with lots of research opportunities.
Would like to know the same!
Congrats! Undergrad research is def something you can do. Most students get it by emailing a prof about it. For Mech the majority of students don’t do research as they spend their time in clubs to prep for internships. Bruin racing runs 3 large scale car programs that are interdisciplinary and large in scale. Come to discover engineering to see them and the rest of what makes engineering at Ucla one of the best in the world.
Btw discover engineering is much better than the UCSB regents reception. Ucla really rolls out the red carpet for this one.
@goodsense I highly recommend you check out UCLA ASME F.A.D.E. program:
http://www.asmebruins.com/fade
That’s one place to get hands on experience the first year. The first quarter this year was using Solidworks, next was Manufacturing where they machined some parts, and electronics is spring quarter.
At UCSB, there are opportunities for hands on in 1 or 2 optional 1 unit courses that first year. They also have their Solidworks course spring quarter of first year. A couple of years ago, that course included a group project to create a small robot.
The size of the major is not that different between the 2 schools, at least the first couple of years. I’d say the clubs at UCLA are better structured from what I’ve seen, especially the FADE program. With the Regents at UCSB, you won’t have to worry about getting classes because you’ll be first priority. You’ll also get the first pass for housing, so you’ll have a better shot at living where you want. There is added stress to keep the Regents because if you get below a 3.2 for 2 quarters in a row you will lose the scholarship. As long as you pass your classes, you’ll graduate in 4 years for sure at UCSB the way they have their program set up. UCLA should be the same, but you aren’t guaranteed classes the way you’d be at UCSB. But UCLA offers ME courses more often during the year. For instance, it looks like UCLA offers Statics each quarter, while UCSB offers it in the fall. So if you got behind for some reason, it’s easier to catch back up at UCLA. I’ve got an ME at each school, one having a Regents, and I think there are a lot of positives to each school. One was in the exact same situation you are in last year.
In regards to getting classes one thing you should know about Ucla is as an engineer you’re guranteed a spot in a class if you need it to graduate within four years even as a normal student. @youcee you may find this helpful for your son but, if a class is full fill out an ECR which is an enrollment consideration request and you’ll be manually enrolled in the course that way before PTE numbers are issued.
@10s4life Thanks, we had never been told that. At least I didn’t know about it. I don’t he’ll have to much problem with courses because he has some flexibility due to being way ahead in math.
Thank you for the info, especially the FADE program. Will have my son take a look at that. He has been accepted to UCLA Mech Engineering (and I think he just got Regents), Georgia Tech for ME, Cal Poly SLO with Honors for ME and UCSB for ME and waiting for 4 more schools. Any pros/cons for these schools? We are in CA so GTech will be the most expensive since they are a public uni and we are OOS. So cost and location are definitely something to think about.
@Lorshim1965 I’d just pick one of the CA schools. Regents at UCLA would be a no brainer for our family, but others would choose Cal Poly for Engineering. He’s very fortunate to have such great choices. PM me if you have some questions about why my kids chose what they did because they had most of the same school choices.
Regents+affordability+prestige of Ucla makes it a no brainer. We also have amazing athletics which really makes for a fun school culture. If you’re worried it won’t be as challenging as Georgia tech, believe me our curricula is very rigorous.
My daughter is asking the same questions: Is the UCLA ME program hands-on enough, are the professors intimidating, too theoretical? Is the UCSB program more approachable, practical, and helpful to students? My daughter is Regent’s at UCSB, but not UCLA, and the cost for either is within budget. We went to Bruin Day and the Engineering School reception, but did not get to know the feel of the classes or labs and what the classwork projects are like. At UCSB, she was able to attend classes and visit busy undergraduate labs. Any input about how the engineering classes at either school cover practical design and manufacturing, whether the classes and labs are positive experiences beyond learning the material would be helpful! and how anyone makes the decision beyond gut feel would be interesting to know. Thanks!
@Sierra225 Both UCSB and the UCLA enginerring programs will feel the same in terms of what you learn. Ucla has a lot more resrouces for internships due to its location and career fair services. I’ve found UCLA Engineering not to treat me as a number but as an actual person which many UCs do not do. When staff and professors make an effort to know your name it makes a world a difference. Also you’ll find most students find lab classes more of a nuisance as the reports tend to be tedious though necessary. A class that has a lot of hands on projects without any technical writing or theoretical accompaniment is really dumbing down the engineering.