Great advice, overwhelming!
All of your schools would open up doors. What do you really want to know here? You have applied to a number of highly regarded public flagship research universities, with the exception of Butler.
Any of those research universities is going to open up doors for you if you do well.
My question…what made you choose those flagship universities over the many highly regarded engineering programs on or near the west coast? You must have had good reasons. What were they?
If you wanted a totally engineering public university with great school spirit and sports, you should have applied to Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech.
Time to temporarily move away from the west coast. With all the reach done on automotive/mechanical engineering these were the schools chosen. Some out of safety, some with great interest. A very good student all through high school. Football team with the exception of Butler big influence, research into others programs, SAE programs.
Calspeed, really any of these schools you mentioned I am positive that the automotive industry recruits at. It will be easy to find a list of companies that come to the career fair at every school you’ve applied to. The auto industry recruits at many many engineering schools, they have lots of people in their hr departments and they go to a ton of schools. Every big 10 u with a decent engineering department.
It comes down to where you will be happiest at and where you think you fit in best. As far as getting a job in the auto industry, they all hire from lots of different schools. If that’s what you want, major in something you are interested in and do well. That’s the key.
Clemson is a great school, weather is good - 4 seasons but not as cold as some of the others you mention, and school ranks high in student happiness. And major BMW facility a stones throw away.
Another vote for Clemson. S2 is a freshman engineering major there. I would encourage the OP to do an Internet search on the BMW / Clemson connection. That may make your mind up right there.
Personally, when S2 made his college choice, it came down to Purdue and Clemson. He visited both. He chose Clemson and can’t imagine being anywhere else. We are OOS. Anytime he sees a Clemson shirt away from campus, it’s been an instant family connection.
Call BMW and Mercedes and ask their head of recruiting. You could also call Toyota US, GM and Ford. It should take you about 20 minutes to find the right guy to talk to.
Thank you both for this wealth of information!
Does anyone know how the current construction projects are impacting student life there currently?
As to construction on Clemson campus, the only thing DS2 has mentioned was a day or so of accidental power outages. His affected class was canceled. Something to do with old fuses needing to be replaced, I think.
We have walked by the work area recently on a visit. It appears pretty self-contained.
Great many thanks! Any suggestion as far a freshman dorms that are centrally located and large?
Our son opted to do the RiSE Living-Learning Community which is housed in Lever Hall. RiSE stands for Residents in Science and Engineering. It’s co-ed by floor. Two students in each room with community bathrooms. I think there is a virtual tour of Lever on Clemson’s website. I don’t know much about the other dorms.
I will share that our oldest is also an electrical and computer engineering major at UT, which I see you are also interested in possibly attending. Both schools have very strong career centers with impressive recruiting and job placement. UT is roughly 2 1/2 times the size of Clemson. We have had great experiences with both schools. Good luck!
Thanks for the information. What was the deciding factor between Purdue and Clemson?
What made you go with Clemson over Purdue?
Is Lever Hall hard to get into?
We thought DS2 would choose Purdue. He liked the students and the professors he met. I had to drag him away from the lab machinery. He even thought the cold weather would be a nice change.
Then he went to visit Clemson. After that, he was conflicted. Ultimately, as much as he liked Purdue, he thought Clemson was a better fit for him. The Clemson family spirit is contagious. He jumped right in.
I also think that the surrounding area had an influence too. He loves to hike, camp, etc. All the outdoorsy stuff he likes to do, he can still do while at Clemson.
As for Lever, if you get accepted into the RiSE program, you’ll get in there. I think it was just a short application. -more of a commitment to the program than a weeding out type of thing.
I will call tomorrow and find out about the RISE program and see what it’s all about. Thanks!
Good luck as you make your choice!
Thanks four more to go. So stressful, all I can think about. Do want my teen to make the wrong choice. Want it all. If we end up going to Clemson, is it ok if I message you for further information?
I saw the title of this thread and my first thought was Michigan Tech for Auto Engineering.