Input on engineering schools, VT, ASU, FIT, Rose

[berettafan]

Not sure if i'm monopolizing the groups knowledge here with more college talk but we are in the latter stages of my son picking a college. I know we have a pretty diverse and well educated group on this forum so....help!

Son is a math/science type and has said engineering/aerospace eng. is what he wants to pursue. Options being considered so far-

Va Tech
Az St. U
Rose Hulman
Fla. Institute of Tech.
Embry Riddle
UNC Charlotte

Waiting to hear from Penn State and Auburn. Couple of wait lists and deferred decisions out there as well but i think we've got our hands full already.

Big thanks already to Rick Lee for insight into the area around ASU.

[beatnavy]

I had two kids graduate from VT, although they were finance / accounting majors, not engineering. Our collective experience with Tech was very positive, however, and I always heard good things about the engineering school. We lived in Northern VA at the time both were accepted, and it was pretty darn competitive, especially for the engineering school.

That's all I got. Good luck and Go Hokies.

[Seahawk]

My daughter went to ASU for their business school. Great experience.

A friend of mine has a son who is a senior at ASU in the engineering school. I can hook you guys up.

My company does a lot of work with VT. Great kids and program.

Nice problem to have

[id10t]

If cost is a consideration and UF somehow gets on your list (no idea as to what their engineering program is like) we have a "bridge" where you do the gened stuff at Santa Fe and as part of it you are preadmitted to UF and given a future slot in your chosen degree track. Smaller classes (max is 25 or 26), our best math faculty (well, honestly quite a large percentage of all faculty) are all native English speakers, it is a smaller campus, still in G'ville and much cheaper tuition. https://www.eng.ufl.edu/students/gesf/

[MBAtarga]

He should be a Yellow Jacket!

1. Best aerospace engineering schools in the US – US News Rankings 2021

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Purdue University – West Lafayette
University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign
University of Texas – Austin
Texas A&M University – College Station
Cornell University

[Bugsinrugs]

My son did 7 years at VT. PHD then Vet school. He loves Blacksburg and so do I. He plays hockey( goalie) in the winter and tennis in the summer.

[RedBaron]

As long as they are all accredited institutions and they have his flavor of engineering, he will be all set. They are all good picks.

[944 S2]

Unless he’s been accepted to MIT or Harvard it doesn't matter much where he goes to school as long as he graduates with decent (above 3.0) GPA. I hired lots of Mechanical engineers, where they graduated from didn’t matter. Good grades and a good interview is enough. All that said it would depend on where he sees himself working. My two cents worth.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

He should be a Yellow Jacket!

1. Best aerospace engineering schools in the US – US News Rankings 2021

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Stanford University
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
Purdue University – West Lafayette
University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign
University of Texas – Austin
Texas A&M University – College Station
Cornell University

This. I was once adjunct faculty at GT. But, engineering there is a very, very challenging program. They also have good Army, Navy, and AF ROTC Programs. Probably not the same college town atmosphere to enjoy as a lot of schools since it is in downtown Atlanta.

[Racerbvd]

One of my very close friends is a engineer who graduated from VT, it was a positive experience and he has a very good career in Colorado.

[Jay Auskin]

If there is a company he knows he wants to work for, then he should pick the school which heavily recruits there. That said, he won't have an idea about that now. Have him pick the school where he thinks he will be the most engaged, get good grades, and completes his degree.

Then, he can start working and decide where to get his masters from if he wants to toss his name in for companies who care about that.

[red-beard]

All of these are great options.

I'll add one more: RPI - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. One of the oldest engineering schools in the USA.

The good - One of the best schools in the USA.
The bad - in Troy NY

[red-beard]

Honestly - You cannot get a bad engineering degree. Anywhere will be great.

[red-beard]

I do have to say - Gig'em Aggies!

[dafischer]

Have you considered Lehigh?

[stomachmonkey]

I'm fascinated with Colorado School of Mines.

[Rob Channell]

I loved Auburn. Just went down for E-Day with my two sons and it made me want to retire and go back to school for fun with all the cool engineering projects they have going on. They did not have all that when I was there (decades ago). My son was most interested in the Formula SAE and the autonomous formula racer. Before the trip he wanted to go mechanical. After the trip he is talking about Electrical/Computer and wanting to buy a standalone ECU for the Miata.

My daughter and her fiance will be attending grad school in the fall at Va Tech. My wife visited up there with my daughter and liked the area a lot. I have heard good things about the school but only met a couple of engineers that went there (both plenty smart). Future son-in-law is already up there freezing his butt off.

Mississippi State also has a decent engineering program and I have a nephew that just graduated from there. They have a reputation for providing really good scholarships as incentive to out of state students. He had a job with Lockheed lined up that started right after he graduated.

Haven't heard any bad stories about any of them on your list. I agree with Seahawk. It's a nice problem to have.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Only think I can add to the thread is there is going to be a boom in engineering jobs.....

Combination of EV's replacing ICE cars, increased defence spending due to the Ukraine situation, space exploration and the push to move away from fossil fuels to greener energy I doubt your son will have any trouble finding a great job after he graduates

Or maybe he decides not to grow up and gets a job in motorsport

[KFC911]

My take.... any of them will set him on a great career path. Does he want to go to college in a big city, or a college town ... totally different experience. VT is an awesome school, but Blacksburg probably doesn't offer much afterwards. A school like NCSU (Research Triangle area), or UNCC (motorsports mecca) will likely offer a better transition post degree, and the "connections" made in school there.

I'd opt for the "college town" experience (and did decades ago).... I just didn't want to go to school in a bigger city.

He's a youngin' .... enjoy the journey too ...

Best to you both .... great "problem" to have

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

One of my very close friends is a engineer who graduated from VT, it was a positive experience and he has a very good career in Colorado.

I have a number of coworkers who attended VT, they have a very good alumni network. You might want to check that too since the goal of a college degree is a good job in your favored technical field.

I would also suggest FIT since the school does have a good rep and aerospace has a bright future on the Space Coast.