Engineers report here!

[mitchr97]

Hey all,

I am curious what good colleges there are for michanical enchineering, and since a lot of you are engineers I just thought I would ask. I am in a class called AVID which I need to think of what colleges i want to go to, and what classes I need to take in order to get into that college. For example, some colleges require 2 high school foreign language credits, and some don't.


If any of you guys know of a good engineering school IN THE USA, please let me know.


Thanks,
Mitchell"thumbsup"

 

[scorpion ax-10]

I currently go to LSSU (Lake Superior State University) and our program here is really nice and were one of the few in the U.S. that has robotics at the bachelor level as well. Located in Sault Ste. Marie MI "thumbsup"

 

[bigstu]

Mitchell, this is not an easy choice. Good luck.

Michigan Technicological University. In my opinion one of the best schools for your $$ you can attend. Check out their placement numbers for M.E. graduates within 6 months of graduation.
Mechanical Engineering is the biggest program on site, followed closely by Electrical Engineering and Chemical Engineering.
MTU is one of the few school BIG companies (Fortune 500) come too looking for future employees and interns.
I won't lie though. It is a TOUGH school. Roughly 1/3rd of the people that start there graduate. That is part of the reason for the high placement percentages. You have to work hard there, and if you do you will be rewarded. No doubt in my mind on that one.

My other recommendations for Mechanical Engineering would be, in no particular order: Purdue, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin Madison, and we seem to employee a lot of engineers from Penn State..

For any engineering school I would recommend taking as many science and math courses you can in high school. The more the better.
If I were you I might also consider attending a local community college or small university to take as many trig/geometry/calc/diff eq., physics, chemistry, statics, dynamics, and pre-engineering courses I can.
The big key, make sure the classes transfer. Any decent community college or university will have lists of the courses that transfer to other universities. Or, if there is a question, contact the admin office at your goal university and ask them for a list of the courses at your local community college will transfer.

If I could do it over again, I would take classes for one year at a local community college, to save some $$, then apply and shoot for being accepted in to the Mechanical Engineering (or whatever program you choose) program.
Worst they can do is accept you in to a general engineering program, or say, keep taking classes and apply again.

Best of luck and don't be afraid to contact those schools and ask questions. Most people go in to blindly. Being educated and knowing how the system works is half the battle.
Please learn from us seasoned veterans.

 

[bigstu]

I currently go to LSSU (Lake Superior State University) and our program here is really nice and were one of the few in the U.S. that has robotics at the bachelor level as well. Located in Sault Ste. Marie MI "thumbsup"

My uncle is a Laker.
I remember as a kid watching him use AutoCAD on his 286 IBM.

Forgot all about their program..

 

[binaryterror]

Stu, I can not believe you missed 2 of the best in the country.

MIT and Kettering University (used to be GMI).

 

[mitchr97]

Thanks sooo much guys "thumbsup"

I'll take a look at them and see what my AVID teacher has to say.

Thanks a bunch,
Mitchell "thumbsup"

 

[79BlackPearl]

A lot depends on your grades and how much money you are willing to spend on your education. Also, look at what schools specialize in what fields. However, to help you decide, here is the website that has the top engineering school rankings in the U.S. Best Undergraduate Engineering Schools | Top Undergraduate Engineering Programs | US News Best Colleges

Here in the south, the top engineering schools are Georgia Tech and LSU (which is actually a A&M school..they have a killer robotics engineering school). Good luck!!!

 

[ROWDY RACING]

My uncle is a Laker.

Kobe?

 

[bigstu]

Kobe?

Well, I hope I can clean all the milk off my keyboard now.. LOL..
Far from Kobe.. LOL..

Lake Superior State University

Lake Superior

 

[bigstu]

Stu, I can not believe you missed 2 of the best in the country.

MIT and Kettering University (used to be GMI).

Didn't forget about them. Just don't see too many grads from either working in local industries.

MIT is a great school, but if you aren't off te charts on your academics, good luck getting in there.
I know very little about Kettering any more. So, I can't give a good or bad review.

 

[ROWDY RACING]

Well, I hope I can clean all the milk off my keyboard now..

Probably cleans up easier than what's usually on keyboards these days. :ror:

 

[cdd123]

I'm going to Virginia Tech for engineering next year.
I think it's a great program, but my bias is evident from my previous sentence.

 

[Shinjari]

Currently finishing my bachelors in mech eng at UCSD. I wanted to go to Cal poly san luis Obispo but the major was impacted. My 0.02.

 

[mitchr97]

What do you guys recommend for GPA in high school?

 

[Krawler23]

What do you guys recommend for GPA in high school?

High as you can get, Carnegie Mellon is one of the top for robotics btw.

 

[losikid]

I go to colorado school of mines, for electrical engineering...probably best school in the nation for petroleum engineering. But great enginnering school in general. Hard to get into, probably not as hard as mit or cal tech. But 4.0 gpa, 28+ on the act....they have like 30 or 40% acceptance rate. and a pretty large drop out rate because this school is just flat out hard. The classes may teach the same thing, but your required to legitimately know the material, in depth, to get a good grade on the exams.

And lets face, go to school to make more money, here's the top engineering schools for salary potential...also, our tuition isn't overly expensive

<div><a style="font-weight: bold; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none" href="http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/engineering-schools">Engineering Schools by Salary Potential</a></div><a href="http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/engineering-schools"><img style="border: none" alt="Engineering Schools by Salary Potential" src="http://www.payscale.com/staticdatachart.aspx?mode=Chart&dataset=Engineering Schools.2012&title=Top 10 Engineering Schools by Salary Potential&type=Pay&columns=Starting Median Salary, Mid-Career Median Salary" /></a><table><tr><td> <img alt="Engineering Schools by Salary Potential" src="http://www.payscale.com/staticdatachart.aspx?mode=Legend&dataset=Engineering Schools.2012&type=Pay&columns=Starting Median Salary, Mid-Career Median Salary" /> </td><td><b>Methodology</b><br />Annual pay for bachelor’s graduates without higher degrees. Typical starting graduates have two years of experience; mid-career graduates have 15 years. See <a href="/college-salary-report-2013/methodology">full methodology</a>.</td></tr></table>

here's another page

Mines top-ranked Colorado university in U.S. News and World Report

 

[losikid]

What do you guys recommend for GPA in high school?

above a 4.0 always looks good

 

[mitchr97]

Awesome.

 

[binaryterror]

above a 4.0 always looks good

How do you get above a 4.0? Is this new school teaching still letting people get "extra credit".

4.0 is the highest grade achievable, disgusting how schools keep ruining their reputations by this practice of OMG we give you more.

I had a 3.79 through high school and was accepted anywhere I applied (including many of the big name schools Stu mentions). I ended up leaving engineering for IT though.

That said what area are you from, where do you want to go? Those can help us give you regional options. Sometimes aiming for the best is good, but having realistic options for your loans and financials are helpful.

 

[bigstu]

How do you get above a 4.0? Is this new school teaching still letting people get "extra credit".

That said what area are you from, where do you want to go? Those can help us give you regional options. Sometimes aiming for the best is good, but having realistic options for your loans and financials are helpful.

A few years ago while at a commencement with my Mom, I noticed the top 5 kids in the graduating class all had GPAs above 4.0. I asked how that was possible and Mom ( a teacher ) explained to me that the students took classes at a local college, while attending high school. The school district decided to give them additional credit for "taking classes that were above and beyond the usual requirements for high school graduation". I asked what class they took, turns out most of them were taking a trig or introductory physics class.
Simply, there wern't enough students to pay for a teacher, books, etc. so the district made it an option for them to take the class at the local community college.

You make a great point about location and costs. That is the main reason I ended up graduating from SVSU and not MTU. I was going broke up at Tech and didn't want to be in the hole and trying to find a job to pay the school loans. I graduated with about $6500 in school loans and just recently paid the last one off. My sister on the other hand, will be paying on her $65k+ in school loans for the next 15 years.

Do your research, ask about local and on campus housing costs, look at as many of the variables as you can and make a decision.
The big thing, commit to the decision and stick with it.
Getting my degree is without a doubt the best thing I have ever done (Good thing my Fiance isn't reading this lol)..