COLLEGE!! which one? engineering as possible major

[Figit090]

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Right now i'm in need of help deciding on the different UC's as applications are due this thursday, if you could view my last post on the last page it would be great, it has my new question.
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I'm deciding on college, and while i think relying on people i cant even see to determine my future is REALLY stupid, i'd love to hear some opinions of schools from people that have gone there recently or ARE there now to HELP me decide...please no jokes, i dont have time to filter sarcasm. thanks guys and gals!

here's what i'm looking for:

Engineering centered or a school with a top-notch engineering program, i'm not sure which, probably mechanical but thats why i like engineering specific schools because i could go in undeclared or switch later if i want.

anyone heard of Humboldt State? they have the best environmental resources engineering program (supposedly) in the nation and if anyone can vouch for that or know anything about that field or the school's program, that would ROCK....probably not but it's worth a shot!

thats about it...i dont know anything about what i'd like in terms of city size...i was looking at Columbia school of engineering but its in manhattan!! that makes me uneasy, in part because of expenses and in part because of what i hear is an insane place to be and i guess people there arent as "nice"

i dont know... i just need to hear it from someone that knows, so i'm asking.:naughty:


thanks a lot!! :icon_razz

-Andrew

 

[AF1JZ]

Virginia Tech!!! My twin bro went there and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree. He now works for Lockheed-Martin making $60k more or less at 24 years old.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

My alma mater: Michigan Tech! About 80% engineering students, and a great school in Michigan's beautiful Upper Penninsula. It is the best place you will find if you like a smaller town/school, hunting, fishing, snowmobilling, skiing, etc. The downside is the same with most engineering schools - horrible male to female ratio. Michigan Tech: Where the men are men, and so are the women, and the sheep run scared. Seriously though, it is really a great school with very respected engineering programs in virtually every discipline.

 

[ChadMKIII]

Figit, I'm in the same dilemna. I'm looking at engineering schools as well, I wanna get like a double major in mechanical eng and trasportation design, or at least have a focus in the trans design.
Manhattan would be awesome to live near. I went to NYC a few years ago (going again in Mar), its really a pretty cool place. People are fine, unless you're a social butteryfly w/ complete strangers lol. But I don't know that much about life @ Columbia itself. What kind of GPA & SAT's do you have? That kinda limits your choices. And foreign lang, most colleges want 2-3+yrs.

2k, where does he live? Still based out of Va? Cuz where I'm from, 60k isn't all that much. Its like the min you need to survive lol

Not to hijack, but since we're on the same subject (engineering focused schools), what are some good ones, near big city's, that I could get into?
(~3.7 GPA and 2100ish SATs)

 

[SupraDerk]

I'm at Florida State and am part of the FAMU-FSU college of engineering (home of the largest magnet in the world WoOt!). Unless you are 100% sure that engineering is what you wanna do, and you know what discipline you want to go in, I would suggest picking a school in the state you're a resident in. The price difference for tuition between in-state and out of state students is REDICULOUS!

College is expensive, and I hate to tell you (I'm sure you know) but a lot of people go to college with a dream of being an engineer, then find out how hard it is and end up either switching their major or quiting (if you're on scholarship, then bye bye sholarship and if you're at an engineering school, then you're done AND you owe a lot of money). In my class (I say class, cause you will go through all of the same classes with the same people, so you're kind of like your own class) we started off with like a little over 60 people maybe (for electrical and computer engineering) and now there's maybe like 15-20 of us left as seniors.

Also I don't know how other schools are, but here if you put down engineering as your major, then under the department you are "Engineering (undecided)" until you are accepted into the E-School and you've completed the first year engineering lab where they make you experience every discipline offered.

That's just my $.02 from what I've learned over my half a decade in school... haha (but I've loved every minute of it...more or less)

 

[BorHor]

I am looking for an engineering school also. I am thinking of applying to Virgina tech.

 

[SupraDerk]

The downside is the same with most engineering schools - horrible male to female ratio. Michigan Tech: Where the men are men, and so are the women,

LOL!!! So true! 3 girls in my "class" for EE/CpE and beer goggles wouldn't help any of them.

Here, the E-School is like 5 miles away from the main campus, so I HARDLY ever get to see decently attractive girls.

 

[Figit090]

Here are some i've considered:

Columbia Engineering College
Stanford (yikes...nutty admission)
Caltech
MIT umm...out of state...blah
UC Berkeley
Univ Southern Cali Vertibi (school of eng.)
Humboldt State
Colorado School of Mines (sent me a golden scholar application...so i get dibs on stuff and free application...might as well apply but i dontk now anything about them...also out of state)

ok so virginia tech mentioned twice...never really heard much. I'll have more in-depth replies when i have more time, and for now, thanks guys!

my last non-studied for SAT was 1700, just did a retake, and my GPA on my latest college app. was 3.58 i got a 4.0 last semester, and i have 2 years of spanish that i didnt fair GREAT in...but i passed.

 

[stakie]

NJIT, Cooper Union or MIT.

NJIT....sure, no women, but Rutgers is right there.

Cooper Union....NYC..Need I say more???

MIT....Boston....Should I say more??

Rutgers has a good engineering program, but just too many "distractions" (girls)......So many girls, so little time......

 

[Figit090]

I forgot to mention, what do you guys think of the future of Environmental Resource engineering? Humboldt State is top in the nation and just won some contest against 80 other competitors, now talking to chevron about hydrogen fueling stations i believe....but anyway. I just got accepted there....so let me know what you think of the future of that field, and maybe compared to that of mechanical engineering.

 

[stakie]

Here are some i've considered:

Columbia Engineering College
Stanford (yikes...nutty admission)
Caltech
MIT umm...out of state...blah
UC Berkeley
Univ Southern Cali Vertibi (school of eng.)
Humboldt State
Colorado School of Mines (sent me a golden scholar application...so i get dibs on stuff and free application...might as well apply but i dontk now anything about them...also out of state)

ok so virginia tech mentioned twice...never really heard much. I'll have more in-depth replies when i have more time, and for now, thanks guys!

my last non-studied for SAT was 1700, just did a retake, and my GPA on my latest college app. was 3.58 i got a 4.0 last semester, and i have 2 years of spanish that i didnt fair GREAT in...but i passed.

You said out of state....where exactly is Crater #2, the Moon located? Sounds like out of state to me.....

 

[Figit090]

woah forgot to mention that. I'm in California. lol. sorry

can you elaborate on what you meant on all those colleges? like, "should i say more?"

yeah, you should

is having girls around a bad thing or a good thing? too distracting?

 

[ma71supraturbo]

As a Re-entry mechanical engineering student, I can give you a few tips.

First, if you are interested in mechanical engineering -- you will need to decide to do that from the get-go. You will need to take calculus 1-4 (or 1-3 if on semester system), differential equations, and numerical solutions (in order). Most of those classes are pre-reqs for other courses...

On the engineering courses, you'll need to get your kinematics (usually physics I) out of the way immediately, then go on to do statics, dynamics, strengths of materials... Each of those courses has prereqs. You'll also want to do electricity and magnetism (Physics II) early on as you will need it for circuits.

Here is a link to the course flowchart for Chico State: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/__depts/mem/documents/Flowcharts/Flowchart_ME_05-07.pdf


Cliff Notes: If you are interested in Mechanical Engineering, be preparred to commit to it now 100%. Even if you do everything perfectly, you may still take more than 4 years to graduate (if a class you need is full etc)


As for schools:

I attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo from 2000-2002. Somewhat tough to get into, fairly large classes (occassional 500+ student lectures, most classes are ~50). Professors were pretty good (and most spoke english as a primary language). But for being as highly rated as it is, the labs had kind of outdated equipment. Coursework was fairly involved -- you would have a difficult time slacking and making it through the cracks... Climate was awesome -- 10 miles from Pismo beach (swimmable during the spring/summer/fall). As far as colleges go, it was fairly conservative although there were plenty of liberals (just not 90% like most colleges). Cost of attending was comparable to a UC, cost of living in the area was fairly high.

PS: lots of smoking hot chicks



I attended Humboldt State from 2003-2004. The area is extraordinarily liberal (read: pot smoking hippies everywhere -- hope you like that culture). Teachers generally cared enough to know each student, class sizes were small, campus was small (5000 students?). The admission process consists of breathing on a mirror to make sure it fogs... As long as you made anything that could be construed as an attempt to do any work -- you'll probably pass your courses... Climate was very much like the typical northwest -- very often misty/foggy with a couple hours of clean bright sunshine (on the days it didn't rain). Close to many nice beaches (need a wetsuit to really enjoy the water) and surrounded by redwoods. Cost of attending was very low, cost of living was very low (assuming you don't blow all your money on weed -- which is very good up there).

PS Very few smoking hot chicks (unless you dig hairy legs)


CSU Chico (currently attending): The "party school." Mid-sized campus, fairly small class sizes (~25-40 students). Surprisingly good lab equipment, good instructors, lots of good clubs. Only a couple professors speak english as a second language (and they can be fairly easily understood). The admission process consists of breathing on a mirror to make sure it fogs... Coursework is less demanding than Cal Poly, but you still have to stay on top of stuff to make it (in engineering). Climate is decent -- a bit hot in the summer (100's), winter lows are high-30's. Lots of trees, nice looking campus. Close to wakeboarding, river-floating, and skiing... The town is fairly liberal in a conservative county (typical university town). Cost of attending is fairly low, cost of living is fairly low...

PS lots of smoking hot chicks


UC Davis (my sister and a few friends have graduated from it): Price of tuition comparable to Cal Poly, cost of living a little lower. Class sizes are generally huge, professors often do not speak english very well (which makes is even more difficult to figure out whats happening in a 500-person class). You have to be a decent student to get in, coursework is pretty tough from what I hear... Close to Sacramento, not terribly far from the bay area. Lots of clubs.

PS There are some smoking hot chicks
Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

A couple of people pointed out a little known truth about engineering, and I found out about it the hard way...

Engineers are applied mathematicians first and foremost. I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but calculus almost brought me down with a 1.27 GPA first semester, second year, and I ended up going with what is essentially an applied chemistry degree instead and ended up completing a master's degree with a 3.85 overall GPA. If you do not LOVE math, it's a damn near impossible degree to earn. If you do love it, it's a dream come true and can earn you a lot of money.

 

[ma71supraturbo]

A couple of people pointed out a little known truth about engineering, and I found out about it the hard way...

Engineers are applied mathematicians first and foremost. I thought I wanted to be an engineer, but calculus almost brought me down with a 1.27 GPA first semester, second year, and I ended up going with what is essentially an applied chemistry degree instead and ended up completing a master's degree with a 3.85 overall GPA. If you do not LOVE math, it's a damn near impossible degree to earn. If you do love it, it's a dream come true and can earn you a lot of money.

Yup. The tedium of Cal Poly Calculus is what brought about my taking a break from engineering. The courses were taught by hardcore Math professors who did not believe in using calculators. This meant you'd have to do ~15 problems per night (in addition to all other coursework) -- each one would take 1-2 pages. If you made some stupid algebraic mistake on step 20 of 80 -- you were fucked. And if you missed a day or two of class -- you were so far behind it wasn't even funny...

 

[jmanbball]

I can't believe you guys mentioned vt before Georgia Tech. One of the top 5 engineering schools in the country.

 

[Facime]

I havent seen anyone mention UofA yet. I had two friends who graduated in M.E. from there. Its a fun school, great weather, and lots of hot chicks. If you've ever seen the website "college wild parties" Uof A is one of the featured schools...LOL...not that that is any good reason to attend a certain school...but hey, it cant hurt!

However, if you want to save some money I recommend you find a school in your state of residence.

 

[Figit090]

wow, thanks again so far guys...

MA71-
just to mention....i'm already into HSU and i live within 15 minutes of the campass so i know exactly what it's like there in terms of weather and chicks...lol.

any more info on classes? what did you study at those colleges? thanks so much for your nice post...helps get a perspective because before now i had NO CLUE what i was going to do. i just figured i'd fire off applications at the cost of a couple hundred and pray that something worked right.

another thing - i'm in calculus right now and i'm now thinking about taking another calc or calc2 course over the summer to bolster my knowledge. i dont LOVE math but i like it, and the only reason for me NOT to like it right now is because i'm using a CPM book, if anyone is familliar with that damn thing. (i personally hate its methods of explination, drives me nuts because i overcomplicate their stupid explinations)

 

[ma71supraturbo]

wow, thanks again so far guys...

MA71-
just to mention....i'm already into HSU and i live within 15 minutes of the campass so i know exactly what it's like there in terms of weather and chicks...lol.

Ah where at? Blue Lake? Mckinleyville? Eureka? Some of the good things about the area were the decent roads (once you got more than 10 miles away from Arcata's potholes). Also the Redwood Sports Car Club puts on decent autocrosses (although they kicked me out for drifting). There is also the somoa drag strip, but it has no traction...

any more info on classes? what did you study at those colleges? thanks so much for your nice post...helps get a perspective because before now i had NO CLUE what i was going to do. i just figured i'd fire off applications at the cost of a couple hundred and pray that something worked right.

At the time I was at humboldt, I was taking English/journalism courses and a few GE's (and "diversity and common ground" classes). I was majoring in Mechanical Engineering in Cal Poly -- and I'm currently finishing it at CSU Chico (while also working on my MBA)

another thing - i'm in calculus right now and i'm now thinking about taking another calc or calc2 course over the summer to bolster my knowledge. i dont LOVE math but i like it, and the only reason for me NOT to like it right now is because i'm using a CPM book, if anyone is familliar with that damn thing. (i personally hate its methods of explination, drives me nuts because i overcomplicate their stupid explinations)

Not familiar with the CPM, but I'd highly recommend getting as much math as possible at a junior college (especially if it is your only class). The only problem with your plan is that (in my experience) calculus courses are not offered during the summer

(PS, college of the redwoods security gaurds are hilarious when they try to give chase in their pickups and escorts -- good times)

 

[MDCmotorsports]

Rose Hullman