Aeronautical Engineering
 

I was planning on getting a degree in aerospace engineering. My goal is to become an engineer at Boeing. I plan on attending St. Cloud State University for a year or two and then transferring to either ERAU or the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. What school would you guys recommend? Which of these schools do you think Boeing would be most likely to hire from? I would love to go to ERAU, but it would cost me around $40,000.00 dollars a year. If I went to the University of Minnesota it would only cost me around $20,000.00 dollars a year since I am a Wisconsin resident.

Best Regards,
Robert

Have you been to both schools? Which one do you like best? Go with that one.

College is what you make it. If you work hard, participate in activities, and do well, it'll show to any prospective employer. Plus, your plans may change in the very near future. If you spend a lot of money to go to ERAU hoping it'll look good on a resume, and then decide to go into a different field, it might set you back more money than you would like.

When I was looking at colleges, ERAU was my number one choice. Until I went there for a visit. Not to say it's a terrible school, or anything, it just wasn't a good fit for me (too far from home, didn't like the campus, etc...) If you like the curriculum, like the facilities, and like the people, by all means, go for whichever school you want. It'll be worth the money as long as the school is right for you. Better to get a degree and enjoy your surroundings, than spend your college career wishing you were somewhere else, whatever the cost.

I can't give much practical advice (quality of curriculum, and such) because I was not in that field. But, I hope that makes the decision a little easier. Good luck!

This topic comes up every so many months. Here is one thread I recall- thread 1 . Use the search window at the upper left top turn up a bunch more.

Unfortunately for me, my family does not qualify for financial aid. We aren't poor enough to qualify, but we aren't rich enought to just pay. Also, my high school gpa (3.0) and class rank are not high enough to receive tons of scholarship money since I only have 33 kids in my class. Because of these reasons, I will have to pay for most of college on my own. I am afraid that I would be wasting my money if I went to ERAU since I could get the same degree from UMN Twin Cities. I should probably say that my ultimate goal is to become a test pilot for Boeing. Unfortunately, I can't fly in the military since I had a history of ADD and taking ADD medicine. The irony of this is that once you enter the military as a pilot to the moment you retire, you will be fed "go pills" which are essentially the same medicine.

Best Regards,
Robert

Robert,

I was in your shoes 20 some-odd years ago. You are doing a good thing getting the general reqs out of the way at a local CC (I assume that is what you are doing). Just be sure your higher math is solid. Diff Eq killed me.

As for the schools, I was in the Midwest at applied to Iowa State, Illinois, Purdue, Kansas, as well as some others. At the time, Kansas had the better (in my opinion) experimental (hands-on vs theoretical) program. Visit the campuses. Remember at this phase, you are interviewing THEM. Do they have the curriculum and environment you want. At the time, most AEs were on the 5-year plan, too. So, plan accordingly.

Good luck.

Does the fact that ERAU is this the top aerospace engineering school in the nation for 11 years matter to you? If it doesn't, then I would not make the extra expense.

ERAU is the top undergraduate aerospace engineering school, not the top aerospace engineering school overall. And I would question whether the claim is true because the truly top schools grant graduate degrees, and it is a better overall academic environment. You can't be at the top of your field as a teacher without being immersed in research. Focus on research is the difference. On the other hand, if little research is going on then supposedly the staff should have more time to help the students, but I doubt it works that way. I have been to both schools and the research school is more enriching. It is an atmosphere of discovery and high energy. On the other hand, to learn the basics you do not need to be doing a ton of research although it helps.

I have trouble imagining that ERAU would be worth an extra $20K/year to anybody. As long as the school is decent your opportunities for success in the future will all be based on your grades (at first) and performance (in the long run).

IIRC ERAU was rated by a magazine as best among schools that did not offer an advanced degree. This magazine seems to rig the categories so that most schools are near the top in something. ERAU is ABET accredited and I'm sure it's a good degree, but ... I'm not a fan of magazine rankings.

I'm not trying to bash Riddle, but there are better choices for an engineering degree, especially for the money you would spend at ERAU. Offhand I would say that a good state school would be at least as desirable to Boeing as would Riddle - at substantially lower cost to you. I highly recommend co-op'ing as well. If Minnesota and Wisconsin have some sort of tuition "exchange" program then your Minnesota plan might be a good one. If your heart is really set on Boeing, you need to find out where Boeing does most of its hiring (and not all of their plants are in Seattle, either). Allow for the fact that your plans may change as you get immersed in your studies.

My oldest son went to Purdue (mechanical) and was far better prepared than I was. The cost will be less than Riddle, but more than Minnesota. The school is well-regarded. As you research you'll find other good choices.

Take a deep breath, stop, think, research, then take another deep breath ... repeat. :)

And good luck!

Mike

(BSME Tennessee - 1976) Tau Beta Pi

Mike reminded me of something. There were/are more ME's and EE's than AE's employed at aerospace companies.