College for Mechanical Engineering?

[Frozenguy]

There's only one Cal Poly and, it's not in Pomona.

HAH! Except not for Aero.

My senior design class in Aero engineering was taught by none other than Dr Grant Carichner. Author of the AIAA design book that SLO and many other colleges use. He retired from Lockheed Skunk Works after a 30 year career. He worked with Kelly Johnson on SR-71 and had some fantastic insight. I really miss those classes.

Propulsion classes were taught by the same professor that teaches propulsion at USC. He uses the same tests, and same material. He hired/placed more people to JPL from Pomona than from USC.

My fluid dynamics course was taught by a Boeing Phantom Works ICBM senior engineer.

[rero360]

I'm going to CSUN now for ME, lots of foreign students, mostly from the Middle East, makes getting classes for some people difficult, I have priority registration, I'm first in all of the engineering departments to register. Like other places, you have some great and some really terrible professors, most seem to be mediocre though.

[Jeepergeo]

ASU....yeah, expensive per year, but she'll graduate faster than at a California public university that is in the business of education and not graduation. ASU treats Cali folks great, and graduating a year sooner will pay back the extra cost in under a year.

If set on a Cali school, Chico has a good program.

For Mechanical Engineering, avoid a trade school.

Also consider Mechatronics....a new ME-EE hybrid degree....very attractive program.

[toro1]

If she is looking to stay in state and go to a UC or Cal State, there is a difference she should understand. UC will teach her as a Theoretical person that is geared towards research whereas the State Schools tend to teach a more hands on approach. I went to UCSB in Mech E and wished I had gone to Cal Poly SLO as it would have matched my interests better.

[NYT]

ASU....yeah, expensive per year, but she'll graduate faster than at a California public university that is in the business of education and not graduation. ASU treats Cali folks great, and graduating a year sooner will pay back the extra cost in under a year.

If set on a Cali school, Chico has a good program.

For Mechanical Engineering, avoid a trade school.

Also consider Mechatronics....a new ME-EE hybrid degree....very attractive program.

a cousin is taking this sort of class at davis right now. he is part of their robotics team. i guess davis does well against other colleges nationwide in this program.

[nn21]

I'm a senior mechE student who transferred from a, pretty well regarded, private university to a CC to a CSU so I'll pretend to know what I'm talking about.

You cant go wrong with CSULB or CPP/SLO if she wants to go to a non UC. Thats probably where I should have gone but I screwed up my application timeline and some family preferences that drove me elsewhere.

I'll say something a little different than what everyone else is saying here though. While going to a good school is important, it should really be stressed how important learning the practical side of engineering is through either projects, groups (someone mentioned formula above), or internships/co-ops. I had the opportunity to work as an intern/regular employee for about 3 years at an aerospace company while I was doing the CC thing and learned infinitely more than I've ever learned in a school setting. If she's really drawn towards engineering because she likes it, instead of the relative salary increase over other undergrad degrees, she'll likely gravitate towards the engineering related extra-curricular activities. A lot of people will disagree with this but I would absolutely prioritize the schools non-classroom design clubs/internship opportunities over the ranking of the engineering program.

I'll shamelessly plug the CSU system over the UC system for one reason...the ability to interact on a personal level (this may just be my program. I have friends who went to UC's and private schools for engineering. I'm the only csu). The mechE program head knows me, and most of the students, by name and we get astonishing perks because of it. For whatever reason, mechE is like the god major and has the power to create class seats out of thin air. The school will add class seats for mechE students in both mechE AND general education classes. We also are hardly limited to prerequisites. I had an entire semester of community college shaved from my admission time because the mechE head told the school to wave the "golden four" entry requirements. I also havent had a semester at CSU that hasnt had at least one prereq blatantly ignored by the department so I can get classes. Because of that, I've never once had a semester where I didnt get the classes I needed and my scheduled graduation date is unchanged from when I transferred in. That was unheard of by all of my UC friends. Most of them couldnt even name their program director or pick one of their professors out of a lineup. Almost all of their classes were taught by TA's to a group of 100s of students. I havent had a class of more than 35 yet and dont think theres a single TA in the entire program. Oh yea, and its also only $3500 a semester. Most of the students, if they show the professors they care, are on a first name basis. Toro has it absolutely right, CSU's are definitely geared towards the hands on approach (despite how scary that is. I nearly got my face destroyed because someone thought it would be a good idea to ram a piece of steel into a moving lathe chuck). We have full access to most of the machines whenever we want. As long as I can prove that I know how to be safe, I can test whatever I want with hardly any supervision.

Obviously, I dont know how employers will feel about a CSU over a UC or a private school since I'm not an employer. But, the education I'm getting is largely the same as the education I received at the private school I went to. Would it increase my odds of being hired if my degree said ERAU? It might. Would it increase my odds enough to offset the $100000 price difference? Absolutely not. I'm not at all worried about a CSU degree preventing me from entering the workforce (theres someone in this thread who has a degree from a CSU and a stellar job). I have way more confidence in my resume increasing those odds than the name on my B.S.

She'll get out of the program what she puts into the program, for the most part. I've seen people throw away amazing school programs because they were just there to pass and didnt care. Likewise, I've seen people turn garbage programs into gold because they cared enough to put in more than an ounce of effort.

[rmnc3r]

Thanks again for all the great insights and advice.

My other Daughters are CC transfer to CSU Grads (the first one made it through 'cheaply' before the CA Feudal Lords started imposing Tuition hikes)
and that is the general direction the youngest is heading. The others figured out what degree to work for early on, but my last one is a bit rudderless at the moment. The idea of ME was arrived at independently and we are in the preliminary investigation stage - hence this post.
Mechatronics is intriguing - thanks Jeepergeo

Thanks again, for all the recommendations

[snacktime]

Went to Fresno State, and getting classes was an issue. Ended up switching out of Mechanical to Civil Engineering with no loss to my timeline. If I had to do college again it would be out of state and a big name school. Best to start fresh, clean slate.

Remember it's not a real college unless they have a Football team. First few years school name recognition plays into the job market. I am very serious about this, seams stupid but very true.

[56huck]

EE from CalPoly SLO is powerful. Very high placement rate at high wages. My son graduated there in 2006. From what I remember, you must go there for 4 + years because of the prerequisites stacked on top of each other for the EE courses takes 4-years, if you can get the classes when you need them (a problem there). So JC might not save you much if any $. CalPoly SLO was rated the top public university for EE several years ago, maybe they still are. The cost is very reasonable for CA resident as compared to the UC system.

[Dingotech]

Seriously?! If your kid can't figure this stuff out on her own by now, maybe you ought to nudge her towards a degree in Women's Studies or Puerto Rican Dance Theory.

[Meety Peety]

Not to thread jack or anything, but a question for you mechanical engineers. How does an HVAC ME stack up in terms of salary compared to other specialties and how much of an impact could related work experience affect that? Are there other disciplines that are likely to earn more as a fresh graduate with no experience than someone with 10 years HVAC experience freshly graduating and trying to persue HVAC as a specialty?

[rmnc3r]

Seriously?! If your kid can't figure this stuff out on her own by now, maybe you ought to nudge her towards a degree in Women's Studies or Puerto Rican Dance Theory.

I know, RIGHT?!
By 19 one should have life figured out, a career chosen, goals set and be well on one's way.

[laurelpark]

First of all, doing the CC thing is the smartest way to go in my opinion. You aren't in a class with 500 students during those filter class years, and there's a heck of a lot more personal attention from the professors. From what I've seen, CC transfer students do a heck of a lot better than the kids straight out of highschool.

As far as major, a thing to think about is where she eventually wants to set down roots and live. I'm an ME/AE/Masters in AE from top universities and I'll say - Silicon Valley is not the greatest place for those majors. Once you get into management, it's a different story, but straight out of school, they're looking for programmers. In my case, all my initial job offers came from Arizona, New Mexico, and Detroit - with one from Seattle. California was just about dead in the "interesting ME or Aero" jobs. It was almost like having a degree in railroad engineering - companies just didn't have the interesting jobs. Virtually all of my classmates ended up out of state.

Also consider the kinds of companies she's interested in. Start-ups are very heavily skewed towards CS because it takes a lot less capital to develop a product than something hardware based.

As far as schools go, I went to Davis for my undergrad work, and I loved it. I looked at UCLA, UCB, Cal Poly, UCSD, and Cal Tech. Davis was the only one that fit all my needs (small college town, very good engineering programs, highly coveted by grad schools, not too difficult to get classes, great professors, fun nightlife, great place to stay during the summer if going home isn't an option, close to Tahoe, and very student friendly community).

If I could do it all over again, I'd go to the same schools - but I'd probably focus more on CS than ME. I went Mechanical because I have a passion for it, but getting work straight out of Grad school was tough. Thank God for NASA - that was the only real Aero opportunity in Silicon Valley at the time and it was great to have on the resume... Paid squat, but the experience was priceless.

[Dingotech]

I know, RIGHT?!
By 19 one should have life figured out, a career chosen, goals set and be well on one's way.

If she can determine her career choice by now, she can figure out an appropriate school to transfer to.

[MASTERLAB]

I am a current engineering student at a community college trying to transfer and I have a bit of advice.

Meet with the Academic Counselor and the Transfer Counselor, both of them. Ask if the community college has an Engineering Specific Counselor. With STEM Grants and the differences between Engineering Students and regular students some schools have special counselors. The IGETC may not help you, most engineering schools want you to have Math, Physics, English, and not much else. Each transfer school has their own set of prerequisites for each type of engineering. Their is some overlap but not always. Make sure the class is recognized and transferable with Assist.org. The Academic Counselor will help make sure you have the prerequisites you need, and the Transfer Counselor will help find schools you can get into.

Your local university (schools within your county) will be the easiest to get into. Even if a school is closer, if you are not in the county you will have a harder time getting in. Example, someone going to LA City College will have an easier time going to UCLA than Cal State Long Beach, even if they live much closer to CSULB.

Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo, Cal Poly Pomona, San Diego State University, Cal State Long Beach, University of Redlands are some of the top Public engineering Schools with UCLA and a few others not far behind. However most of their Engineering programs are impacted and hard to get into. (I was rejected the last time I applied, trying again for some of them in the spring)

UC Davis, Chico, Bakersfield, Redlands and a few others were recommended to me as alternatives by the counselors for better acceptance rates.

Keep your GPA as high as you can. Part of the reason I was rejected was I needed to retake a class. While i told all the schools that I planned to retake the class before transferring, it brought down my GPA enough to prevent transfer

It may take several meetings with each counselor to get all of the information you need.

Hope this helps and best of luck!