FIRST: COLLEGE ?

[Kims Robot]

Plus there are already many FIRST like college competitions. There are things like Solar Car, Mini-Baja, Concrete Canoe, RoboCup, DARPA, etc. All of these probably dont have the excitement and fanfare of FIRST, but they are all short term engineering based problems. These are great programs for college students who want to get their hands dirty and solve a real world engineering problem.

And I have to agree, that the mission of FIRST is to inspire high school kids to pursue careers in science & technology. I also have to agree, inspiration does not usually come at the college age.

And while FIRST is a lot of fun as a high school student, college is a time to grow up, to learn to lead, and to learn to mentor in the FIRST community.

[Kel D]

Well, I think it sounds like an awesome idea. But I can see where everyone else is coming from. Why can't there be a college team that also mentors a FIRST team? And I think it would be a great way for college students to start networking. I got an awesome internship in high school through FIRST. I know that I had an amazing time in FIRST but I didn't get to do everything that I wanted to and didn't get learn everything about certain things that I wanted to learn more about. And I sit in my math and physics class in college and I wonder "what am I ever going to use this stuff for?" and I think something like FIRST COLLEGE would allow students to apply all this knowledge and see if we really do want to be in engineering. I dunno, I don't think that something like this goes against what FIRST is trying to promote, but maybe that's just me.