College Stuff

[kio_chan176]

Originally Posted by Anne Bergeron

It's good that you are starting to think about this early. It'll make it much easier for you come your senior year. There are lots of good engineering schools out there, many more than are on your list. Your goal shouldn't necessarily be to find the top school out there. It should be to find the school that best fits you. Here are a few questions to start you off:

1. What type of engineering do you want to do? (i.e. mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, etc.)

2. Is there a particular part of the country you want to stay within or out of?

3. Do you want to have a more practical education or more theoretical? (Some engineering programs teach more to one side than the other, some are more balanced.)

4. What extracurriculars are important to you? (i.e. specific clubs, sports, etc.)

5. Do you want to have smaller classes/campus?

6. Is being in the middle of a large city ok or would you rather be in a small rural college town?

7. Are there any special programs that interest you? (i.e. honors colleges, special training, specific courses, etc.)

8. Do you want to co-op during your college years? (There are colleges with great co-op programs, some will help find internships as well)

These are just a few of the questions to start asking yourself in order to find the best fit for you. You'll be able to succeed much more easily in a school where you are comfortable and that has the program that you want. Remember that you're paying for this education, make it work for you. There are many of us here on these forums that can help you answer questions about specific engineering programs (I for one can answer any questions you may have about Georgia Tech). Don't be afraid to ask!!

1. I hear there's an excessive amount of computer programmers and engineers, and not enough robotics engineers, so that's what I want to be. I want to make land rovers and things like that.

2. I'd like to stay somewhere near the east coast. The west coast is nice, but I'd like to stay closer to home.

3. Practical/theoretical education? I'll have to ask some of my friends about that.

4. Extracurriculars aren't very important, they're fun and all, and I hear colleges love a busy schedule.

5. I really don't care about the size of the campus. I guess a medium sized one would be good. Not too big, not too small.

6. I'd like to be in a town/city with lots of engineering job opportunities around. I guess for experience and maybe internships.

7. I'll need to check out some special programs, if anyone can describe any, I'd appreciate it.

8. I'd like to try out an internship. I'll look for some colleges with co-op programs.

Thanks for the help. I guess I should start thinking about those questions more. It doesn't help right now since I'm in the middle of computer class.

[Stu Bloom]

Not from personal experience, but I know that Carnegie Mellon is very strong in robotics. They have been working on projects with the Department of Defense for several years, and their vehicles took 2nd and 3rd places in the recent DARPA Grand Challenge - two of only four vehicles to even finish the race within the required 10 hour time limit. (the Stanford University team WON THE TWO MILLION DOLLAR first prize).

[Ryan Foley]

Originally Posted by kio_chan176

1. I hear there's an excessive amount of computer programmers and engineers, and not enough robotics engineers, so that's what I want to be. I want to make land rovers and things like that.

One thing to keep in mind, robotics isnt usually offered as a major. Carnegie Mellon has it as a minor for undergraduates, other colleges may have the same, or as a concentration in another major (most often electrical or mechanical engineering). So "robotics engineer" is a title you'll probably get through a job, not education/ degree. You can work on robots with many majors, you dont need a degree in robotics itself to do so.

However I have the same ambition (robotics engineer), I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Technology, so I have a foundation in both aspects of robotics. Not sure if I'll take care of the programming aspect through school, on my own, if I do at all.

By the way, CMU is very good for robotics, as Stu said. Stanford also did well in the DARPA challenge. Cornell also seems to have a lot of robotics, including a FIRST team and Robocup team.

Good Luck.