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Good news for engineering students (that means most FIRST kids)….

This past summer Money magazine ranked US colleges and universities to find the best value schools. Of the top 10 schools, 6 of them are extremely strong engineering programs.

http://time.com/money/collection/moneys-best-colleges/

With college application season upon many of you, I highly recommend expanding your college search to include some of the smaller less known engineering programs in addition to the big ones like MIT. Below are a few with a brief description:

1) Webb Institute: With a total student body of 80 students, this extremely small school is more like an engineering family then a campus. This is a school you must visit in person! Anyone accepted receives a full-tuition scholarship. All students study ship design, however the program is set up to provide an incredible engineering background even for those who don’t want to design ships. www.webb.edu
2) Olin College: With a slightly larger student body of 360 students this small Massachusetts school has a strong focus on entrepreneurship mixed with engineering. Students do research projects throughout their time in the program. Students are also able to take courses at nearby Babson College. http://www.olin.edu/
3) Harvey Mudd: This school takes on a very mathematical approach to engineering. With a student body of 800 it still maintains a small school feel. Students can major in other fields include biology and chemistry in place of engineering. https://www.hmc.edu/
4) Embry-Riddle: With its main campus in Florida this school has a very strong engineering program with close ties to the aviation industry. Students here come out with great hands on experience. The campus even has an option for flight school. http://www.erau.edu/
5) Cooper Union: This small NYC school is located at the heart of Manhattan. While all students used to receive full tuition scholarships, a partial tuition has recently been put in place. The school has a good mix of engineering, math and architecture. http://cooper.edu/
6) California Polytechnic SLO: A larger school then the rest but definitely worth a look. This school also claims a very hands on laboratory experience. http://calpoly.edu/

FIRST scholarships are abundant. The new list comes out September 1st. Look for some of these schools on the list.

Anyone else have any recommendations for this years seniors?