Incoming College Freshman going to CSUF wants to study Aerospace Eng

GoMiamiDolphins · 05-06-2008, 09:37 PM

I wanted to go to UCI, UCSD, UCLA, so I didn't look at any other colleges and now I only got into Cal State Fullerton. They only offer Mechanical Engineering there, which apparently is close to Aerospace. Is it possible to attend Cal State Fullerton (of course every semester applying to the UC's and Cal Poly SLO which I never applied to) and still do Aerospace or would I have to transfer?

seesys · 05-06-2008, 10:43 PM

I wouldn't go so far as to choose Fullerton right away.

If you're serious about wanting to do Aerospace, consider going to a JC. It's cheaper, you can knock out all the those GE's with ease, and you'll have a better idea after a year of what you want to study.

Get good grades at the JC and meet with the counselor to discuss a course load that will enable you to meet UC (or wherever you want to go) transfer requirements.

If you do that, I can pretty much guarantee that you'll get in to one of those three schools, UCI/SD/LA. Then you'll be able to do Aerospace if you really want to.

Note: I'm not saying Fullerton is bad, it's just that if you really want to study that field, and you haven't declared your intent to register there, you should really consider the JC route. It's only a year or so, and then you get another (and better) shot at going someplace with Aero.

UCLA Band Mom · 05-06-2008, 10:59 PM

I am a long time engineer in the aerospace industry, and have worked with all kinds of engineers, not just aerospace. Aerospace has lots of jobs for mechanical, materials, industrial, chemical process, electrical and computer engineers as well. I have also worked with a couple of Licensed Professional Engineers from Cal State Fullerton. Both of them were excellent engineers.

In the aerospace industry they care more about how well you do in college, rather than what particular school you went to. The top vice presidents and managers at my company site (a Fortune 500 aerospace firm) went to places like Iowa State and Purdue. If you are a good engineer, and willing to do the work, you can work your way up regardless of what school you graduated from.