<p>Those are all great engineering programs. Only you can decide which is the best fit for you personally…size of school, location, cost, etc are all factors in that equation…</p>
<p>Let me try to address your other specific questions about Maryland…</p>
<ol>
<li>“how is the school seen by employers and places looking for internships?”
Maryland has outstanding and unique opportunities in that regard, and more than half of the aerospace students are involved/employed in research - typically from sophomore year on, but possible for freshman also. Given the proximity to DC, you can work with government agencies and create a professional network that is enviable. Maryland has only one of two neutral buoyancy facilities in the nation (it’s called the Space Systems Laboratory and is the only one on a college campus - the other one is at the Sonny Carter Training Facility in Texas) so not only do students use it for their own learning/educational opportunities, big name companies/organizations come to campus to do research (as an aerospace student, you would particularly enjoy NASA’s relationship). Clearly, that is pretty unique and extremely valuable for an aerospace engineer!</li>
</ol>
<p>As for Maryland’s rep overall with employers, check out the following article - it also speaks to your second question. Note that the university as a whole ranks at # 8, BUT when you look at the small boxed area of how majors match up, FOR ENGINEERING Maryland jumps to the number 3 spot (only behind Georgia Tech and Purdue)! [Best</a> Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ.com](<a href=“Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ”>Best Colleges & Universities - Ranked by Job Recruiters - WSJ)</p>
<ol>
<li>“does doing undergrad at UMaryland allow someone to go to grad school at places like MIT or Caltech, if they did well as an undergrad” The answer is yes, absolutely!</li>
</ol>
<p>Questions you did not ask that you should know. Maryland’s aerospace department is a stand-alone program - in other words, it’s not lumped into the mechanical engineering department like at some other schools. So, there are teachers dedicated entirely to aerospace engineering classes.</p>
<p>Have you heard about how Maryland is working toward the Sikorsky prize? Check out their impressive success with human-powered helicopter flight -setting records! (Gamera II) Now, that says a lot about the education you get at Maryland.</p>
<p>The A. James Clark School of Engineering values all of the engineering students - instead of trying to weed students out in their freshman year, they have a curriculum that gives you great classes early on rather than waiting til you are an upperclassman. </p>
<p>In addition, Clark hosts living-learning communities just for engineers - FLEXUS for female engineers, VIRTUS for male engineers. What this means is you are housed with other engineering students so you only have to walk out into the halls to find someone else taking your class to study with. In addition, they have tutors, peer mentors and special career support/training classes that they bring to your dorm (to learn about resumes, interview skills, elevator pitches, career fairs, etc). Here are the links for more info</p>
<p>For girls - [WIE</a> Living & Learning, WIE, Clark School of Engineering](<a href=“http://www.wie.umd.edu/undergrad/wie-community.html]WIE”>http://www.wie.umd.edu/undergrad/wie-community.html)</p>
<p>For guys - [Virtus:</a> A Living Learning Community, SEEDS Programs, Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland](<a href=“http://www.seeds.umd.edu/programs/virtus.html]Virtus:”>http://www.seeds.umd.edu/programs/virtus.html)</p>
<p>There are many other great programs/advantages to going to Maryland that are too numerous to go into. You really should visit and see for yourself. </p>
<p>Are you IS or OOS? If MD is close enough for you to drive to in a day, try checking out Robotics Day on September 12th. It is not just for students - professionals from all over come, including NASA. However, while they are engaging the professionals in current technical lectures in the morning, there is a students only portion that gives you an overview of engineering at Maryland which you should find interesting -but there is limited seating for that, so if you are interested, you need to reserve your space early (don’t have to sign up today per se, but before school starts and advertising on it begins and spots fill up). You’ll get to tour the Space Systems Lab and other labs as well as see what kinds are research is being done on campus and you can speak to current students about their experiences.
[ISR</a> events calendar](<a href=“Event | Institute for Systems Research”>Maryland Robotics Day | Institute for Systems Research)</p>
<p>Hopefully, that answered your questions…</p>