<p>I do feel like within the aerospace industry, the aerospace engineering/design aspect is what I like most (like I’d rather work to see what’s most aerodynamic than design a moving part like a landing gear/flaps. I’ll admit, I have NO experience in really any part of this field. I just visited Boeing in Everett about 4-5 years ago and over time realized, “Omg, this is what I want to do. I want to be ‘that guy’ behind the next 787 or whatever.” I guess my attraction to the field is more of an overall ‘I find planes and designing them really awesome’ more so than it is an ‘I’ll create a moving gear, flap, engine, fly-by-wire system, radar, satellite.’ None of that sounds overly attractive to me. I’m not currently interested in EE. I’d rather do civil, I find infrastructure on like a big scale (airports, transit systems, etc.) pretty cool. In summary, I can spend a lot of time on the Internet reading about the 7-7 series of planes and all about airports across the US, less so about how the GEnX engines work and the new innovations in fly-by-wire and autopilot. I could read those, like I’d rather read them than read up on philosophy or art history, but I’d rather read them a bit less than what I mentioned.)</p>
<p>If I could have my dream job like absolutely just a dream it’d be along the lines of CTO at Boeing. It seems like a combination of a technical position with lots of information regarding the planes being needed while also being a business/management role. I know, totally crazy and insane and cloud-nine, but it’s my “dream” or “motivation,” per se. It’s the type of career I’d like to have…</p>
<p>I’ll just be frank, I keep on seeing myself being happy at Columbia. Plain and simple; I’ve got friends there and love the environment and student life and the campus and the city and the diversified nature of the education with about half the Core. The major issue is that I feel like the engineering education is simply sub-par for what I’m looking to do and that it could really hurt me later in life. Sure, you could say I should go where I’ll be happiest but what if that limits my happiness afterwards? Could I get into an MIT/Stanford/Caltech for grad school with a MechE degree from Columbia if I’m looking to study aerospace? I wouldn’t be surprised if later I’d also return somewhere for an MBA. There’s also the slim chance of a PhD in aerospace engineering but I’m not sure. Depends on what the employers are looking for in 5-6 years. Definitely don’t want academia. No. No. No. </p>
<p>I keep hearing all this noise about the weirdness of Caltech. Caltech is currently on a balance of sorts, with on one side being the pro’s like the strength of a degree from there, the weather, the size of the school, the cooperative nature of the community, the resources in all fields of engineering, and on the other side being the con’s like the highly concentrated nature (I enjoy exposure to other fields, including business and a little dabbing in the arts, perhaps even languages), the difficulty of the workload, “awkward” student life with a bad M:F gender imbalance (I will DEFINITELY reevaluate this point after PFW this week, but that’s not to say it will change), and the distance from my home (Southern East Coast.)</p>
<p>Duke I think lies as in-between Columbia and Caltech, as does Washington University in St. Louis. They’re both well-rounded schools and have some sort of undergraduate program in aerospace (certificate or minor). Both of their locations are sort of sub-par for me in terms of entertainment, but St. Louis has Boeing connections. Durham is pretty rural. I liked both of their campuses. WashU seemed really new and had nice dorms and great food. It seemed like a fun campus coupled with a good education. Duke was very gothic-esque combined with modern STEM facilities and a real natural beauty. I find my considerations of them generally similar with some very particular differences, like school spirit (Duke has tons!), closeness to a city, and name-recognition/presitge (Duke having more I think). They’re both relatively accessible from home and distance isn’t overly problematic. Both of their financial aid packages are currently WAY too light. Without them changing that, they’re completely out of consideration, but I still need to continue including them when weighing options (we’re in the appeals process, and this does kind of apply to all of the schools.)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I’d say GeorgiaTech is removed from the consideration. Time restrictions have prevented me from being able to visit, and I simply can’t commit blindly. This is truly a loss considering they awarded me a very nice merit scholarship. Atlanta is incredibly accessible of course, but I’m not sure of it in terms of entertainment and resources. Still though, I can’t commit somewhere without having visited, and my remaining school days won’t let me have a chance. I won’t waste time thinking about the pro’s and con’s of going there.</p>
<p>Wow, this was a very long post. To those who’ve made it here, THANK YOU. To those who just jumped to the bottom, get reading! Now, please, thoughts? The clock is ticking and I’m stressed!</p>