How would you rate mechanical programs at these schools?

cosmicfish
Sun, 10 Jan 2016 22:51:32 +0000

Penn State is an option but I rather not go there

May I ask why not? If you are a PA resident it offers pretty good opportunities and education for a relatively reasonable price! I certainly understand wanting to get out of PA, but your undergraduate years are one of the times when staying IN state can really pay off!

I am not an ME, so my experience with ME programs is a bit scattered. I didn’t see any on that list that raised any red flags, if that helps. There are a few engineering powerhouses on there that I recognize mostly for their EE programs, but even the “lesser” ones seem to do pretty well.

If you are planning on going into the Navy, you should also be looking at NROTC programs if you haven’t already - there are 2-year programs that still commission you on graduation. Just bear in mind that service as an engineering officer is nothing like doing research or working in industry! I don’t think military service will help substantially with employment unless you go to work for a defense contractor, and even then the advantage will be slight - NASA likely won’t care that much one way or the other! Regardless, I would just focus on the next 5 years or so, because it is really hard to effectively plan any further ahead.