Mechanical Engineering-- GW vs Stevens Institute of Technology

EricaC2010
Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:58:28 +0000

Hey indecision,
My name is Erica and I’m a 5/5 Biomedical Engineer student from Stevens. 5/5 is because I’ve done co-op and let me tell you Stevens has a fantastic program. They actually have the companies come to campus and you get to sign up for a time slots to interview with the company. So, even if your only job experience is working at the campus store, when you sign up for the time slot you are guaranteed a certain amount of time with a company representative. Every term you work you get a free night class. So when you go back to class you either take less classes or can get a head start. I used my classes to start a Masters…for free. The pay is great I believe average is $16.50 an hour. That goes a long way towards tuition if you’d like that…or spring break.

So in any case, our degree is a Bachelors or Engineering not a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. There is a difference. The difference is that no matter what Engineering major you do choose you’ll have taken classes in different disciplines. The idea is that, say you’re a Mech. E. you may not be an expert in electrical or computer engineering, but you can have an intelligent conversation with one of those engineers because you’ve taken a class or two in that field. It may not seem like a lot but if you’re going into robotics I think that would be a benefit.
Also, you said that you choose Mechanical because BME seems more biological then engineering. Yes, and no I’d say. As a BME you would take say “Transport in Biological Systems” aka fluid dynamics in a biological context. So really it is as much engineering as any other field, but we do take more sciences as well.
That being said I think the Mechanical with a concentration in BME would be up your alley. It is not just for people who want to make machinery. Companies will consider you for BME positions if you want. If you decide you would like to do straight up robotics instead of prosthetics you definitely won’t be pigeon holed if you’re a mechanical.

It seems like the machine shop is important to you. I’m not sure who’s told you it is tough to get into, but I know plenty of students who actually work in the big fancy expensive machine shop. So, if you talk to our machinist you may just get paid to be down there. I personally work in a machine lab which, for all intents and purposes, is shop class for all engineers. Did I mention the required shop classes that you build and program robots in?

Stevens has great campus life. I personally hope they have water slides set up on campus again this year for Boken…but if all else fails I’ll take the huge laser tag stadium, Streetlight manifesto concert, and fireworks show…and maybe the free massages they set up during finals week. 5 years at Stevens…enjoy it as much as I have