Need help with finalizing College list for Mech Engineering (Automotive) Major [VA resident, 3.85 GPA, 31 ACT, <$40-50k]

College Search & Lists
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Current Junior, VA
4.35 weighted GPA/ 3.85 unweighted
TSA state/national level winner/Cyber scholar/District Chorus/Model UN, FIRST Robotics
100+ hours of volunteering
Summer research internship with a local university
AP Physics, AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science Principles, AP MacroEconomics, AP Psychology etc. so far.

Interested in Mechanical Engineering with an Automotive Focus with good Coop opportunities. Found these colleges that have opportunities for Automotive research. Please help with-

  1. Better admission chances for Out of State students
  2. Better chance of getting merit aid

Current ACT score is 31, trying again couple of times. Will go test optional if not improving. Budget can go up to 40 - 50K per year but prefer to stay less than that.

Ohio State
Penn State
NC State
Clemson
U of Tennessee, Knoxville
Michigan State
U Pitt
Kettering
Auburn
Arizona State

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Does your student have test scores or will they be applying test optional?

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Net price limit?

Arizona State is auto admit with 3.0 GPA and completion of specified high school courses.

https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/ESMAEMBSE/mechanical-engineering

Scholarships can be estimated here:

https://scholarships.asu.edu/estimator

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Paging @tamagotchi who had a kid interested in automotive engineering, I believe.

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Pitt and PSU will be closer to $60k OOS. Penn State is stingy with merit. You would need a 34 or higher to get some merit from Pitt. Most likely out of budget.

I suspect a few other OOS schools on your list will be over budget.

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Be sure to have a completed application in by the EA deadline at Ohio State for merit eligibility. Applying by EA is also important for engineering majors at many schools.

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If you want automotive, you are missing Alabama - which has an ecoCar team and WVU as well. Mississippi State is another that will come well under budget.

All three are safeties admission wise - and you can do well from any. My kid interned two summers in automotive and while he’s at an aero company for work, had 20 interviews and 5 offers by xmas. The auto came through in Feb - he wasn’t interested - but that’s because he wanted a rotational and not a job and they had just a job.

So these are solid schools and will blow away your budget vs. the schools you listed.

You cannot say the same for the entirety of your list - Clemson, NC State, Pitt, Penn State.

Where is Va Tech on your list.

I would revisit your list - nothing wrong with the 31- ACT - hello ASU (but that will be in the mid budget) and you have schools that even if you get in, you can’t afford - and that’s a rejection - and others that aren’t necessarily safeties (hello Auburn).

So I’d revisit the list.

It’s MechE - the where doesn’t matter - they’re all ABET - that matters.

As an example, my Alabama kid interned in auto. LIved with and interned with two Ga Tech kids. He got invited back for summer two. They did not.

Alabama - with your ACT - you get $26.5K off ($24K auto merit and $2.5 engineering) so you’re below 25K all in - at a top notch school with modern facilities… Look at where the school is - Mercedes is 20 minutes away. Hyundia is in Montgomery. Honda is in the East side of the state. Rivian is purportedly going to build right over the border in GA and Kia is there. You have Toyota in Tupelo, not far. And Ford heading South now too.

The schools that have ecoCAR teams (I like better than Formula SAE because they focus exclusively on electric) - are

ERAU
Ga Tech
Illinois Tech
McMaster (Canada)
Miss State
Ohio State
Alabama
UC Davis
UC Riverside
U Texas
U Waterloo (Canada)
Va Tech
WVU

About the EcoCAR EV Challenge – Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (avtcseries.org)

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Formula SAE has both IC and electric divisions. It’s not one of the OP options, but the University of Michigan, for example, has both types of SAE teams, but I can’t find anything for EcoCAR at Michigan.

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Yeah, ecoCAR is just at the 16.

And then you have to see if you can get on a team and get work - for example, the first year seem to get the mundane.

I’m just really noting - there’s a lot of schools out there that actually “speak” auto that people don’t realize.

Many, many schools have a formula SAE but given this student’s stats (which are actually solid) and budget - they need to re arrange the list and I was just nothing there are GREAT options.

Know another great one that would hit budget - UNCC. They have a Motorsports Engineering major and that will translate well too. It’s part of MechE - and might, for example, be a much better choice than NC State. it’s certainly an easier in and more affordable.

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You might find this enrollment report helpful.

Some students are better at the SAT than the ACT, so might want to give that a try.

Ohio State plans to be test optional for this next cycle. I’m not sure the effect of test optional on merit chances. I do know class rank is important.

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My kid is involved in Formula SAE (he is on his school’s electric car team), but I’m not familiar with automotive engineering programs specifically, as my kid wasn’t looking for those.

At this point, Formula SAE has actually shifted to focus much more on the electric car competition. Most schools that have Formula either have an electric team in addition to the combustion team, or have switched completely to electric. In Europe, the most important competition is now 100% electric.

Ecocar is sort of a niche thing that only a few schools do. Although some schools with Ecocar have great MechE programs, Ecocar is not necessarily an indication of a school with better programs than others, and I wouldn’t suggest it as a main focus in a search.

The MRacing team at UMich is indeed one of the strongest, most technically advanced teams. UMich OOS is not going to come within the OP’s budget though (that’s also the reason my son didn’t apply there).

There are lots of great schools with Formula SAE. Here are a few schools with interesting, well-supported teams that are more likely to come within budget, and that I don’t already see mentioned here. These are just the first ones that come to mind, though… if the OP wants more ideas of MechE schools with interesting teams, I can go back and look at our lists :wink:

  • Oregon State
  • U Akron
  • UMN TC

However, if the OP is interested in automotive engineering programs specifically, I can’t really help with that.

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Thank you! My kid is looking for a general Mech engineering program where he can get involved in activities like Formula SAE, take a few electives related to Automotive engineering and get into that field. Really appreciate your recommendations!

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I get it - but OP has a tight budget and most the choices are closer to home.

If OSU (the other) can work budget wise, great. Akron is another - interestingly, my son’s program he’s in is large - and they hire from Akron - in addition to Michigan, Purdue, Cal Poly SLO, etc. - it shows you how MechE works and he said in next year’s class is a Ga Tech and another Bama (he was the first he thinks). UMN another great one - but will be mid budget and the 31 might or might not do well merit wise there.

I was really looking for sure fire reaches that will come in well under the $40K - given the current stats - and that should be Bama, WVU, Miss State - and I noted them because that’s where automotive has moved and is very big already - the South. UNCC came to my mind after. Miami Ohio could be another to hit merit. I’d say Purdue too - unlikely - but not a hard no - and it’d be within the budget listed. It’d be a sensible reach. Purdue has Subaru in the vicinity.

UAH would be a cheap safety for a smaller school if OP wanted that - it’d be in the 20s and Mazda and Toyota have a joint plant just online in Huntsville. UTC - another cost safety, smaller school as would be Tennesssee Tech - you have Nissan in Smyrna and Decherd - so not hugely far from TN Tech and VW is in Chattanooga - so there will be play with UTC.

Frankly, there’s many schools that would welcome OP and they would come comfortably under budget - and he could certainly have exposure to automotive - whether local or distant.

The programs will all be MechE - even at UNCC - but they have a concentration in Motorsport. WIth a MechE degree, you can go many ways - and that’s where you focus your internship effort to try and get some exposure - at the OEMs, suppliers, and more.

By attending any of these schools (that you list or anyone else has), you are not locked into any discipline whatsoever. But it’s nice to know that projects and others things may be auto related due to the local plants - and the schools seeking out opportunities for kids.

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I’m not very knowledgable on this topic, but I was looking at this program for another student. Would it be relevant for OP?

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Yep, I just noted as a reach - but a reasonable reach.

That’s MechE - which OP wants.

If they had wanted Motorsports Engineeing (for any others interested), IUPUI - or whatever it’s becoming as I think IU and Purdue are disbanding their partnership - they have a formal major in Motorsports Engineering - vs. a UNCC which is MechE but as OP said, a few automotive engineering courses.

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That sounds like a great plan. MechE is a flexible degree and your son could go in many directions from there, including automotive.

Companies hire kids right out of Formula SAE teams. At my son’s school, I’ve heard that one of the biggest perks for corporate sponsors is getting access to the team’s “resume book” so they can contact kids off the team for internships and recruitment.

So… in the process of researching schools for MechE, I would suggest your son also search for “(school name) Formula SAE” and learn about each team. We made a big spreadsheet for the teams. Your son might find out about interesting teams that we didn’t consider!

You can often learn a lot from the team’s web site. You can also contact the team and ask questions. If you are visiting a school, definitely contact the team beforehand and ask to visit them specifically – this was the MOST useful part of every college visit for my son, and I can’t emphasize that enough. Most are very friendly and will show you around and tell you everything you need to know about studying MechE at that school!

Here are some things to think about when learning about these teams,

  • do they have both combustion and electric teams, or just one?
  • does their team also have a driverless / autonomous subteam? (a lot of teams participate in this now, and it can be pretty interesting)
  • what is the process for joining?
  • roughly how big is the team? (we saw teams of various sizes, as small as 25 and as big as 150 students)
  • how is it organized?
  • how do they train new members?
  • where is the team’s workshop facility located? (some schools are well supported and have lovely big facilities right on campus, others have small facilities or may be located inconveniently off campus)
  • which competitions does the team participate in? Some teams also compete in Europe.
  • does everyone get to attend competition if they want to?
  • who gets to drive? :grin:
  • what kind of technology level do they have? A super high tech level is fun, but it might also mean that the team doesn’t have as much for new team members to do. A team with a lower tech level might have more openings for new team members to jump in and take more responsibility. I would suggest looking at schools with a variety of tech levels and your son may get a sense of what type of team he likes.
  • who gets to be team leads and participate in design decisions? at some schools that have an engineering capstone in the MechE program, this may be limited to just those students (which could be OK if your kid is in this program)

As your son gets more information he will become more sophisticated in questions to ask, too.

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Yes.

Also, I note that IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) is ending as of June 30, 2024 and Purdue University – Indianapolis begins July 1, 2024. So it might behoove the OP to investigate this option, as it appears that it will offer Motorsports Engineering, here: Motorsports Engineering - Undergraduate Admissions - Purdue University

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Ohio State can be within $50K budget with merit. S24 had UW 4.0, W 4.2 GPA, 1440 SAT and no rank got $14.5K merit/yr offer. COA would be around $50K including $4K engineering fee. Most OOS people from the Ohio State thread who received the same merit did submit test score.

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One school that would be a financial and admissions safety would be Minnesota State at Mankato. In addition to having ABET-accredited mechanical engineering, it’s also ABET-accredited for automotive engineering technology and offers a minor, bachelor’s, and master’s in the field.

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My son is a gearhead and we were looking into mech engineering programs at one time. UTC (university of TN at Chattanooga) is supposed to be a good one. My older son actually went there his freshman year - i can tell you they have GREAT dorms!

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