smaller engineering schools

[Guest Barb B]

Would love imput on smaller colleges with great engineering programs. I like the idea of not being in an engineering or physics class of over 100 kides. I would love your suggestions as it has been hard to google.

 

Barb

[Osmosis Mom]

Check out Clarkson UNiversity in Potsdam, NY. Great school, nice, quiet town, verrrry cold winters.

 

Also, there is a newer, small school here in MA called Olin. Looks attractive.

[JoyfulMama]

WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) in Worcester, MA

I had a few friends go there, and they loved the smaller feel.

 

Also, Lafayette College in Easton, PA. (Surpassed Lehigh University on the most recent rankings I believe.)

[Brenda in MA]

Union College in Schenectady,NY is a liberal arts college that has accredited engineering programs in these two fields. All classes are taught by professors (no TAs teaching), and all seniors have to do a research project and present it at a symposium.

 

We toured there last year and ds heavily considered it, but in the end he wasn't sure he wanted either mechanical or electrical engineering, so he went elsewhere.

 

One other place I keep hearing mentioned is Rose Hulman. I think it's in Indiana, but I don't know much else about it.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[aggieamy]

Would love imput on smaller colleges with great engineering programs. I like the idea of not being in an engineering or physics class of over 100 kides. I would love your suggestions as it has been hard to google.

 

Barb

 

I went to a VERY large engineering school but it's been my experience that the only large class sizes I had were in the basic freshman classes. All my upper level engineering and science classes were all less than 40. Freshman calculus though ... that was a big one.

[LMA]

University of Rhode Island for Electrical Engineering has small classes.

University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth has a co-op program that is very competitive with Northeastern U. in Boston. My neighbor's son went tuition-free to UMass Dartmouth, got field experience at three different companies. He graduated at the top of his engineering class in May. He was offered two different positions and he took a huge job with a huge corporation with a huge salary, way, way above the average starting salary with a bachelor's degree in EE. He worked very hard and he has no school debt.

[Sharon in MD]

If you are looking on the east coast....Lafayette could be really nice...it was one of our top picks. They really emphasize the Renaissance man type of program. They are truly liberal arts with a great engineering school to boot. They have excellent prof to student relationships. If ds had wanted Mech e or EE or Chem E. we would have strongly encouraged him to go there. It is also a beautiful campus. think images of ivy covered hallowed halls....it looks like a college should look.

 

We visited Olin. I think it WILL be a great school. I loved it, but I was uncomfortable with their new status....If your kid is a jr or sr....well I would just be a little bit more careful because they are so new. Others may disagree with me, but I feel that they are excellent and creating a new model....I just wasn't comfortable with being in something that new and unproven. I DO think they are AWESOME. But...they are also skimming off the very top kids... Also...if your child is looking for something with advanced labs available, they didn't have it as of last year.

 

UMBC in Maryland, (University of Maryland Baltimore County) has a fantastic engineering school....it is truly competitive with UMD College Park. They have an excellent scholars program that welcomes homeshooled kids. My son was accepted into it...but decided to go elsewhere. Look into the Meyerhoff Scholars program. It is truly an exceptional program and I would recommend it without hesitation. My best friend's son is in it as well. These kids are cream of the crop and GOING somewhere. If you want more particulars...pm me.

 

In the category of co-op schools....not really a small school,more mid sized..2000 freshmen admitted this year and 900 of them engineers....DREXEL in philly. I think they were ranked 89 in US News and World Report and #4 in the up and comers category. This is where our son decided to go. It fits him and I hope and pray it will continue to fit him. They have good scholarships and fantastic....make that FANTASTIC research opportunities for their students....all the way down to the lowly freshman. Ds has been there less than 5 days and has already driven a scanning electron microscope. UMD told me he would have to be a grad student to even touch theirs. He is already working on a fracture analysis project about why a computer fan blade broke and how it broke. Whatever field of engineering your kid is interested in they WILL put them in research right away if that is what they want to do. That was the key for us.

 

They are also a coop school....takes a minimum of 5 years to get the BS, but you also graduate with 18 months real work experience. They also have a 5 year bs/ms program which has 12 months real work experience...you lose one coop to grad level work.

 

We also visited Grove City, RPI, Lehigh, UMD college Park and looked into JHU, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western.....I feel like I'm forgetting one....oh well...

 

i hope this helps...please feel free to followup

[Gwen in VA]

Yes -- which engineering field he is planning on going into can make a HUGE difference as to which school is a good fit for him.

 

Ds2 is very interested in a small engineering school, but he wants to go into naval architecture (Webb Institute!) or aero-astro, which almost precludes all small engineering schools!

[Sharon in MD]

Alex wanted Materials Science....Schools had to be big enough to have nano level labs and plasma and and and...

 

Actually, UMBC did not have that but the Meyerhoff Scholars program is a pre-PHD program, so that is why it stayed on the list. It opens virtually any Phd door you could imagine for the students.

[Starr]

I was going to mention Clarkson as well.

[Heather in AL]

Have you considered UAHuntsville (formerly called UAH)? It's a branch of the University of Alabama system located in Huntsville, Alabama up near the Tennessee line.

 

UAH is known for it's engineers. In fact, it seems to me that is *what* they are known for.... popping out engineers. It's a very good school with only one or two lecture hall type classes; the rest are normal sized ones. It's a smallish school with a smallish feel. A bonus of attending UAH is that Huntsville has the second largest Research Park in the nation (it could be first now, but I'm not sure), so the co-op opportunities are endless. NASA, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, etc, etc. See my link below for the city's link to view some of the businesses located here. There is everything from defense to internet pioneers to genetics. Companies actively recruit engineer students for co-op opportunities as well as internships.

 

Huntsville is a safe city that is close to larger cities.... two hours will put us in either Nashville, Birmimgham, Chattanooga, Tn, and 3 1/2 hours will put us in Atlanta. Six will get us to the beach. Two years ago, we drove to Houston in 12.

 

Take a peek if you are interested:

About the college: http://www.uah.edu/

About the city: http://www.hsvcity.com/

 

HTH!

[Kendall]

University of Tulsa. private university. 4000 students. The professors teach the classes. We were impressed with it. Expensive! They give a full ride scholarship to some National Merit Finalist; I have no idea about their aid beyond that.

[OH Kim]

What's your idea of small? Case Western Reserve's freshman class is less than 1100 students. Rennselaer undergrad is less than 6K students. Rose-Hulman in Terra Haute, IN, has less than 2K undergrad students.

[Chris in VA]

My son is interested in the 3/2 engineering program--Radford University in VA and VA Tech team up to give you a 5 year program. When completed, the student graduates with 2 BS degrees--one in Physics and one in Engineering. More details at the Radford University website. This is brand new to us, so we are still investigating. Radford doesn't seem too hard to get in to, but I don't know about the specific program.

[StephanieZ]

Olin is exceptional, and it is small.

[LibraryLover]

nm, Already been mentioned. Carry on. :)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Usna

usma

usafa

uacga

usmma

 

I can't speak for the other schools but USNA have very small classes. I think the largest class I was ever in was freshman chemistry, which had three sections together for lecture (about 60-90 students) but labs that were just one section at a time (20-30).

 

Most of my classes were 30 or fewer. Majors classes were often far smaller.

 

I wasn't an engineering major, but I think the pattern holds across the departments.

 

I frequently had upper level majors classes that were fewer than a dozen. A couple language classes were fewer than eight. One only had four students and met at a table in the library.

 

The downside to academy engineering is that you often end up doing something non-engineering related after graduation. On the other hand, you get incredible leadership (managerial) experience. As a new grad, I was supervising a 25 person division as well as standing engineering officer of the watch for my ship. Within two years I was a qualified bridge watchstander and was standing weekend duty as command duty officer, where I was responsible for the safety of the ship in the captain's absence. It's not for everyone. But when it is a match, it is a great opportunity.

[avdelp]

I also recommend checking into the University of Tulsa (especially since you're in TX). My husband and are are both Tulsa alums and he has a Mechanical Engineering degree. Tulsa is truly known for its engineering. We both loved our 4 years there. Being private, it is quite expensive, though. There is scholarship money.

 

I also recommend Grove City College. They have a fantastic engineering program also. My daughter has applied their Early Decision and we're waiting to hear. :)

[Gwen in VA]

If you want SMALL and engineering, I recommend the Webb Institute. It has a total (all four years) of fewer than 100 students, but --

 

1) 100% job placement.

2) HIGHLY respected

3) Tuition-free, so students only pay for room and board.

4) Winter work term, where students and the college (with the college doing most of the work for the freshmen and sophomores) arrange for work. My freshman will be working at a boatyard in Maine this winter -- a dream come true for him.

5) Not all students are interested in boats. Graduates enter the mechanical and aero fields fairly often, and grads do go on to top grad schools in those areas.

6) Applied, hands-on, with lots of team work and camaraderie. The level of support is amazing.

[Mama Geek]

When looking check to make sure the engineering programs are ABET accredited. I went to Clemson in the 90's and the only class that was huge was the physics classes. I think they had 90-120 people but the labs were small and the lab instructors were helpful. The other classes were all very reasonable in size even the lit classes and so forth. I don't know how much has changed since then, but it might be another option.

[prairiegirl40]

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is small. My ds attends there and loves it!

[TechWife]

This is a really old thread, but I'll toss Harvey Mudd College into the mix.

[jennynd]

Union College in Schenectady,NY is a liberal arts college that has accredited engineering programs in these two fields. All classes are taught by professors (no TAs teaching), and all seniors have to do a research project and present it at a symposium.

We toured there last year and ds heavily considered it, but in the end he wasn't sure he wanted either mechanical or electrical engineering, so he went elsewhere.

One other place I keep hearing mentioned is Rose Hulman. I think it's in Indiana, but I don't know much else about it.

HTH,

Brenda

 

 

Union college is like Harvard expensive ... I will not comment on the quality.. I know quite a few graduated there

[Brenda in MA]

Union college is like Harvard expensive ... I will not comment on the quality.. I know quite a few graduated there

 

Yes, Union is pricey, but -- they are one of the 100% needs met schools. So if you're family can afford its EFC, then the finances might work out well.

 

Brenda

[ladykayaker]

ds would like to go into Mech Eng. We are near Annapolis, MD so we had always thought he would apply to UMBC or UMD.

But on thinking about this, we realise that without doubt his personality is better suited to a smaller class size. He will probably only just qualify academically for mech eng. He is not strong academically, just loves everything physics and has obviously got a strength for anything mechanical.

 

If he attends UMBC or UMD then he would live at home and drive into class each day. Considering an away college changes things for us.

 

What do we need to consider? Feeling very overwhelmed by all the options at the moment. How on earth do you decide? My goal is for him to finish his degree and not drop out. He will need support to ensure that he doesn't fall through the cracks.

[SkateLeft]

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is small. My ds attends there and loves it!

 

 

My daughter was admitted to SD SM&T and is seriously considering it. She'd been set on Michigan Tech (another fairly small engineering school!), but she's starting to have second thoughts about the sheer volume of snow there. Right now, it's a toss up between UND, Michigan Tech and SD SM&T.

 

I'd love to ask some questions if you're up for it! I tried sending a PM, but it said that you're not accepting new PMs.

[creekland]

 

What do we need to consider? Feeling very overwhelmed by all the options at the moment. How on earth do you decide? My goal is for him to finish his degree and not drop out. He will need support to ensure that he doesn't fall through the cracks.

 

 

What year is he now? Have you visited any colleges?

[prairiegirl40]

 

My daughter was admitted to SD SM&T and is seriously considering it. She'd been set on Michigan Tech (another fairly small engineering school!), but she's starting to have second thoughts about the sheer volume of snow there. Right now, it's a toss up between UND, Michigan Tech and SD SM&T.

 

I'd love to ask some questions if you're up for it! I tried sending a PM, but it said that you're not accepting new PMs.

 

I PM'd you!

[ladykayaker]

Haven't visited any yet, but are planning to in the summer. I can't believe we are really considering an 'away' college. We had always said the local / state colleges are perfectly good enough. How on earth do you decide? Our goal is for him to finish his degree and not drop out. Very worried about the stories of kids dropping out of classes. He will need support to ensure that he doesn't fall through the cracks.

[SkateLeft]

Our goal is for him to finish his degree and not drop out. Very worried about the stories of kids dropping out of classes. He will need support to ensure that he doesn't fall through the cracks.

 

 

When you look at colleges, you'll want to ask questions about the types of support services available to your student.

 

Does the school offering advising to students? Is it mandatory? Is the student assigned an advisor, or are they required to find one themselves? - We found that many engineering programs have mandatory advising before a student can register for classes, but not all. Both my husband and I attended the UCs, which offered very little in the way of advising to undergraduates. We had to fumble through and figure out requirements and the best classes to take on our own. My daughter wants someone to work with her to meet her goals.

 

Does the school offering tutoring services? - Some schools we've looked at have tutoring offices for writing and math, and others offer learning centers for many of the weeder classes. For example, Michigan Tech offers several learning centers, staffed by faculty and students, where students can go for coursework help.

 

Some schools offer peer mentors, or first year programs that can help get a student started and keep them on track. One of the schools that my daughter is considering has a residential community just for engineering students. She's applied to that, and if she gets in, she'd be living in the dorms among other engineers.

 

That brings me to another thing. One of the reasons that my daughter choose to focus primarily on STEM schools rather than liberal arts colleges with engineering programs is because she wants to be around other kids with similarly rigorous schedules. That can help with keeping on track. I know it was tough for my husband and I when we were dating, because he was an engineering student and I was a liberal arts student. His schedule was much more rigorous than mine. Fortunately, he had the self-discipline to stick with what needed to be done, but some kids would be swayed into letting their grades get affected by their social lives.

 

The other part of the puzzle is ensuring that your student knows where to go for help, and is willing to ask.

 

Hope this helps a bit!

[Karen in CO]

Colorado School of Mines, also NM Institute of Mining & Technology.

 

Margaret, is this NMT? The one with the rocket sled track? My dd saw this on Mythbusters and now wants to go to school there. She's decided that any place with more than one bomb range is an awesome choice. I'm starting to think that she's watched too much Mythbusters. :D Although it keeps her interested in math since she knows she needs a lot of it to be a "rocket scientist."

[Beth S]

Our local comm college hosts a branch of the University of Kentucky Engineering Program.

The close-knit group can be an asset . . . but our ds wanted a bigger campus. (He's a Mech E major.)

He's at Univ. of Alabama (Roll Tide), but feels like he's getting lots of personal attention and individualized instruction.

He's a freshman and knows all his professors, and vice versa.

 

You may find other larger engineering schools that have branches in smaller towns in the same state.

But it usually limits the choices in major, and can make job placement a challenge.

 

Missouri S & T (in Rolla, MO) has a small-town feel and is almost entirely engineering-type majors.

 

You've gotten many good suggestions here!

[Susann]

I'm sorry I haven't read all the posts but just wanted to throw in Rose-Hulman. Oldest dd is a junior in computer engineering. #1 undergraduate school in engineering 13 years in a row by the Princeton Review. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. She loves it there and the individual attention is fantastic.

[LibraryLover]

Lafayette in PA has one the best engineering programs in the US, and is a very intimate campus.

[Miss Marple]

 

I went to a VERY large engineering school but it's been my experience that the only large class sizes I had were in the basic freshman classes. All my upper level engineering and science classes were all less than 40. Freshman calculus though ... that was a big one.

 

 

This has been my sons' experience as well. Once into the major field the classes were small. In addition, the large classes like physics and calculus have smaller discussion sessions so the boys were able to get to know a smaller group of kids as well as a particular teacher. I think that helps eliminate the "lost in the huge crowd" feeling.