I looked up and seen that Oklahoma University and Oklahoma State University might have the Aerospace Engineering Degrees your looking for and at the pace that you could do your curriculum in. Just remember you can do anything you want with the right motivation and determination. Doesn't matter how long it will take you. Don't over whelm your self, Good Luck.
If you're just looking at state schools (and there's nothing wrong with that!), go to a community college to get the basics out of the way and your GPA up and work at a local aerospace company (even a local airport) or engineering firm or hands-on we-build-hard-stuff firm. That'll help show the big name aerospace schools that you're for real. And it saves cash.
I'm wondering why you narrowed it down to just those two colleges ...My alma mater - the University of Michigan - has a good program. And over my years asa space advocate, I've been impressed by the people at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University,which has the added advantage of being located in Daytona Beach (and near KSC ...)I live about 5 miles from the University of Maryland's campus, and work at NASA/Goddard.There's a good partnership between the two; most of what I see is onthe science side rather thanthe engineering side of things.The community college idea is a good one. Montgomery (County) Community College does have atransfer agreement in place with UMd, and it's an excellent school in its own right. (putting mymoney where my mouth is - I have a daughter who is a HS freshman; we're looking at MCC -> UMdas a viable option for her). And it is less expensive than a four-year university. So, if you haven't looked at ERAU, do so. And look at the community college option to work aroundthe GPA issue - there are good community colleges out there.You didn't mention where you live - is there a family connection with Colorado or Maryland that gets youresidency or a place to stay part of the equation? (I took a year off to establish residency in Michigan back in the day - out of state tuition was expensive, or seemed so at the time ...)
Another well-regarded Aerospace school is VA Tech, alma mater of Dr. Chris Craft.
I don't have the grades right now, unfortunately.
I also keeping CC in the back of my mind, but would like to get out of the house and see the world. I'm from New Jersey.
Gotta be pragmatic and find a path that works for you, but definitely stay determined, and be flexible but never give up in following your dreams. And we all have ups and downs - I may have had the grades going into college but my GPA wasn't too stellar at VT! Engineering can be humbling, but I don't regret it - still the best decision I made. I later went on to get my MBA and had decent numbers there (710 GMAT going in, and a 3.65 GPA coming out) so I didn't let my crappy 2.7 undergrad GPA stop me from continuing my education, though if you want to stay with engineering into the masters and certainly the Ph.D. level, you'll of course want to have competitive grades. But another thing I'll mention is someone I know from my MBA class overcame attention deficit disorder and graduated with nearly a perfect 4.0, so stick with it. Life's all about grit and overcoming obstacles after all!
No law that says you have to go to a nearby community college. And yeah, UMich has an excellent aerospace program, especially on the spacecraft side of things. Strongly recommend based on my interactions with alumni. I didn't attend, and have never even been to Michigan, mind you.
Arent people students with disabilities pooled differently than the regular streams of students? If you have a Physicians paperwork, selection its a lot different up here North of the border.Who cares how you enrol, so long as you prove yourself once you have a seat? No matter what the weather is like.
You're in New Jersey? Ann Arbor isn't really all that different. It's similar to NYC. You do get an occasional (every couple years) cold snap where it drops below -5F at night (coldest I remember in 18 years was about -12 or so), but generally, similar to Chicago and Cleveland. I.e, they DO have a real winter - but they can deal with it. (Unlike Washington DC, which has been known to close down on the RUMOR of snow )And there's nothing that says you have to go to a local community college. As an example, Montgomery Community College is mostly a "commuter" campus - lots of evening courses, most of the students have homes / apartments in the area, and drive to campus. Finally, keep in mind that GPA is not an albatross that hangs forever around your neck. Once you complete your undergrad, nobody will care about your high school GPA. Once you get into the job market, college GPA becomes less relevant - it's the fact of the degree(s) that matter, and your real-life (work) experience that will open the doors for you.
I understand all this. Thanks for the advice! Any tips for getting into colleges? Any good universities that have strong partnerships with companies to provide better chances for internships? Anything outside of my college classes that I can do to help transition/gain experience before I enter the workplace as an aerospace engineer?
Hey all! Thought I'd let you know I am attending ERAU in the fall and will be majoring in aerospace engineering! I am excited! haha
There are specific rules (EEO) in the US for not discriminating what school a potential hiring candidate is from. However, that being said, the aerospace business is extremely fussy about picking the 'right' students from specific schools. There are articles from aerospace companies that talk about their extreme process to grab the top 1% from universities. But again, this is likely the top 1% of the top 10% schools in aerospace. Employers these days are really looking for advanced degrees (masters, PhD, ScD, etc). So you need to have an extreme drive to get your GPA up in college in order to be accepted into a masters program at all costs to get into aerospace.It is great for companies that are able to attract these candidates in the top 1%. Except for the rest of the plopulation that doesn't get hired, you have just spent a lot tuition that cannot be easily applied anywhere else (unless you go international). To me this is a policy in the industry that stinks bad. It is elitism that really has channels back to the military doctrine.It's hard to see over the horizon past 2016, but I think right now I would tell my kids to wait until NASA actually states in clear and notorious fashion that they are absolutely funded for a Mars mission by taxpayers. I would honestly state you have better chances for your career by steering away from aerospace. If there is a war on when you graduate in 4+ years, this can have extremely damaging effects on your job hunt near graduation. There are stats that will show you that you would be better chances for a successful career by gaining more broader skills in software, systems, mechanical or electrical engineering as well as a few others. Aerospace was at the bottom of the pile for number of job postings versus all other majors. And then propulsion engineering is a fraction of aerospace... The problem is that most companies are just looking to cut costs to meet earnings expectations (if they are public). A company these days is not pushing research. They will take new ideas and throw them into an idea bin/dumpster for consideration later if needed. Right now most companies seem to have their formula figured out.But if you do have to jump into aerospace.... try to get into one the top 5. Purdue, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and if you can afford it MIT. These seem to be some of the schools with better reputations. University of Maryland is great in certain aspects of aerospace, they may not get the full attention by some aerospace companies. However, they are collaborating with one major aerospace company in one research area. Right now nobody is claiming they have an official Mars program (funded by a international group of governments at least). And nobody is designing radical new aircraft. So you will emerge out of an aerospace engineering program having been educated for something very specific for projects that will likely not be realized. Software engineering right now is #1 out of all other majors.Good luck!