Hi Barb. I'm originally from NW Ohio and have been to Michigan close to the Upper Peninsula (a few times), Ann Arbor (once), and just over the 'border' into SE Michigan. Would have to know which cities or towns the schools are in to really give a good reply. Both states would be decent places to go to school in IMO.

I'm from Toledo and know the U. of Toledo is a good one, albeit expensive. Bowling Green State University is about 1/2 hour south of Toledo and I delivered milk and juice to that college for a short time. It's a nice little town to go to school in.
And they have a pretty good hockey team.

One thing to keep in mind as far as Michigan is concerned. The farther north you go into that state the more snow you have to deal with and it gets cold sooner and stays cold longer than in southern MI or in Ohio.

Ann Arbor is where the University of Michigan is located. The one time I was there I thought it was a real nice area. But being from Ohio originally I really shouldn't say nice things about "that school up north". So I'll stop now.

Jeff

if your son is looking for an engineering college in michigan, have him come up to michigan tech. say ya to the U.P eh. it has a pretty tough curriculum. my wife went there for a couple years until she decided she didn't want to be an engineer. if he doesn't mind cold, we got that, and plenty of snow too. tech has a hockey team, but they don't have a very good record right now. they could use some good smart players. lots of outdoor activities all year round. winter carnival is pretty neat when all the frats and sororities have a contest building ice and snow sculptures. those engineering students come up with some elaborate works of art.

cons are, we're pretty far away from everything.
if you don't like snow, this aint the place for you.
coming from california, your son might be starved for sun before winter ends.
its pretty slow up here. we like it like that. your son might not.

pros, he'll get a good education.
if he likes outdoors, your son will love it here. there is so much you can do here all year round.
you can't see the air you breathe. sorry thats a shot at LAs smog.
its better up north

keith in calumet

I checked and he said the major is Welding Engineering, offered at Ohio State and Ferris State in MI. He only plays hockey for fun now, too small to play defense as in the past (he just bounced off the guys when he checked them!) He's crazy about fishing but I just don't know about all that snow. :-)

Too bad you live so far away from Ohio/Michigan Barb. Otherwise I'd suggest visiting the two schools before making a decision. Your son has a choice between a large university with excellent academics, or a smaller one in comparison. I can't really give advice on Ferris State because I don't know enough about it. Perhaps Keith can give his impression of that school.

If it were me I'd be questioning Ohio State to see how big the class sizes are so I'd know how much individual attention an instructor would have time for if any. I know even at the University of Toledo some of the classes were so full students had to sit on the steps of the aisles according to a former girlfriend who went there. I can only imagine OSU would have large class sizes like that also.

And with Ferris State I'd be interested to know what kind of reputation that college has before I chose them. I like the idea of a smaller college as long as the academics are highly respected by the companies who hire graduates in that particular field.

Not sure if that helps any. Just offering my humble opinion. I have to say though, I'm surprised there are only two colleges that offer that degree. You'd think USC, UCLA, Washington or some other PAC-10 schools would have similar programs.

Good luck to your son.

Jeff

I haven't met any welding engineers, but I have worked with numerous mechanical engineers and mechanical engineering technicians. Sometimes it is a good idea to find an engineering program that offers a more universally recognized degree such as mechanical engineering, but has a program that specializes in a certian area of interest. He might also look into programs such as engineering management or industrial engineering. Some benefits of getting a degree such as mechanical engineering rather than a niche degree like welding engineering are: 1) if you want to become a registered engineer, the registration tests favor having a broad background, 2) having a broad engineering background makes you more nimble in the job market, and 3) he might find that he wants to try a different aspect of engineering somewhere down the line. I would also offer this very important advice: make sure that the engineering curriculum is ABET accredited. I'm not sure what the accreditation program for engineering technolgy programs is.

Good luck to both of you.

By the way, Michigan Tech has an excellent reputation in the engineering community.

Jeff and geoguy,

Thanks so much for the info...I will pass it along. Chris is in the investigative phase right now. It would be at least a year before he actually does this.

barb

Hi Barb,

My husband graduated from Ferris and we lived on campus for a couple of years, so I can give you some perspective about FSU. The school is a bit off the beaten path, about an hour north of Grand Rapids. If he doesn't mind snow, he'll fit right in -- since Big Rapids is situated on the Western Michigan snowbelt. Even though he might be too small to play hockey on the college team, there are plenty of intramural teams of interest. Oh, and don't forget about broomball -- Keith would be very familiar with that sport. LOL.

I don't know much about the program itself, but I do know that it's held in high regard -- as is the one at OSU. Jeff's point about class size is excellent and one that I would take into consideration. You are talking about a huge difference in enrollment -- 50,000 students versus 12,000 students. But, if a large campus doesn't intimidate him, he'd do fine.

FSU has a number of science-based degrees and is well-known in Michigan for programs such as surveying, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, etc.

Have him come for a visit -- both states are wonderful to visit, even if Michigan has the better football team ;) ;) (and no, I'm not talking Lions. Go Blue!)

"But, if a large campus doesn't intimidate him, he'd do fine."

Chris attended UC Irvine for 1 1/2 yrs and said some classes in the theatre had upwards of 300 students. Enrollment there is around 23,000. 50,000 at OSU?? Wow!

barb

I'm in Columbus on business quite a bit. Ohio State is in the city- urban campus. Not sure that would factor in or not. I know it made a difference to me when I chose my college way back when.