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Mechanical Engineering & Robotics

Mad Scientists' Machine Shop

The absolute pinnacle of "Mind and Hand." They have the academic rigor of theoretical physicists, but the grease-stained hands of a Formula 1 pit crew. They don't just write papers; they build terrifying robots that will eventually hunt us for sport or cook us dinner. One or the other.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 104 5% 47% / 53% 5% $133,881 —
2 Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Stanford, CA 56 4% 64% / 36% 9% $133,788 —
3 Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA 473 15% 79% / 21% 14% $111,031 —
4 University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley, CA 213 11% 78% / 22% 11% $109,709 —
5 California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena, CA 38 3% 71% / 29% 3% — —
6 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Champaign, IL 289 43% 85% / 15% 22% $113,782 —
7 Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 114 11% 69% / 31% 4% $115,129 —
8 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, MI 291 15% 73% / 27% 10% $115,857 —
9 Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
Ithaca, NY 152 7% 66% / 34% 5% $108,011 —
10 Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
West Lafayette, IN 510 50% 82% / 18% 16% $122,173 —
11 University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Austin, TX 283 25% 73% / 27% 2% $107,238 —
12 Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX
College Station, TX 486 47% 82% / 18% 2% $108,456 —
13 Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA
University Park, PA 385 55% 84% / 16% 14% $102,418 —
14 University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 186 9% 82% / 18% 8% $120,312 —
15 University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
La Jolla, CA 180 24% 74% / 26% 9% $88,101 —
16 University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
Madison, WI 290 43% 84% / 16% 10% $116,254 —
17 University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA 171 44% 75% / 25% 9% $93,661 —

Whiteboard-preferred

Elite private institutions where mechanical engineering is more theory than hands-on. They will mathematically optimize your heat transfer models or derive fluid dynamics on a glass wall, but they might call a mechanic if their car gets a flat tire.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Princeton, NJ 37 4% 62% / 38% 14% — —
2 Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Cambridge, MA 33 3% 67% / 33% 9% — —
3 Columbia University
New York, NY
New York, NY 81 4% 73% / 27% 11% $102,350 —
4 University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, PA 63 4% 67% / 33% 10% $117,027 —
5 Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Evanston, IL 94 7% 63% / 37% 11% $105,206 —
6 Yale University
New Haven, CT
New Haven, CT 26 4% 58% / 42% 4% — —
7 Duke University
Durham, NC
Durham, NC 70 5% 71% / 29% 4% $133,069 —
8 Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, MD 45 5% 80% / 20% 7% $118,219 —
9 Rice University
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 60 8% 67% / 33% 7% $109,004 —
10 Brown University
Providence, RI
Providence, RI — 5% — — — —
11 University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, CA 93 9% 63% / 37% 9% $104,458 —
12 University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA
Charlottesville, VA 69 13% 71% / 29% 0% $90,358 —
13 University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
Notre Dame, IN 116 9% 72% / 28% 3% $104,232 —
14 Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, OH 71 35% 73% / 27% 8% $100,172 —
15 Boston University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 130 13% 75% / 25% 17% $101,550 —
16 New York University
New York, NY
New York, NY 82 8% 74% / 26% 21% $77,459 —

The Defense Budget Beneficiaries

If it flies, explodes, or orbits, someone from these programs probably built it. Heavily funded by the Pentagon and aerospace giants, they spend four years stressing over Mach numbers so they can legally play with classified rockets.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
Boulder, CO 283 75% 80% / 20% 3% $102,979 —
2 University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD
College Park, MD 302 42% 83% / 17% 1% $98,636 —
3 Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Blacksburg, VA 351 42% 84% / 16% 8% $106,131 —
4 United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD
Annapolis, MD 132 9% 81% / 19% 2% — —
5 United States Military Academy
West Point, NY
West Point, NY 84 9% 88% / 12% 0% — —
6 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach, FL 89 55% 71% / 29% 0% $90,210 —

The Boutique Pressure Cookers

Tiny, incredibly intense undergrad-only programs where everyone knows everyone and the professors will personally hunt you down if your CAD assembly fails. Zero sleep, infinite stress, flawless fundamentals.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA
Claremont, CA — 9% — — — —
2 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, IN
Terre Haute, IN 114 55% 81% / 19% 4% $101,217 —
3 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
New York, NY
New York, NY 42 12% 81% / 19% 12% — —
4 Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Lewisburg, PA 42 32% 76% / 24% 5% $101,813 —
5 Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Villanova, PA 74 19% 76% / 24% 1% $116,292 —

Rust Belt Royalty & Co-op Cults

Colleges hidden in the snow or adjacent to industrial parks where you spend half your degree actually working at a real company. You won't get clout on TikTok, but you'll graduate with real-world experience and zero fear of angle grinders.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Northeastern University
Boston, MA
Boston, MA 243 5% 73% / 27% 3% $97,891 —
2 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
Troy, NY 146 52% 80% / 20% 12% $93,720 —
3 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA
Worcester, MA 288 45% 73% / 27% 8% $97,862 —
4 Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY
Rochester, NY 164 55% 76% / 24% 7% $89,418 —
5 Kettering University
Flint, MI
Flint, MI 162 68% 79% / 21% 2% $109,334 —
6 Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI
Houghton, MI 181 75% 81% / 19% 1% $102,076 —
7 Iowa State University
Ames, IA
Ames, IA 369 85% 86% / 14% 5% $118,447 —
8 University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati, OH 204 72% 84% / 16% 8% $111,757 —
9 Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 61 55% 90% / 10% 10% $94,339 —
10 Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO
Golden, CO 301 29% 76% / 24% 1% $103,937 —
11 San Jose State University
San Jose, CA
San Jose, CA 168 50% 92% / 8% 6% $99,434 —

The Kinetic Energy Cartel

Massive state schools churning out the absolute backbone of the engineering workforce. They are running on pure caffeine and spite, ready to keep the physical world from plunging into the dark ages by optimizing your local HVAC systems.

# ▲ University Location Degrees Accept SAT Male/Female Intl 5-Year Earn
1 Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Columbus, OH 297 53% 83% / 17% 6% $113,641 —
2 North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Raleigh, NC 290 40% 87% / 13% 1% $108,045 —
3 University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Gainesville, FL 269 23% 81% / 19% 3% $102,439 —
4 Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
East Lansing, MI 262 65% 86% / 14% 9% $105,724 —
5 Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Tempe, AZ 306 88% 83% / 17% 9% $100,097 —
6 University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA
Irvine, CA 208 21% 81% / 19% 13% $105,234 —
7 Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Clemson, SC 227 42% 90% / 10% 0% $95,001 —
8 University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara, CA 87 26% 89% / 11% 8% $89,088 —
9 University of California, Davis
Davis, CA
Davis, CA 124 37% 75% / 25% 16% $94,182 —
10 University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL
Orlando, FL 376 25% 81% / 19% 5% $88,926 —
11 University of Delaware
Newark, DE
Newark, DE 145 55% 81% / 19% 1% $92,520 —
12 Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
Corvallis, OR 368 75% 85% / 15% 12% $93,694 —
13 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City, UT 145 82% 88% / 12% 6% $100,895 —
14 Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Auburn, AL 197 47% 86% / 14% 3% $102,156 —
15 University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tuscaloosa, AL 231 75% 87% / 13% 3% $102,008 —
16 University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 142 45% 80% / 20% 13% $102,724 —
17 Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Collins, CO 174 82% 87% / 13% 4% $88,205 —
18 University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Storrs, CT 200 49% 81% / 19% 2% $89,963 —
19 University of Oklahoma - Norman
Norman, OK
Norman, OK 108 72% 85% / 15% 11% $104,068 —
20 Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK
Stillwater, OK 244 55% 89% / 11% 1% $104,136 —
21 University of Houston
Houston, TX
Houston, TX 190 55% 79% / 21% 5% $99,246 —
22 University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY
Lexington, KY 157 90% 83% / 17% 4% $96,479 —
23 University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Columbia, SC 124 55% 81% / 19% 1% $94,817 —
24 Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
Lubbock, TX 293 55% 89% / 11% 4% $96,342 —
25 Washington State University
Pullman, WA
Pullman, WA 237 75% 86% / 14% 3% $84,538 —
26 University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
Chicago, IL 161 55% 80% / 20% 9% $89,167 —
27 University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA
Riverside, CA 121 66% 85% / 15% 1% $82,561 —
28 Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee, FL 105 23% 75% / 25% 2% $89,094 —
29 George Washington University
Washington, DC
Washington, DC 39 28% 69% / 31% 5% $85,444 —
30 University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX
Dallas, TX 162 72% 81% / 19% 3% $89,143 —
31 Florida International University
Miami, FL
Miami, FL 169 42% 88% / 12% 11% $90,885 —