火爆社区

Students with an interest in business or STEM subjects will be pleased with the offerings of Kettering University, which has a focus not just on those disciplines, but in fostering the next generation of industry leaders. Students attribute some of their success to the institution鈥檚 鈥渁wesome鈥� Co-op program, which is 鈥渦nparalleled in preparing students.鈥� The way Co-op works is by splitting the academic calendar into four approximately 11-week terms, two of which are for school, and two of which are for work. This means that from their first year on, undergrads 鈥済et to make money during school while also getting experience and making industry connections.鈥� A word of warning from students, though: this type of scheduling is quite demanding. 鈥淐ourse loads are high and there is often a lot of homework.鈥� This can be compounded by what current enrollees feel is an all-or-nothing split between instructor styles: some 鈥渃are deeply about the subject and the students鈥� and others who are just plain prickly, or as one puts it, 鈥淚 have had many professors gladly tell me how many students have failed their class.鈥� There are plenty of students who share happy stories of faculty members who are 鈥渁vailable almost whenever you need them鈥� or who are 鈥渧ery understanding鈥� and 鈥渁lways willing to help,鈥� but 鈥渢here isn鈥檛 really an in-between.鈥�

The 鈥渧ery bright鈥� students at Kettering, despite sometimes feeling 鈥渙verworked, stressed out, and sleep deprived,鈥� overall find themselves 鈥渂onded by our struggles in our rigorous coursework.鈥� Students stay in good humor and find the silver lining in every experience, or as one colorfully puts it, 鈥淲e are all...caffeine-fueled sarcasm machines that pump out math and science equations at the drop of a hat.鈥� The 鈥減ersonable鈥� atmosphere of this 鈥渞elatively small鈥� school may help to liven everyone鈥檚 mood. 鈥淓ven if you do not know someone鈥檚 name, you recognize a face in the hallway or in a lecture that you can share a smile with.鈥� More importantly, students say that their classmates are 鈥渧ery helpful鈥� and note that 鈥渋t is easy to join a group who is studying and get to know them.鈥� Easy, at least, if you鈥檙e male鈥攖he 鈥渧ast majority is white male engineering students,鈥� and some find that to create 鈥渁 culture of masculinity鈥� that sometimes offers 鈥渧ery little support for the women.鈥� Then again, other enrollees dispute this, suggesting that Kettering is 鈥渁 very inclusive school鈥� where students 鈥渁ccept and accommodate each other鈥檚 differences.鈥� At the end of the day, all undergrads are 鈥渢echnically minded people鈥� who 鈥渨ant to push boundaries and go further than anyone else,鈥� and one notes that 鈥渋f you love cars, engineering, and the automotive industry, there probably is no better school.鈥�

Kettering may have an unconventional calendar, and some busy students may quip that 鈥淲e鈥檙e all engineers, so we鈥檙e studying all the time,鈥� and yet we heard at length about all the fun activities that students found time to squeeze in. 鈥淭here is a club for anything and everyone,鈥� shares one student, and that doesn鈥檛 seem to be an exaggeration. In addition to the school鈥檚 SAE teams, which are among 鈥渢he best in the country,鈥� there are plenty of other interest-driven activities like the Financial Club and even a blacksmithing club. Students also list a variety of intramural sports like flag football and basketball as a great way to escape academic stress. 鈥淲e may go out bowling, to play Topgolf, to catch a movie, [to go] skiing or off-roading.鈥� Nearby Detroit and Ann Arbor offer even more events, as does the university itself. Undergrads also share that 鈥淕reek life is very popular,鈥� although here, too, note that some describe the Greek scene as 鈥渃ompletely different at Kettering than it is at other campuses.鈥�

Kettering鈥檚 renowned co-operative education program, one of the university鈥檚 biggest draws, lives up to its tagline 鈥淟earn as a Student, Earn as a Professional.鈥� Here, you can gain job-related opportunities, 鈥渟ee what someone with your degree does day-to-day in their job,鈥� and make industry connections right from their first year of school: 鈥淚t is unparalleled in preparing students.鈥� As the school states, 鈥淐o-op isn鈥檛 just an option, it鈥檚 one half of your educational experience.鈥� Beyond the benefits of the experience and being paid for it, students speak strongly of the job-placement rate, which some suggest the program 鈥渁lmost guarantees.鈥� Students graduate with more than two years of experience (鈥淲e produce seasoned engineers and scientists鈥�) and one notes 鈥淚 have three job offers two months before graduation.鈥� With a median starting salary of $75,700 a year, that鈥檚 very impressive, indeed.