College and Guns

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SodiumBenzoate

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For college, I plan on getting a Masters in some form of engineering.

The problem is that many of the really good engineering schools are in states like New York and Massachusetts, and I really don't want to deal with the complications that would bring with firearms.

So, can anyone recommend good engineering schools in areas with relatively loose firearms laws (IE, a state and locality that has no AW ban, no licensing/registration, FOID's included)? I already have found Carnegie Mellon and Drexel, both in Pennsylvania, however two colleges is about four too few.

This is by no means urgent, I still have 3 years or so until I need to apply. Mainly a curiosity deal right now.
 
Michigan Tech. One of the best engineering schools in the country.

www.mtu.edu

Pros: VERY good reputation. Michigan gun laws aren't bad, shall issue CCW, no waiting periods. In extra-gun-friendly Upper Michigan. Low cost of living in the area, lots of opportunity for outdoor activity. Tech has a lot of state of the art facilities and is always expanding.

Cons: Michigan has handgun registration (though you don't have to get a NICS check for handguns). Harsh winters to the uninitiated. 3 to 1 male to female ratio at MTU; don't expect to date much. MTU is also expensive, and every chance they get they raise their prices. Upper Michigan won't offer much for you if you don't like small town living.
 
Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach offers Masters degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science (possibly others too, been a few years since I worked on my undergrad degree there). FL has OK gun laws, though I don't know for sure as I was not a gun owner while at that campus. Don't know about the Prescott, AZ campus WRT to MS degrees. They were talking about getting MS in AE degrees going when I was about the graduate. Possibly Electrical Engineering too.

For the rest of AZ, the U of A here in Tucson has a pretty decent grad program in Mech. Eng. Dunno 'bout ASU in Tempe, but all of AZ has pretty decent gun laws.

If you come to AZ, let me know, I'll meet you at the range at the very least!
 
You probably want to get your hands on a recent copy of The Princeton Review 'best colleges' book. Their site has a search engine to check for schools with a respective graduate program.

This is by no means urgent, I still have 3 years or so until I need to apply. Mainly a curiosity deal right now.
Click to expand...

You still an undergrad? I remember my undergrad years as a CompSci major. I lost my heart for grad school after my 2nd year of college. 4 years of CompSci classes with 3 hours labs per class and what seemed like a 30:1 male to female ratio got to me (but that's why you take humanities and psych classes, right?). Maybe I'll try grad school eventually...
 
Not sure how good the programs are (even tho I work for the UofI), but you might want to check out the schools here in Idaho :)
 
Even if the state is what might be considered pro-gun, most colleges are going to have rules on their books banning firearms on campus.....just something to consider.
 
Dude, according to your profile you're 14 (edit: apparently 13, turning 14 in a couple months). Relax about college, especially grad school. Worry about your high school education now. When you're 17, then start thinking about which college to get you undergrad from. When you're 22, then start looking into graduate programs. There's little point in looking this far ahead in such detail. It's great you're thinking ahead, but don't let that sidetrack you from your current responsibilities at school.

When I was a college sophmore (about 6 years ago) I was the TA for a class all the freshmen were required to take that was basically to teach them how to survive in college, as well as give them a taste of the engineering program. One guy in one of my classes was obsessed with the future. He decided he'd get his BS from Embry-Riddle, then, while an F-16 pilot for the Air Force, get an MS from some big name school, then a PhD from MIT in astro-physics. Then he was going to become a shuttle pilot for NASA. He flunked out after 2 semesters becuase he spent all his time trying to figure out how to accomplish all that stuff that he forgot to study for the classes he was in.

Don't become that guy.
 
Even if the state is what might be considered pro-gun, most colleges are going to have rules on their books banning firearms on campus.....just something to consider.
Click to expand...

This is good advice. I'm attending the University of Florida (decent engineering program, but nothing too special) and there are NO firearms allowed on campus (except for LEOs :rolleyes: ). The surrounding area (Northern Florida) is very gun-friendly, however.
 
University of Missouri, in the town of Rolla; it used to be known as the "Missouri School of Mines", but has had a comprehensive coverage of the engineering disciplines for many years, including Nuclear Engineering (they have their own reactor on campus).

I earned my B.S.E.E and my M.S.E.E there, and my son is now working on a Masters in Computer Science there, after earning a Bachelors in Computer Engineering.

It is very well regarded Internationally as an Academic Institution.

It is a small town RURAL area. About one and a half hours to get to large cities like St. Louis, Springfield, or Columbia for entertainment or shopping (but there is a Super Wal-Mart in town).
 
University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA

Formed by Thomas Jefferson
Consistently rated as one of the top public universities in the country
Engineering school is regarded highly
 
Sodium,

Part of point was also that with so much time to go by between now and then, the firearms laws could change dramatically.

I know you're curious, but a lot can change. Thinking, planning, and such is fine so long as you don't let yourself get too far ahead of the field. At least get into high school before you get too wrapped up in college, and then get into college beofre you're too wrapped up in grad school.

Unless you've skipped a grade or two you'll be starting 8th grade this fall. When I was in 8th grade I KNEW I would go to the USNA and fly jets for the Navy. Then, when I was 16, I went to New Zealand as an exchange student, and between realizing that I needed glasses while there (which I knew would DQ me from a flight slot) and the big overall attitude change that I underwent made the military seem a lot less desireable.

I had always though I'd get at least a masters degree. Heck, I'm the only one in my immediate family without a PhD (well, my sister doesn't have hers, but she's nearly done with the requirements to get it). But, after 5 years of undergrad, I got a job offer that was too good turn down in favor of grad school. Now that I have a daughter, and with my wife is still working on her undergrad degree, I doubt I'll ever see the inside of graduate engineering classroom.

I'm not trying to tell you not to think ahead. Far from it. Lord knows I'm guilty of looking too far ahead sometimes myself. All I'm trying to say is, relax, don't worry, things will sort themselves out to a large degree in the next few years. Set goals, but be prepared to change them as you grow and mature.
 
Look around for college student handbooks online. Even if the college is in a gun-friendly state, guns will probably be banned on campus.
Example: University of Vermont. In the only state with no gun laws.
Not allowed: guns, ammunition, knives, weapons of any sort, anything that looks like a gun (replicas).
And unless you commute, you MUST live on campus for 2 years (though you might be able to petition out).

Of course, Burlington is a liberal, hippie-infested pit, which may play a part.

Beautiful area, if you can handle the winters.


-Owen
M.E. @ UVM
 
Like someone said here, I don't know of any college\university that doesn't have a defined no carry statute regarding guns or knives. Even if you are CCW legal, you must disarm before being on their property. Most campuses have their own LE which will treat this with extreme prejudice. Right or wrong, that's their way and they feel you don't have to be there if you don't like it. This, I know from experience.:D
 
Come to Purdue! We have a great engineering school, a great group of shooters on campus, and reasonable state gun laws.

Indiana imposes no additional gun control beyond the federal laws. Getting a carry permit is as easy as filling out a form at the local police station and paying them a $20 paperwork fee. (And that's only if you feel like you want the permit; concealed is concealed...)

I would bet that carrying in class or storing a firearm in a dorm is illegal at any school. Purdue is no different. But, if you can get past that, you'll have no problem keeping or shooting guns at Purdue.
 
Utah State University offers a lot of engineering majors, except those like Marine Engineer, etc. It has got a lot of recognition... one of the few schools that regularly send stuff up on the space shuttle (through the engineering department, I believe).

The campus is pretty liberal (what college campus isn't?) but it's Utah, for crying out loud. Very gun friendly. ;)

Wes
 
Before you start thinking about a Masters in Engineering, start thinking about which engineering you intend to do in undergrad. There are top schools for one discipline that arent so hot in others.

Most engineering programs will have at least a few gun friendly people in it (one of my profs had an old advertisement for DuPont gunpowder hanging on the wall in his office and a previous final exam dealt with the energy & thermodynamics of a muzzle loader discharging, his undergrad research students got to research methods of improving kevlar for protection from shrapnel), just pick one south of NY (and not Jersey or Kali) and you'll be fine. There's plenty of schools out there, and you can always live off campus and still walk to class.

Kharn
 
NaBenz..................Many fine Schools in PA.........

Lehigh U '84 - BS Chem Engineering......................strict Engrg curriculum in all disciplines!

Even Lafayette (gasp!! arch-rival) has a very good Engrg program.

Pitt, Drexel, Penn State, Univ of Penn......................on and on in PA.

Close enough to go home when you want - but spread out enough to live there........all pricey I'm sure.

As mentioned above --ALL colleges and Univ's have a weapons prohibition in place.

As a side note - I was varsity on Lehigh's rifle team back in my day - not sure if it still exists though.

Good luck to you!!
 
As a UVa alum, I'll throw in another good word for them!

And, in spite of the rivalry, I'll recommend Virginia Tech.

Also, two smaller, but great schools for engineering are the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Indianapolis and Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh.

Finally, since it is being dispensed, I'll throw in one other piece of advice. If you want to be an engineer, lean how to write well. It seems trivial, but many engineers today (no offense to any engineers on the board) are not well versed in writing. Many schools, particularly UVa, are starting to place more emphasis on writing for their engineering students because employers are contacting the programs and complaining about the graduates. So, if you know how to write well coming out of school, you'll have a major leg up on the competition.

Good luck!
 
Texas A&M University! Engineering is their forte and it's a great school with lots of deep tradition.

brad cook
 
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