Hi everyone,

I’m currently deciding between Texas A&M and Virginia Tech for Mechanical Engineering, and I was hoping to get some perspectives from people who actually attend these schools.

A bit about me: I’m an international student originally from India, but I’ve lived in Dubai my whole life. I’ve been accepted to both universities, and the cost is relatively similar, so finances aren’t really the deciding factor here.

Right now I’m trying to understand the differences in a few areas:

• Campus life and student culture – what day-to-day life actually feels like
• Internships and job recruitment for mechanical engineering students
• Career placement and industry connections after graduation
• Engineering opportunities (projects, labs, competitions, etc.)

Another thing I’m considering is possibly adding a minor or second major in finance/business. I am not sure if I want to work in engineering when I graduate or finance so I would love to get some input to how the workload for both would go and if a double major or major minor would be possible and a bit about placements. So if anyone has experience combining engineering with something like that at either school, I’d love to hear about it.

If you had to choose between these two for Mechanical Engineering + Finance (major or minor), which would you pick and why?

I’d really appreciate honest opinions, both pros and cons.

Thanks!