For those curious, this is a Tethered Aerostat Radar System which is used for US border patrol for low-flying suspicious aircrafts. It is completely unmarked, unlit, and the cable is invisible. We were about 5 miles from the restricted area at 6500. I wouldn't fly much closer to the restricted zone, especially at night, given how easy to miss this thing is. I figured this unique perspective would be fun for people to see!
My time at WPI as an aerospace engineering (astro track) undergraduate with a minor in astrophysics:
Having been accepted into WPI with a non-existent SAT score, I was, at the time, pretty skeptical if I would even get into WPI. I did not take my academic journey very seriously until my junior year of high school, so my GPA, while okay, was not what it should’ve been. Having said that, I was accepted and provided a scholarship and so I decided to attend. I also decided to start with calc 1 despite having already taken calc in high school to have a chance to warm up to the 7-week term system.
Taking the calc 1 class proved to be a good decision for me, as my roommate, who was also aerospace, started in calc 2 and was consistently behind on his work and unable to smoothly progress beyond differential equations, forcing him to retake it in sophomore year. I consistently found all of the math classes at WPI to be very fast-paced, sometimes requiring more effort than aero classes. If you truly feel unsure about your calculus abilities, start with calc 1 and work your way up.
I should mention, I chose aerospace because I’ve always been fascinated with aviation and rocketry - I had built model rockets throughout high school and concurrently got my pilot’s license in my senior year. I had a strong passion behind it and wanted to know more about how planes and rockets are constructed and what math is used to make them.
Freshman year was fun, and I suspect a lot of that comes from my dorm selection (5th floor Messenger). With that said, freshman year was the most impactful year for me, and is probably the year I loved the most at WPI. It was that combination of new and exciting, with a slow increase in challenge as classwork built up. Freshman year had very few aerospace-specific classes involved, besides Intro to Material Science at the end of the year. Freshman year is your year to fuck things up and learn from it. You’re starting out in a new school with a clean slate, and everyone will make mistakes with you. Get the stupidity out now. This year was the first true year of heartbreak, good academic performance, and where I met my actual lifelong friends. Make the most of your time, say “yes” to those spontaneous plans, take advantage of WPI club meetings and academic help sessions, and have fun.
Sophomore year ramped up difficulty considerably and now was (nearly) all major-specific classwork. I was blessed with some of the better professors (aero and otherwise) that WPI has to offer, namely Professors Richman, Mortazavi, Urban, Lu, and, unfortunately, some of the worst: Taillefer, and Moorthy. By this point, my friend group had solidified from freshman year; friends and hobbies are what makes time spent at WPI feel special. The more you work with your friends and the more you do what you love (photography, flying, and restoring audio equipment, in my case) the happier you will be, and the better you will do in your classes as a result. This year taught me a lot of stress management and organizational skills and ended up serving me well for the following two years. While freshman year gives you a good understanding of the 7-week term system, sophomore year is where you begin to understand how intense some of these classes can be, especially if you overload**.
** A small note on overloading. Over my four years, I overloaded a total of 2 times. Once was for an independent study unit that allowed me to become a writing tutor, and the other was for tennis to keep myself on track for PE credits. It is absolutely possible to overload in aerospace, just choose wisely on terms and on classes to overload with; I would not recommend overloading for your term before IQP, nor for any term during MQP (of course, these were the 2 times that I did overload).
Junior year, I ended up getting a new place off campus due to some roommate issues the previous year - it happens, sometimes things just don’t work out, c’est la vie. This year was probably the most fun, second to freshman year, mostly as a result of IQP. However, before I get to that, regarding aero classes, they were the new normal of challenging, but expected. At least, for my track, it was a more in-depth structures class, aerodynamics class, and compressible fluid dynamics class. Again, I had good teachers throughout this year such as Professors Richman (again), Jagtap, and Olinger. Although, I must admit, I did also have the worst aero class and professor combination this year, that being AE4320 with Professor Demetriou. I found his teaching style incomprehensible, his code full of numerous mistakes, and his exams did not test any useful material that had been ‘taught’ in class. Note that I’m using the term ‘taught’ incredibly loosely. Despite the one poor class this year, it was easily corrected by IQP. Note also, that just before IQP, we sent in our applications for our MQP for senior year - although there is a dedicated form to fill out, it doesn’t hurt to email the professor directly and better-indicate why you feel the project would benefit from your background if you were to be on it. This was also the year I decided to add on my astrophysics minor.
Moving on to IQP, know that it can be hit or miss depending on…
…where you’re going
…who’s in your group
…who your project advisor is
…who your sponsor is
etc
Now, if the stars align for you - you will get to experience a new country, new atmosphere, and enjoy whatever you do while you’re inundated in a new culture far from home. I’m extremely happy to say that I felt like my group and I created an amazing project, and that I found great happiness in Bucharest, Romania. I really enjoyed my time in eastern Europe and would love to travel back there in the future. Apply to places you don’t know much about - take the time to get to know the country/area you’re going to, and genuinely try your best in your project and its report. Despite my project having nothing to do with my major, it provided more insight to international group work and team cohesion than any project, MQP, or internship could. Do not discount the impact that IQP can provide to you. It is an incredible program if you take advantage of it.
I took a summer semester between my junior and senior year. It consisted of one PE class and two astrophysics minor-required classes. As it turns out, only 3 extra classes outside of the aerospace curriculum are needed for this minor, and so I decided to go for it. Two of my other friends also joined me, making the experience a little more fun! While summer terms aren’t anywhere as intense as regular academic-year terms, you will still have homework and exams, so plan accordingly, however, summer terms are only 5 weeks long. Note that up till now I had not had an internship, but as I’ll discuss at the bottom of this post, that did not prove to be an issue. Thankfully, that did mean I had my summers free to spend time with high school friends and progress through a couple flight ratings, namely, instrument and seaplane ratings.
Moving into my senior year, a lot happened at once. I was recommended to be a writing tutor as a result of my group’s IQP report, and so I underwent tutor-training in A term. This was at the cost of overloading during my MQP’s first term, however I then moved into a staff position for my remaining three terms. At that same time, I was interviewed and accepted into Sigma Gamma Tau, an aerospace engineering society. Assuming you’re in the top third of your class (in senior year, that is), you will receive an invitation to it. On account of your character and one technical question, you will be accepted, and it is absolutely something you’ll want to have on your resume. Lastly, also at the same time, MQP had started, and MQP will be unlike any other project you experience in your time here. You will provide weekly (independent) reports and group presentations to your advisor(s) on what you’ve accomplished in the previous week, how you intend to proceed, and what you’re doing to troubleshoot or solve issues that you have/may face. Note that this group is probably bigger than you’re used to (I had 8 people, for example) so having dedicated leaders of smaller subgroups is key to group cohesion. Additionally, astro and aero MQPs are not separated, so, at least in my case, despite being an astro track, I was accepted for an aero MQP. While this wasn’t much of an issue for me, pay close attention to the MQP’s you’re applying to and ensure that if you get it, you’re the right fit. Lastly, also, note that some MQPs have more than just one required presentation. For example, some presented in a conferenced, and mine presented to our sponsor (New England Air Museum) in front of museum staff, restoration mechanics who worked on the plane we had analyzed, engineers from Pratt & Whitney, and the general public.
In addition to MQP taking up a lot of time, you will now experience the more difficult classes that the undergraduate program has to offer, namely rocket propulsion, spacecraft mission and design, and structural dynamics and vibrations. The latter is the most scary, but more so due to Professor Karanjgaokar’s teaching style rather than the material. Regardless, without giving you every little detail about my MQP and senior year experience, just know this will be the year where you put everything you’ve learned together. The skills, math, and comfort with the quick-paced terms will all come together now. This will be the term where your imposter syndrome will fade away. You know more than you think, and now you have the chance to prove it in your courses and MQP. The standout professors from this year were absolutely Blandino, Cai (where, although his first term was rough, he actively seeks feedback from his students and is an incredibly talented professor who has done his best to improve), and Professor Karanjgaokar (who, although, is a tough grader, his teaching is frankly unparalleled - also note that those who don’t do well in his class are also the same people who don’t attend his class). Generally speaking, while “RateMyProfessor.com” is a good way to get a general overview of a teacher, some poor reviews (and some great reviews) are often exaggerated, so unless there is a clear trend one way or the other, assume that the teacher is on par. There is also WPI’s “OSCAR” reporting website which you can take advantage of to see previous years/terms of specific classes and teachers - that is a good indication of what you are to expect from a class/teacher combo.
My quick .02 on the do’s and don’ts of aerospace at WPI (in no particular order).
DO:
DO NOT:
A small note about mental health at WPI:
Everyone’s mental health situation is different, and it can (or will) change throughout the academic year. While resources do exist at WPI, it is your responsibility to seek them out, and that’s often the flaw with mental health resources. WPI, while known for its technically advanced classes and high ROI after graduation, is also known for a higher than-average suicide rate compared to similar colleges. This is, likely, a direct result of the 7-week term system. This term system is unlike anything you’ve experienced before and will be challenging. Tight deadlines and *certain* unhelpful professors add to the struggle in some instances. With that said, nothing at WPI is impossible, and through strict time management and organization, you can do the assigned work and still maintain time to do what you love. For example, I was still able to have many of my afternoons to relax, or a Saturday to rent a plane and fly to Block Island with a friend throughout my senior year. If you are on top of your work, you can still have time to enjoy your time at WPI.
Now, that’s assuming everything is in your control. Sometimes you get sick. Missing 3-4 days out of a 49 day term is missing ~6% of a class. Sometimes that 6% is review for an exam, new material - material you wished you had the chance to learn. Sometimes teachers record classes, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they stream them, though most times they don’t. Or, in my case, they do record classes, and despite countless emails, they never send you the ‘effing recording… I digress, but my point is that getting sick makes these terms more stressful. As I recall, there were 3 times over my four years where I had to do work with a fever, and it’s as fun as it sounds. But, if you’ve done your work up till then, getting sick will not count you down and out. Do your best to take care of yourself, and get good rest and you’ll recover.
Why a summer internship for a WPI undergraduate isn’t necessary:
Each October/November for every year, I applied to summer internships and was rejected (or ghosted) each and every time. Only after graduating did I finally receive callbacks, interviews, and offers, mainly as a result of my project work completed at WPI. As I say above, ensure your resume adequately reflects the level of involvement you had in projects, and make sure that you can describe precisely what you contributed to that project, the pitfalls, the highs and lows, and everything in between. With no major-related work experience to show, you better be damn sure you can talk about these projects in full.
WPI treats your classes like a 7-week full time job. Without a doubt, it is a challenging place to be and will come with stressful homeworks, essays, projects, and exams. But know that it’s preparing you for the real world in doing so, and better than any other term system. For example, SpaceX operates with the heat and passion of a startup - it will have the same vibe that WPI does at the peak of midterms. Rise to the occasion, do not resign to it.
Having said that, absolutely keep applying to jobs through LinkedIn, USAJOBS, WayUp, Handshake etc, and, of course, emailing recruiters and talent acquisition directly. Put yourself out there and someone will see you for what you are worth. Do not give up until you get what you deserve. I got my current job by emailing a recruiter directly from a USAJOBS job post shortly before graduating.
Remember that comparison is the thief of joy. The more you compare yourself to others, the less happy you will be. Focus on your own progress and improvement year over year. Your progress is relative to you, and you alone.
I’m pretty sure I said everything I wanted to, but I’m probably forgetting some obvious points that I wanted to mention. So feel free to AMA and I will do my best to get back to you. All in all, I enjoyed my time here, and I look forward to visiting again in the future.
