Princeton Review
Kettering University

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Contact Information

1700 University Ave.
Flint, MI 48504-6214
Phone: (810) 762-7865
Fax: (810) 762-9837
View Website
Kettering University Says...
Where do you want to go? What do you want to be? No college helps students answer these questions better than Kettering University.

There isn't another college like us. Kettering is a highly-acclaimed, private university located in Flint, Michigan, that combines innovative, hands-on programs in engineering, math, science, and business with a ground-breaking experiential learning and professional cooperative education program.... Read More...

Statistics

Enrollment: 1844
Average ACT: 27
Most Popular Majors: Computer Engineering, General,Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering,Mechanical Engineering,
Student Faculty Ratio: 14:1
School Says - General Information
Where do you want to go? What do you want to be? No college helps students answer these questions better than Kettering University.

There isn't another college like us. Kettering is a highly-acclaimed, private university located in Flint, Michigan, that combines innovative, hands-on programs in engineering, math, science, and business with a ground-breaking experiential learning and professional cooperative education program. What that means: students in all degree programs alternate between study terms and work terms. During study terms, students learn exciting material in small classes taught by professors, not teaching assistants. During work terms, they gain professional experience at corporations related to their studies and interests.

More importantly, Kettering students graduate with up to 2 1/2 years of real world experience and envy-worthy resumes. Our students have done everything from testing ballistic systems to re-engineering crowd management to designing biomedical tools. And since students can go to work their first year, they learn early what they like to do Ââ€" and what they never want to do again.

All of this experience pays off. Research shows that students who participate in experiential learning and co-op programs are more mature, better problem solvers, and more technically knowledgeable. Employers know that Kettering students are the cream of the crop Ââ€" our students typically graduate with job offers or grad school acceptances in hand, and frequently start their positions at a higher salary than their peers from other schools.

Those who know Kettering students agree Ââ€" tomorrow's business and industry leaders are at Kettering today. At Kettering, students earn a degree for the real world. Any university will take you places. Kettering will take you farther.

School Says - Student Body
Kettering students enjoy the activities and participate in the organizations that make college exciting and unique.

College is a place to get to know people, and to make contacts students will have throughout their professional lives. Students can make these vital connections at Kettering University by participating in one of the more than 50 clubs and organizations represented on campus. Whatever their social or professional interests, there are opportunities to work together with other students who share those interests, planning and organizing activities, and perfecting essential leadership and teamwork skills.

Outside of class, students will find plenty of ways to enjoy their free time at Kettering. The following list represents just a few of Kettering's many clubs and organizations:

Firebirds (autocross club),Student Government ,International Club, Aquaneers (scuba diving club)Campus Crusade for Christ, Christians In Action (CIA),Cycling Club , Bulldog Band ,Outdoors Club, SADD, Tech Sailors, Hockey Club Karate Club Black Unity Congress, Political Awareness Club (PAC) ,Intramural Sports (including basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis and volleyball) and Swing Club

Kettering also has one of the largest student chapters of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and their Delta Epsilon Chi Chapter (college version of DECA) annually wins top awards in state and national competitions.

Students compete in an intense intramural athletic program and are involved in clubs and professional organizations. Approximately a third of Kettering students join the 14 national fraternities and six sororities that are represented on campus. The school's active student government produces programs to develop peers' leadership skills, self-confidence, interpersonal relations, and organizational operations. Because enrolled students represent approximately 48 states and 18 countries, they have a lot to share with and learn from one another.

School Says - Academics
The unique structure of Kettering's program allows students to fulfill the academic requirements of 160 credit hours throughout a four and a half year period. This is completed over nine academic semesters and up to 11 co-op work semesters. Students also complete a capstone thesis project on behalf of their co-op employer during their senior year for credit toward the 160 required hours. The academic year consists of two 11-week academic terms on-campus in Flint and two 12-week academic terms working for the corporate employer; students alternate their time between Flint and the employer's site. On average, a freshman student who spends 24 weeks during the academic year working for the professional co-op employer earns $11,000.

School Says - Admissions
Admission to Kettering University is competitive and based on scholastic achievement and extracurricular interests, activities, and achievements. Applicants are required to have completed the following courses (one credit represents two semesters or one year of study): two credits algebra, one credit geometry, a half credit trigonometry, two credits laboratory science (one of these credits must be from physics or chemistry, and both are strongly recommended), and three credits English. A minimum of 16 credits is required, but 20 credits are strongly encouraged. Applicants must submit SAT or ACT scores. Most Kettering University students rank at or near the top 10 percent of their high school class.

School Says - Campus Life
Flint is located in east-central Michigan, just 60 miles west of Lake Huron and the Canadian border, and 60 miles north of Detroit. Flint has approximately 115,000 residents and has a metropolitan area of 450,000. The College Cultural Center Complex is located j just one-and-a-half miles from campus and houses a museum, a performing arts auditorium, a planetarium, and the Flint Public Library. The proximity to outdoor activities, city culture, and Flint's own distinctive resources provides students with access to a wide range of activities and opportunities.

School Says - Cost Aid
Tuition for the 2009-2010 academic year: $27,584
Room Rate: $4,000
Board, including 19 meals per week: $2,390
Technology Fee: $200
Student Activity Fee: $224
Residence Hall Activity Fee: $24
Orientation Fee (one-time only): $150


*Please remember that tuition and fees are subject to change at any time.Kettering University offers all the traditional need and merit-based financial aid, including a generous merit scholarship program. All Kettering students also benefit from the substantial co-op salaries that they earn throughout their years in school. The average range of salaries over the entire period is from $40,000 to $65,000. About 70 percent of students are able to live at home during their work experience terms, and are then able to contribute more of their salaries to their educational expenses. Many students win scholarships from agencies and organizations from their local communities. The primary purpose of Kettering's financial aid program is to supplement students' financial need after co-op earnings and parents' contributions. Aid is given as grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study awards. Students who wish to apply for financial aid should complete the FAFSA.

Students Say - Academics
"Kettering University is distinguished by a ""great co-op program"" that places students in jobs ""where engineering problem-solving and scientific discovery apply in real-world business situations."" The program is effective in large part because the school's partners ""include some of the best technology corporations in the world, such as Boeing, Lockheed, NASA, and Rockwell, as well as national research labs, such as Sandia National Labs, and governmental departments, such as the NSA and CIA."" In combination with on-campus study, Kettering's co-op program provides ""an integration of on-the-job crash-course learning coupled with academic classroom learning to cover both the real-world manifestation of engineering and engineering theory in a manner completely unaddressed by any non-co-op based school."" ""State-of-the-art labs"" and ""great equipment"" further enhance the learning experience here. Practical application is always in focus at Kettering, where profs bring a great deal of practical experience to the classroom. ""Many of them have spent time in the regular work force before becoming academics. We have electrical engineering professors that have worked in power plants and mechanical engineering professors that had spent 30 years in industry."" Best of all, ""They seem to actually care about the students and want to see us go on to greater things."" While Kettering offers business, science, and math degrees, engineering is the school's primary focus."

Students Say - Campus Life
"Engineering schoolsâ€"with their unusually heavy workloads and lopsided male-female ratiosâ€"are traditionally pretty grim places when it comes to extracurricular fun. Locate such a school in Flint, Michigan (""not a college city,"" ""very little to offer students,"" ""ranked one of the nation's three most dangerous cities""), and you might expect life at Kettering to be nonexistent. And yet campus life isn't that bad here; Kettering has ""a very active intramural sports program run by the students,"" ""a diverse range of popular clubs including formula racing, robotics, outdoors, scuba diving, martial arts, dance, and religious and minority support groups,"" ""comfortable" dorms to hang out in, and an active Greek system that ""holds events with live music, games, and other events like go-karts and paintball."" Still, the academic pressure and the dearth of off-campus options do lead some to ""indulge in heavy drinking to forget about the horrible week of classes they just had and to escape their unpleasant living environment."" As for the lack of women, it ""drives most guys crazy"" but ""is tolerable because there are close by universities that help even out the ratio. Trust me, this ratio problem is only shocking as a freshman."""

Students Say - Student Body
"Kettering's students (who are ""mostly mechanical engineers"") are typically ""goal-oriented gearheads"" who are ""ambitious and smart and want to get ahead in our careers."" They are ""more conservative and religious"" than the average college student. They also tend to be ""car guys""; explains one student, ""To the school's credit, it's trying to pull away from automotive engineering, but that's Kettering's legacy and that is what most students come here to study. The average Kettering student is very critical of people who don't know about cars."" As at most engineering schools, ""guys outnumber girls"" and ""a lot of students are a little on the geeky side."" One student describes the situation this way: ""There tend to be quite a few students who are socially inept. They are shy, and don't take much interest in anything but classes and homework. However, there are also many students who have pledged a fraternity/sorority, so the students here are very diverse."""

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