What inspired me to explore Aerospace Engineering?
I don't remember any specific moment that inspired me to pursue Aerospace Engineering, as even before I knew what the field was, I liked and was interested by what the field produced. As a child, I was so excited for our trips to India. I marveled at how our massive and heavy plane seemed to surf in the air like a bird. Even as a car enthusiast, their aerodynamics and curves were the main reason certain cars appealed to me more than others. Sometime in middle school, one of my teachers encouraged us to think about what we wanted to be in the future, and while I thought of a lot of careers, Aerospace Engineering stuck out at me. I don't think there's anything in this life that I could ever be as passionate about as I am for this field.
Subjects I chose in HS
My course selection in high school was mostly influenced by the fact that I wanted hard classes and to learn. Yet, there were a few classes that helped me the most for preparing me for this major. Our school has an elective system, called pathways, based on the PLTW learning system, and being interested in engineering, this is the pathway I stayed in for all four years in high school. A couple of other classes I were able to take that I feel would help me the most are AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics as they all teach important basics needed for Aerospace Engineering. Plus, I'll get course credit in college!
How did I learn about the field outside of School?
Primarily, I learned from Youtube videos. I love those hour long animated videos that do deep dives into specific planes and how they work, because it's just SO interesting. I also watched a lot of aircraft crash investigations which sometimes delved into the workings of planes in immense detail while explaining how the investigators solved the crash. Sometime in ninth grade, I even purchased some Udemy courses on the principles of Aerospace Engineering and binged them. They taught things like the basics of wing shapes and engines. I even messed around with operating planes in Microsoft Flight Simulator which taught me some major systems of planes. Plus, I also really like Formula 1 which is heavy in aerodynamics. I watched and read the small technical overviews the sport produced which taught things like ground effects and boundary layers and how and why they work.
Clubs and EC's
I joined aerospace club in my freshman year. .My sophomore and junior years, I participated in EC's like Science Olympiad. Science Olympiad is not aerospace, but. I enjoyed participating in the astronomy and space focused events. I also realized Aerospace has a lot of overlap with mechanical and automotive engineering. In my junior year, my friends and I signed up for an Formula 1 student based competition called Stem Racing (formerly F1 in Schools), where we reached Nationals. I also volunteered at some Aerospace museums near where I live to get some hands on experience in these types of environments
How I built my College List
I had some vague ideas, and a few points to consider, like in-state vs out-of-state, proximity to the industry, and i wanted my major to be in aerospace, not mechanical or another major with a focus on aerospace, So, I started with Google, and went through the different college listing sites. I must say the A.I assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity were super helpful. These are amazing resources for researching colleges because they are able to gather so much public data to sift through so many colleges to find those that fit my requirements, academically and every other way. I think everyone's needs are different. At the end, my list was based on four key points Proximity to the Industry Quality of the program Economics Alumni Base And, then I built a dream, target, and safety list.
Things I wish I knew from the beginning
There are a few things I wish I knew from the beginning of high school. I didn't plan my EC's that well with my academics in a way where I could succeed in both. If I'd known good strategies for prioritizing my time, I could have done better in my ECs. Also I never learned about internships that I had genuine interest in, like those available in San Francisco International Airport. Another things that I missed out on because I didn't know about it was the National Merit Scholarship. I didn't take the PSAT in my junior year because I didn't realize its importance. Finally, I wish I knew to seek out like minded people in my city so that I could share my passion and learn from others knowledge and ideas that would help me now and in the future.