Should I apply for a scholarship as MechE or Aerospace?

[P38Lightning]

Some of the schools I'm applying to (Purdue, UofM for instance) have a distinct Aerospace Engineering major, while others only have Mechanical Engineering. Assuming I were to receive a scholarship for one major, would I be able to switch to the other and retain it?

Which of the two would be more advisable to apply as initially?

 

[eljay60]

I can't speak for the scholarship boards, but I can speak from life experience. I started college in 1978 as a chemical engineering major. I now work for an IT company as a clinical expert for the R&D people. Somewhere along the way, the chemical engineering turned into a graduate degree in nursing. Trying to guess at 17 what looks like a good career 40 years from now is more ridiculous in 2017 than it was in 1977.

In truth, most junior officers don't use the technical parts of their major - they start as low level managers of the military mission, and will need a refresher on state-of-the-profession if and when their chosen branch decides they need an engineer/computer scientist/programmer, given the explosion of change in the age of information. A 2 LT will not be designing aircraft engines for the military (Boeing does that), but he will be handling the administrative details for the Company s/he's assigned to.

TLDR: If you have a STEM major, the flavor doesn't matter.

 

[ProudDad17]

If you are applying for NROTC, both are tier 1 majors, so you should have no problem switching from one to the other.