A&M vs. SMU: Engineering - HELP!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
1

<p>Hi!
I was accepted to Mechanical Engineering at both Texas A&M and Southern Methodist University. I need some input on deciding between the two. I understand that A&M is ranked significantly higher that SMU, but hear out my situation.</p>

<p>PROS OF SMU:
- I received the Hunt Scholarship, which will pay my full tuition (in combination with another scholarship). I also have received 3 study abroad trips paid for, and have the opportunity to be involved in the amazing Hunt Leadership Program.
- I have no friends going there, which I am not opposed to.
- There are small class sizes, numerous internships, and easy access to professors.
- It is closer to home, and Dallas is an amazing city to be a part of.</p>

<p>PROS OF A&M:
- I have two years of tuition being paid with scholarship.
- I have many friends going here, and am signed up to room with my best friend.
- It is ranked as the #8 engineering school in the nation, as opposed to #136 SMU
- It is more heavily recruited, and has a stronger alumni base. </p>

<p>I am very frustrated in the process of making my decision. Money isn't an issue at all for my parents, so discount that. I "see" myself at both schools, but I think I would have more opportunities and feel more motivated at SMU. However, A&M is such a fantastic engineering school, and is heavily recruited. I am also nervous to pass up the Hunt Scholarship opportunity at SMU...</p>

<p>Please help! I really need it.</p>

2

<p>I’d think A&M would be better career-wise, but idk.
:confused:
I personally dislike small classes (the professor can see me falling asleep).</p>

3

<p>…anyone else</p>

4

<p>Since money is not an issue I would choose A&M. Great environment, great network and great engineering school.</p>

5

<p>Yea, if money is not an issue - A&M. Definitely. There are programs available there too. And as an engineer, there will be plenty of opportunities to travel in your future.</p>

6

<p>If you don’t absolutely dislike College Station, then A&M no doubt. Much better engineering school, better rep overall, Aggie network+Industry recruiting that matches any engineering school in the country.</p>

7

<p>Are there engineering related extracurricular things to get involved in at A&M like SMU? And can you study abroad as an engineer at A&M? I love SMU’s environment and campus, but feel stupid running away from the #8 engineering school in the nation…</p>

8

<p>Yes, and yes.</p>

9

<p>Hi pmcneely1.
I have kids at both schools, A&M and SMU. The A&M kid is an engineering major. The SMU kid is not. Both are on special scholarships that come with special opportunities, much like your Hunt Scholarship offer. Both of them LOVE their schools and feel they made the right choice for themselves. The schools are very different, as you know. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages because of their differences. Neither is perfect. Both are awesome!</p>

<p>Yes, there are engineering-related extracurricular things to get involved in at A&M. Of course there are. It’s a huge school with all sorts of opportunities. I would venture to say that A&M likely has many more opportunities than SMU because of its size. But I’m guessing that one might be less likely to just happen upon those opportunities at A&M – again, because of its size. At a school the size of SMU, if there’s a group of engineering students engaged in something really cool that might interest you, you would very likely know about it. At a school the size of A&M, there are really cool things going on all over the place … but they may not be as readily apparent unless you happen to know someone who’s participating or unless you take the time to investigate on your own. The opportunities don’t really come looking for you at A&M, you kind of have to go looking for them. It’s not hard to look. When you’re new to A&M, you’ll hear of meetings and organizations that will tell you how to get engaged. Based on my kids’ experiences at each school, I would say that at A&M it would be more up to you to attend those meetings and get yourself engaged. At SMU, you would likely more readily fall into those events and activities, simply because the school is considerably smaller and consequently more “personal.”</p>

<p>One thing I’ve noticed about the engineering majors at SMU vs. A&M is that the few SMU engineering students I know seem to have quite a bit more time on their hands than the engineering students I know at A&M. (It’s a small sample size, mind you.) That’s a great thing, in that the SMU kids seem to have the time to do plenty of other fun and interesting things. My A&M son and his friends have time to do some fun and interesting things, too. But they are very often pressed for time! I am certain this is not an IQ thing or a stats thing or a “differences in capabilities” thing. My son and a few of his good friends there have stats that can’t be topped. (valedictorians and salutatorians of huge schools, 4.0 unweighted GPAs, 2300-2390 SATs, all-state musicians and athletes, straight 800s on SAT subject tests, etc) My guess is that it’s a difference between expectations within their classrooms. It seems to me that the A&M students might be held to higher standards, that time management issues might be intentionally built into the program, that they might have more engineering projects per semester, and that they might be left to figure things out on their own for longer periods of time before being given the solutions. But that is really just a guess. I’m not certain what makes up the difference. I just know that the A&M students I know seem to have their noses to the grindstone for a lot longer than the SMU students I know. It’s very possible that my sample is skewed! ;)</p>

<p>There are far more study abroad programs for engineers at A&M than there are at SMU. That’s one of the advantages of being at a large public university. The larger the school, typically the more opportunities. There are myriad A&M engineering Exchange Programs with various schools around the world during the academic year. They are A&M designated programs. That’s not as easily or as directly done at SMU.</p>

<p>Of course, at A&M, you would have to pay additional monies for any non-academic-year study abroad programs. I believe the study abroad exchange programs during the school year come at the same cost to you as your College Station A&M programs. But it sounds like your SMU programs would all be free, no matter what time of year you went.</p>

<p>You’ll find that most faculty-led engineering study abroad programs at both schools take place during the summer months simply because engineering majors must stay on-track with their course curriculum. There is at least one winter break study abroad for A&M students – in Costa Rica; there may be more. I’m not sure what SMU offers in the winter.</p>

<p>There is a fairly rigid sequence of courses for all engineers at all schools, with a typically rigid set of prerequisites. This is particularly true at A&M. (I understand that SMU engineering majors can begin a lot of their “true” engineering courses as freshmen. This is not true at A&M. At A&M, first, you’ll have to finish a checklist of Common Body of Knowledge courses like physics, chemistry, math, English, and 2 engineering seminars. Several of these can be checked off with AP credits. THEN, you will be admitted to “upper-level” engineering where you will be permitted to start your statics, dynamics, and other true engineering coursework. This typically happens in the first or second semester of sophomore year.)</p>

<p>It is my belief that the faculty-led study abroad programs are considerably more convenient, easier to navigate, more transferable, and just more “user-friendly” than the other types of study abroad courses that are available through both schools. You can play around with the study abroad search engines right now to see what’s available to you at each school. Just google ‘TAMU study abroad’ and ‘SMU study abroad.’ When you get to the appropriate webpages, click on ‘International Experiences’ in the left hand column of the TAMU website or ‘Programs and Application’ in the left hand column of the SMU website. Go to the Advanced tabs on either site to play around with field of study (check out engineering), the various countries, and the academic terms (you’ll see that most engineering programs are in the summer). </p>

<p>You’ll see that A&M has several faculty-led engineering locations! Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, Qatar, Spain, etc. SMU has far fewer. </p>

<p>Three all-expenses-paid study abroad programs is an amazing benefit!! You can get tons of mileage out of that one! As an engineering major, it might be trickier to get your full mileage from it – IF you hope to finish your degree in 4 years and follow a somewhat traditional path. But there’s no saying you HAVE TO follow the typical path! I LOVE the fact that you can study abroad 3 times for free at SMU!</p>

<p>I’m not sure if you intend to study abroad during the school year or during the summer. Like I said, it will be more complicated, as an engineering major, to study abroad during the school year because of the “track.” Most engineering majors feel … driven … to participate in research and/or an internship during one or two of their summers. I’m guessing you could do your research during the school year one year. (You can at A&M; I assume you can at SMU, too.) You would probably feel compelled to use one summer to finish an internship (most engineering students want to check that box for their resumes). If you wanted to fill that square one summer, you could possibly use THAT study abroad benefit during Winter Break or even Spring Break instead (SMU has just a few winter break and spring break programs that I’m aware of – not necessarily in engineering, but still enriching). </p>

<p>Just keep in mind: it will take some advanced thought and planning to develop a 4-year plan that will allow you to finish your engineering degree in 4 years, fill the standard research and internship squares (if that’s something you want to do), and take advantage of that amazing benefit afforded to you by the Hunt Scholar award. Congratulations! :)</p>

<p>You have a very difficult choice ahead of you. The good news is, I don’t think you can go wrong! You are very fortunate that money is not a factor. In my house, 4 years of free tuition at SMU would win over 2 years of free tuition at A&M simply because money IS a factor here. If money is truly NOT a factor for you, there are other issues to consider. I don’t know that after more consideration SMU wouldn’t still win over A&M. There are just more personal preferences that you get to take into consideration now that money is out of the picture! Lucky you! :slight_smile: I would be happy to address any other specific questions you have about either school. I will end this marathon post. I hope I have been helpful to you in some way. </p>

<p>Best of luck to you, pmcneely1! :)</p>

10

<p>Simple Life gave you lots of good detail to consider, but I will add that you will also want to consider which surroundings make you more comfortable: big city life in Dallas or comfortable smaller college town of College Station. I have a student at A&M (engineering) who said he felt comfortable there even the first month because it was less hectic driving and getting around town than in Austin where his sister, also an engineering major, attended UT. We always managed to hit I-35 in Austin when the traffic was hardly moving or going down Guadalupe (the “drag” in the main part of campus) when lots of young and/or crazy drivers were out, so witnessing all that hectic activity at UT made him feel a little more peaceful when he went to College Station and could drive around without stress, rush, etc. One of his girlfriends in high school was the opposite; she would not consider A&M, because she said that she wanted that busy, hectic quality of city life, the arts, etc., and she is now happy in Austin at UT. Dallas is more upscale, though less eclectic than Austin, so there are some big differences to consider in having proximity to city life vs. college town life.
One other consideration: older child graduated from UT a year ago with Mechanical Engineering degree and had no problems getting interviews, job offers prior to graduation, but she did say that a couple of the companies with whom she interviewed said they only considered engineering applicants from 3 Texas schools: UT, A&M, and U of H. Don’t know how prevalent that attitude is, but it’s worth noting.
Finally, at A&M, many students are drawn to the whole tradition thing, Howdy, etc. My UT child didn’t like that part much when she visited A&M as a high school student. My A&M child who currently attends there enjoys it to a degree, but isn’t as fanatic about it as many Aggies are. His main feeling is that A&M is undoubtedly one of the most highly regarded Engineering schools in the country.<br>
So much to think about! Maybe do 2nd/3rd visits to both schools if time allows before you have to accept one? Good Luck!</p>

11

<p>^Good stuff to consider, Carolein. </p>

<p>pmcneely1, I was just addressing your specific questions in post #7 above. I agree with Carolein that there are many other things to consider. I was just waiting or more specific questions from you. Do you have others?</p>

12

<p>It seems like maybe pmcneely1 has not returned to his thread. That’s too bad. I had a few specific questions for him before giving him my general advice. But maybe my family’s experience can somehow help future readers who have this same question: SMU or TAMU for engineering?</p>

<p>In general, without knowing any of the applicant’s specifics, but knowing each of the schools quite well (though not as familiar with SMU’s engineering program specifically), I would recommend this:</p>

<p>As long as you feel like you’re a good fit and can thrive at either school, if only one of the schools gives you a massive, nearly-full-tuition-or-greater scholarship, go to THAT school! </p>

<p>In my family’s experience, schools continue to reward their major scholarship recipients throughout their attendance – with more and more opportunities, and sometimes with more and more money! Success begets success! Schools tend to be experts at picking students who really fit their programs well, who will really excel in them, and who will make something of themselves while in attendance. (That is not to say that schools don’t sometimes pass over OTHERS who would also fit that bill. But IF they pick YOU, then chances are very good that they knew what they were doing and that you’re going to (a) do well there, and (b) be happy there! :slight_smile: ) </p>

<p>That’s been my family’s experience with no exceptions.</p>

<p>We have found that the markedly lower college bills afforded by a massive scholarship (like pmcneely1’s Hunt Scholarship) allow for a remarkable amount of freedom to explore all sorts of opportunities while in college. All options are suddenly more affordable than they would otherwise be!</p>

<p>We have also found that once a student is “labeled” as a (Hunt, President’s, Brown, President’s Endowed, Fill-in-the-Blank) Scholar, doors open for him/her. Universities seem to want to reward those chosen few again and again. It’s almost like those students have already made it through the harrowing selection process and been deemed ‘worthy,’ so that all kinds of other things just fall into place once in attendance. Sweet!</p>

<p>Not only that, but we have also found that, because schools tend to know who to choose for their largest scholarships, the students who are chosen tend to be such great fits for the school that they just naturally succeed and excel there – because everything about the school and the opportunities afforded there just MATCH their skill sets and interests!</p>

<p>And for that reason, in nearly every case, I would recommend that a student attend the school that offers them a really special designation like pmcneely1’s award.</p>

<p>Opportunities are very likely to abound in terms of both finances and “privilege.” (The GOOD kind of “privilege” – the kind that’s earned.) Those opportunities will tend to propel those students to the top of their class at that particular university, in our experience. Hence, there is NO NEED to worry about who will be hiring from where in 4 years from now! If you’re at the top of your class and graduating with a multitude of enriching experiences that will most assuredly be yours thanks to your special status at that university, then you WILL BE a desirable grad student or employee for the next phase of your life! It’s a beautiful thing! :)</p>

<p>And so, in general, as long as an applicant feels strongly that both schools will fit, he/she should choose the school that says “You’re VERY special HERE, in THIS school!” For pmcneely1, that school is SMU! Yay! And what a wonderful school it is! :)</p>

<p>My best to all future college applicants!</p>

13

<p>I’m filing away both Simplelife and Carolein’s advice for future students! </p>

<p>One of my D’s best friends also received the Hunt scholarship a few years ago and studied engineering at SMU. He will be a senior. He has done exceptionally well in the program and I’m certain he’ll receive good job offers. However, he has found it true that UT and a&m have more engineering companies interested in their graduates. He says he does have to compete against those two great engineering reputations!</p>

14

<p>This is some awesome information. What are your opinions about the Engineering Honors Program at A&M?</p>

15

<p>My S would say, “Yes, definitely do Honors Engineering!” You have earlier registration times and he has taken a couple of honors classes that he liked much.
He decided not to do the general honors program because of some of the extra obligations, but his friends that are doing it have enjoyed it too. Most of his friends that qualified for both did both.</p>

16

<p>schmegel - thanks for that info.</p>

17

<p>A&M Engineering is going to be highly regarded either regular or honors, but I would think that honors would be an advantage, partly because there are sections for honors only and should make it easier to get scheduled. Getting the classes they want can certainly be frustrating int their freshmen-sophomore years, so having sections limited to only honors should ease that some. And it looks good on resumes, transcripts, etc. Of course, the work will be somewhat more challenging, but hopefully, the benefits will outweigh that.</p>

18

<p>Hi perazziman!
I’ve been out of town for work and just noticed your question (post #14).</p>

<p>My son is enrolled in the Engineering Honors program and the general, university-wide honors program. He is glad he’s doing each.</p>

<p>As Carolein pointed out, probably the biggest advantage of either honors program is priority registration. My son has been able to get every class he ever wanted at A&M, so far, knock on wood, because he has always had an early registration slot. Either honors program will do that for you, and I’m nearly certain that an advanced “classification” will do that for you as well and will compound your honors advantage for registration purposes.</p>

<p>Have you seen this page before?</p>

<p>[Texas</a> A&M University 09-10 Undergraduate Catalog](<a href=“http://catalog.tamu.edu/09-10_UG_Catalog/gen_info/registration_academic_status/classification.htm]Texas”>http://catalog.tamu.edu/09-10_UG_Catalog/gen_info/registration_academic_status/classification.htm)</p>

<p>By accepting most of his AP credits, my son was able to improve his “classification” for registration purposes by one year. This is not unusual. Anybody who comes in with plenty of AP credits and accepts those credits can improve their registration status. In other words, you can be a sophomore for registration purposes as a freshman, a junior as a sophomore, etc. It helps.</p>

<p>But back to your question about the Engineering Honors program…</p>

<p>My son does like it, and he’s glad he’s doing it, but (to be very honest) he seems to think it’s not really anything to write home about so far. It’s good. But it’s not great or super-enriching. I noticed that they have added an additional required seminar to the mix since my son’s entry into the program (181H). The seminars can be interesting. Some of the speakers really hold his attention. But others … not so much. Engineering Honors 281H and 381H are just 1-credit hour classes, and they take place just one day a week, so they’re not inconvenient or unpleasant in any way, shape, or form. But they’re not always as interesting to my son he had originally hoped and heard. (Sometimes, they’re very interesting.)</p>

<p>So far, my son has noticed that there really aren’t a lot of engineering classes offered in an honors format. Sure, you can always contract for honors credit in just about any ‘regular’ engineering class. You’d discuss it with the teacher and come up with a plan that would make that same class worth honors credit for you – by doing additional work.</p>

<p>You’ll see that 18 additional honors credits are required for the Engineering Honors program, plus the seminars, research credits, a presentation within one of the seminars, and a senior thesis. I am nearly certain that the 18 additional honors credits can be from ANY course within the university. So, if you were in the general, university-wide honors program, those same 18 hours would count for BOTH programs.</p>

<p>Most of the classes my son has taken within the university-wide, general honors program have been more enriching and smaller than the ‘regular’ offered courses. He has enjoyed them. However, he did have one supposedly-honors class that was enormous and not particularly enriching, in an honors-sort-of-way. He liked the class a lot. He really liked the teacher. But he discovered on his first day of class that there was a small subset of students within the huge class-size that made up the “honors contingent” of the class. Those few students (it turned out to be something like 6 of the 120 kids!) had to turn in some extra research papers to get their honors credit. This was very disappointing to my son, as he had asked a lot of questions about every one of his prospective university’s honors programs attempting to ensure that any honors program he attended would NOT be in NAME only and would NOT be satisified by additional busy work, but rather by a more enriching, more engaged classroom experience.</p>

<p>So far, that was his ONLY disappointing general, university honors experience at A&M. So we can’t complain too much. And, like I said, the class itself, despite its large size – the material covered and the teacher who taught it – was an excellent class that he very much enjoyed. He just didn’t like squeezing in the extra research papers with no additional instruction or engagement. Just turn in the papers by this deadline, period, and you’ll see your grade on them later, period. It felt way too much like busy work and square-filling. And neither of us is about that at all. There was no heads up within the registration process that this was how the honors class would be conducted. In fact, I believe it was a 20-person class (or something like that) when he registered for it.</p>

<p>No matter. Overall, the general, university-wide program has been enriching and worth the time. The Engineering Honors has been good enough to be called worth the time … but it really hasn’t been that enriching so far. My son might say, “It’s fine.” He’d enroll in it again.</p>

<p>Hope at least some of this helps! :)</p>

19

<p>Thanks SimpleLife, very helpful post. sorry I did not have access to the internet last week, so could not respond sooner. </p>

<p>my son will have 45 credits if he takes credit for AP Calc BC. So, it would seem he will get the sophomore classification. </p>

<p>I did not know one had to take 18 additional credits to graduate from the engineering honors program. So does that mean 135 + 18 = 153 credits to graduate on the honors program? Or have I misunderstood?</p>

20

<p>^No, perazziman, you’ve misunderstood. The 18 honors credits can come (typically come) from within the normal core and degree-plan curriculum. He might take honors physics, honors math, and honors ethics, for instance, which would all be part of his core and/or engineering curriculum. All combined, those courses might add up to 9-11 honors credits, for instance, depending on whether he’s taking honors for the 3 or 4 hour math and physics courses. Then, he’d need 7-9 more honors credits towards Engineering Honors.</p>

<p>It’s kind of like taking AP physics versus regular physics, etc.</p>