These SAE teams vary tremendously from school to school. For example Case only participates in Baja SAE. That’s why my son crossed it off his list. Of course, the OP’s son might like Baja. Schools also vary a LOT in their level of support of engineering teams.
My son had great results contacting the SAE teams at each school and talking to them about their team, the university’s level of support, and generally the engineering program at each school. He learned so much from these students! He was also able to arrange visits with the teams when he visited the schools, and many of them gave him private tours of engineering facilities as well. If the OP’s son turns out to be interested in SAE, I would really recommend searching for the team info at each school and contacting each team directly.
UMN (that I suggested above) has an outstanding FSAE team, by the way. Here is an hour long video they made if your son wants to learn ALL about FSAE in depth… it’s long, but super informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDvKl0job4o
He sounds like he would really enjoy E-Days at Mines:
I had a few more suggestions in mind, but they’re literally all on AustenNut’s list, as so often happens!
My sense of RPI is that it doesn’t attract as many of the outdoor-oriented students as someplace like Mines, nor as many of the “renaissance people” as someplace like Mudd. I feel a little dubious that it’s the best fit for your son, although as you say he sounds very adaptable. Still, I have an easier time picturing him at URoch, which has much more of a “renaissance person” vibe IMHO.
Tulsa has an engineering physics major, and about a quarter of the student body are National Merit Semifinalists, on account of their generous NMSF package. (I assume your son didn’t clear the high PSAT cutoff in TX or you would have mentioned it, right?) The downside is that I’m not sure how much merit budget is left for non-semifinalists. (But maybe there are still decent merit awards? Perhaps someone else knows…)
I know he prefers smaller, but the Honors College at U of Utah could be worth a look. (Smaller high-achieving sub-community, great housing, and really interesting programming including “praxis labs” Praxis Labs – Honors College ) Posters here have commented that the Honors curriculum is tricky to combine with engineering, so that’s something to consider; but it would certainly work fine with physics, and engineering isn’t impossible. The flexibility to change and/or combine majors at UofU is pretty good, from what I’ve heard. The outdoor opportunities here are unparalleled - skiing 30 minutes from campus, hiking, mountain biking, etc. etc. etc… And it’s a bargain cost-wise if you take the path to residency after the first year (requires the first summer to be spent in Utah) and thus pay in-state tuition for years 2-4. Merit is possible too.
One thing to consider is that a physics major is more likely to want/need graduate study, vs. an engineering major. (Although an ABET-accredited engineering physics degree may have stronger employment prospects with just the bachelor’s than a non-engineering physics BS/BA? Others may confirm or deny this!) Does the prospect of grad school move the needle on how much you want to spend on undergrad? PhD programs tend to be funded, but there’s still opportunity cost associated with not going straight into the workforce… and a masters program in physics or engineering is less likely to be fully funded. So that’s something to consider in terms of budget, if his interests seem to be tilting toward physics.
My DS23 also wanted a mid-sized university for engineering, so a few of these were on his list. Stronger GPA and a 34 single-sitting ACT and some pretty unique engineering-specific ECs. He got into LMU and Lehigh with merit (each $15K/year for 4 years). Also accepted to USD - but without merit. USD is test blind - the strong SAT won’t help there. Also admitted OOS to CU Boulder direct for engineering and Honors Engineering (separate application) with modest merit ($6,250/year). Way too big (and too Greek) for him. (Note that CU Boulder admits many high stats kids to Exploratory Studies rather than Engineering - first years have to satisfy certain Intra University Transfer requirements to transfer into the School of Engineering.)
Tulsa’s Net Price Calculator asks for academic stats, so it will probably indicate the minimum amount of merit aid your son might expect to receive. Its scholarship page indicates there’s a $3k/year scholarship for IB students. A 4.0 is required for consideration for the full tuition scholarship but doesn’t indicate whether that’s weighted or unweighted. Perhaps @PresCarsonTulsa knows (and who also has his own thread about Tulsa here)? If it’s weighted, then would your son perhaps get there after the first semester grades are in?
This is not my area of expertise, but I think that ABET-accredited engineering physics is the same or very similar to ABET-accredited general engineering. (ABET includes General Engineering, Engineering Physics, and Engineering Science under the same accreditation category.) If so, perhaps this thread might have some info: General Engineering Programs: Reputations, Outcomes, Etc?
I love your suggestions! You also tend to know more about special school-specific programs and other cool things, too. Which schools did we have in common?
Haha, I was thinking of URoch, Clarkson, Michigan Tech, UAH, Tulsa, and maybe Denver since he likes the Colorado idea… plus I was pondering the mid-sized Catholic U’s with engineering, as a category, and wondering which might fit… but you hit all the high points on that list too!
It might be worth noting that the climate and terrain at UAH are not what most people picture when they think about Alabama. It’s in the Appalachian region of Northern AL, with many outdoor opportunities (although the one ski resort that’s 90 minutes away does not approach Colorado caliber) Outdoor Activities In Huntsville, AL | Camping & Hiking The city of Huntsville, as an aerospace hub, is known for having the highest number of engineers per capita in the US, and a high (but not the highest as per urban legend) percentage of advanced degree-holders. UAH has really nice dorms, with many single rooms (or all singles? I’m not sure). It may not check all the boxes, but for the low price after auto-merit, it has a lot to offer.
Trinity (San Antonio, Texas) is a small school with a couple of Engineering options. That might be one you can visit to see if he likes the smaller size and their approach to Engineering. Obviously no skiing nearby!
If you are looking at Mines, Denver, and Boulder, maybe add in Colorado State - a friend thought it seemed smaller and more manageable than Boulder, and it is less expensive.
Harvey Mudd College is a small, niche, and reach school. If he has looked at the HMC education philosophy and understood the core curriculum, and is interested, then he needs to be sure he understands the Humanities , Social Sciences and Arts (HSA) component also. If he is interested in also taking HSA courses with both a breadth and depth requirement along with his major, then Mudd could be a very good fit. Mudd’s commitment to making HSA an important component to its curriculum is supported by the Claremont College Consortium, where the student has access to the courses at Pomona, Scripps, Claremont Mckenna (CMC), and Pitzer colleges. The importance of the HSA requirements is underscored by noting that a Mudd student has both a Major advisor and an HSA advisor. If your student applies to Mudd, he needs to communicate how the STEM liberal arts approach to education works for him.
If in his online investigations he hasn’t already viewed this, I would recommend he look at the “Whats the deal with General Engineering” video on the HMC website under the Admission / Connect / Virtual Visits and Events / Recordings of prior year links. This is a panel discussion with HMC seniors about their pathway through the engineering major.
A prospective parent might look at the Resources : Parents / Parents Menu.
Such great food for thought. He isn’t a NMSF student, even though he was in the 99th percentile… that took me awhile to digest. I really haven’t given thought to grad school or discussed with him. Definitely something to think about and discuss. Very much appreciate all your thoughts. Your discussion of Mudd makes me understand a bit better what was resonating with him, although I feel like it would take me another year or two to get a good feel of other schools on that level. So, your take is very helpful.
Thanks so much for the detailed feedback! He was definitely intrigued at the EcoCar info he saw at Case Western and WPI. I had no idea how many other schools were involved or how to find that info.
My DS23 found lots of variation on this at many schools he applied to for engineering - Formula SAE, Formula SAE-Hybrid, Baja Racing, etc. Check for active clubs at all colleges of potential interest.