<p>Accepted. 3.6 GPA, 30 ACT, URM, Legacy.</p>
<p>NYGmen - not sure you realize that ranking is for schools w/o grad level engineering programs. I’d love to know who usnwr ranks their undergrad engineering program w/ schools that have the grad level. My feeling is that they are way down the list. They don’t have the engineering depth of schools like MIT, Stanford, UCB, Princeton, Cornell or even state schools with great programs, Purdue, Illinois, UMD, VaTech, etc. I look at the fact that their combined 2012 graduating class of EE and Computer Eng is something 16 students, and have to question whether they can provide the breadth and depth of an engineering education that can be had at those other institutions. This is why I put little weight into usnwr’s #9 ranking. </p>
<p>All that said, I have to question why a university would not offer a spot to someone with my son’s qualifications, or some of the others I have seen on this thread like post #40 north2south2013. Last year they had 2200 engineering aps and gave 520 offers. I can’t believe there are 520 offers this year with higher credentials than SAT 2350, 4.0 unw gpa. It’s a bit baffling. It makes me think the school has some quirky admission criteria.</p>
<p>Golfengineer: I definitely understand your confusion, and the only answers I can think of are that, first, SAT and GPA are really far from the only criteria, and, second (as north2south2013 said), perhaps they believed those credentials were high enough to suggest that Bucknell was a safety school for the applicant, and wanted to keep the yield rate up. Otherwise, I have no idea! Sorry you’re disappointed.</p>
<p>Acceptd at Bucknell.I had been invited to apply for Presidential fellowship.Has anyone been notified result of presidential fellowship?
I am under the impression that aid results will come on 28. Any change.</p>
<p>You will find out about the Presidential Fellowship with your aid package. At least that’s how it was last year.</p>
<p>Still suspect, golfengineer, that the “holistic” approach and the need-aware decision process plays a part. For example, I would assume that MidWestFather is from, well, the midwest. Bucknell probably needs geographic diversity, so this would account for some greater openness to stats that would be lower than those mentioned by north2south.</p>
<p>Interested in your views about their engineering program.</p>
<p>Just for the record…they are in the top 10 nationally for undergraduate engineering!</p>
<p>The financial aid and admissions offices are completely separate at Bucknell…they do not communicate during the admissions process!</p>
<p>[Best</a> Undergraduate Engineering Programs | Rankings | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-no-doctorate]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-no-doctorate)</p>
<p>Here is the link.</p>
<p>Accepted but I’m definitely surprised. </p>
<p>GPA: 3.34
Superscore: 2260
9 APs, all 5s except one four
Started a club with now 400 members
Strong essays I think, idk about my letter of recs tho</p>
<p>My financial aid hasn’t come yet so idk!
Is Bucknell an academically vigorous and sociable school?</p>
<p>Maggie, swimsoc, NYG and any others reading this post… I’ll give you my thoughts about their engineering, but first let me give a little disclosure. First you might think I’m biased or have sour grapes as my son did not get in, and that’s fair. I do not want anyone reading my analysis, especially those who got in to be discouraged by what they read here. Maggie asked for my view, and that’s what I’m giving, my view. My earlier comment that I was never impressed with their engineering program may sound harsh, but the reality for me is their program is not as strong as any of the other schools that he applied to. Overall I think it is an excellent school, and has a lot of other things to offer. The campus is gorgeous, their athletic facilites were awesome, nice town, seemed like lots of indivdualized attention. Obviously the fact that my son applied after visiting twice and researching it validate that we thought it a very good option.</p>
<p>However, from day one I was speculative of how good the engineering is. The problem I have with usnwr that ranks Bucknell #9 in engineering is the fact that it puts it in a category of schools that only offer bachelors degrees. Look at the list. Where is MIT, Princeton, Stanford, big state schools, etc? They are not on that list, because they are ranked in a different list due to the fact they offer graduate programs. Honestly, I’ve heard of only a few of the schools in the top 10 list where Bucknell is listed #9. As I said before, I’d love to see where Bucknell’s undergrad engineering would be listed compared to those other schools that have grad programs. I think the challenge for the schools Bucknell is listed with is that they don’t have the depth and breadth in their undergrad programs that is driven by having the facilities to support the deeper graduate level of learning and research.</p>
<p>So, I have to pretty much discount the usnwr and think it through myself, and here’s how I did that. There are lots of factors… I look at the number of students in the program. EE and Computer Engineering had something like 16 graduates last year. The EE faculty is something like 12. How much breadth and depth can you offer with those numbers. The number of courses and breadth offered beyond the basic required EE and Computer Eng is small. It’s a small school. I’m sure the individual attention students get is great. I get that. A big selling point compared to a school like UMD for example that has 300-400 EEs, and 70+ professors in EE. But the downside to me is, what if a student wants to go deeper in a subject that Bucknell may only be able to scratch the surface on because it doesn’t have a next level course in that. During the info session, I heard them say they have the resources of a large institution, but the advantages and feel of a small one. I buy the 2nd part of that statement, but not the first. And, are there areas Bucknell’s engineering doesn’t even go into? When I look at their course catalog, I think the answer is yes. It has to be. You can only do so much with 12 profs.</p>
<p>The engineering tour we were on was led by a very nice civil engineering student. Unfortuantely she knew almost nothing about the EE and Computer program except where the labs were located. As we passed by that part on the tour, I tried desperately to get a look at the equipment used in the labs, the types of projects being worked on, etc. The labs looked nice, but again, they were small and few (two I think), and at the time empty, i.e. no student activity to observe. I didn’t see half of the research equipment or facilities or activity going on that I saw on other university tours of schools with larger programs (I’m speaking of EE, Computer, Optics, Solid state/material electronics only).</p>
<p>Again, obviously I was williing for my son to attend Bucknell, or he wouldn’t have applied. There’s a lot to the whole college experience than just the engineering program. And like many others, we would have needed a decent break on the $58k sticker price or he would not have gone there. Had he gotten in, we would have done some deeper comparisons between the benefits of their engineering program vs his other options, but they saved us that last bit of work.</p>
<p>My advice… do your own research and comparisons. Don’t put too much stock in a report from usnwr, or at least understand the data point they are giving you.</p>
<p>FYI, for those waiting for Presidential Scholarship decisions, I heard from the Admissions Office today (was on the phone for something else) that decisions (yes or no) are being mailed this Thursday, 3/28.</p>
<p>GolfEngineer:</p>
<p>You are right; Bucknell is not in the league with Stanford, particularly for engineering! It is a liberal arts college. It has grown from about 3200 (when I was there in the 1980s) to almost 4000. Engineering has always been difficult. Regardless of the lack of numbers of students, graduates seem to do quite well in job placement and life after Bucknell.</p>
<p>My friends who were engineers, worked very hard. I doubt that has changed. Our daughter was accepted…not in engineering (Biology). We will see what FA holds. She has lots of good choices. It sounds like your son will land somewhere wonderful!</p>
<p>I’m a bucknell mechanical engineering graduate and occasionally I check out this site. I’d just like to contribute a bit and share some of my experiences at bucknell.</p>
<p>1st off-Depth and breadth within a specific engineering department: Your right- the labs at RPI and Big State U have much more sophisticated equipment and more variety. At Bucknell you will only have a few 400 level electives to choose from in your senior year opposed to 20 or more at major engineering schools. There may not be a professor in the department that has a research interest exactly the same as yours. However- most professors at Bucknell would be absolutely thrilled to work on an independent study with you on a topic you find interesting.</p>
<p>Furthermore the most important aspect of undergraduate engineering is a deep understanding of fundamental concepts. For this, Bucknell is phenomenal- professors leave there doors open and enthusiastically ask questions. After graduation I entered a rotational program with a major energy company and took classes with many coworkers from the best big engineering schools in the country and we’ve discussed our respective college experiences quite a bit. Here are some of my takeaways-
- I took more lab courses and wrote more lab reports/ papers than almost everyone.
- My professors were among the most accessible.
- I did not spend as much time on computer programs at school as those from other universities- i.e - CFD, EES, significant FEA.
- I received a very fundamental based education. Big companies love this. This is what drives innovation.
- I was younger than most. (everyone graduates Bucknell in 4 years- not true at big state U)
- I took more liberal arts classes than everyone else.</p>
<p>If you want to go to college for engineering you should definitely consider Bucknell. All my classmates that I am in touch with are doing pretty impressive things and making real strides in their careers.</p>
<p>collegehunting - nice post. Though some might say you would be biased, having gone there, your kind of firsthand info is the kind of data people should be considering when they decide. I definitely agree that “…most important aspect of undergraduate engineering degree is understanding fundamental concepts.” Appreciate your thoughtful insight.</p>
<p>Golfengineer done posting here. Time to move on.</p>
<p>Did anyone get financial aid info in the mail yet?</p>
<p>Yes, received yesterday in PA.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if there is any new information about the waitlist yet? Are there any statistics about how many students put down deposits, how many students stayed on the waitlist, etc?</p>
<p>Any new updates about the Bucknell waitlist?</p>
<p>If the timeline is the same as last year, you should get an update regarding the class of 2017 and possible use of the wait list by May 15. Hope you hear good news!</p>