Can you help me find colleges?

I need help finding appropriate colleges that might fit my son’s situation. Here’s background: My son is heading into his Senior year of high school but has been DE at our local CC for the last year. He has wanted to be a mechanical engineer since he was little. He struggles with mild ADHD, and dysgraphia and reading disabilities. He gets extra time accommodations and a note taker at the college. He has taken Calc 1 and 2 and got C’s, Intro to Engeneering-A, and Chem for Engr-C. A’s in several Gen Ed classes. In all these classes he has almost a 100% homework, project and lab grade but bombs the tests.

He has a 22 on ACT, although he just took the SAT and feels like he did better but hasn’t gotten scores yet.

I feel so discouraged for him. He is great at Engineering type stuff. Head of the build team on his Robotics team that went to Worlds Competition, teachers love him, hard worker, pretty much led the design project of building a modified bicycle for a disabled teen in his Engineering class. Yet his grades in his classes are holding him back not just from admissions but also from any great scholarships which he needs in order to afford college. We have 7 kids, one income and he will have to pay his own way. Our state schools are probably not an option. (Uni of Maryland and UMBC are so selective that you pretty much have to have a 4.0 to get into the engineering programs.)

As we are looking at schools I am feeling overwhelmed in knowing where to look to him. Do any of you have any recommendations of where we can look?

Honestly he loves Cedarville University (he would love to go to a Christian school) but I don’t think he can afford to go there unless he gets a miracle fin aid pkg which is unlikely.
Any other options for a school that would be open to a low ACT score, some C’s in DE classes, and has can offer a good financial aid pkg?

Sorry for how long this became…

He may need to pick a less competitive major. Is he willing to do that? Would he be likely to get into Uni of MD if he picks a different major? Otherwise, your best bet is a test optional school.

Maybe it would help to look for schools that really emphasize hands-on engineering rather than a books and lectures style. I’m not familiar with this myself, but that might help with some search terms.

Is there someone who can help him master test taking strategies? He needs to get the basics down in math before moving on to the next level, and he needs to prove that on the tests. If he’s a junior in high school and already taking Calc 2 but getting C’s, he’s moving too fast.

My daughter repeated Alg I as a high school freshman. Best decision ever. Her basic math skills are very strong, and even though she didn’t take Calc in high school and more than half her college class had had Calc I or even Calc II, she got an A. Slow and steady.

I don’t think he’ll get into UMCP or UMBC. You need to look at the other state schools in Maryland that offer engineering, or even strong math and science programs. Can he repeat Calc I and II this year for grade improvement?

Some less-prestigious public universities in the West and Midwest have very high acceptance rates, and out-of-state tuitions aren’t much higher than in-state in places like MD and PA. Try W. VA, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, et al.

What about industrial design at some of the schools @woogzmama suggests? I actually think that matches better with what you describe as the kind of projects you describe. It may be easier for him to get into and keep up with than engineering, given his particular strengths and challenges.

He actually really wants to do prosthetic design, so mechanical or bio engineering are really his choices. He is planning on retaking Calc 2 again this fall. Unfortunately the only schools in MD that have engineering are UMCP, UMBC, Frostburg (which is actually UMCP just at a different location), and Hopkins (which is also a “no way”). I have been looking for hours for schools that have BSME degrees that fit his scores and our financial situation, but am not finding any. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I only ever went to community college so this is all new for me…

He sounds like a great kid, but there will be challenges. (And expect rigor/tests at non-CC colleges to be even more intense) . Just so you know, even a student with high stats would have trouble finding a school for zero cost. If that what you are hoping to find, you are being overly optimistic. Keep telling us more - maybe we can help in other ways.

Look at Western New England University in Springfield, MA. They are test optional, though I think that Engineering applicants must submit test scores. But for engineering applicants that don’t get admitted into an engineering major they have a Pre-Engineering option where they can be admitted to the engineering major when they meet admissions criteria. Best of luck!

Here’s a list of schools that don’t require or emphasize test scores:
http://fairtest.org/university/optional

Have you looked at the Colleges that Change Lives site? http://ctcl.org/

Maybe consider Berea, which I believe is a Christian college that doesn’t charge tuition (in KY). https://www.berea.edu/

Wentworth Institute in Boston might be a good place:https://wit.edu/ It is “experiential.”

So is Olin (engineering, project-based) but Olin is as competitive as MIT. Used to be tuition free but that has changed.

UMass Lowell?

Does he have proper accommodations at test sites?

Since you mention prosthetic design, take a look at Philadelphia U—it might be just what you are looking for. They are doing some really interesting things there in the area where design/engineering/medical meet. They have some new partnering with Thomas Jefferson which is very intriguing. Its worth snooping around and seeing if it is of interest to him.

I’ll throw out a curve ball here. If he’s not opposed to military service, he could look into enlisting in the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program (most likely as a Machinist’s Mate if he wants to focus on the MechE aspects). He would spend around 1-1/2 years in training and would be able to receive significant college credit for what he learns (all while being paid). He would have the GI Bill available for him if/when he separates from the military to help him finish his degree.

I went through the program on the officer’s side after I graduated college (Civil Engineering degree). The bulk of the men and women that enlist in the program are extremely bright.

Prosthetics is a big field. There are the teams that develop new types of materials, there are the teams that work with patients (psychologists, RN’s,physical therapists), there are the teams that do programming (robotic devices) and all sorts of people who work on regulatory issues, financials, marketing, designing clinical trials, etc.

I would not assume that the only way to make a big contribution in prosthetics is via engineering. I think your son needs to think more broadly about the field and then figure out a college path which you can afford and which will not yield constant frustration for him.

Cannot emphasize enough how important Calculus is in most engineering programs. So many other classes build on it that a solid foundation is essential, or else you’re likely looking at a struggle in many other engineering classes. It’s not unusual to do well in the Calc classes until it comes to tests - that’s where you apply what you’ve learned under a time constraint and you’ve got to really know your stuff. Agree with suggestions that he retake Calc2 and if he can get an A or strong B, go on and do Calc3. But if it’s still a struggle, I honestly wonder if engineering will ultimately be a good fit for him. You want him to have a good chance of success in college (especially with the $ constraints) and another path - as suggested by @blossom in #12 - might ultimately be as satisfying with greater opportunity for success. Good luck!

You say he gets accommodations. Is he under an IEP or a 504?

Consider the University of Wyoming. Laramie is a perfect town and the university as a whole has a very welcoming vibe to it. Denver is only 2.5 hours away and they have a major international airport for flying back home. Total cost of attending there is around 27k, but they have tons of scholarships (both automatic and competitive) that could easily make it below 20k/year for out of state cost.

Why not stay at community college after hs graduation? He can major in general engineering, then transfer with an Associates degree very easily to UMBC. As a transfer with associates degree in hand, his act/sat scores do not need to be sent. Financially, this is also the cheapest option.

If he goes to one of the cc’s that are part of the transfer alliance at UMBC, he just needs to maintain a 3.0 while at cc.
http://undergraduate.umbc.edu/apply/tsa-main-campus.php

There is also the mtap program at UMCP:
https://www.admissions.umd.edu/apply/mtap.php

Based on his current act scores and gpa, he may have a very hard time gaining general admittance to UMBC and UMCP, much less to the engineering program at UMCP-although it is easy to enter after freshman year if the correct classes are taken. UMBC has no separate requirements for engineering-if you are admitted to UMBC, you can be a direct admit to engineering.

He falls in bottom 25% for admissions at UMBC and UMCP:

https://umbc.app.box.com/s/dqd78z4716r7cy4k2qwq36py177sulla

https://reports.umd.edu/reportHolder.html#First-TimeFallFreshmenSATScores/SATScores

Maybe this isn’t viable anymore - but my father was an engineer and he went to a technical program rather than traditional university

OP - Have you run NPC (Net Price Calculators)? Make sure to anticipate years with multiple children in college because that’s when you’ll get the best price break (on a per child basis).

Re post #17 my boss is an engineer without an engineering degree! He supervises many engineers with bachelor’s master’s degrees and me with a PhD. He started out as a CAD modeler/designer. I am not even sure if he has an associate’s degree or just CAD certification. He is most impressively organized and very much an engineer.