As the parent of a student with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, I would take a different approach. They’re bright kids. I don’t believe they have to choose a less rigorous major; I think they have to approach college differently.
Your son could look for a program that’s more project based. Or he could take a gap year and work on test taking strategies. He might also consider starting at the local cc and taking a couple of classes at a time. Packing in a full load can sometimes be too much. Spreading the work out over 5 or 6 years can help, but doing that at a residential college can be expensive. I have (dyslexic) relatives who did it, but you have to be willing and able to spend the money.
Hi is planning to retake Calculus this next year. Staying at community college and taking as many classes as he can is definitely at the top of his options, but we are trying to explore other options. Any more suggestions of names of schools where he could be a good candidate? I’m going through the test optional list right now and searching each school to see if any have engineering… Any schools where an ACT 22 and GPA 3.4 can get a scholarship to bring costs low?
At Wyoming his stats and scores would get him $3000 per year, but if he could get the ACT up 1 or 2 points he’d get $6000 (off tuition of about $16k and R&B of about $8500). That may be cheaper than a Maryland school but maybe not. It is a school where it is easy to stay in budget because there aren’t a lot of extra costs.
I think your state schools will be less expensive.
Are you sure you want to encourage this student to pursue engineering? It can be a very hard major even for kids with great calculus grades and scores of 30 on the ACT. Even if he gets accepted somewhere, it seems unlikely he will graduate or later succeed in the field. Perhaps investigate other majors?
St Mary’s college in Md has a pathway to engineering through their physics program. It is public instate liberal arts college and a terrific value to Maryland residents. If he works hard to remediate his calculus he could go on to get an engineering degree from UMD in 5 years. Or he could explore another major. An advantage of St. Mary’s is that students can do research with professors as undergrads - that sounds great for getting your student engaged.
U Toledo
I’m not worried about his calculus grades. It is his ACT score which is most worrisome. The ACT site indicates a 22 is the minimum score for likely success in college algebra and a 26 for engineering and related STEM courses. A score of 22 indicates fundamental problems with understanding algebra and geometry. At our local community college, an ACT score of 22 would require remedial math placement. Unless you have reason to believe his scores are truly inconsistent with his proven ability, be careful.
Has your son considered an Engineering Technology degree? Such programs are usually more hands-on and less math and physics intensive. Demand for graduates is high, especially in the Robotics and Automation subfield.
Wentworth Institute in Boston.
I second @mommdc 's recommendation of the University of Toledo, which has very generous scholarship aid, even for out of state students, as well as ABET-accredited engineering and engineering technology programs.
What about the SAT? He might do better on it. There is an August test date now.
Cleveland State and Youngstown State give some scholarships for lower stats, and have engineering.
Kent State also gives merit and has the college of applied engineering.
Try their net price calculators for an idea on costs.
The ACT is not an indication of how successful someone is going to be. I wish they would toss it! Your son should keep plugging away and find his fit school. Look at small division 1 schools or schools that might have pre-engineering. South Dakota State in Brookings has a smaller mech eng but newer facilities. The school pop is 12,600, cost 19,000 to attend, and the city is 26,000 but what a very nice campus and city. Sioux Falls is about 45 miles to the south, 150,000 city pop and a nice city.
Remember, as long as the school is accredited, it does not matter the size and the prestige of a school. It’s about fit and finances.
Best of luck!
At best I’d say you’re looking at an Engineering Technology degree for him, and that will still be difficult. I think traditional engineering programs are out of reach. Best of luck to you.
St. Martin’s University, Lacey, WA.