Chance and match for computer engineering...and baseball?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Currently a junior in TN
homeschooled
Unweighted 4.0
Weighted likely to be 4.3 - it’s hard to figure out what to weight when homeschooled, but there are AP and DE classes in addition to a rigorous program - transcript kept by umbrella school so technically will be a graduate of an independent study program

Computer Engineering is most likely major

Both home-based and outsourced classes, 1 DE as a junior, senior year likely to be mostly DE
AP Chem (4), AP Bio (5), AP US History (5), taking Engl Lang, and Calc BC as a junior
3 years of Latin in high school (Latin 3-5), standard high school classes with 8 credits each year, some interesting home-designed elective classes

Many regional and state medals in Science Olympiad, 4 3rd place medals in B-division National Science Olympiad (1 as 8th grader, 3 as 9th grader - our team competes as a junior high), now competing in C division
Other extracurriculars -scouts (hopefully will complete Eagle next year), baseball on public school baseball team, Quiz Bowl on homeschool team

Have taken ACT and SAT once each - 35 and 1570

Prefer to be in the south, not in a city/downtown area

Targets
Clemson (parents went there)
Auburn
VA Tech

Safety
TN Tech
UA- Huntsville?

Other considerations: Depending on how the last 2 years of baseball go, college baseball might be possible. Playing at an ACC/SEC school would be a big reach, but academics come first. What D2/D3 schools that would be a good academic fit?

Will not qualify for need-based aid.
Edited to add: posted by parent

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If your student continues on his current path, he will be competitive for any school in the country. That’s not a guarantee of admission to any school, as some schools have far more highly-qualified applicants than they do spots, but he’d be a contender at any of them.

The big question is, what is your budget? That will be the biggest limiting factor.

D2/D3 schools in the south that aren’t in cities/downtown areas, that you may be thinking of as an “good academic fit” are few and far between.

  • Florida Institute of Technology is a D2 school
  • Washington U. in St. Louis is a D3, and maybe it might be considered suburban enough for you?

When you’re looking for a southern school, is it for the distance from home? Or is it the weather? Or a sense of “southern” culture? Any clarification on this would be helpful to know if there’s a particular direction where it might be easier to expand that definition.

And is the D2/D3 desire inclusive of D1s that are not in conferences as competitive as the ACC/SEC?

And by “good academic fit” do you mean where most of the students have a very similar academic profile to your son? Or schools where there is an honors college or similar percentage of the population with an academic profile like your son?

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Clemson and some of the ACC/SEC universities also offer club baseball.

https://clubbaseball.org/league/conference/?season=759ab438-7794-4b3d-8118-58eb029133ab&conference=7c08b55c-a0d9-4c10-97d6-745817d252a8

Might he participate on a travel team or attend showcase / tounaments hosted by / attended by college coaches?

For example, Mercer is D1, has computer engineering, and an upcoming camp for prospects next month.

See “Additional Links” for camps and prospect questionaire.

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Budget isn’t an issue. We don’t want to spend just to spend, but if needed we can make most things work. Some merit aid would be great, though.

We’ve lived and traveled in different parts of the country, and kid knows that he doesn’t like cities. He has a laid-back personality and likes warm weather and being able to be outside most of the year. I don’t think that he feels tethered to home, but doesn’t see the point in moving long distances just to go away. Most of the schools that I listed are drivable for a weekend trip, but he mentioned some schools in TX before ruling them out for various reasons.

I know that there are lots of small colleges, but many don’t have engineering. A lot of ball kids that we know got to community colleges or tiny LACs with baseball, and we don’t have any interest in something like that. It may not be relevant anyway - there’s no way to know yet how a kid will progress athletically. We hadn’t even considered baseball as a possibility until recently, when kid realized that he was better than some seniors who had already committed to tiny colleges. I don’t think that he cares about D1/D2/D3 - it was more the realization that maybe he could play ball in college, but likely not at the schools that were already on his ‘good fits to study engineering’ list. If he were planning to study accounting or teaching then not having access to professors who do research wouldn’t be an issue, but for engineering it is.

As far as good academic fit, mostly he just wants to go somewhere that will prepare him well for grad school or work. He’s currently taking his first DE class and, while he’s happy that a humanities elective isn’t taking a ton of time, he doesn’t want to go to college where the work is easier and less educational than homeschool classes. Since he’ll go in with a lot of credits, he’s considered a double major, working towards a graduate degree, or doing a lot of research. He’d like to be someplace that will keep those options open.

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Thanks! Club baseball might be a good choice. And, recommendations for schools like Mercer are what I was looking for!

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Club baseball definitely could be a good fit , especially for a kid interested in engineering. Time is involved of course, but not as demanding as for a D1 player, for instance. One of the schools on your list, VT, won the Club Baseball national championship in 2021. They have tryouts, and I would guess the tryout process is very competitive at a school like Virginia Tech. One of my son’s played Club volleyball there and was also in engineering. The tryout process was very competitive. There would also be intramural baseball teams as well there and at many schools . Good luck!

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My son’s friend plays at Gettysburg in the Centennial Conference. It’s a solid D3-level baseball conference with some very strong schools academically.

https://www.centennial.org/sports/bsb/2021-22/standings
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I couldn’t find a list of intramural teams for Virginia Tech so not 100 percent sure they have baseball as an option. But, you could clarify with any of the schools of interest what exactly they offer for club or intramural before applying.

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I believe Gettysburg does not have computer engineering? They seem to have a 3-2 type engineering program, which many kids never finish. But, as you say, the Centennial Conference has many good schools, so perhaps one of them does offer Computer Engineering.

Mercer does offer Computer Engineering.

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Couldn’t edit my last post. Johns Hopkins is in the Centennial Conference and has Computer Engineering.

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Washington & Lee? They have engineering and CS.

Computer Engineering, good academics, non urban, and baseball is tough. Any flexibility?

Rice came to mind but urban. Maybe Mines if Colorado is doable.

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Yes, Johns Hopkins would be urban as well.

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I was just trying to get the conference on the OP’s radar, not specifically Gettysburg.

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I understand that, which is why I mentioned looking at the other schools that you brought up as being in a very good conference. Just mentioned Gettysburg 's offerings in the context of potential other schools. Most of the schools in that conference are in Pennsylvania though, and the OP’s son prefers something in the South.

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Missouri S&T? D2 baseball.

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Most likely it will be baseball that gives. It wasn’t really on our radar as a possibility, and it still may not be. We’ve talked about kid playing rec/intramural, or coaching/umping for kids as a way to stay in the game after graduation. Club at a bigger school is also a good option. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything obvious.

I had actually planned to post asking about a chance-me for merit aid at the target schools, and then he mentioned maybe playing baseball last week…

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This link is a list of ABET-accredited schools for computer engineering that are in the southern or warm states (excluding Hawaii and California…California would add 25 additional possibilities). When you follow that link it will allow you to add or remove whichever states are particular to your family’s desires. Attending an ABET-accredited school is often a requirement for some engineering specialties (like civil engineering), but it may not be as necessary in computer engineering (others would need to speak to this, as it is not my area of expertise).

Here are a few ABET-accredited schools that you might consider:

Christopher Newport: This is a D3 school that I think merits good consideration. It’s Virginia’s premier public liberal arts college, but it’s more of a mid-size school (about 4500 undergrads).

North Carolina A & T: This is a D1 HBCU that I’ve heard some really good things about. I also read an article recently that mentioned how many HBCUs’ baseball squads are more racially diverse than the rest of their student bodies (source).

Harding (AR) is D2 and Lipscomb (TN) is D1. They are both affiliated with the Church of Christ. Lipscomb is in Nashville, but perhaps in a suburban enough area to work.

Baylor (TX): This is a D1, but not in a big urban center.

Duke (NC) offers extremely little merit aid, but your son (if he even gets in to Duke) might have a shot at it.

If you’re willing to stretch out a bit to less warm places (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois)

Lehigh (PA ), D1: The general academic caliber of the school may also limit the pool of acceptable athletes to the admissions department.

Bucknell (PA ): As with Lehigh, there may be a more limited pool of acceptable athletes for this D1.

Ohio Northern: D3

Rose-Hulman (IN): D3; this is one of the top engineering programs in the country, but it’s a very small, specialized school.

Villanova (PA ): Another D1 that might have a more limited pool of potential athletes.

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Your S is just going to have to see how recruiting plays out. Meanwhile he should control what he can control…do well in school in rigorous courses, work hard at baseball and the related training, play on a club team that plays the important tournaments where players get exposure to college coaches, etc.

Most potential recruits have two college lists…one where they might play their sport, one where they wouldn’t. It sometimes doesn’t become clear until senior year, sometimes late senior year, where they will end up.

Good luck and keep us updated.

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Rose-Hulman was my first thought. Not in the south per se, but certainly in a manageable driving radius from TN, and assuredly not urban. Excellent for engineering, and not a school where most of the baseball team will be in less time-consuming majors. With his high stats plus athletic recruiting, OP’s son could get decent merit. If he’s able to carve out 2 weeks away from summer baseball commitments, RH’s Operation Catapult summer program could be very worthwhile: Operation Catapult | Rose-Hulman

UT-Dallas is southern, suburban, and very strong in engineering and CS, and they have DIII baseball. They give great NMF merit, which seems like a strong possibility given this student’s high scores and the moderate NMSF threshold in TN. UTD used to be a commuter school but they have invested heavily in becoming a more residential campus, and their reputation keeps rising. How UT Dallas evolved from a small research center into one of the fastest-growing universities in just 50 years

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Two issues potentially. Your son as a junior, does not seem to be on a travel baseball team, getting exposure, doesn’t seem to be getting local awards already. It’s a tough road with recruiting so decide if he/your family even wants to go down that road. Even some club teams , depending on the sport and particular school, can have very competitive tryouts. For instance, Virginia Tech could be a reach for both club baseball and the engineering program. Engineering admissions seems to be getting more difficult and somewhat unpredictable, even for very high stats kids like your son. Consider schools that he would like and seem like a good fit , even if he could not play varsity or club baseball.

Also, engineering is tough anywhere. If he wants to definitely do engineering, it can be tough (but not impossible) to combine high level sports and engineering. He has time to decide
on this and what path he wants to take, how much baseball is key to decisions about college, etc.

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