Kids may change their minds. Or they may not. I haven’t read this whole (and long) thread, but it seems to me that the OP, to his credit, is diligently trying to find out as much as he can. In my book, this isn’t a bad thing.
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My personal opinion— since it’s rolling admissions don’t wait for the free week. It would be great to have an affordable acceptance super early and that can help you craft the rest of your application strategy.
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@An_D my opinion, never wait, for anything.
College admissions is competitive, as are scholarships, dorm selection, many majors & honors programs have a cap on number admitted, etc. Never wait.
Plus, the more you can do before school starts, the better.
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Yes if program is ABET accredited. Exception: biomedical engineering (possibly, not necessarily).
Same for CS, Data Science, Informatics.
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I did not mean to imply it was necessarily a bad thing to focus or research early. Some kids truly do know exactly what they want to do , even in high school. Many, probably most do not and that’s okay too. The OP does not seem to have a clear focus yet and that’s okay. There is plenty of time.
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I’m sorry but this does not give me a direct answer. Is a degree from anywhere good enough with biomed as the exception? Thank you.
On the honors section of the common app can I explain an award if it is not well known but it is national?
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Any ABET accredited degree in engineering, as well as CS, Informatics, or Data science, lead to internships&jobs.
ABET accreditation guarantees a certain standard for all Engineering degrees, although of course top colleges can and will exceed that standard and the college experience can be quite different depending on the University. But what matters for engineering jobs is ABET accreditation.
CS, Data Science, or Informatics do not have or require ABET.
Note that Biomed Engineering MAY require more than 4 years/a graduate degree but does not mandate it.
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Biomed is interesting. UAB has an ABET program and Cornell is still waiting for ABET approval.
Absolutely - you should in fact detail it clearly and make your role clear, too.
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So would my instates not be good enough?
Your instate engineering options would be just fine.
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I’m sorry if I am misunderstanding but from this comment it makes it sound like I won’t be qualified for a job with a four year engineering degree unless it is from an ABET school.
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I don’t mean to be harsh, but as a college applicant (especially one aspiring to get into a top college), you should be able to look up stuff like this.
A Google search on “is University of Alabama ABET accredited?” gives you:
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I completely understand.
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I think but can be wrong - that OP switched from
CS to engineering in some sort. Maybe mechanical.
OP, yes I’ve stated many times you want ABET. Yes you only need a 4 year degree. Some don’t want to hire Masters. They cost more. Others do want Masters. But most jobs just four years.
Some will require you to pick up a Masters while you work for them and not necessarily engineering. An MBA for example.
But four years and hustle get you in. Many jobs request ABET in the description so yes you want to pick an ABET school. I know, for example Stanford is only ABET for MECHe and civil. So there may be exceptions but in general it’s Abet or bust and most, if not all on your list will be for MECHe.
You asked are all ABET the same. Yes and no. I imagine an MIT or Stanford or Princeton may be a different level. And some schools are more theory based (Bama) and others supposedly more hands on - WPI, Cal Poly, Louisville (don’t dismiss this one - look hard bcuz you’ll get to cost).
But I previously shared the story with you of the aerospace company my son just started. He’s with Auburn, NC State, Western Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Case Western, Purdue. His roomie is supply chain from Michigan State. Companies hire people. He was offered and declined a top aero company -$85k in Mass was not enough. I looked up their people - similar - various colleges from RPI to U Maine to Ohio State etc
I mentioned his internship. He worked in automotive in Mississippi. His two roomies were Ga Tech. They were not invited to return. He was. So the school didn’t overcome the worker output.
Short of a few names and I’m not for every industry - but you are, in my opinion, putting far too much weight on rank. That’s US News. That’s not hiring managers who right now can’t find enough people.
You know who gets jobs? Kids who apply. Kids who hustle. The internet has leveled the playing field. Indeed. LinkedIn.
My daughter is looking for a march harder to get internship in DC and she’s had 6 or 7 interviews in the last two weeks, is getting her 2nd offer and told me she’s done. Tired of interviewing. Know how she got them ? She applied - just like my son he had 20 interviews and 5 offers. Any kid can. Another mom from Omaha reached out. Her son did the same and got a job.
If you hustle, you will be successful. It won’t matter if you’re a Terrapin, Boilermaker, Bayou Bengal, Blue Devil, or Crimson Tide.
You might, however, save your parents unnecessary financial strain if they’re in that situation.
Btw going back to message one - I’m assuming you have interest in cars. If so, you should be looking at schools for formula SAE or ecoCAR. Here’s a repeat list but schools like WVU might align more with your interest. Best not to look down at them but rather at the experience they can offer you. Applying to a car company with ecoCAR likely will look better than a high level school without. While I’m not an engineer, I do work in automotive and experience trumps level of college at both companies I’ve worked for - both international manufacturers.
I think we are spinning in circles now but after your safeties - and they needn’t be in state - but if you do have a budget and I believe you do - don’t waste time and money applying to places with no hope.
A scintilla I get but no hope - you can be more efficient than that.
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Yes…because regardless of your first employment, you will get a ton of on the job training as well.
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Your instate university choices are FINE.
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Dude.
Bama Bama Bama Bama
Your ACT score gets you full tuition.
https://scholarships.ua.edu/freshman/in-state/
Also, you mentioned AP courses and dual enrollment (I think? I’ve lost track in the thread) … Bama has a very generous credit policy and you could end up entering as a sophomore in terms of credit awarded, depending on how much of that you did. Note that Bama still gives you four years of full tuition. You could use Year 4 toward a master’s if you wanted to.
From the website:
Can undergraduate students use remaining semesters of undergraduate scholarships toward graduate school?
Yes. Students with remaining semesters of an undergraduate automatic merit scholarship or the UA Competitive Admissions scholarship can use their remaining semesters toward graduate school. Students with a scholarship package can use the tuition portion of their scholarship towards graduate school. To learn more about the Scholarship Use for Graduate School Policy please visit the Scholarship Policy website.
Also, there are many research opportunities. Go check out the faculty pages. Email a prof. if you see something that interests you. Seriously. That is totally welcome by every prof I’ve ever talked to.
The honors dorms are spectacular. There are honors sections of classes that will get you your 20-student class size.
The football is unmatched (except by my beloved Gators, and yes, I know I’m living in a dream world there. Sigh).
The Greek system can safely be ignored the entire time. Yes, there are tons of partiers. I challenge anyone to name a school on OP’s list that isn’t. Well, maybe MIT.
We were chasing merit and my kid ended up being accepted to 12 “mid-tier” schools, including Pitt and U of SC and FSU (not for any STEM majors) and Bama was a throwaway safety that he visited just to get me off his back. He was going to Pitt from junior year until April 17: the date of his visit to Tuscaloosa.
He called me up: “Mom, pay the deposit, I’m going to Bama.”
You should be happy to go to your safety if that’s the choice that has to be made because of finances, and so I highly recommend a visit to determine if you would be. Campus is closed now, but starts opening up mid-August, when early programs start. Recommend waiting until there is fully life on campus to visit.
Find out who your recruiter is and ask for a VIP tour. They’ll chauffeur you around in a golf cart. They roll out the crimson carpet. It’s an amazing campus. No joke.
All that said, WVU, where my daughter went, has a stellar rep in the world of automotive engineering - their students were the ones who uncovered the VW diesel emissions scandal. There are auto-scholarships at WVU that might bring it within the $25-30k budget.
Hope this helps. Good luck to you.
(ps: We have irregular, non W-2 income, and NPCs were routinely useless for us in determining what our cost would be. I ended up never using them and just going by tuition + room & board, minus scholarships we expected. If the school was within budget at that point, it stayed on the list. If it wasn’t, it was jettisoned.)
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Correct. Thank you for everything.
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