Please chance me for my sons aero engineering schools based on this somewhat unique profile (very high ACT, particularly math/science, not great GPA and a couple Cs in STEM classes).
Demographics
US domestic
State/Location of residency: Kentucky
Type of high school: Large Suburban Public
Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Intended Major(s)
Aerospace Engineering or Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace minor/concentration
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.4
Weighted HS GPA: 3.5
Class Rank: Top 35%
ACT Scores: 34 Composite (36 Math, 36 Science)
Coursework
Only 3 AP (Human Geography, World History, US History)
Precalc - Dual College Credit
Senior Year will take AP Calculus BC
Completing Aerospace Engineering Pathway at HS
STEM Grades (math classes get one grade per year, science broken out by semester):
Adv Geometry: C (Freshman)
Physics: A/A (Freshman)
Algebra: B (Sophomore)
Chemistry: B/A (Sophomore)
Engineering 1: A/C (Sophomore)
Precalc: predicting B (Junior)
Biology: A/? (Junior)
Engineering 2: A/? (Junior)
Extracurriculars
year round swimming, employment for 2.5 years
Do you know why your son’s grades in STEM fields are what they are? I normally wouldn’t ask, but if he has a 36 on Math and a 36 on Science on the ACT, then it’s surprising that a B is predicted for precalc this year, and that he’s had Bs and Cs in both math and science.
I think that figuring out the answer is important in terms of being successful in college. Does he have executive function issues? Or a learning disability? Or…? From what I’ve heard repeatedly, the engineering curriculum is a doozie, and you would want to make sure he’s in an environment with all appropriate supports (whether he gets supports in college or needs to learn additional study/academic skills before graduating from high school).
By the way, have you thought about U. of Louisville? I’ve heard some very good things about its engineering program.
What do you think is going on with the grades? Is he actually struggling with the material, or are there executive function issues with meeting deadlines, or personality conflicts with teachers, or…? The combination of uneven grades with very high standardized test scores will only accentuate the question, in the minds of AO’s, as to why his grades don’t match his scores. But the reason(s) behind the uneven grades may be more important than the grades themselves, which as you note won’t shut him out of all decent programs.
Iowa State could be another to look at - strong in aero, and not hard to get into… but rigorous, so attrition is an issue, and he would have to be disciplined to do well. Rose-Hulman could be another to look at. Also U of North Dakota, particularly if he’s interested in aviation. (Is he more “aero” or more “space”…?)
(ETA, a little redundant now that AustenNut has posed some of the same questions, but I’ll leave it…)
There is mild anxiety treated with meds, nothing else. Mostly I think he is immature and lacks organization skills and study skills. He is not a self-motivated student, that’s for sure, so the outlook in college engineering certainly has me concerned. His best fit would be somewhere with a great support system. And, in my opinion, a smaller school where he wouldn’t just be one of the masses would be a better option than larger state school. But most of his safeties are large schools, the Likely’s are smaller so hopefully one of those is an option.
Thanks for the additional information. I am not a health professional, but from your description you may want to have him evaluated for ADHD.
I don’t know which of the schools on your list are direct-admit into the engineering major (apart from your likely schools which probably don’t have any bars to a major). If based purely on admission to the university, I’d move Alabama-Huntsville into the likely category as well. But if schools have a particular bar to get into an engineering major (either initially or to get to choose the particular engineering major within the school of engineering). For instance, at Purdue, all engineering students are put in First Year Engineering (FYE) and then they apply for their particular engineering major. From what I understand, it can be very competitive to get an aerospace major (and it’s already quite competitive just to get into the engineering school).
In looking at your list of colleges, it looks as though you’ve taken a good look at schools that are ABET-accredited for aerospace engineering. One option to consider is also looking at schools that are accredited for mechanical engineering, as that also works for people who are in aerospace, but also can lead to more flexibility in case the job market requires a pivot (particularly since aerospace definitely seems to have its own boom/bust cycles).
One school you may want to look into is Marshall (WV). It’s accredited in several different engineering fields, including mechanical engineering and its lab facilities appear able to support many aerospace interests. It’s a slightly more intimate public school (about 8k undergrads) than the others on your list. Even more important than the intimacy is that its support programs regularly get national attention. The one that might be of most interest to your family is this one.
Though you have Arizona State on your list, I’d consider substituting (or adding) U. of Arizona. It is ABET-accredited for aerospace engineering as well as ME, but it’s also know for its SALT center which provides a lot of learning supports.
He sounds just like my nephew, 35/1540, average grades, got into only one college (because he applied wrong), also engineering. He did have a neuropsychological evaluation summer before senior year, adhd/executive functioning. His grades improved senior year so at least meds will be helpful in college.
Given the automatic $15,500 scholarship for out-of-state frosh applicants with 3.00-3.49 GPA and 32-35 ACT, UAH looks like a safety if the remaining $27,832 (= $43,332 - $15,500) net price is affordable.
UK is doing the Dean’s Academy again this summer for high-scoring kids. It is a one-night overnight that really showcases the Engineering program. But engineering is HARD, and if he struggles in high school courses he could have a really hard time with college-level engineering classes - even at a small school. And as a FYI we had a NMF with a 4.0 get waitlisted at Purdue this year and our high school typically sends 6-8 kids every year.
You might look at the Common Data Sets for the schools that you have listed, and specifically in Section C7 of CDS, which tells how different academic and non-academic factors are weighted by the respective schools. For example, some schools weigh test scores more than GPA, or vice versa; or they may give equal weight to test scores and GPS. If any of the schools give more weight to test scores, then perhaps focus on those (unless there is a good explanation that your son could give about the variance between his test scores and his grades).
Thanks so much for all of the great information. To add a little more detail, he has gone through full psych testing twice in the last 7-8 years and does not have ADD/ADHD. I did neglect to mention one other thing though, he has a minor processing disorder. I do not think he takes advantage of possible accommodations for that (though ACT would somewhat suggest he doesn’t really need them), and unfortunately it does not appear that’s considered a SLD that would qualify him for something like the Marshall center you linked.
Regarding ME, we’ve read all the threads on here with the AE vs ME debates and he’s really wanting AE, though would consider ME with Aero concentration if by chance there’s an opportunity to swim at a D2/D3 school with that degree option. Right now that possibility does not exist, but there’s at least been some contact from coaches from a couple of them (Rose Hulman for example).
Arizona is actually on the list too, I just didn’t want to list every possible school in my original post Great to know about it’s SALT center being so highly thought of.
Again, thank you for all the great information and taking the time to respond.
Has he considered swimming club at a D1? They have travel meets and nationals. Club teams can bridge the gap for many year round swimmers, allowing them to still compete with some really high caliber swimmers.
Yes, actually, we’ve talked about that. I think he wants AE over ME strongly enough though that the club swimming would only be an option at an AE school, and not necessarily be enough of an enticement to consider a school with only ME. Thank you for the response!
TBD - he’s a bit of a late bloomer swimming-wise. He’s reached out to a few D2/D3 schools and heard from a couple of D3 coaches, but the process is just getting started. He’s prioritizing his academic goals first, however.
University of Dayton does a lot of research for the Air Force. There are also several private research companies in the Dayton area. He’d be a good match for their engineering program. They tailor their curriculum to fulfill the needs of that aerospace research by offering a strong ME program.
He needs to email (a lot of) coaches and get on their radar.
It’s really hard to add much without an idea of level of swimming, but I guessing ASU and Purdue are way too fast. My guess is that both have strong active club programs.
OP, has he gone on swimcloud and filtered by major?
ETA: the challenge is that a lot of great engineering schools are also fast.
From swimcloud: schools with 50%+ acceptance rate and AE majors - slowest to fastest
University of Buffalo
WV Tech - NAIA
Clarkson - D3
Illinois Tech - D3
WPI (great school) - D3
RPI (also great) - D3
Rowan - D3
Florida Tech - D2
St Louis University - D1
Missouri Tech - D2
(The rest get into pretty fast territory ~T50 D1)
WV University
University of Cincinnati
Penn State
Purdue
U of SC
U of Arizona
U of Minnesota
U of Alabama
Texas A&M
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Auburn
U of Tennessee
Arizona State
I absolutely love WPI. It is a great school to look at as their project-based curriculum really appeals to hands-on kids. However, a high ACT will not help at WPI as they have gone from test-optional to test blind. 3.4 is a bit low without a hook and they look very closely at calc grades. I’m not sure if they say they track interest, but if you go to one of their summer camps, the odds are highly in your favor that you will be accepted.
Great to know about it’s SALT center being so highly thought of.