College suggestions

Daughter is a A- student. 3.75 GPA. 27 ACT ( hoping for a 28 in February) . Really interested in engineering. Looking for college suggestions. Currently have University of Dayton and Clarkson on our list. Finances are not a concern. Doesn’t like city campuses. Flexible on size and location. Her sister is a ND and definitely does not want a school that will stretch her too much academically. Doesn’t want to study 18 hours a day ( like sister) but does have good study habits.

If she doesn’t want to stretch herself academically, might I politely suggest she consider something other than engineering? Engineering is not a field one should enter with the goal of simply cruising through it.

Not to pile on with @boneh3ad, but he’s right. The path for engineers at every school is challenging. The environment regarding collaboration within the student body or an institution’s grading habits can vary, but in the final analysis, there’s no getting past the fact that it’s hard. Difficult HS classes like Calculus and Physics are just the tip of the iceberg. The curriculum requires deep mastery building substantially in complexity. If I may, what’s her highest math thus far? Math grades? ACT math subscore? Why does she want to be an engineer? What type?

We should also page @colorado_mom. I’m pretty sure she’s a Clarkson grad.

I agree that engineering is not for the faint of heart. The kids on CC are not your typical teens, trust me I have typical and atypical kids. My youngest (junior) is typical. She wants to get her homework done so she can play ( not study for the ACT). She’d much rather watch Rubiks cube videos to improve her time, build rockets or play hockey. She’s still a kid and that’s completely fine. She will mature in the coming years. Probably not this year or next, but hopefully before she heads off to college. Her sister is home on break and was talking about joining a business club next semester. She took a look at the club listings and decided that the nerf club interested her the most. Nerf gun wars on the weekends are right up her ally right now.

I recognize the complexities in majoring in engineering. I was just interested in some college recommendations if she continues along the engineering route. She might just end up taking a gap year and a community college is always an option for 2 years.

How about Iowa State or Michigan Tech? I agree that engineering is a hard major with a lot of studying at any school.

Take a look at Union in NY.

Personally, I would not consider Union, or any program with minimal facilities and a tiny curriculum. I’d probably cherry pick some of the easier admit AITU schools.

I did not learn about the AITU list until both my kids were in college. It includes Clarkson and many other schools we found the hard way. It’s a great resource - http://www.theaitu.org/

Yes, I’m a Clarkson Mechanical Engineering grad, with Technical Communications concentration. It certainly fits the bill for “Doesn’t like city campuses”, and I really liked it there. (Now with consolidated “Hill” campus, I think it would be even better, less trudging through the cold.) Just know that Engineering is HARD - ya gotta be ready to spend lots of time on intense problem sets etc. If you live in NY, there are some great Community College feeder programs to Clarkson - check your local options for that too.

Thank you colorado mom. I will do some research on the AITU schools. RIT and Clarkson are both on the list and she could probably play club hockey too or at least skate a few times a month. She’s a bright kid when motivated. Her 27C ACT was what we expected the first time. It’s not a bad score. When motivated she can excel. Just needs a bit more maturity. Currently is in the barn cutting out 100 plus pieces on a band saw to make a rubber band long gun over Christmas break. Not sure why, but she just loves to make things.

Remember making things and tinkering are not engineering. Engineering, at its simplest, is math. It’s brutally cumulative, meaning, get behind and don’t develop a foundation early, never catch up, don’t become an engineer. The road is littered with students who didn’t have the discipline and drive to be engineers, that loved tinkering. She needs to understand the reality of this in order not to set herself up for disappointment.

That 27 ACT score sounds good… higher than what I had. (LOL - Before my kids took the test, I had assumed 30 was the top score possible.) But I was a diligent student and survived the rigorous academics better than some of my classmates that were probably smarter.

On of my kids was very bright but a was a “wing it” student. She had a hard time in tough IB high school classes and college engineering . Eventually she switched to econ with more course selection and ability to pick courses of interest. The tough thing about engineering is that there is a very specific course sequence, with few electives

Does your daughter enjoy her math courses? That’s an important factor. (I certainly did. My high school “sport” was math team.)

Engineering is a lot of work so a coasting by mentality may not work in the long run. That being said if you focus on classes and are efficient there is a lot of free time. I don’t spend much time in engineering clubs and spend most of my free time doing stuff I enjoy so you def don’t need to be engrossed in engineering 24/7. Granted I do well in my classes and have an internship for next summer already. Engineering is mostly “math” you almost need 0 tinkering and building skills. I hate tinkering and have found everything is mostly academic.

I’ve seen Union’s engineering facilities and they are excellent. Some other LACs such as Lafayette and Bucknell are also very strong in engineering. A bit larger is Lehigh.

I second the suggestion of Union in NY. It is in a city but the campus is separate and it’s very pretty. It is a liberal arts college with a great engineering dept. The Engineers from there get a broad education and are surrounded by a variety of people. The kids I’ve known who are current students or alumni are all really great people. The school has a vibrant, fun Greek system (but other social life too), D1 hockey which makes for great spectator nights and high quality students. I would also second your thought of Clarkson. It is similar but in the north country so if you like outdoor activity and a beautiful, quiet, serene area this might be a mach. Again, D1 hockey - so much fun with rivals at RPI and SLU. Also, smart, nice kids. I don’t think Engineering would be too difficult for your dd. I get it - she just wants a school and classmates who do more than just study. Honestly, those make the best employees too!

@happy1, I’ve been to all of the ones you mentioned when my son was vetting schools. Having compared them to the “real” engineering programs, if you will, he declined to apply to any of them. The curricula and facilities are all, comparatively, VERY limited. The Aerospace facilities alone at his school are bigger than all of the combined engineering facilities at any of those schools. If they are your only reference, then yes, they might seem fine. To say that any of those schools though are “very strong in engineering” really is grossly overstated.

@eyemgh The physical engineering facilities are but one piece of the puzzle for many. It really comes down to the type of college experience one wants in his/her college. So rather than go back and forth let’s leave it to the OP to research the options and decide what he/she is looking for.

@happy1, I agree, with a MAJOR caveat. It is indeed about fit, but about picking an institution that will fit career aspirations too. They need to know that the type of experience they choose will have an influence on the career choices they have. Don’t take my word for it. Ask some of the many engineers out here, like @ClassicRockerDad for example, that hire new grads on a regular basis.

@eyemgh I agree it is about fit. I know a number of engineers who have attended colleges ranging from some of the LACs mentioned above to some of the top research universities and all have all done very well.

Anyway this will be my last post here as we are getting off course – the idea is to give the OP ideas to research and he/she can weigh the attributes of different schools and make a decision as to which schools to visit and which to pursue.

Visit schools with project based learning. She sounds like a developing mechanical engineer and just needs to meet ‘her people’ to work and study in the right environment; working through calculus, physics and chemistry is often a collaborative process with problem sets. Tinkering (contrary to popular belief) definitely makes a better engineer with a deeper toolbox of knowledge and skills. Engineering jobs are available at many levels of technical depth.

I would not rule out city schools if they have enough green space until she sees the differences in teaching styles. WPI is in a small city, but has a defined campus. We did not look, but Rowan was mentioned often when touring schools in the NY & NJ areas.

Engineering students need the depth of the core curriculum but not all students are inspired to work at the theoretical subjects without a real world link. High schools vary with lab based exposure, we were very lucky to have our children immersed in 90 minute block HS classes where labs and detailed lab reports were a huge part of teaching. None of my children are happy without lab based classes. They chose engineering departments with project based classes, a flipped classroom option (active learning instead of traditional lecture - lectures are homework online), tons of undergraduate research opportunities.

Project education may be a good fit for her, but WPI’s seven week terms (3 courses and 9 semester hours) of work have often been described as drinking from a fire hose. Students need to keep on top every day as there is not enough time to play catch up in this system. Students need to stay motivated by whatever “floats their boat.” It is a lot like crew racing! You can’t rest until you cross the finish line or design the new shell. :bz