<p>I received a lot of help from these boards when I was applying a year ago and now I feel it is my turn to do the same. Ask me anything!</p>
<p>is petroleum engineering hard? do you like it? whats it like? im assuming there is a lot of math but what else would you need to excel at to do well in this major</p>
<p>If I submitted late (November 21st), do I have any chances of attending College of Engineering (PetE)?
Ps: I should have been the auto-admit if I had turned my application earlier :(</p>
<p>@seminor
i’ve only had one PETE class so far and its a super easy intro course. Physics, chem, and calc varies between each person but they are pretty difficult courses. I personally accepted credit for calc 1/2 and chem. Physics is a difficult class but in my opinion not as bad as everyone says it is. It’s a typical engineering major with geology mixed in as well. I’ve taken my first geology course this semester and it’s really a love/hate course. I really like the major so far. The department is very tight-nit. It’s also very competitive so make sure you have your resume ready in the fall during hiring season.</p>
<p>@Dzoikoan
Unfortunately it’s going to be very difficult. The department is at max capacity right now. I was told for transfers they are only accepting maybe 1-2 people max out of a pool of 200+ 4.0 students. The department is really trying to limit that go into the major. They are trying to prevent over-saturation so salaries remain high. If you are a national merit finalist or have a 2200+ on the SAT they will probably make an exception and squeeze you in (they did for my friend last year).</p>
<p>So did you get into general engineering freshman year and then get into petroleum?</p>
<p>@FullMetalx - I was accepted to A&M engineering in August with my first choice listed as Petroleum Engineering. I know things will be different next year as opposed to what you’ve experienced. Do you know how A&M is going to handle the engineering fields since everyone is going to general engineering? How do they decide who gets to go to their desired field? I would assume more want in than they have space for so how do they decide? I’m hoping I get PetE since that is what my application and admissions say.</p>
<p>@5am6996
No, that is for next year. I am in right now what is called “lower level Petroleum Engineering.” I believe next year every frehman is going to be a general engineer.</p>
<p>@tjdTexas
I don’t know too much about the plans for next year but I’ll tell you what I know. First of all, the college is getting rid of ENGR 111/112 classes. The professors I had this semester were not happy about this. They feel that these classes are integral for a freshman engineer to understand what exactly engineering is. I understand their frustration but on the other had the classes were pretty dreadful for 2 credit hours. It’s a positive and a negative. The idea for placing everyone in general engineering is to ensure the major is right for the student. They want to make sure the student is 100% sure he/she would rather be a chemical over petroleum, aerospace over mechanical, etc. They also want to make sure the student should be in engineering. If I had to guess I’d say about 20-30% of the prospective engineering students change their major. I imagine these new policies will make the “weeding out” process easier.</p>
<p>FullMetzlx did you get any scholarships? My son has been accepted into Engineering for fall 2014 and we have high hopes on some scholarships. He has a high SAT and was top 1%. If you did receive scholarships, when did you find out?</p>
<p>Also, are there any items you wished you had known about or wished you had done before starting school at TAMU. We read lots on this board but it would help to hear your thoughts.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!!</p>
<p>@whciv01
Congrats on your son being accepted into Engineering! I did receive quite a few scholarships and most of them showed up around March-April. A few also show up in June-July so when you are making that decision for colleges in late April just know that TAMU will probably give you 1 or 2 more scholarships in the summer. Make sure you son signs up for the Nelson Scholarship! I thought it was part of the overall scholarship application but it wasn’t and sadly I missed out. I believe the deadline for the application is sometime in February. </p>
<p>If your son is a Petroleum Engineering major I highly recommend he starts getting connections with the industry NOW! If that means working as a roust about on a rig, coffee boy in the office, researcher in the university, etc. do not hesitate! Getting an internship as a freshman is a huge advantage! Make sure your son is ready for the career fair in September which means having his/her resume, suit, interview skills ready. Going into college I wasn’t ready for the career fair. It was only through lots of help from a friend that I was able to get my resume, interview skills, and etiquette down to secure an internship for this summer.</p>
<p><“The department is at max capacity right now. I was told for transfers they are only accepting maybe 1-2 people max out of a pool of 200+ 4.0 students.”></p>
<p>This sounds a bit exaggerated. Is this as of right now or every semester they are only admitting <2 transfer students. I ask because I am one of those 4.0 students but I also have some stellar EC’s that relate to petroleum. Is there anything else I could do to make my application more competitive?? I am applying for Fall 2014 as Out of State Transfer student.</p>
<p>@RedEyeJedi</p>
<p>It probably is a bit of an exaggeration. I think he point the head of the department was getting across was that space is very tight right now since everyone is trying to get into the program. If you have a 4.0 and good ECs you probably have a decent chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Thank you that’s all I wanted to hear. What have you heard about the Qatar Campus?</p>
<p>Fullmetalx. </p>
<p>I am an international student applying to A and M for Petroleum Engineering. I have the SAT scores for automatic admissions (700 M + 600 CR) but my gpa is around a 3.0. I have loads of brilliant activities on my resume, wonderful teacher recommendations and a great essay. My father works for a major big oil company that starts with a C and ends with an N and I will be paying full-tuition. Do you think that can help my chances of getting in? </p>
<p>Also, I wanted to know the size of the number of Petroleum Engineers in your class of 2017.</p>
<p>@FullMetalx
</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. I’ve seen a commercial from Exxon/Mobil that says 60% of prospective engineering students dropout or change majors. So 20-30% for a freshman year could be low. I plan on sticking it out.</p>
<p>
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<p>I had no idea it started so soon. So even greenhorn freshman go to the career fair in September after just a couple of weeks of school? Thanks for the tip! Luckily I have some contacts and had a summer internship before my senior year in high school. I may be able to continue that if necessary.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the info and keep it coming!</p>
<p>Ok what if my friend is an auto admit for engineering an he get in. For biomedical engineering?
Also what is a&m like?
How’s the food?
How are the parties do they “turn up”?
I am liberal are there gay people there?
Thank you gig em.</p>
<p>@135pipe
I was worried that tamu would be too conservative for me too but you’d be surprised how liberal it actually is. No need to worry there are all kinds of people here!
TAMU so far has been better than expected! I thought I’d just come to tamu and just study my entire 4 years here. I’ve found myself going to many parties, midnight yells, pond hopping, etc. The parties also “turn up” as well depending on which one you go to. </p>
<p>The food is pretty awful, at least at sbisa. Not joking, it really is some of the worst food you will ever eat. People say you will never leave Sbisa hungry but the reason for that is that you would have lost your appetite by then. It was even closed down for a few days since there was some health code violations (I think a cockroaches were found in the kitchen).The usual commercial stuff like chic fil a, papa johns, panda express. is normal though. It’s really hard to eat healthy here. If you can find a way to avoid the mandatory meal plan go through with it! Not worth it at all.</p>
<p>Do you know if I should try to place out of some math (Like in AP or Dual credit) or do you suggest going through A&M’s calculus? Also, is the petroleum engineering department competitive for current students as well? Would you have to fight to earn a spot next year? Thanks</p>
<p>We’ve read the information on the COA for TAMU but wanted to hear from a real student. Can you tell about what you spent for your first year of college including everything. Just a ballpark figure would be helpful. Tell us before and after scholarship if you can.</p>
<p>Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions.</p>
<p>@Alexferrell
If you had a decent high school teacher then take the credit! You don’t learn anything “better” in college. You are basically learning everything on your own at a faster pace. I am kicking myself for not taking physics in high school. If you go to a good high school you will definitely learn the material better there. Retaking a class is just a waste of time in my opinion. You already spent the money taking the AP exam and spent the time in high school. Why spend even more money and even more time, especially in engineering where your schedule is already very rigorous.
I don’t understand what you mean for the second part part of your question. The department is competitive but if you can maintain at least a 2.75 GPA you won’t be kicked out. </p>
<p>@whciv
I live in the honors dorms which cost about $2700 a semester, have the howdy meal plan, and buy all of the books on my own from CL and amazon.
All in all it seems like the cost will not be more than $16000-$17000 (depending on travel costs, extra food, etc.)
With all of the scholarships I’ve received from the department/university, I am not spending more than $4000 of my own money this year.</p>
<p>@FullMetalx
Thank you so very much cockroaches really wow. Taught sbisa was the best guess I was wrong. Sorry for asking so many questions,but how are the dorms and how hard are the classes there.</p>