Direct vs. Non direct admit to college of engineering

I applied to be directly admitted to the College of Engineering to Ohio State, however; my ACT (27) probably didn’t allow this to happen. I was subsequently put into the Science and Exploration program. I know I want to be an engineer, the exploration program just seems like an extra step. I know that all students direct or non-direct admit still have to reapply to the College of Engineering sophomore year, but I would like to know if there is any real difference between me and a direct admit. Will I be able to take the same pre-eng course, or do directs have priority? Does the university just want to evaluate me further?

My understanding is that getting into some of the prerequisite classes (like the Intro Engineering sequence) can be very hard if you are not already in college of engineering. You cannot apply for your desired engineering major without completing these classes.

I just don’t understand how the exploration program works if I know I want to pursue engineering. What classes would I take if I am unable to get into those prereq classes?