<p>My son is a 2015 graduate who works hard in school and at his sport - and is successful at both. He's not interested in much more right now, but since we know he'll want to play his sport in college, we have had him begin sending emails to coaches and attend showcases. He is in an engineering program at school - enjoys it and is doing well in it, so think that majoring in engineering would be a good fit. However, he doesn't know that he definitely wants to be an engineer - or anything else! </p>
<p>Since it sounds like D1 athletics are not conducive to STEM majors, we are focusing on academic D3 schools that have engineering programs. His grades, scores and athletic ability are a good match for these schools. The 3 + 2 programs at liberal arts schools don't sound like a good fit. Since he may change his mind about a career in a STEM field, we are not focusing as much on technical schools - like RPI or Rose-Hulman. </p>
<p>It feels like we've really narrowed down his school options and this concerns me a great deal since he's competing with ALL kids who want to attend these schools. </p>
<p>Do coaches consider which major the athlete wants to major in? Are they less likely to pick an athlete with a STEM major? Do the schools that do have STEM majors consider that some students don't have as many options? </p>
<p>There are also schools that have engineering and his sport that are not considered "good academic" schools. Are these a good option? </p>
<p>My son was recruited and now plays a demanding sport at Tufts. While he is not an engineering major, many of his teammates are. In my experience, D3 sports allow the student-athlete to major in whatever they are interested in.</p>
<p>Your son sounds pretty focused, and has a great start with his engineering HS program. My two oldest son’s attended a high school designated for engineering studies . The HS engineering cirriculum and their work ethic prepared them very well for college engineering which they had no question they wanted to major in. My oldest son is an Ivy senior pitcher, and my middle son (freshmen) decided he’d prefer to study engineering at a large state school than studying engineering and play baseball at a D3. Once he is acclimated to engineering studies where he may play club baseball at his ACC school next year. </p>
<p>I’m not going to lie to you…it was very difficult to find the right fit. It took us considerable time (18 months) and effort. Where we live (Mid-Atlantic) the engineering schools are mostly state schools in the ACC or SEC which was not a baseball option. 3+2 was considered at two D1 schools that he was offered, but he decided against it…too complicated and too much risk. We couldn’t find anyone who had done it. The engineering schools in the Northeast are small/private which didn’t appeal to my son’s desire for D1 baseball and need for a deep and wide engineering program. I’m not sure what your requirements specifically are, but this is a huge challenge. Momof2sons mentioned Tufts, and that was at the top of my son list, and they did recruit him hard there. I’d suggest looking into it and others like it. They are strong in engineering as well as other majors should he want to change his major.</p>
<p>Yes, in our experience coaches will take note of an engineering major whether it is D1 or D3. It is going to depend on the school and the sport. It was less of an issue for my son at Ivys, Patriot and D3s. It was an issue at the D1 schools that we either met or recruited him.</p>
<p>We focused on academic schools that offered the best engineering then baseball. Since, he doesn’t have the desire to become a professional athlete, he focused on the academics. I think everyone has to consider the academic level on their own. </p>
<p>Good luck and please let me know if I can help. I have a soft place in my heart for engineering and athletics.</p>
<p>Lafayette College has D1 athletics and a strong engineering major within the context of a liberal arts college. There is a definite emphasis on academics over athletics there. We spoke with a coach at Lafayette and he emphasized the academics of his athletes and said many on his team were engineering majors - no problem there (at least in the S2’s sport). East coast D3 schools with majors in engineering include Swarthmore and Trinity College in Hartford. Tufts is a great option also as mentioned. University of Rochester is another option. You have some time - definitely visit and talk to the coaches when you are eligible to do so within D1 rules. Another D1 school Holy Cross, does not have engineering but strong science and academics are stressed over athletics. Hope these suggestions help.</p>
<p>Our daughter is a mechanical engineering major at a top 10 D1 school in her sport. She’s a freshman in her first quarter. So far, it hasn’t been easy, but she’s getting high marks. She’s red-shirting, so the travel isn’t there yet - we’ll see how that goes next season. Our understanding is that the valedictorian from last year was an engineering major and on the women’s basketball team.</p>
<p>Service academy rosters are filled with students who successfully combine STEM majors and D1 athletics. This is nothing to say, of course, of everything else that consumes time at West Point, Annapolis, and USAFA. It can be done.</p>
<p>Thanks, All! Many of those schools are on our list! We’ll keep emailing and calling and visiting and hope it works out!! It’s good to hear that there are kids out there who are making it work!</p>
<p>How accommodating the school and coaches are for a STEM major seems to vary greatly by school and sports program. Our experience was that coaches definitely took note of what an athletes intended major was. Most of what my son was offered was academic dollars, so we came out and asked if they thought being a STEM major was feasible, we did not want to set him up for failure. One coach did ask him a key question that you will need to know the honest answer to --if you are unable to balance your sport and your major which will you drop? The answer will narrow down your options, but this is good discussion to have now rather than later. </p>
<p>There are academically focused D1s that will work with students to help balance coursework and athletics, but we also found a few D1s that only care about keeping the athletes academically eligible. We even had one school tell my son it would be a nice benefit if he got a degree from the school but the coaches didnt really concern themselves with that! To verify choices and what advisors were telling us we looked at the majors of seniors still on the roster and school athlete graduation rates. There are a lot of surprises out there both good and bad!</p>
<p>OP. Many of the top student-athletes at Stanford (known for its prowess in STEM fields and overall academics in general) major in the STEM fields very successfully. All you have to do is look at the rosters of each sport at S and you will be able to see what each student (who has declared) is majoring in…you will be surprised how many are in the STEM fields…</p>
<p>…you may have heard of two recent graduates Andrew Luck (NFL’s #1 draft pick) quarterback of Indianapolis Colts graduated with degree in Architectural Design from the Engineering Dept…and Mark Appel (MLB’s #1 draft pick) pitcher for Houston Astros graduated with degree in Material Science & Engineering…both considered tough STEM majors for any one…</p>
<p>…if athletes that are performing at the highest level in their sport can accomplish this…can you imagine what most other “average” student-athletes have time for…</p>
<p>…but, then again…it may have something to do with the gestalt of so many of the Stanford students leaning toward STEM/entrepreneurism regardless of being an athlete, musician, or an artist…</p>
<p>^ Luck’s degree in Architectural Design may be issued by the engineering school, but it’s not even close to the rigor of a true engineering degree. It’s classes like “Technology in Society” and “Green Architecture” - no thermo, circuits, etc.</p>
<p>^^wow…aren’t we petty…you must have a chip on your shoulder about your alma mater and their SEAS weakness…which just cannot compete with Stanford like MIT can…</p>
<p>^^ Ha, not at all…Stanford is a terrific school obviously. Just didn’t think using Andrew Luck as an example of an engineering student / athlete was valid.</p>
<p>I think there are two different views of engineering here. One of the reasons that S chose Stanford over Harvard for his sport is the appeal of Stanford’s forward looking engineering programs beyond the traditional grind. The majority of his future team is in the engineering college, but I am not sure if they are all rigorous enough based on your definition.</p>
<p>^ There are accredited engineering programs, and non-accredited. If you want to become a licensed professional engineer, you have to graduate from an accredited program. Part of the requirement is a certain number of hours in classes like Thermodynamics, Circuits, Dif Eq, etc - in other words, the tough courses that make it very challenging to be an engineering major and a D1 athlete.
At Stanford, Mechanical, Electrical, Environmental and Civil are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. So “forward thinking” or not, certain criteria have to be met to be accredited.</p>
<p>Well, speaking of being petty and having a chip on one’s shoulder, I will argue against the basic principle of the original question.</p>
<p>The O/P is basing the question, can a STEM major compete in college athletics, on the assumption that STEM majors are the most difficult and therefore take up the most time. Which I would respectfully, but heartily, disagree.</p>
<p>I’d like to see a STEM major take a crack at Corporate or Trademark Law, Medieval Eastern Slavonic Languages or Baroque violoncello da spalla.</p>
<p>Not sure there is any value in debating which curriculum is the most difficult (different subjects are hard for different types of people) the issue that I have experienced personally and always heard is the concern when talking about balancing academics and athletics is the requirement to take numerous lab classes. </p>
<p>The amount of time spent in the actual classroom is often greater with STEM majors, but can also be the case with several fine arts majors where for the equivalent number of credit hours more time needs to be spent in person in a lab or studio. Prof. do not typically allow students to make up lab/studio time on their own, so it is important to find a school that is accommodating. </p>
<p>A prospective athlete needs to find out if they will have first priority registration, an athletic advising advocate to assist with travel /sports conflicts on their behalf and if academic advisors will allow students to spread out lab classes in a different sequence than the curriculum might recommend regardless of the major (i.e. shift a lab class to a non-competition semester, spread out co-requisites to two different semesters, etc.)</p>
<p>^ It’s not according to danstearns, it’s according to Stanford. As I said, 4 undergrad engineering programs at Stanford are accredited.This is from the Stanford site:</p>
<p>The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredits college engineering programs nationwide using criteria and standards developed and accepted by U.S. engineering communities. At Stanford, the following undergraduate programs are accredited:</p>
<p>In ABET-accredited programs, students must meet specific requirements for engineering science, engineering design, mathematics, and science course work. "</p>
<p>After all, all those forward thinking entrepreneurs have to have someone that knows how to build it.</p>
<p>The courses you present would be considered electives and not requirements for most liberal arts degrees. In contrast most engineering programs have many required courses with few electives. For example nuclear engineers are required to take fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, electromagnetics , radiation physics, and differential equations. Also engineering programs usually require more time consuming labs and group projects than other degrees. The lack of electives plus lab requirements causes engineering programs to be more challenging for student athletes.</p>