My son is a junior in high school. He is pretty confident he wants to be an engineering (specifically metallurgical or materials right now) major but he would also like to get at least a minor in German. From the research I have done, this appears to be almost impossible at most traditional engineering schools. Doing a 3-2 program concerns me because I don’t know if we can afford a liberal arts school. My son has a 34 ACT, a 4.2 weighted GPA, and is an Eagle Scout. He also has dual citizenship with Germany. Can someone with more experience give me advice and encouragement, please, on how to help him figure out if his goal are achievable? The only guidance he has given to me on where he wants to go to school is a countryside that is “not flat.” Thanks in advance.
How advanced in German language courses will he be when he enters college?
If he is relatively advanced, then he can use his humanities breadth courses on the German literature and such courses that he is interested in (not necessarily requiring an official major or minor).
For 3+2 programs, many “3” schools limit one’s major at the “3” school to something like physics, chemistry, or math. Some “3” schools allow any major there, if one completes the needed courses (math, physics, etc.) to transfer to the “2” school in engineering. However, relatively few students starting with 3+2 intentions actually transfer, perhaps because of not being admitted to the “2” school, not getting enough financial aid at the “2” school, or not wanting to transfer away from the school that they are at.
As the parent, your task now is to figure out how much is affordable and communicate that to him so that he makes an application list that will not result in a financial shut-out. Each college has a net price calculator on its web site that you can use to estimate financial aid and net price after financial aid.
There are a few schools that have an international engineering program - I know University of RI does, and I am sure there are others. U of RI is a 5 year program.
He will have completed AP German by the time he graduates. Thanks for the international engineering tip - I will research that.
Well, if he wants to do a language and engineering, German was certainly the right choice! I know that WPI has the option to concentrate in German and spend a semester abroad at a technical university in Germany as an engineering major. I forget which university it is, but it’s a well established program (all the info is on their website).
If he’s looking for more of an experience than a concrete minor, I’d suggest looking into CBYX for young professionals. It’s a US State Dept and sponsored exchange program that allows undergraduate students to spend a year in Germany. Students stay with a host family while spend half the year at university and half at an internship of their choosing. It’s free for those who are selected, and they have a strong preference for engineering students- it might be worth taking a look!
Thanks for the WPI reminder. It was briefly on my radar, but since we are in the south, I was not thinking as broadly as I should have.
AP German may be equivalent to one to four semesters of German language courses in college, depending on the AP score. Some schools’ German departments may use AP scores and/or have their own placement tests to determine which level course the student should start in.