Engineering - Entry to Major

For this year the engineering major application needs engineering majors to be ranked in order of preference. Does anyone know if admission will be given to just one major or each department you list can admit to their major. Then the student can accept a major which may not be the first one listed.

My child is still confused on his major preference. He was admitted with a preference for chemical engineering with a department scholarship. But after his engineering classes has developed an interest in robotics. So electrical or mechanical engineering have become options.

If he is admitted to more than one major then he has some time to make a decision, but if automatically admitted to only his first major listed (> 3.5 GPA) then no more time to think about it. Right now chemical and electrical have equal weight.

So this year will they accept into one major or more than one like last year ?

Another issue he is looking at is ease of getting internships/jobs in Chem Engineering. Electrical/Computer seems to be much easier. Any Chem Engineers willing to share their experience getting internships at A&M. Thanks for any help.

Um, I don’t know who told you that but getting internships in ECEN is not easy; it’s very competitive.

I’m sure it’s very competitive with so many good students at A&M. But I was thinking there maybe more companies hiring for ECEN as compared to ChemE. Also many students have past programming experience in high school and so can find an internship earlier than in Chem E which is more specialized material.

I know at UT some ChemE did not get internships until Sophomore Year while ECE’s (we knew) had multiple offers even in Freshman year. Job prospects after graduating are probably good for ChemE and Elect/Comp.

Just found out that this year they are assigning majors differently than last year.

If you get your first choice major then the other departments don’t look at your application. It’s rank based major decisions. If you have a 3.5 GPA you automatically get your first choice otherwise it’s holistic review for that major.

The entry to major has its rounds. So everybody will be under review for their first choice major unless you have a 3.5 after 2 semesters then you will automatically be admitted to your first choice major. If you get denied from your first choice major you will then be placed in the 2nd round of review which you are being reviewed for your 2nd preference major. If you get denied from your next preference major the process continues up to 5 majors if you decided to apply to that many. The minimum is applying to 3 majors. Once you get accepted into a major you will have to keep that major and cannot be reviewed for any other majors. So lets say you get into your first choice, you will not be reviewed for any more majors. If you are unhappy with the major you got then you must discuss with your advisor in future semesters to get a change of curriculum. You may or may not get your desired major if you decide to go that path. Also from the past year’s statistics and hearing the preference from other student’s opinions about what major they want I believe Chemical, Biomedical, Mechanical, and Aerospace will be pretty competitive majors to get into.

Thanks @gio123. Yes, rank based major decisions this year and acceptance to one major. That’s why it’s important to think about the order on the application.

With A&M there is a possibility to change majors after a semester or two (if you maintain good grades). Other schools like UT make it very difficult to switch engineering majors. I like the flexibility that A&M has.