FWIW, in the official interviews D had with admission counselors both asked her how she would definite engineering and why she wanted to major in that field.
For years the answers to those questions have been the same for nearly everyone, something along the lines of “I have an affinity for math and would like to creatively apply it in my career. Engineering, applied math and physics, would allow me to do that.”
My son is just finishing his MS at a very competitive school that’s one of the biggest in the nation. With 1000 or so MEs, nearly every one falls into the category above. I have a family full of engineers. They all fall into that category. The number of students with any, let alone extensive HS experience in engineering are so rare that they are memorable at his school. With roughly 5000 engineering students, he personally knows of two that went to STEM magnate schools. FIRST didn’t even exist at his college prep HS until after he graduated. He was on the math team, his only STEM EC, yet he was the Rensselaer Medalist.
The notion that high school students will have some sort of distinguishing activity beyond the above love of math doesn’t comport with the limited distribution of STEM EC programs.
@KLSD hit it on the head “I’m not sure why a 17 year old should understand “what engineers do”.” Most engineering students don’t really develop an inkling until about third year. Only then do the blocks really begin falling into place.
@eyemgh. What you said is so true. My going to be junior in engineering when I asked him if he had a better understanding of what he will be doing in engineering his response was “not really”. There are 6 major subsets. We are hearing the terms ergonomics more then finance so maybe he is honing down… ?.
I never said, "Extensive experience in engineering. " I say, math-sci ECs, including something collaborative. Engineering, after all is collaborative.
Of course, many colleges don’t require that. Many do let you in, then you sink or swim on your own.
But what’s safer? Telling a kid a pipe dream is fine, because you think so or know someone who…? Or suggesting a rising junior cover more bases?
@Eyemgh, too many kids say what OP did. “Sounds” doesn’t show any follow through. Or awareness. Both are key traits for a top college admit. Ime, the frequent answers, besides “sounds,” are that they watched Discovery Channel or played with Legos, as a young kid. Or a version of, “I get my best grades in math, so…” Then, you look for some “show, not just tell.”
The experiences don’t need to be eye popping. Nor do they need to relate to a * specific* subset of engineering. But it’s a challenging track and you want to find kids who can likely manage it.
I don’t know what ‘holistic elites’ means when it comes to engineering. Is that MIT? Cornell? Michigan? Purdue? I’m not being snide, I’m just not sure.
Engineering is so broad, I don’t know how any 17-year old could possibly have a concrete and realistic answer to the question of what engineers do on a day to day basis. Many engineers after 4 years of college education probably still can’t answer the question well.
And I don’t think it’s such a bad thing that one starts out a bit idealistic and strives to impact society and/or apply their love of math creatively. Even if the role is a small part of a very large project, it doesn’t diminish the contribution.
This is not meant to minimize the benefits of STEM EC’s. I was a coach for a FIRST robotics team. It’s a fantastic program for many reasons. Fortunately, pieces of it can be picked up elsewhere. Kids work collaboratively all the time, not just in a STEM EC. School orchestras, sports teams, Model UN and flipping burgers all provide valuable collaboration experience. I sure hope the holistic elites are open minded enough to consider the lessons learned from experiences outside of STEM.
“I say, math-sci ECs, including something collaborative.”
I see no evidence that this is necessary. In fact, in some cases it might be harmful. The taste of “engineering” that students can get in HS does not remotely represent what engineering really is. The very best students can do in HS is tinker. They often mistake that for what engineering is day in and day out. There are tinkering jobs, sometimes at a VERY high level. My son has one. It rides on the back though of the brute force math of aerodynamics and deep knowledge of programming.
The collaborative aspect is much more important when looking for a job after you have a degree. @HPuck35, who has hired many engineers, likes to refer to that as “plays well with others.” To expect that out of a HS applicant is a little far fetched.
BTW, engineering is not always collaborative. One of my friends is a one man show. He designed and manufactures lightweight electric bike conversion kits. Jamie Siminoff, who founded Ring, was rejected by Shark Tank and eventually sold to Amazon for $1,000,000,000, toiled away alone in his garage for years. Math is the key. Favoring collaboration puts the cart WAY ahead of the horse.
My daughter would have said “Because I never ever ever want to take another English or history class and I heard engineers don’t have to.” Of course she was wrong and they do have to take a few more, but only a few. She picked a STEM school and not a lot of electives were offered. Her final semester she took 4 engineering classes, Spanish and tennis. To her that was a well rounded education.
I didn’t even know that her high school had an engineering program until the day she graduated. She transferred to this school so wasn’t eligible (had to start as a freshman) but one of her friends had a medal on at graduation and I asked what it was for and she said the engineering magnet program. I then looked it up (I’m always a day late!) and she and others had taken a few classes over the years for this magnet program, like a science class in environmental science. This kid would NEVER be an engineer. She hadn’t taken the most advanced math or science classes, wasn’t in robotics or any science clubs, and wasn’t even a top student. She did go to college but it wasn’t in engineering.
Oh, and as far as my son goes…ZERO tinkering experience prior unless legos counts. 
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What taste of engineering? Some collaborative math-sci activities. Some understanding of what engineers do.
OP isn’t in your class or applying for your job openings. It’s about admissions. Not every college eith a program.
I think some of you are overthinking this.
And it’s rare someone designs a successful product with absolutely no feedback from peers.
I’m telling my experience, having been part. You’re saying. “I don’t think so.”
Okay.
My engineer D claims she knew she wanted to be an engineer in 8th grade. How she could know that I’m not sure. The test she took to determine her “strengths” indicated she should be a farmer. By 10th grade she settled on Chemical Engineer because of a particularly good AP Chemistry teacher. She never looked back and never changed her mind. She is now a Chemical Engineer with a major Chemical company and likes her work. One of these days I’ll have to ask her if the job is anything close to what she envisioned in 8th or 10th grade.
Both my Ds have been quite firm in their career choices early on. I do think it has helped. It has made it easier to choose schools, get scholarships, put themselves into positions to create opportunities and excel in things they enjoy. By knowing what they’d like to do it has helped them persevere when things were difficult and show others, both professors and others students that they have a passion for what they are doing. I think it also has saved them money or in the case of my Chem E daughter made her money. Her coop paid for a large chunk of her degree. She actually had a small amount in savings when she graduated. I understand that many if not most students don’t know what they wish to do as an occupation in the future. I know many students who are quite certain what they want to study but not what they wish to do make a living. For those students the optimism they display freshmen year often turns to fear by junior and senior year. When you combine the uncertainty of career with student loans the future can be very stressful.