<p>Engineering requires a certain skill set that must be obtained through some very rigorous courses. Beyond that, a good engineer needs to know how things actually work in the real world. There is nothing that prevents an LD student from obtaining the skill set, and many LD kids are great at understanding how things work. The real issue is that the LD kid may need a different teaching technique or pace than the non-LD kid. THAT is what you need to focus on ... I would not recommend looking into "engineering lite" if the student really wants to actually be an engineer. Instead, I would look into schools that offer a supportive environment for this type of student.</p>
<p>My friend's son is LD, and he is at U of MI's engineering school. He gave up on getting any kind of help (said school is just too big & impersonal to navigate the system). To say that it has been difficult for him is an understatement (and he performed well in school & had decent ACT scores). He has to study constantly & earns mediocre grades. He is making it, though ... he is obviously learning enough to pass, so he is getting the background he needs. The best part is, he had an internship this year. His job performance was fantastic, so the company is paying for his last 2 years of school & has offered him a job at graduation (as well as summer work in the interim). He may have a tough time in school, but he can definitely apply his knowledge & is a great worker (work ethic learned through struggling so hard for so long?).</p>
<p>He wishes he had gone to a smaller, more personalized school, even though things have worked out well. But he said he'd make sure they have excellent internship opportunities, because being able to SHOW what he could do made the grades a non-issue. I would suggest looking into such a program.</p>
<p>My son who is going to University of Denver this year just told me that his roommate is in the small engineering program there, and that he also is taking part in a program called LEP for students with LDs. Might be worth checking out.</p>
<p>Unless you have changed handles, I've been posting here about a year longer than you (I did change handles last November). I don't believe I've read "lower UCs" until you used the term. I did a search on the entire forum and the earliest post with both "lower" and "UCs" in the same post was November 12, 2006. I couldn't find any with the exact phrase "lower UCs" in a sample of browsing through the hits. I did NOT look through all 250 hits, though.</p>
<p>Let's go ahead and use your logic, though and refer to all colleges outside of the top-10 USN&WR as "Lower Colleges." That will add a lot of value to the discussions on this forum.</p>
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My friend's son is at U of MI's engineering school. ...To say that it has been difficult for him is an understatement ....The best part is, he had an internship this year. His job performance was fantastic, so the company is paying for his last 2 years of school....(work ethic learned through struggling so hard for so long?).
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I think this is so key. It's important, imo, for all of us to remember that academic skills are not the only skills that matter for career success, that kids who readily ace tests and kids who will "ace" the workplace are overlapping sets, not mutually exclusive sets (Venn Diagrams, anyone?) It's even more important to convey this to the kids, themselves, who struggle academically, and maybe even those who seem unmotivated academically (perhaps because they have never had success there?). If you trace the academici paths of some extraordinarily successful people in business, in technology fields and others, you will often find those for whom academic success was a never-achieved goal, or for whom academic pursuits held little interest.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what your issue is WashDad, there are UCs that are ranked lower than others and have lower standards for admission same as with ivy schools. What would be a good way to refer to them? Most interested parties here in CA understand that and are not offended by it.</p>
<p>I think it is myth that you need an "almost perfect GPA" to get into a UC and succeed there, even from OOS, and this is important information for families.</p>
<p>As everyone knows, I'm always bringing up Colorado School of Mines...but hey, it's all I know...lol!</p>
<p>The reason I mention it is some aspects of Mines would be a good solution for your young man, others aspects may be a stretch...but it could be worth a look. </p>
<p>Average SAT is 1250 which is not far off for your guy and it is a very small school with very personal attention given to students... and this may be the most crucial attribute for a ld student. As has been pointed out, ld kids DO get the concepts if given enough time and enough innovation in teaching technique. I'm not saying it isn't rigorous, but I think he would find people who actually cared about him succeeding there and would be willing to go the extra mile with him. Graduation rate is about 65% I believe. Acceptance rate is high...2600 accepted out of 3000 applicants for a freshman class of between 700 and 800. It is a self-selecting group however.</p>
<p>The one fly in the ointment may be GPA. Average GPA incoming is 3.6-3.7 unwtd. But I've seen this overcome with good ecs and a good personal statement.</p>
<p>Also, though it is well known as an engineering school, there are some non-engineering degrees in geology and other scientific areas. Graduates are highly sought for well paying jobs.</p>
<p>Again, Mines certainly isn't a lock and the GPA may or may not be overcome. But, it might be what he is looking for.</p>
<p>My high Math skill/high SAT son ran out of the UMI engineering building with a look of terror in his eyes. In that instant, he knew he wasn't an engineer. Congrats to any student who is making a success of UMI Engineering. That is one tough, intense, genius-loaded program. UMI is WAAAAY off the charts for this guy if the goal is a degree and a career. </p>
<p>I like some of the other suggestions.</p>
<p>Where is Co mines located? Is it in the mountains?</p>
<p>Your son might consider a place like Santa Barbara City College. It's a community college, but I've heard of students who treat it like a residential college. They have a two-year AS degree in engineering. From there you can transfer to a 4-year college if you want. The advantage of a community college is smaller classes, slower pace, more attention.</p>
<p>Not a fan of community colleges--and neither is his family due to previous experience. Community college works really well for self-sufficient students. This guy needs the structure and focus of residential college. Thanks for the suggestion though.</p>
<p>cheers - notready is correct, Mines is in Golden which is nice little town just west of Denver in the foothills. About 30 minutes south of Boulder and very near Red Rocks Amphitheater. You can see the school "M" on Mt. Zion all the way from Denver. It has the feel of a private school and most people are very surprised to find out it is a state-supported college.</p>
<p>My cousin, in addition to my husband, graduated from Mines. He was set to go to Auburn, like his aeronautical engineer father before him....and then he visited Golden. Said he'd never live east of the Mississippi again...and 24 years later, he is still in Golden. ;)</p>
<p>In the Denver or Midwest, what would a reasonable AVERAGE salary for the first ten years of an engineer's life? What would be a reasonable loan size?</p>
<p>A newly-minted engineer with a CBET-approved degree has a starting salary of $45-55k-ish, according to a 2005 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. So, with a few raises and stuff, 10-year income would be $600,000 or so? Something like that, anyway.</p>
<p>Also, depending on the employer and specialty, that could be conservative. Petroleum, geological, CPR degrees will probably put a grad with the highest paying companies (those evil oil companies ;)) and by the end of that 10 year period, he should be making 6 figures.</p>
<p>Geologists and Geophysicists in particular have the largest potential to be the industry 'rock stars' able to demand fantastic pay packages....IF they can get a few good discoveries to their name. My husband says, all the time, "should have majored in geology instead of petroleum...."</p>
<p>One of my best friends is a Phd Geotechnical engineer. He's a genius with a future as big as he wants to make it--and none of hiw work is oil related. I agree it is a great field. I love working with the geotechs--in the office and in the field. FAAAAAR more interesting stories to tell than the structural, civil, elec, fire and mechanical engineers. My God! I have too many engineers in my life!!!</p>
<p>$60K a year on average for 10 years? That's $42K a year AT?? He could safely carry a $40K school debt, right?</p>
<p>You might want to contact University of Denver's career placement office to find out about placement and salaries. I seem to remember seeing something last year about where graduates had gone and starting salaries; I remember being pleased but I can't remember any specifics. If you look around on their website, they also have information on fairly frequent career/employment fairs that give information on employers attending.</p>
<p>Another consideration when contemplating a major in engineering in the field of earth sciences/natural resources (Mines' specialty) is that the industry is cycling into another period of shortages for qualified personnel. There has been much discussion of the 'graying of the workforce', as it is referred to in the below article, for several years now. This actually bodes well for those considering education in these fields. My husband graduated during a similar lull and had 13 job offers as a new hire. (I typed all the response letters...so I remember this well...lol!) This article is a couple of years old, but still pertinent.</p>
<p>This is especially good (not sure of the date)...about Colorado School of Mines (Van Kirk was one of my hubby's petroleum professors)
[Cheers - per the article petroleum engineering new hires average $67K starting salary with $10-30K signing bonuses at the time of the article. So I think the school debt shouldn't be a problem]
<a href="http://www.peakoil.com/article1978.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.peakoil.com/article1978.html</a></p>
