D was accepted into college of engineering. From what I heard, she may need a 3.2 GPA in core classes to get into mechanical engineering. That would mean getting Bs and an A in her core engineering classes freshman year, which sounds difficult to me. She has received Bs in AP Physics and BC Calc first semester senior year. Anyone able to provide me with any indication of her chances of getting into her major? Do most kids get into their desired engineering major once they are accepted to the college of engineering?
@oval16 I am a PhD ChemE who went to Penn State for undergrad many years ago. My daughter was also just accepted into engineering at UW. The 3.2 GPA was pretty typical, although I had to wait until the end of my sophomore year to declare my major. Engineering can be a challenging major. It can require significantly more credits to graduate than other majors. The graduating class size can also be significantly smaller than the class size at the end of sophomore year (getting in doesn’t mean you’ll graduate). I personally could not find specific answers to your question, but there is an engineering FAQ website
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/future/ugradfaq.html
And UW publishes a Data Digest with a ton of information, although all engineering majors are grouped together.
https://apir.wisc.edu/datadigest.htm
Key facts: ~5000 engineering students, ~700 graduate each year, and ave time to graduation is ~4.6 yrs. How many apply to MechE, how many are accepted into MechE, and how many eventually graduate with MechE degrees is information that will not be found on these sites.
She’ll need the background knowledge to do well in engineering. Many students who pass the AP calculus exam start with first semester calculus at UW because there is a lot more in it than in the AP course. There are reasons many top private colleges do not allow AP credit. She should consider her HS courses as good background for college versions. It would be good for her to talk to her teachers about how she can improve in those classes- there may be ways for her to study more effectively to learn the material better. Knowing how to approach the material will serve her well in college.
She will go to Madison with a fresh start. She will encounter good/bad professors. She will take necessary math and science classes. How well she handles those and keeps her interest will determine her decision to pursue an engineering major. I believe UW still has the AB and BC grades so she can get between an A and a B and still do well. At this point I would not let a couple of HS classes worry her about her future. And- mom- I would not obsess over things. She shouldn’t start UW scared about doing well. They admitted her knowing she can handle the work.
btw- was she one of the few with a direct admit to engineering (along with acceptance to the university as a whole)? Most students are just accepted to the university as a whole without the extra acceptance. Stating her proposed major is useful for advising purposes come summer orientation.
Do not worry. A lot of changes will keep occurring in your D’s life during her college experience.
@oval16 , as always @wis75 gives good advice. I believe our campus tour presentation mentioned that only about 10% of applicants would be directly admitted into the engineering college this year. Considering UW is a top 15 engineering school, that’s a major accomplishment. Right now I’m just relieved (my daughter was stressing out big time) and proud that she got into her dream school. There will be time to worry later. Engineering just takes hard work and dedication. I assume that if your daughter is amongst the 10%, she possesses those qualities already.