Hi - My son has been accepted to A&M, and we received notification today he has been offered several options for engineering since the College Station engineering program was not offered or already filled. The only option he would choose out of the three would be to enroll in General Engineering in the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn College-Bryan, a co-enrollment program at Texas A&M University-College Station and Blinn College-Bryan. This is all new to us. Is this a feasible option? What does this entail? Pros…Cons? Any details would be greatly appreciated. He/we are disappointed that he did not gain acceptance into the College Station Engineering program, so now we have to make a major decision based on this. TIA!
@mishlong There are LOTS of pros for this admissions offer …and it fills up fast so don’t delay once you’ve made your final decision. Go to TAMU website > Office of Admissions > Freshman/how to be admitted page >Alternative Admission Decisions. There’s some great info there about the prog & it’s benefits. It’s dual enrollment and ‘Students enrolled in the Texas A&M Engineering Academy program are Texas A&M University College of Engineering students’ … so your son HAS gained entry to the College Station Engineering Prog 
Some benefits of the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn College-Bryan include:
Being co-enrolled at Texas A&M University and Blinn College-Bryan;
Smaller student-faculty ratios in courses taken at Blinn College-Bryan, including math and science courses, which build the foundation in engineering;
Opportunities for on-campus housing at Texas A&M, the purchase of a sports pass, participation in student activities, the Corps of Cadets, Greek Life, etc. (participation in NCAA athletics is not permitted);
Taking engineering courses at Texas A&M;
Taking first-year math, science and engineering courses with the same students and developing a community of engineering academic peers;
Substantial financial savings;
Automatic admission to the first choice engineering major at the end of the second semester for engineering students who earn a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) at both Blinn College and Texas A&M and complete the required coursework.
Thank you so much @scotsfi for so much insight. I will pass it along to my son. My son has also received an Air Force ROTC scholarship for all 4 years and I assume this will not affect that scholarship, but we will call to be sure. Thank you again!
@mishlong my son is a freshman in this program right now and it has been great. Two classes at Blinn and the rest at main campus, lives on campus, has a sports pass. None of the students care who goes over to Blinn for class because so many do and they are all Aggies. I recommend do it if he wants to be at A&M.
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@keetsmom thank you so much for the information. Do you mind me asking how the transportation is from A&M to Blinn? Sounds like this is a wonderful option for him.
@Scotsfi I do not know much about the engineering academy options because my older son started in general engineering at college station. My younger son will be applying this summer and with as competitive as tamu has been the last few years in engineering I had been wondering about this option as well. My older son is a third year MEEN major and was told by several professors that at least this major was experiencing some issues with the academy students. They apparently said that it is easier for the academy students to achieve the 3.5 for auto admission and MEEN has nearly filled up with auto admits the last few years. The problem is that apparently a significant amount of the academy students in MEEN have trouble with the sophomore year curriculum and end up dropping out or doing poorly. Did I read correctly that the academy students take their math and science courses at Blinn? Is this an option or can they also take these classes at tamu?
@pbleigh The info I shared earlier on the benefits of the academy was a direct quote from the TAMU website…Office of Admissions>Freshman/How to be Admitted>Alternate Admission Decisions…so it does look like it’s set that the math & science courses are conducted at Blinn & the engineering courses at TAMU itself. Hopefully there are others on this forum who have students(past or present) in this prog that can shed more definite insight on the issue/concern you’re raising.
<<<<<<<<The problem is that apparently a significant amount of the academy students in MEEN have trouble with the sophomore year curriculum and end up dropping out or doing poorly. Did I read correctly that the academy students take their math and science courses at Blinn? Is this an option or can they also take these classes at tamu?<<<<<<<
I for one would love to know where this stuff is in DARs (?) data. Engineering drop and weed out as sophs is really no help for those kids. The acceptance rate for Eng has to be felt somewhere. Where is the data again for the drop and weed out sorted by entry route?
They have bus service to Rellis campus and they can also drive and park. My son has done both. I don’t know about the sophomore year thing, guess we will see. He is hoping to do electrical. Math and science are his thing and he has never had and issue with those types of courses, but A&M is a tough school.
Can anyone explain the cost benefits of the Engineering Academy at Blinn? I keep reading that there are some, but I would like some actual numbers to look at. Thank you!
How does Financial Aid works? with FAFSA? on BLinn Bryan
Buses run from TAMU campus to both Blinn Bryan and Blinn Rellis campus. They can also purchase a parking pass which is what my son did, but said parking isn’t always easy to find. If they live on campus, then the bus is the best option. They have a great app to help time the buses so they can manage their time appropriately.
@22hope My son is taking 2 classes at blinn this semester ant it cost about $1100. He’s taking 3 classes at tamu and it’s costing us with tuition and fees around $4000 so to me, it’s not much of a cost benefit if doing dual enrollment. The previous semesters with all classes at tamu, we paid around $5200 so…
Makes me a bit nervous that he needs to apply for aerospace engineering after he fulfills the core requirements. Is this typical for most universities? I know A&M is so competitive and worry he will commit and then ultimately be denied for the major he has always had his heart set on.
@mishlong welcome to a top 15 engineering program. Yes it is competitive but over 80% of students get there first choice major. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that 80% get first choice aerospace. The benefit of not choosing your major allows the students to experience various degree programs in the freshman engineering class. A lot can change in a year once you get exposed to various things. Heck, your son may decide he does want aerospace. My son decided early on that he wanted to do civil or mechanical and then went a totally different direction. Just study hard and make good grades and he will have options.