<p>Howdy all, my name is Sam and I'm currently a second semester high school senior. I'm curious: lets say I get admitted to a school, but not their College of Engineering, can I go to that school and take the basic calculus and intro to physics and what not for my first year and then transfer (should my grades be good enough) to the engineering school? Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, you can (in principle) usually transfer to the engineering school. But there can be a big BUT!!! </p>
<p>The school probably admitted you but not to their engineering school because they had enough students to fill all their seats in their engineering classes. Some of those admitted will probably transfer out of engineering, opening up seats. BUT, it could be a very small number. </p>
<p>The engineering department will then take all the applications for transfer and accept the top ones up to the number of seats vacated. You could get very good grades BUT not make the cut. You would then have to transfer to another college to get into an engineering department.</p>
<p>Most colleges give merit aid only to incoming freshmen as an inducement to come to their schools, and don’t give any merit aid to transfers. So, it could cost you big time to go the transfer route. Need based aid would probably be still available. Note that not all schools are “need blind” and a big aid need could affect your admittance. </p>
<p>You are taking a risk going the route you proposed. My DD got admitted for one school to the College of Arts and Sciences instead of the College of Engineering to which she applied. She crossed that school of her list as too big a risk.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is ask the school in question. They should be able to tell you how many transferred that way in the past and their GPAs. Also note that your college GPA can be on the order of 0.5 less than your HS GPA, even less if the college is a bit of a stretch for you (which is somewhat indicated if you didn’t get into the college of engineering right from the start).</p>
<p>IMHO, you are better off going to a college that you are admitted to the department you really want to be in.</p>
<p>If you really want Engineering, @HPuck35 is exactly right. Go to the school which admits you for Engineering. That being said, some smaller colleges allow transfers between colleges more freely than others. </p>
<p>Just one other point to make about getting into the Engineering school of your choice. If they admit you to the program, then they expect you to be successful. If they do not admit you, it could simply be a numbers issue or it is because they don’t think you have as good a chance as others to do well in their program. There is something to be said for going where you are wanted instead of trying to squeeze into a program where you are not among their top recruits. The bottom line in engineering is to get an ABET accredited degree and to do well in your classes in order to successfully compete for your first job.</p>
<p>Thank you both very much, that’s exactly what I needed to know! :)</p>
<p>Go to the school’s web site and try searching for “change major engineering” to see if it gives any indication of how difficult it is to change major into an engineering major.</p>