Texas Tech or UT Arlington. She may want to try the SAT. My son got a 26 on the ACT (36 Math) He did better on the SAT. Texas Tech gave him $3000 yr. He is engineering also.
Red flag for engineering is how hard she needs to work to master math and science in HS. Interest and ability are two entirely different things. She needs to apply to schools where she can readily change majors once she is in college and discovers more options. Most entering freshmen will change majors. She needs to figure out her weak areas on the ACT and work to improve. She likely will be competing for college admissions with others regardless of her intended major. Her gpa shows she can study but needs the test scores to match her grades.
I HATE! anyone complaining about respect. It is earned and never deserved because someone thinks it is. I am more likely to be obnoxious with people when they think respect is to be given et al. Tough luck to the person offended by their perceptions of lack of respect. I only caught someone’s complaint about it. So- to the purported offender- be as “disrespectful” as you are perceived to be without feeling badly. PS- I’m used to being badly thought of- hypocritical of those who do.
“Red flag for engineering is how hard she needs to work to master math and science in HS. Interest and ability are two entirely different things. She needs to apply to schools where she can readily change majors once she is in college and discovers more options. Most entering freshmen will change majors.”
^^ this!!
Thank you wis75.
I was the offending poster, but have no regrets for my input.
Second half of junior year really isn’t too early to start thinking about colleges.
I agree with others that the Texas schools are probably her best bet. If she’s intrigued by engineering it’s better to start there and switch to another major than to start with something else and not have the right sequence of courses. (60% of students who start off in engineering switch to something else according to at least one source I read.)
Not so much for the OP, but I was intrigued by WPI’s test optional approach: http://www.wpi.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/policy-qa.html
Thank you for the school suggestions everyone. I wrote each of them down!
My parents are not interested in the college search process and my sister doesn’t know where to start. My goal posting this was to make a long list of potentials and then she can research and decide where we should go visit over the summer to get a feel if she would like the environment.
Pizzagirl – After she decided she wants to try engineering, I warned her that it would be hard and brought up other majors such as accounting or teaching etc etc… I am not sure what I am supposed to do with comments like “the world won’t end if she’s undecided.” She has decided that engineering is what she wants to try and I am using that decision to narrow down schools.
wis75 – “She needs to apply to schools where she can readily change majors once she is in college and discovers more options.” I agree… Any suggestions on how to go about looking for these schools?
Basically any large college/university will allow you to readily change majors.
I might suggest that if she is interested in engineering she should probably apply to that major first. It is often much easier to transfer out of engineering than into engineering. Engineering is very sequential and the courses build on one another in a pretty rigid order. If she were to attempt another major first she may find herself far behind other students and even having the possibility of starting over. Often the Calculus course required for a Business Major or Health major is not always the same Calculus course required for an Engineering major. It’s the same with Physics and Chemistry. Others may have different information but it is something to consider.
Agree with all others who have suggested an in-state comprehensive university where there are many majors available in addition to engineering. Luckily, Texas has many good public options, which people have already suggested.
Since she is now a junior, and she wants to try engineering in college, she still has time to be proactive in preparing herself :
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Testing schedule: Study for ACT and bring up her score - I think a couple more points should be doable with practice timed tests and self study. I would suggest studying over the summer and take the ACT in September. If you can afford it, she may also try to study from now and take the June test. That way, it’s not as much pressure in September.
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Did she take the PSAT last Fall? If so, what were her scores? If higher than ACT by comparison of percentiles, the new SAT could perhaps be an option.
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I assume she will be taking at least AP Calc AB in senior year, along with a suitable science course. Our NJ non-flagship engrg. school gives a lot of weight to senior year course load and grades.
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Help her check if there are any low- or no cost summer program in engineering for high school students at some of the TX public universities. Sometimes, the smaller universities have such programs to attract students to their universities. This may give her a better idea as to what is involved.
Going forward, OP can be the guide by the side and let the student take the lead. Engineering is a tough major and students need to be in the “ownership” mode to succeed (well, this is true of college in general, but more so for the tougher majors.)
Her guidance counselor should have the info on your state schools. Sometime this semester it would be a good idea for her to discuss things about which colleges should be on her radar.
How things are done depends on the school and state. Find out if students apply to majors or the university as a whole in your state. Your first step will be to look at the public university system in your home state- there may be one or more covering the public colleges. Then look at the different websites for admissions requirements and stats for entering students. That will give you an idea of whether or not your sister is competitive for any given school. Also check to see which engineering majors are available at schools and requirements for them. Ideally your sister will do this work with your guidance. SHE needs to own the process. Once she has been exploring some college websites patterns will emerge and she will gain expertise. There may even be some sites she dislikes and decides the school should be eliminated.
It is not uncommon for engineers to later decide to get an MBA- having the engineering background can be useful in management for many companies. I would never push business because it isn’t something I enjoy while liking sciences. There will be plenty of time as a college freshman for her to widen her world and change her major. She might be better off at a school other than one whose primary focus is engineering if she works hard to learn the math and sciences.
"She has decided that engineering is what she wants to try "
did she say why? Did you ask her? She ought to be able to give a reason.
Perhaps is it because there are so many reports that show Engineering majors have the highest paying jobs?
mathprof63 – Thanks for the PSAT suggestion. I looked up score equivalencies and according to this, http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Using-PSAT-Scores.pdf, her scores favor ACT over SAT.
I asked if she wants to take the ACT in June and she wants to take the ACT again in April.
I will look into summer programs. I talked to her again today and let her know that she can explore majors and take her time in college but she wouldn’t budge on engineering.
She puts a lot of pressure on herself and I think she would benefit from a smaller, laid-back school.
You can always visit some of the smaller campuses like Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
http://engineering.tamucc.edu/meen.html
I like the idea of perhaps exploring a summer program that might give her some insight into what might be involved in being an engineer and getting an engineering degree. I am sure there are closer options, however, this is one to check into:
http://www.onu.edu/academics/summer_academic_and_honors_institute/courses
It is not terribly expensive (around $575 for a week). She may need to to talk to her counselor about admission as it is for students identified as gifted or recommended by their GC. My D13 spent a week at SAHI for Human Anatomy with Histological Technic. It confirmed her love of the study of anatomy and actually helped her a bit in AP Biology. Ohio Northern qualifies as a smaller university (about 2700 undergrads) that has engineering. I know for sure they have Mech E and Civil E. It is in the middle of no where and definitely not an LAC.
Engineering programs tend to be more rather than less intense. They are often a part of a large university. A “laid back” environment small school is less likely to be where she would find her proposed major.
Big brother/sister- you seem to be acting in a “helicopter mom” manner. Remember it is HER life and her decision. Do not presume to know enough about her to predict what she really wants. Giving her lists of schools and things she can look for is as far as you should go. She will continue to mature throughout her senior year of HS (and beyond). A large university may give her room to spread her wings and discover other facets of herself. Plus- large schools are comprised of many smaller groups, she would be among the smaller engineering one.
You can help her by taking her to visit schools. Give her our suggestions. Encourage her to discuss schools with her guidance counselor. Try to avoid letting her be too dependent on you in the college process. Be supportive of HER decisions.
wis75 –
She does not want to go to a large school. She qualifies for UT Austin’s automatic acceptance of top 7% but does not want to go there. Seriously, I wish I went to a high school like some of your kids who have access to helpful guidance counselors, ECs like FIRST Robotics, teachers who encourage you to take AP tests instead of saying don’t bother.
Thank you for the help to those who did not “presume” that I am making all of these preferences up and that my sister and I do not talk all the time for me to know “what she really wants” (side rant: did you ever think that she explicitly has told me these preferences…isn’t it exhausting to assume the worst about someone?). Thank you to those of you who did not “presume” that I am not aware it’s “HER life.”
Now is my time to “helicopter” out of this thread. I appreciate any private messages on school suggestions or a continuation of the conversation through a medium where everything I state is not assumed to be of malicious intent by a select few.
Note that UT Austin automatic admission does not necessarily include automatic admission to the desired major.
However, with a top 7% rank, it is likely that many other Texas public universities which admit directly to engineering majors (or where engineering majors are not difficult to enter after enrolling) can be admission safeties (of course, affordability must be checked). It is best to start the list with affordable safeties to ensure that she will have some college to go to even in the worst case outcome.
I thought the “helicopter” comment was out of line. Your sister is lucky to have you.
Your sister might look st Trinity in San Antonio if she gets her ACT up a bit. Just an idea.
$10,000 won’t get you very far, but you could look into Colorado Mesa University in Durango. I haven’t done any research, don’t know if it ABET but I know they have applied and mechanical engineering. I know someone who did undergrad there in applied engineering and then went to UofM for dental school and started a dental device company.
I’m not sure if it would fit her criteria… but what about University of Arizona or possibly Arizona State? My son applied to Univ. of Arizona for engineering and they didn’t even require standardized scores to be sent unless you want to apply for scholarships. You might check it out and see what you think.