1150 is Rowan’s overall average; engineering average is much higher.
@momprof9904 - All engineering programs weed out students who cannot keep up. NJIT has a high attrition rate in engineering, as would be expected of a safety program that admits students with weak credentials, however, they are giving those students a chance. Some will wash out, others will rise to the challenge and succeed. A school accepting students with stronger high school academics will have a lower attrition rate. NJIT also has engineering technology, which is a fallback for some students who don’t keep up in engineering, and if they go that route they need to be aware they will have decreased opportunities.
@sevmom - I believe the average SAT of Rowan’s engineering students is lower than what they report. Schools play all sorts of games to manipulate statistics. In NJ, Rowan is the new kid on the block in engineering and has a long way to go to match the track record of the other schools I named.
Rowan advertises that its engineering program is “ranked at 23 in the nation by USNWR”. This is a misleading statement stated this way at face value. As meaningless as any college ranking is, particular USNWR’s, USNWR did not rank Rowan as the “no. 23 engineering program in the US”. It ranked its engineering program as 23rd among schools that do not (emphasis on “not”) offer a doctorate. This is a gimmick on the part of USNWR, rather than ranking all engineering programs in all schools as one group. There aren’t that many engineering schools that do not have doctoral programs, so the competition in the ranking group is low. Rowan as an institution is ranked as 171 in the US. It is hard to believe that a school ranked at 171st in the US overall has an engineering program at 23rd. Rowan really ought to make that disclaimer in its advertising. So once again, games with statistics and how they are reported. If Rowan were to (unwisely, IMO) introduce an engineering doctoral program, it will be put into the larger group of research or “national” universities that offer doctorates and its ranking will fall considerably in that larger, much more competitive group.
In most cases, this not do much intentional weeding but just students who cannot handle the rigor.
But some schools overadmit and then use high GPA thresholds to do intentional weeding. Wisconsin is an example.
My son has a somewhat low ACT score, especially in Math, and was admitted into George Mason University’s Engineering program.
@kerryla is your son already attending? If so, how is he doing with his classes?
I don’t think any strong conclusions need to be drawn based on a test taken by a student who was sick and hadn’t yet done any prep at all. True, he’s probably not going to break 1500 on the second try, but he could certainly do much better if he’s on his game and has prepared. As others have said, it’s also worth trying the ACT to see whether he tests better in that format. It seems premature to question whether he can handle engineering, if it’s truly a strong interest and rigorous HS math and science classes have been going well.
One way to test-drive engineering a little would be to do the Operation Catapult program at Rose Hulman this summer. (RHIT’s 25th percentile SAT is 1260, fwiw) It’s a great hands-on intro to engineering for rising seniors. https://www.rose-hulman.edu/admissions-and-aid/early-planning/operation-catapult/index.html
Virginia Commonwealth might be another school to look at. VCU Arts has amazing music opportunities, and VCU Engineering has a pretty attainable stat profile: 2017 freshman admit SAT mid-50%: 1190-1370, average: 1277; GPA mid-50%: 3.64 - 4.18, average: 3.91. https://egr.vcu.edu/admissions/freshman/ Richmond has a lot to offer as a student city, and the OOS costs aren’t horrific. (~46K coa before any merit).
I know for myself I’m not drawing strong conclusions. I’m suggesting more assessment before considering options and coupling it with the fact that one needs strong math skills to handle engineering. If it ends up being needed or desired, there are ways to augment math skills. If it ends up not being needed, a better score could lead to additional schools being considered.
@ucbalumnus both NJIT and TCNJ offer a lot more than just mechanical engineering, not sure where you received your info from. They both offer Biomedical, Civil, Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical. NJIT also offers Chemical, Envorimental and Industrial.
What about Rutgers. I know a few kids who applied to some of the same schools on your list that got either rejected or offered a different major but were accepted at Rutgers.
He will not succeed in engineering at any school worth going to and probably won’t be accepted with an 1100. Just being honest. He should pick another major
Admission is not the stat to look at, it is about the number that graduate as engineers. If a program accepts lower stats kids it is because they can afford to lose them. Look at the 4 yr plan, see all the math and science in the first year. An important stat is the students that make it into the second year, even the third if the kids are retaking failed courses or some unis might have a different timeline for the math and science classes for different eng degrees. If your kid fails out after 2 yrs, that is a lot of wasted time. Non selective schools are doing no kindness taking kids who have zero idea of what eng looks like.
Alfred would be entirely realistic even with your son’s current score, and might be a good school to consider.
how did he do academically in HS? AP classes?
I would just worry, to be frank, about the prospects in engineering for a kid who took the SAT without preparing at all. Engineering is demanding,but completely manageable, IF you keep up with, or ahead of, the assignments. You can’t be the type of person who tries to wing it, and see what happens. I mean, if this is your sons general approach, he will struggle in an engineering program.
A generation or two ago, SAT test preparation was not encouraged, so many students took it with no more prep than the sample questions in the test booklet. Surely, some of those students went to college as engineering majors and succeeded.
@kerryla How is your son liking GMU? We are OOS and we have on list. His SAT scores are a little lower than some other schools on his list right now. I’m just not sure since 90% of population is in state. We plan to visit GMU this month and VCU
Manhattan College may be worth a look as well.
Take a look at Trinity College and engineering. Trinity is SAT optional. How are his other stats?
I know this question is old but I will suggest WVU. For engineering they admit based on GPA and math SAT/ACT score. They have 3 different tracks and with the lowest requirement being 540 math SAT. WVU engineering was ranked #4 in the 2019 best value engineering schools.