All engineering disciplines like to see the core sciences- bio, chem and physics.
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While physics is the most important high school science for prospective engineering majors, general chemistry is often required for engineering majors, and it is best to have had high school chemistry beforehand. From a curricular perspective, biology is the high school science that engineering majors can more easily get away with not taking in high school, except for biology-related kinds of engineering.
But it is generally best to have all three of biology, chemistry, and physics in high school for general college prep and college admission.
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I agree with UCB. The scientific method is the scientific method!
There are a lot of āoptional coursesā a kid could afford to skip in HS- but the core three scientific disciplines are not among them. If chem isnāt taught during the school year, is there a dual enrollment option at a local community college?
At the community college nearest to me, Intro chem is among the most popular classes every single semester (and summers) so there are usually lots of options for class days and times.
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Iād suggest you check out WPI as well. Their project based curriculum is well suited for someone looking for a more āHands Onā program. They also donāt give any failing grades (Either A, B, C or No record)
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Being āhands-onā and strong in math and physics doesnāt necessarily mean he should pursue engineering. All natural sciences, with the exception of theoretical physics, are highly experimental (i.e. āhands-onā). Heād have a better idea what he likes to do in college if he takes introductory courses in all basic sciences.
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Since requirements and recommendations for admissions to undergraduate architecture programs vary widely from school to school, you really need check each individually. Many follow the guidelines of the parent university which commonly include physics, chemistry and biology.
Most MArch programs require some physics and some calculus; BArch and BS/BA architecture programs are seldom that specific.
As mentioned, however, some undergraduate architecture programs do require or recommend portfolios and/or some level of formal art instruction.
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Heās planning to take portfolio next year as well.
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He should take chemistry to ensure he has taken the 3 core lab sciences in HS. I donāt know what type of physics they offer at your HS freshman year - at ours it is required but isnāt really āphysicsā. Most kids take it again - either honors physics or AP Physics 1. Even my S22, who isnāt a math/science guy, is taking honors physics this year on the recommendation of his GC (as opposed to AP Bio or AP environmental science).
I think that you should let him pursue mechanical engineering.
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An additional way for him to determine if certain majors are or are not his cup of tea would be for him to do an informational interview with somebody working in that profession. So, for example, talk to somebody working as a mechanical engineer and ask them about what their job is like, what advice theyād have for somebody who wants to go into that field. Same thing with architecture or whatever other fields you want him to consider instead of ME.
Iāll be honestā¦I donāt understand the reluctance around ME. Itās a solid engineering field which offers people a fair amount of diversity in terms of types of jobs you can pursue after college.
I agree, Olin would be very difficult given what has already been stated in the thread. Itās highly competitive and climbing. And they only have 320 students. Thatās tiny. Their focus is on collaborative groups.
I was speaking to my spouse about my one of my kids who could easily thrive in engineering but the interest really isnāt there. He said, well there are engineers whose specialty is being in management and/ motivating other engineers. I really hadnāt thought of that. I was narrowly focused on thinking of engineers as individual contributors rather than my kid getting an engineering degree that could be used as a building block.
I think engineering is a really broad field. Iām staying out of my kids college major plans. Itās their life. But I was happily surprised to learn that my kid applied to two COEās and was accepted to both. In a discussion, I learned that the reason for applying was to have an option to have an engineering foundation and then a graduate degree in something else.
Iām convinced that many of the kids who know exactly what they want at 17/18 wonāt be doing that at 22. My kid has a couple of area interests and wants to learn more about each thing while in college. Engineering is a tough one because the programs take a full 4 years. Itās a rare program where you can āswitchā into engineering. My kid isnāt interested in the 3+2 programs.
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I agree itās their decision but some kids look for more guidance than others. My daughter knew what she wanted and is going after it. This is a mixed bag and heās seeking help. Heās very interested in art, but worries about getting a job going that route. As mentioned before, Iām not opposed to ME, itās the drop out rate and as mentioned a full 4 year program you need to be excepted into - less wiggle room for exploration.
My niece graduated from Georgia Tech Engineering- sheās managing engineers at 25. Hates her job. It is broad and finding a hands on/practical program is important vs theory only for a kid like this.
There have been some great suggestions here that are appreciated. We have applications in for some summer exploration programs that will definitely help him find his own way. Also getting some school tours in to explore both AE and Architecture with maybe some design interests.
SATs this Saturday will also shed some light on things.
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Yes! Engineering is a very broad field, even within specific disciplines. And it is a tremendous undergraduate degree that can be used as a stepping stone!
H is from a family of engineers who are/were everything from managing partners at big consulting firms, to tech start ups, to leadership roles in manufacturing, to the government. All went on to get MBAs at some point in their careers. Our D is doing the same.
OP: Your son should watch this Youtube video. Our family has found it to be very helpful.
After you watch it, youāll understand what I mean when I say that your sonās art interests are a potential side hustle, but perhaps not his main source of employment.
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Most ME jobs do not involve hands on, or what I like to call tinkering. Still, thereās plenty out there that do. Itās a matter of where a student positions themselves in a curriculum. Iād strongly suggest he look into mechatronics (robotics is a subset of mechatronics). There are many jobs that require lab work doing things like soldering, 3D printing, etc.
It used to be that the only way to advance to a high level was to get into management. More and more companies are recognizing that they were wasting or losing their top technical talent because of this. As a result, a two track advancement system is now relatively common. If he doesnāt want to manage, he wouldnāt have to in order to advance.
Lastly, I would not write off packaging. I wouldnāt even write it off at Cal Poly. A 3.0 is unlikely to get in, but for reasons beyond me, itās one of the least competitive majors to get into. They do very cool stuff, are in high demand, and get paid well. I wouldnāt do a standard business path though like supply chain management only, as there really isnāt a hands on component.
Best of luck to him.
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Supply Chain can be VERY hands-on, depending on the discipline, the industry, the role.
The people who developed the automated āpickersā which are now standard in warehouses had a granular, hands-on understanding of who stands where, what goes where, how many packages get broken per hour, etc. The people who created the algorithms which determine how to load a truck at UPS or Fedex needed to spend years actually standing on a loading dock handling packages of all shapes, weights, sizes, destinations, etc. The huge teams of people who work at airlines pricing cargo and freight; the teams that work for large grocery chains developing delivery schedules for dairy and perishables vs. canned/packaged products- all of these are hands-on disciplines requiring actual experience with goods, humans, technology, software.
There are dozens of interesting roles in Supply Chain and many of them are VERY hands-on. There is a place for the theoreticians of course- but can someone figure out how to get the vaccine from the production line to the physicians office if theyāve never been at a production facility and learned how dosages are measured, or at a packaging plant and learned how the vials are made, or in fact visited hundreds of different medical settings to understand the ālast mileā problem?
Supply Chain is GREAT for someone hands-on!!! And with so many new supply chain roles with a focus on sustainability (how to make dyes for denim pants without polluting the water source near the factory, and then how to trace the pants from factory to storeā¦) itās getting more hands on, not less.
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I agree. I think it depends on how one defines āhands on.ā Being in the field, or on the floor and being at the bench might both qualify, but I was thinking more of the latter, actually working in the lab. I guess it really boils down to what it means to the OPās student. If itās the former, then Industrial Engineering should be on the list too. Even Civil could be, if thatās their definition, depending on the job they land.
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My chem e spends half her time when working out on the floor with her co-op company. She does a lot of process improvement type projects which she really enjoys.
She spent way more time sitting in front of a computer for her R&D job analyzing results and such. (Which she didnāt enjoy as much ; )).
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Have you looked at WPI? They have a Robotics major. I know of students who wanted engineering, but not mechanical. Did the Robotics major and ended up with great internships and great jobs, in their major, right out of college.
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