Hi! I’m a junior trying to construct my application list. I have a bunch of “lottery” type schools like Stanford, but I’m definitely missing in the safety area. Ordered by my likelihood of getting in, there’s my country’s equivalent of a state flagship (I’m an American citizen living abroad), which, as for kids all over the US, is a great school that I really don’t want to go to. And then there’s a really big gap on the list, and then there’s Harvey Mudd.
Obviously, this list leaves a little something to be desired. Does anyone know of some other good engineering schools with acceptance rates that aren’t astronomically low? I’m mostly looking for a place that’s very strong academically, will give a bit of merit or need aid (I’m middle class), and – here’s the catch – has non-STEM classes too. I’d really like to be able to take some good humanities classes, and if possible double major or minor in a humanity.
Bama. UA Huntsville. UT Dallas. Texas Tech. If you are NMF, there are amazing scholarships at all four. TAMU, too. If you are high stats but not NMF, UAH and UTD still have some pretty amazing merit aid to give out.
@DiotimaDM Thank you! I am almost certainly going to be a NMF, and oh boy do those scholarships look good… My main concern with schools like these is that they seem to have very restrictive engineering courseloads, to the tune of one humanities elective per semester or even per year, whereas more selective/smaller/private schools often have two or more electives per semester. Is this just the norm at the larger, state-school type places? It certainly is in my country, which is why I’m looking to go American.
An ABET-accredited engineering bachelor’s degree program will require at least the following:
1/4 of the course work in math and natural science.
3/8 of the course work in engineering science and engineering design.
Some general education (humanities and social studies). In practice, this is usually 1/8 to 1/4 of the course work.
In theory, the 5/8 for math, natural science, and engineering leaves 3/8 for general education and free electives, but most engineering degree programs have required engineering course work that exceeds 3/8 of the course work.
More selective schools may have “denser” courses, so a given amount of material may be packed into a smaller number of courses or credits, which can allow for an apparently smaller number of required courses or credits. But the workload may be similar to that of taking an overload at a less selective school (at some less selective schools, overload schedules are required to graduate in 8 semesters, since the number of credits of required courses exceeds the usual number).
Engineering course loads take up more than most other majors. There’s not room for many electives. I remember seeing UT Austin’s requirements, and there was literally room for one elective, a science elective…
Most public universities have a large set of core curriculum which isn’t all STEM related. You’ll be required some courses like government, history, a choice of humanities like psych, sociology, required english, etc.
Perhaps those small private schools don’t have core curriculum which allows you to pick those 40ish hours left open.
Colleges want you to graduate in four years, and with and engineering degree that’s already hard enough. If you really want to take more of those humanities classes you could take on the side? No one is stopping you from enrolling in courses that don’t apply to your major.
I definitely hadn’t thought of that comparison between academically more difficult and less difficult school schedules, and I’m a little embarrassed to admit I didn’t consider overloading (schools don’t seem to go out of their way to post information about this on their engineering info pages! Odd :P)
I guess I’ll have to think about how much I’m willing to take on in order to get to take more humanities classes.
Also, if you’re a potential NMF, you may have AP and/or dual enrollment credits that might help to lighten the load. Additionally, some of the NMF programs (Bama, OU) allow five years of study, which would give you time to double major and/or complete a Master’s.
Another good point. I’m used to hearing “We really recommend you take the first-year course rather than test out using AP credit”, but I bet that’s another difference between more and less selective schools.
This short thread has really changed the way I was thinking of safeties – I was imagining the same four-year course sequence you might do at a more selective college, but just less interesting and challenging. It’s becoming clear that the opportunities available are, perhaps, no less numerous, but very different in shape. This gives me a lot to think about! Thank you
The other thing to consider with safeties is the idea of being near the top of the heap vs. being in the middle somewhere. You will absolutely find students of your caliber at any of those safeties, lots of them, in fact, but you (all of you) will be big fish in a small pond, so to speak, which may help with things like access to internships and research, relationships with professors, letters of rec, etc.
Take a look at the middle 50 percentiles for some of the safeties. UTD, for instance, has some pretty respectable test scores.
I’m also not sure that classes at safety schools are inherently less interesting or less challenging.
When you get your first engineering job, you will most likely work alongside grads from top schools and grads from schools you consider safeties. If you both got hired, you can assume a similar level of preparation. In addition, your employer probably isn’t paying the Mudd grad more for the same job just because that person’s degree came from Mudd.
Note: This is not a knock on Mudd or any other elite school. I attended one of the Claremont schools. I’ve also attended directionals, hence my remarks about interesting / challenging.
Another option might be something similar to what my D is considering. She’s been accepted into UMD engineering and honors. At UMD, their selection of honors options includes humanities-rich concentrations; taking that route would mean that she couldn’t use all of her AP credits, but she would have more options outside of her major.
After deciding on a college, check its AP credit policy. If skipping a course is allowed with your AP score, and the course is an important prerequisite to other courses, try the college’s old final exams for the course to check your knowledge to the college’s standards. Then you can make a more informed decision on whether you should skip or retake the course.
Some of these look like exactly what I’m looking for! I really like the schools with larger humanities requirements and more options (e.g. Union has Greek and Latin, not just Spanish and German).
Computer Science or an applied math major might have more elective options.
DD is at UAH and is getting enough humanities for a well rounded education IMO.
You might find this thread illuminating. I know your situation is different, but there are good comments, especially toward the end of the thread, about engineering schools in general, and the big fish/small pond advantages.
I’ve considered computer science – to be honest I’m not sure exactly what kind of engineering/applied science I want to do (software, mechanical, etc.), which is another reason I’m looking for somewhere with flexible options (as opposed to my very safe safety, which requires you to apply to a specific major).
That’s an interesting thread! My attitude with colleges has always been “the bigger the pond, the better”, because I’m very tired of being a “big fish” and not feeling challenged in my classes. Colleges are bigger than high schools, though, generally, so I guess it would be possible to take advanced or honors (or just particularly difficult) classes for the challenge, while still getting the research opportunities, etc. that come from being a “big fish” as compared to the general population of the college. I definitely find it reassuring to know that this choice doesn’t have an enormous impact on job prospects.
