D was accepted to a top engineering program. For her, the science research program at her high school was a differentiator. At the regional competitions, I was surprised by how few high school students there were who had chosen to do their research projects in math, physics, or engineering. Most students (~95%) had chosen a traditional pre-med topic area (biology, chemistry, psychology, etc.). Of the students who were pursuing math, physics, and engineering topics, only a handful (~1%) were women.
My daughter is a math major at a top engineering school, so take this with a grain of salt, but what separates her from her peers (besides being a girl!) is that she is a good writer and speaker. She learned that in high school and middle school, including in her extracurriculars (she was a level 10 gymnast–speaking in front of people does not rattle her in the least), so I’m going to echo what someone said above and would encourage your daughter to take all of the writing and speech that she can. She’s only 19 but has already presented and been asked to present her research numerous times. And, also, math. Take all the math.
Outlier here.
DH is a career electrocal engineer. I asked him if he took “engineering courses” in HS…and he politely told me…NO.
DD has an undergrad engineering degree. Poor thing…if you read this thread, there is NO WAY she should,have been able to do this. She never (read that again…NEVER) took even calculus in HS. Her highest math was precalculus. Still…she got her undergrad degree in engineering. She took all those higher level math courses in college.
Your HS student should take these courses if they are of interest to her. For some colleges, the agggressive courseload will help her in engineering. For other colleges (also ABET accredited) it won’t matter.
Oh…and my daughter said the attrition rate for entering engineering majors is VERY high. Most switched majors at her school.
does your community college offer an Associate in Engineering? ours just began to and my son completed the requirements this Fall, and will graduate HS this spring. if not then do AP Calc, Physics, Chem, and see if she can take higher level math if she wants. just doing well in the most rigorous HS curriculum that is available to her should do the trick.
There is a lot to be said for being the age you are. Teens need to enjoy life as well as prepare for a future. There is no need to be intense about everything- taking as much as possible, looking to game admissions… In fact, a balanced life is better. Your D needs skills in living her life, not just preparing for her career (which may not even be engineering by the time she finishes college). She may have the ability and interest that keeps her in engineering. But- she also needs to be well rounded. The teen, HS, years are the easiest time to explore options totally unrelated to one’s future career. Take another Lit class instead of college level math (calculus is now HS level for many). Continue that foreign language- four years will meet college graduation requirements and make her more competitive (remember that at many schools students are admitted to the whole school firs- they are competing for spots with all students, not just those in STEM fields).
I have no regrets for all of the nonscience knowledge I have acquired over the years. Like me (and everyone), your D is multifaceted. She needs to polish more than one side of herself.
Earlier on this thread I suggested taking the hardest math (typically calculus), hardest chemistry, and hardest physics offered at the school. I stand behind that. More specifics would come from the school and/or guidance counseler. I am sure they have a cluster of classes intended for the STEM majors like engineering, and I would simply take those.
I disagree about trying to be multifaceted or doing 4 years of foreign language. It’s fine if she wants to and fits in her schedule, but typically once you go down the math, physics, chemistry route your schedule is pretty much set. Engineering is not a degree program that focus on being multifaceted, indeed, those who graduate tend to have a razor sharp focus on engineering and little else.
It’s true to say that you don’t have to take calculus in high school to get accepted in and do an engineering program, especially at noncompetitive schools. But calculus for engineers is considered a hard weed out class in college and those that take calculus in high school will find college calculus to be a lot easier, if they have to take it at all. So taking calculus is recommended in high school for engineering students.
The attrition rate is really high for engineering. Lots of students don’t make it. Best to figure that out in high school if your D can’t handle hard math and physics than spend 2 years of college before figuring that out.
I disagree, although a lot of that depends on the certainty that the perspective student is on doing engineering. If she is a sure thing I wouldn’t try to be well rounded or multifaceted. If she is uncertain, then perhaps it makes more sense.
Taking physics, chemistry, and calculus in high school is fine and is being the age you are.
if she is serious about engineering she should take the most advanced math, physics, and chem she can. that doesn’t mean that her life is suddenly going to be thrown off-balance. she will find out sooner rather than later if she’s cut out for it. she can also take language and literature for her other classes.
This is all such valuable insight and I really appreciate it!
While there are plenty of engineering schools that will accept a student with only pre-calc, it will take other schools off the table. (I don’t know where Purdue stands in that line up.) There’s no reason to start behind if you don’t have to. Getting a solid base in math and science is a plus.