<p>Princeton has a strong engineering program AND strong LAC. Hard to argue with Princeton.</p>
<p>Look at the schools that your mother likes and see if there is any opportunity for engineering. Many of the schools that do not have a full engineering program have programs with other schools as posters have indicated. If a school has NO opportunities for you to major in engineering, point that out and move on with the list. Look at some schools that have things in common with what your mother wants as possibilities. Point out things like CMU's Humanities and Social Sciences programs, Johns Hopkins' excellence in the liberal arts. Ask for some compromises.</p>
<p>Close to home you could look at Univ of Santa Clara.</p>
<p>the only compromise that may work for YOU (and you are the one going to college, not your mom), is to find eastcoast LAC (or small universities like U of Rochester, Tufts, CMU) that have engineering programs.</p>
<p>Barnard has a joint degree program with columbia for engineering, so that may fulfill your mom's wishes and hopefully will meet your needs too. But any program you look at, has to satisfy your educational needs not your moms wishes. As others said, Smith has an engineering program, so give it a look.
I'm not familiar with engineering programs nor LAC's, so I can't help you beyond what I said above.<br>
but based on the schools your mom suggested, she seems to be interested in prestigious east coast schools. If you do make a trip upstate NY to visit Rochester, you may want to check out Cornell. They probably have the most well respected engineering school in the ivy league.<br>
stay strong.</p>
<p>Tell her your the one who has to live there for four or five years you gotta be happy and comfortable</p>
<p>I would ask your mom how she sees the LACs offerings in terms of engineering. Is it possible that she doesn't know that many of them don't offer engineering? I would also ask her why she sees an LAC for you- is there some aspect of your personality or interests that makes her see these as a good fit? Does she have reservations about engineering for you? If so, why- is it because she hates the field or does she not agree with you about your strengths in this area? </p>
<p>While what others are saying might be true about control issues- as a mom, I would not be quite so quick to dismiss your mom's suggestions as being part of "her problem". I would try to very gently uncover her reasoning for her beliefs here. There may be in fact, some wisdom. </p>
<p>I also second the advice that suggests that you and she go together to visit a variety of schools.</p>
<p>Some northeast colleges which offer engineering: Union, Lafayette, Bucknell, Lehigh.</p>
<p>There are compromises out there.</p>
<p>Don't fight with your mom. Instead, put together your own list of colleges that you'd like to visit, perhaps with the help of your college counselor and this forum, and then ask the counselor if she will meet with you and your mom together to review the list. You need to make clear in that meeting that you want to have the option of majoring in engineering.</p>
<p>Your mom needs to understand that just because you visit a school doesn't mean you have to apply there. It's actually fun to explore schools that are totally off the radar screen for one or the other of you. Sometimes your reactions to a school, whether positive or negative, will help you understand what type of environment is a good fit for you. It's unwise to make that determination in advance of the data.</p>
<p>Your mom should also understand (but this should come from the college counselor, not you) that majoring in engineering does not mean that you can't go on to med, law, or business school; in fact, it might make you a more desirable candidate for those programs. However, there are also a wealth of opportunities for engineers who become engineers.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that 3-2 programs mean an extra year of school (at $50K a year), and it generally means going off-campus, although that's not an issue at Barnard.</p>
<p>My advice would be to come up with a list of schools to visit that are in close physical proximity to the ones that are high on your mom's list. Tufts and Dartmouth are easy to visit if you're in Massachusetts, and Princeton is an easy train ride from NYC. </p>
<p>You might want to check out a tech school just for grins. In that case take a tour of MIT. You and your mom might both be surprised by what you see there.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great suggestions</p>
<p>To all those who suggested Smith, I can't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but that is actually the one school we have both really been able to agree on. I have actually been accepted to their Summer Science and Engineering Program, so I hope to attend and maybe get a feel at least for the campus while I'm there. Rice is also definitely a possibility, though I'm still trying to get used to the Texas factor :) </p>
<p>In terms of why she doesn't want me to do engineering - she says that part of her concern is that I haven't really had a chance to explore engineering in high school all that much (which is fair enough). And then I think she just had such a great experience at her small, east coast LAC that she imagines the same thing would be good for me...</p>
<p>I talked to her, and we are definitely going to try and do a visit to the east coast and visit a variety of schools. I've also planned visits to UC Davis and UC Berkeley this week (though not with my mom, unfortunately) and my mom and I made plans to go down and look at Stanford in March when I have a small break from school, which is definitely a start.</p>
<p>CaliforniaDancer, you sound like a very nice daughter :).</p>
<p>It's a process, and you and your mother are both near the beginning. Where your mom is now is not where she will be by next fall when your applications go in, or next spring when you hear back, or later on when you actually head off to college. I hope you'll hold onto your constructive attitude so you'll be able to enjoy all the exploration you have in front of you. I bet you and your mom will both have a great time.</p>
<p>Why can't you apply to "your" schools AND to "Mom's" schools. Does it really have to be one or the other?</p>
<p>Also, perhaps have your mom contact her alma mater and get a reality check on what is a best fit for a math/science person interested in the very concrete fields of engineering. She may listen more to them than you. You want the best education in your field- this means a strong math/science/engineering program at whatever school you attend. You don't want to get stuck at a school where few others share your interests. You may want to offer your mother the analogy of her attending a highly techy school such as MIT as an English major- it can be done, but the peer group would not be there. No matter what you do, be sure you go to a school that offers the engineering, trying to transfer means a loss of opportunities to investigate engineering before you are committed as an upperclassman. It is probably hard for her to understand how someone, especially a girl, can be interested in the subjects you are. She needs to learn that what was best for her is a mistake for you. Math/science mother/woman here- don't settle for any school that can't offer the same top math/science courses required for engineering, not all courses meeting the prereqs will give you as good a background as those intended for engineerining students.</p>
<p>So, interestingly, I was pushing my daughter towards engineering and she wanted nothing to do with it. Perhaps our agreed upon list of east coast schools will help you:
Tufts (wonderful mix of liberal arts and engineering, and so near Boston which is a wonderful college town)
Swarthmore (her brother is there so that came off the list quickly, but a very interesting engineering major along with wonderful liberal arts)
Lafayette (great mix of engineering and liberal arts)
It will all work out. Talk to your mom to figure out what's really driving both of you. I agree that you are a good daughter to figure out what's driving both of your opinions.</p>
<p>if you have another conversation which devolves into her yelling at you. Pick another day when she is in a good mood, don't try to have the conversation then and there. But tell her it is important to you to be able to talk to her without her yelling. And tell her that it is important that you listen to her suggestions, and equally important for her to listen to your thoughts as well. Emphasize that this is a time of exploration, not decisions, so you would like both of you to look at a variety of schools in this early stage. Keep eyes and minds open for now.</p>
<p>At Harvey Mudd, students get a Liberal education as well. They each have to minor in a non engineering area. They are also know for the Biology program.</p>
<p>There is an East Coast engineering school that has a similar Liberal arts component, called Olin School of Engineering. It is outside Boston, near Wellesley. I know a boy who goes there. It is next to and cooperates with a enterprenurial business school. I believe they admit equal amounts of men and women each year. It is new but highly respected. Best thing is that if you get it, it is free for you to go. So, super competitive, but if you are going to apply to the schools in your first post, there's no reason why you wouldn't be considered there.</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend against a 3-2 LAC/engr program. First it will take you an additional year to earn the engineering bs degree. Second, it is VERY difficult to transfer to another college after three years leaving all your close friendships with students/faculty behind. And it is more difficult to establish similar relationships as a new jr vs that unique frosh yr experience.</p>
<p>IMHO the first thing you need to do is to determine if engineering is something you really desire. If it is you then need to be firm with your mom, accept the fact that there will be angst involved but adamently stick to your guns. Remind yourself that you will be the one sending in the applications, not her.</p>
<p>If you can work out a compromise(thinking Dartmouth, HMC, Rose Hulman, etc) that would be great as long as it is fine with you. But this is your decision, not your mom's. Her role is to guide and support, not dictate.</p>
<p>It sounds to me that pure tech schools will not be a good fit for you (and I think you agree with that), so I would not bother with CalTech, Harvey Mudd, etc. One less thing to argue about with your mom...</p>
<p>I think you should look into LACs that offer engineering (Swarthmore, Smith) - you might like them. You should also try to figure out what is it that your mom thinks you will get at LAC, but not at a mid-size U. Then think about it, see if the things she thinks you'll be missing are important to you. Maybe they aren't - then you should communicate that to your mom...</p>