<p>I'm a rising senior at a high performing public school is suburban GA. I've always had an affinity for the humanities, first English and now social studies. I was never bad at math or science, I just struggled more to maintain good grades in those classes. This past year, I discovered I loved chemistry and was quite good at it. My math grade ended as a perfect 100. I never in a million years thought I would enjoy these two subjects, but I'm taking AP chem next year (at the request of my regular-level chem teacher who teaches both) and I'm really excited. Lately I've been considering a career in Chem Eng possibly and have been looking at schools based on the availability of that major. But with my lack of advanced STEM classes I'm not sure I even have a shot at getting into a decent engineering program. My grades are great, but my advanced classes have all been concentrated in English/ history. I'm a multi racial female interested in STEM so I've got that going for me, but I think I may have just "figured things out" way too late for my own good. Thoughts?</p>
<p>It is never too late to try to do something you love to do, including engineering. I am a retired engineering manager and I hired a couple of people who figured out they like engineering much later than you have. They turned out to be excellent engineers.</p>
<p>It may be too late to get into somewhere like MIT where most of those kids are driven from the get go, but who really knows about that even. There are many good colleges who love to have students that are engaged in what they want to study no matter when they figured it out.</p>
<p>You can fit right into almost any freshman engineering program by having just the very basics. Many incoming freshman do have a lot of more advanced high school classes (i.e. AP classes) and will “place” out of some of the basic freshman subjects. You may not be able to do as much of that but it doesn’t preclude you from doing well in college. Given how tough engineering can be in college, you may need more than 4 years to graduate but you won’t be able to judge that at this time. Just be sure to set yourself on a realistic path to finish college and don’t overload too much to catch up all at once to those that came in with a lot of STEM AP classes. You’ll only get into trouble by doing that. </p>
<p>You’re still in high school? Of course it’s not too late.</p>
<p>The fact that you are female and minority will also be a plus.</p>
<p>When I read the title of this thread, I expected you to be much older than a rising HS senior. </p>
<p>There are lots of very strong engineering schools which don’t have particularly selective admissions. If you are concerned about if you would be successful in engineering, you may be better off not going to the “best” (e.g., most selective) school where you are accepted, but instead selecting schools that have high graduation rates, good services available such as tutoring, etc. </p>
<p>What is your GPA and your SAT/ACT scores? What math classes have you taken, and what will you take next year? The more selective engineering schools will want you to take Calculus in high school, but at less selective schools Pre-Calc will be enough. </p>
<p>@Hpuck35 thank you for your well thought out response. My goal is just to do the best I can in my remaining classes.</p>
<p>@sacchi My GPA is somewhere in the 4.2 range. My school does integrated math so it’s just 1, 2, 3, and 4. It’s basically the equivalent of Algebra 1/2, Geometry, Precal, some stat, and some trig - just all meshed together throughout the years. I’ll be doing the last three next year. I’m in-state for GATech (as well as being a minority female) so I may have a shot there.</p>
<p>As a side note, anybody know how common it is to pair engineering with the humanities? Whether that be through double major, minor, certificates, dual degrees, etc? International Relations was always my first choice before ChE, and I think with regards to intnt’l development and overseas resources they could fit together nicely. Maybe a stretch. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Every engineering school I know has a humanities/general education requirement. You generally need depth and breadth with those requirements. Just see if you can make International Relations fit in the depth part and maybe a class or two more. You may not have to actually minor in it to satisfy your interest in it.</p>
<p>Most any comprehensive university with an ABET approved engineering course of study will provide what you’re looking for. As was said earlier, your university core requirements will likely include the humanities exposure you seek. My guess is that includes Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>You should be fine starting an engineering program with pre-Calculus in High School. You will get plenty of Calculus in your first two years of engineering.</p>
<p>It is very hard for engineering students to double major, and it typically can’t be accomplished when graduating in 4 years. It would require starting college with a lot of AP credits in hand, and taking a lot of summer classes, etc. As others have said, you will be required to take a few distribution requirement classes for engineering which you can select according to your interests. </p>
<p>While Calculus in high school isn’t strictly required before starting an engineering undergrad program, at a strong engineering school like Georgia Tech, the vast majority of your fellow students will have already taken AP Calc. (See link below for source) So, the summer before college starts, you might want to think about doing some prep for Calculus, such as taking a community college Calc 1 class, before taking Calc 1 at Georgia Tech. Your goal is to not just get accepted to Georgia Tech, but to be successful there. Lots of students end up dropping out of engineering and switching to easier majors, and inadequate preparation in Math is a very common reason. You might also be able to find some summer programs specifically aimed women or minorities interested in engineering which could help you be well-prepared for a rigorous engineering program. </p>
<p>Do you not have SAT or ACT scores yet? It is hard to know whether or not you would be competitive for admissions without knowing your test scores. </p>
<p>See this link about the profile of GT students.
<a href=“Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission”>Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission;
It specifically mentions “94% of students have taken at least AP calculus or equivalent”</p>
<p>@sacchi I got a 30 on my ACT. 34 and 35 on English and reading but 26 on math and science. It’s not so much I didn’t know the material but I found the test to be MUCH faster paced than the SAT, and I couldn’t finish. SAT was a 2020 first time single sitting. 710 W 750 CR 560 M (I know bad, but I think now that I’m familiar with the test and have been studying I really have a shot at improving this score when I retake). Taking summer cal at a CC is very doable. Thanks for the suggestion.</p>
<p>Your math and science scores are pretty low for an engineering major, but your other scores are obviously very strong. I think you could improve your odds of being successful as an engineering major if you took steps beforehand to improve your math skills. </p>
<p>Improving your math SAT or ACT scores would also help you get admitted to more selective engineering schools. When considering your odds of being admitted, you will need to consider how your math scores compare to the averages for the engineering schools at the University, and not just compare your overall scores to the University-wide overall scores. At GT, even though your 30 ACT is (barely) at the 25th percentil, the 2020 SAT is almost there, your odds of acceptance are less because your 560 math score is well below the 700 which is the 25th percentile. While you should definitely still apply to GT, it is a big reach, and you will also need to apply to less selective schools. There are lots of good engineering schools which don’t have super selective admissions, where you would have very good odds of being admitted. </p>
<p>When you consider which colleges to apply to, and to attend, given that you have interests in non-engineering areas as well, be sure to consider that the college has strong programs in engineering and also in your other areas of interest. Good luck. After you have new SAT or ACT test scores, you might want to start another thread to ask for suggestions of which schools to apply to. </p>
<p>I’m late but thanks everyone for your answers!</p>
I recently started another thread on this forum seeking advice about my final decision making, and I recalled this thread that I’d made the summer before applications and I thought I’d come and update it. I got into NC State, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Rice for engineering! I’m very pleased with my results, and thank you everyone again for your help!
Congrats! Which school are you leaning towards accepting?
@scholarme Thank you! I’ve narrowed it down to Georgia Tech and Rice. I’ve got another thread a little farther down about my decision making.