<p>When my d was in first or second grade, she had to do a project where she built a robot -- not a functioning robot, but one out of shoe boxes and toilet paper rolls. Anyway, she didn't use shoe boxes. She took a piece of paper and sketched out a robot, labeled all the parts, put measurements/dimensions and proceeded to take paper and build boxes from scratch, no shoe boxes for her. DH who's an M.E. took that blueprint and placed it on a bulletin board in his office because he was so "tickled" at what she'd done. That was the first and last of her thoughts of engineering. </p>
<p>She adores math ... is totally intuitive in math, physics ... enjoys chemistry, tolerated biology (at least AP Bio, got an A in the class, 5 on the exam), and has a 4.0 u.w. GPA. And she has fought us tooth and nail any time we brought up engineering as a choice she should consider. All through middle school, high school ... uh huh ... not her; she did not want to be an engineer like her father. So, no science olympiads, no SECME or summer programs, no mu alpha theta (because she'd had enough competion with 11 years of competitive dance). But her personality ... ah, she couldn't hide it. The attention to detail, the methodical way of approaching things, the totally analytical bent because math just makes sense ... and here we are. She's now considering engineering as a possible option. </p>
<p>As a junior in high school with none of the science passion EC's, does she even have a shot at schools like MIT or Georgia TEch? She's got the grades, 10 AP classes before it's done, the high SAT scores ... and a lifetime of dance, mission trips, community service ... but no science EC's. </p>
<p>zebes, who wonders if there's a shot for a person who says ... okay, I give up. I'm engineer material; mold me. :)</p>
<p>well, someone with a 4.0 GPA and good SAT scores shouldn’t have a problem getting into Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>Most people don’t have engineering EC’s anyway. Most high schools don’t have them. So don’t worry about that.</p>
<p>If she’s a junior, she could always do something in the summer–Purdue has an engineering camp that sounded fun. (Actually, it sounded more substantive than MIT’s summer program for high schoolers.) I almost did it, but opted to take a science class instead elsewhere. It might be good for her–she’ll find out if she actually likes engineering.</p>
<p>Given the high grades and test scores, if your daughter is serious about engineering, she should apply to MIT, Georgia Tech, and also to UC Berkeley’s School of Engineering, among others. My daughter initially planned to major in physics at MIT, but she applied to several orientation programs and was accepted into “Discover Electrical Engineering and Computer Science” (DEECS), and ever since then she’s been interested in Course 6 as well as Course 8. At MIT, students can attempt a double major like this. At some other schools such as Duke, it’s not really possible, because students have to apply separately to the School of Engineering or to the School of Arts and Sciences (where physics is housed).</p>
<p>lol. i know people who’ve gotten in without any ECs at all, plus poor grades and scores as well. apparently their essays were “great”. and nope, they weren’t URMs. so it’s definitely more possible than you hear on CC</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I think we’ll give it a shot. What could it hurt, right? And maybe a very well rounded girl who’s spent years competitive dancing and loves math … might be intriguing in the whole “holistic” framework universities seem to like. </p>
<p>I was a “late bloomer” too, if you can call it that. In fact, even later than your daughter. I had dabbled in it for two weeks in late elementary school through a special program at our state university, but that was about it. I didn’t seriously consider engineering until the summer before my senior year; I had been all set on majoring in math/economics (even went through a lawyer phase 9th-10th grade). However, a summer at the MIT Women’s Technology Program changed my mind entirely and I did a complete 360 the summer before my senior year. I became totally set on majoring in electrical engineering/computer science and applied to colleges based on my new passion for engineering. While I didn’t have any “engineering background” or special ECs besides that summer program, I did have experiences in math and science. I was accepted to MIT (and Caltech) early action. One of my essays that I had written during the application process (I didn’t use it for MIT though) even talked about my perspective changing and how I turned to engineering.</p>
<p>I don’t think being a “late bloomer” makes that much of a difference, as long as you are solid in math/science. In your daughter’s case, her love of math fits well. Definitely give it a shot.</p>
<p>I think “everyone” is too strong of a word to use.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that not “everyone” from WTP will end up pursuing engineering.</p>
<p>However, I don’t have any numbers for you. All I can surmise is that most will end up in a math/science/engineering field. Some of my friends from WTP did end up, like me, seriously considering engineering as a result of the summer. However, I do know of a few that still aren’t that sure about it. WTP doesn’t <em>push</em> engineering in that way; it just gives you the opportunity to see what the field is like (either EECS or ME depending on your track) and experience it (pretty intensely…you’re around it for A LOT of each day). Each girl takes something different away from the program.</p>
<p>Thanks, Tennisgirl, for your unique point of view. I wish we’d realized about the summer program for women at MIT, but by the time we’d even started considering it, the deadlines had already passed. That’s how recent this consideration for engineering is with her. She does have the math and science curriculum (AP Bio, AP Chem, Honors Physics, Honors anatomy and physiology, AP Calc BC), or will have it by the time she graduates. So far she’s straight A’s in everything and scoring 5’s on the AP exams, so I think she shows that she seriously likes and does well in science and math. Her first round of SAT’s got her a 740 on math, 700 cr. She’s taken them again, hoping to get things up a bit. She’ll take ACT’s in April and subject tests in June. So, we’ll see how she looks when all of that is done. </p>
<p>I appreciate the responses so much. It was so much easier with my son who knew what he wanted by sophomore year and hasn’t deviated. </p>