I’m too much a helicopter dad - but maybe as he asks your opinion, you can turn it around with a question to really put the onus on him - well how do you feel about the campus size vs. what you saw in W Lafayette vs. I prefer this one because. He has to live there. And you know what - maybe he’d excel at both - or neither. It’s a all a crapshoot - but you make your best guess and hope it works!!!
My son chose Bama - I’m sure because it was 3 hours closer to mom and because I go to Tuscaloosa for work on occasion. But mainly it was his own dorm room vs. shared at Purdue.
It’s worked out ok - he’s starting in a job with a lot of young people, in Ogden Utah. I haven’t picked up on all the schools yet but two are Auburn and NC State. He’ll be there 6 months - doing four 6 month rotations in different places. It wouldn’t surprise me if an SU or Purdue person was there either - or any school. He worked with Ga Tech, Olin, Ole Miss, Houston, and more - at his internships. I think we all pigeon hole this is great or that isn’t great - but many places are putting out successful grads.
Let us know how your trip goes - oh, and make a trip up to Zebbs for some wings…or Sals Birdland and take home some Sal’s Sassy sauce. I still occasionally order it online!!!
Fwiw, my daughter graduated MechE last year at Purdue. It was certainly a challenging curriculum for her, but it was certainly collaborative - she had many working groups and project teams tackling difficult courses.
Purdue does list which T2M majors are in demand and have capacity limits.
(currently AAE, BME, MDE, and ME),
And fwiw, they report
Over the past five years 93% to 95% of students who have met minimum requirements for transition-to-major have received their first choice.
OP, I do not read this as “making this about you” and I don’t think that kind of criticism, based on very limited information, is helpful. I see you trying to understand the reasons for your kid’s change of heart and make sure that it’s based on positive attributes of the school he likes, not just cold feet or impostor syndrome. You’ve made no mention of “not letting him” choose the school he prefers; you just want to support the process and make sure his reasoning is solid and won’t lead to regrets. That’s more than fair and open-minded.
It sounds to me as if Mizzou is out of the running - I’m not hearing that he’d choose it over SU at the same price, and I’m not hearing anyone else (at least so far) propose reasons why he shouldn’t pass up Mizzou for one of the other two.
Hopefully the SU revisit (and accompanying discussion) will help to provide clarity. Can you buy time by paying Purdue’s housing deposit without committing?
How does he feel about the distance from home? Engineering majors are hard work, and sometimes at the end of finals it is nice to be able to sort of “melt” and relax, and have home be only a short car ride away vs. stressing to schlep yourself to the airport and waste a day traveling at each end of your break. Also, if you really think not wanting to spend money is his hang up, remember to factor in travel costs to Syracuse.
But if after considering all factors he still wants Syracuse, then Syracuse it should be. He should try to find a quiet dorm or a LLC (but that’s probably at any college for a kid who isn’t a big party person.)
I think it’s a good thing to go to college in another part of the country. It is part of their education. If your son grew up in Indiana, then the fact that Syracuse is in the northeast would be a positive factor to weigh. There are most certainly cultural differences between Indiana and Upstate NY
Yes this is exactly how we feel. It is and always has been his choice and his alone. For a kid that has so much trouble identifying preferences, we want to make sure that his choice is based on things that actually matter to him. He struggles with introspection, which is why he has tried to default entirely to price. I wonder if he might still be doing that despite our instructions not to.
Purdue’s housing deposit is non-refundable ($500) and he aims to decide by then. But if he’s still torn up about deciding, I’m fine with depositing and then eating it if he changes his mind before May 1. To me, that’s a small price to pay for his peace of mind, if necessary. He’s been such an easy teenager, so agreeable and a real trouper through everything (including a bunch of health problems).
He seems indifferent to being away from home. We’re in Chicagoland, so he’s got good transport options. The travel costs aren’t bad at all. Spouse and I are quite verklempt these days, so of course we would love him being closer (haven’t told him that). But we all enjoyed our trip through upstate NY this summer. I mean, WEGMANS?! I’m feeling better about the idea of him picking any of these. He’s not choosy, and I’d imagine he’ll be happy at any of them.
I am biased. My D graduated from Purdue with a degree in Chemical Engineering and is well employed. It’s been my opinion and observation that determined students make their way wherever they attend because they are focused and take advantage of opportunities afforded them. They are all ABET accredited so it’s up to him.
That said, I think Purdue has some definite advantages given the relatively small price differential. First, Purdue is very engineering centric. The engineering school is the center of campus. At many schools the engineering schools are set aside. As a university with a focus on engineering the Professional Practices office is very well set up to assist Engineering students in searching for coops, and looking for jobs. They have two very large engineering specific career fairs each year. There is a lot of opportunities for academic support because the school is large. I’m not saying Purdue will hand hold people. If the opportunities are not sought out they will be missed but they are there. I’m sure other universities have support as well but support for engineering at Purdue is very apparent.
Since your son is interested in cooping any cost differential can easily be made up through a coop. My D did a 5 term coop and was able to more than cover her OOS differential. Good luck to your son in his decision.
In the end, OP said it’s up to her child but her child has pivoted off Purdue.
We all have bias - and when we say our kids did well from a school, it’s implying (not directly but sort of in hidden form), that maybe they can’t do well from elsewhere.
I think OP is struggling that her child has pivoted as OP loves Purdue - and who wouldn’t as a parent?
That said, they are going to see Syracuse and her son will determine - from a campus feel, from seeing the engineering school - is this truly home or was his on paper analysis a bit off and Purdue it is.
Nothing beats that visit.
But truth is, OP will do fine at both.
I hope the trip helps to clear things up for him!!
Agreed. I felt I wanted to preface my statement about my bias but didn’t mean to imply that at all. I just wanted to clarify my next paragraph. My observation was that kids could do well from anywhere. Among my D’s coop companions were students from U of Louisville, U of Cincinnati, U of Iowa and others as well as a few more from Purdue. They all ended up in good positions. If I had to say anything it would be that if you are looking to be an engineer in industry then cooperative education is an excellent idea.
That’s what I laugh at - we all go by pedigree - but my son had a mix - Ga Tech, but Houston, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Olin, Tennessee Tech, and more at his internship.
And he went back a 2nd summer but the two Ga Tech weren’t invited - maybe just not the right fit.
But I laugh - because kids will come from all different “pedigrees” and work side by side.
My son starts his job June 20th and there’s 6 or 8 kids in his cohort. He only knows where two are from this far - he’s Alabama and there’s an Auburn and NC State…and the first rotation (of four) is in Utah. One will be in Cleveland.
Interested to hear where the other kids will be coming from - but frankly whether it was Ga Tech/Illinois/Purdue or Kentucky, Delaware, Arizona - really none of it would be surprising.
Congratulations to your son on his admission and scholarship to Syracuse! I’m an admissions rep for the College of Engineering and Computer Science. I may have met with you during your previous visit, and I’ll probably see you on your upcoming visit. I look forward to chatting with you and your son. Feel free to email me as well. My email is on this page:
