Seems like posting a job ad where biology major seniors at many colleges (e.g. state flagships and directionals) will see it, or humanities major PhD candidates at many research universities will see it, will result in plenty of applicants.
Or is this a kind of employer which sets the base level qualifications to be eligible to apply are high enough that attaining such base level qualifications is itself a reach (e.g. must be at an elite college with a >= 3.9 GPA)?
Kids donât read when applying- they push send. Kids donât ask themselves âAm I qualified for this job?â, they just push send. Everyone hates automated tracking systems but thatâs because they donât see the enormous numbers of ânot in any wayâ qualified applications that college students send out.
I counsel kids (in my free time) who have failed to launch after college. Blossom has a system and the kids are supposed to follow it. Well, when I ask, âShow me the spreadsheet which tracks your activity this weekâ I am no longer astonished when a kid shows me that theyâve applied to 150 jobs. We look at the job description- it states âBS in Applied Math or Statistics (or equivalent) requiredâ and the kid has taken one stats class- in HS no less. The job description states âfluency in at least one strategic language requiredâ and then posts the list- as determined by the Federal government- of which languages qualify. So the kid who took exactly one French Lit class in college has applied. No, French isnât on the list, and no, you arenât fluent anyway.
So if your kids are telling you that they and their friends are applying for hundreds of jobs you can believe them. It costs nothing, it takes no time, and the success rate is pretty close to zero.
Even decades ago, the typical job seeking advice (not just for college students looking for their first jobs out of school) was that most job ads overspecified ârequirementsâ where only a few of the listed ârequirementsâ was actually required (though a job seeker may not know which ones), so that a job seeker should apply even if they did not meet all of the ârequirementsâ (because they may then get an interview if the few that they match are the actual requirements).
So it is not a surprise that many job seekers will see that they match 1 or 2 out of 10 ârequirementsâ and apply. Obviously, this is annoying to employers whose job listings have only actual requirements listed under ârequirementsâ.
I have never heard this job seeking advice- and Iâve been recruiting for over 30 years and thought Iâd heard it all. My colleagues in recruiting tell stories of people who apply for a job as an immigration attorney, description specifies that the role requires bar admission in XYZ state, and they get hundreds of resumes of people who have never gone to law school, and in fact- know nothing about immigration. We chalk it up to folks not bothering to read- it boggles the mind that someone would say âok, position says must be fluent in English and I speak English so Iâll go ahead and applyâ if they do not meet the minimum requirements!
I have also never heard that companies âover-specifyâ. Many specifications are- in fact- compliance related and are not optional. Do you want someone repairing the plane you are flying on without an A&P license? Do you want someone developing your momâs chemo protocol who isnât an MD?
Sheesh. To everyone reading this- donât bother applying for jobs for which you are not qualified!
I have seen it a lot, granted in situations where the listed ârequirementsâ are not compliance-related.
Required and Desired are VERY different from ânot meeting the minimum requirementsâ. Iâve seen new grads apply to hundreds of jobs where they can barely explain to me- in plain English- what the job does. If you struggle to explain what âValuation analysisâ is, then donât apply for the corporate finance job you see posted which lists âvaluationâ as a requirement. If you are qualified, youâll have taken a course (or two) in Valuation. If you donât know what Fin Tech is, then the entry level role at a VC firm evaluating Fin Tech investments is not for you!
This is really not that subtle⊠and not the different between required and desired. But thank you for explaining why I know many 22 year olds who see no issue at all with applying for hundreds of jobs for which they are not qualified- who are then mystified as to why they are still unemployed!!!
Completely agree. And on the other side of it, having depth and building experience in a particular area makes you the exception to this rule and means you absolutely donât need to adopt a scattershot application approach.
As an example, S applied for and was hired for an internship last summer (at a very well known think tank) which was incredibly competitive (hundreds of applications for 2 positions, and he was a rising junior competing almost entirely with rising seniors). He was very selective in what he applied to, in fact it was the first and (as it turned out) only application he made. His boss told him that he was the easily the most qualified applicant (since he had previous internships in that very specific field going back to high school when most people donât even focus on the topic until grad school) and she knew immediately she was going to hire him.
Just to add, it wasnât something at the time that he knew he wanted to focus on as a career (although he does now), it was simply that he understood where his competitive advantage lay and he set out to exploit it.
Not everyone is lucky enough to find a perfect match (from the employerâs point of view*) on the first job listing that they see and apply to.
*It is common for a job applicant to see a job listing that looks like a perfect or very good match, apply, and then never hear anything back.
Moderatorâs Note: Letâs return to the original topic of the thread: Merit scholarships for EE.
Thank you
I think we hit that good - i think the auto scholarship schools - mainly the publics in the south - is where the $$ are - from Alabama, UAH, UCF, FSU, Miss St., Arizona, etc. Colorado School of Mines is better than Colorado for scholarshipâŠboth are great but different schools. Thereâs SD School of Mines. Missouri S&T.
At the top schools, everyone is outstanding - so less $$
Her first choice should be her State U. Any ABET accredited Engineering Program will prepare her.
VT is very hard for merit - I know some impressive kids who got $0. The only one who did get merit got $3k.
Tulane is moving to more need-based, less merit.
Penn State also terrible with merit.
Regarding your distance concern, I would like to share that we live in NJ and that our son goes to ASU/Barrett to study Civil Engineering with a significant scholarship.
The distance is not really an issue for us as there are multiple daily flights between Newark Liberty and Phoenix Sky Harbor. And between Phoenix Sky Harbor one can take the Light Rail for $2 ($1 for students).
So, dropping/picking our son only entails a short drive to Newark. The first year we ordered what he needed for his dorm room on Amazon and got it delivered a few days before so he only needed to take one suitcase, one carry-on and a small backpack with him.
For the summer ASU/Barrett offers storage via the UPS Store on site.
Regarding your comment about VT and merit. I totally agree. Our son got offered $500 (five hundred) in merit two years agoâŠ
We were in a similar position two years ago (in NJ, with son looking at schools offering Civil Engineering at a reasonable price).
He was offered $10K merit at Rutgers Honors College which seemed to be the standard amount for instate students at the time (but note in case you are not already aware that acceptance to Rutgers Honors College is different from acceptance to Rutgers Honors Academy/Program).
Ultimately, he picked Arizona State (ASU) which made us the strongest offer. It might not be too late to apply there and/or University of Arizona if you want to get more quotes.
About some of the Ivys being very generous, he only got in Cornell⊠and from experience I can tell you that Cornell is certainly not what I would consider generous. They expected about 50% of our after tax income per year.
Thanks for sharing, especially about the storage! That will definitely help with one of the Dad concerns.
The flight logistics arenât a big issue for us either thankfully. I think itâs more the âif I need to get away for the weekend to rechargeâ factor.
Sheâs like me. Generally social, but somewhat introverted so needs quiet time alone in her own space to recharge at times. Closer would give her opportunity to occasionally come home for a weekend break during the semester.
She also mentioned it would be nice to have her car to escape to now and then and to go places. No one in our family is up for the 32 hour drive to get it there. However, after watching Nomadland, I could possibly be talked into it. 
How does your son like ASU, Fulton and Barrett?
Right now, ASU does seem to moving to the front of the choices. Weâre signed up for several admitted student virtual sessions over the next couple weeks.
I certainly encourage you to look at the thread that @CollegeMamb0 recommended. You can find it at Looking for advice in Merit aid for a top 1% student
Since you are in Maryland, College Park might turn out to be your best option, but if you are looking for big merit out-of-state you must look South, and especially Southwest. Arizona State (ASU) and University of Arizona should be on your list. Their Engineering programs are well ranked and somehow they are both willing to offer strong incentives to candidates like your daughter.
So far, our son likes ASU, Fulton and Barrett. He went to visit by himself back when he was in High School when he received an invitation to do so, and came back convinced that it would work for him. He is now in second year and we pretty much only see him during the Winter and Summer breaks (last year he made plans with new Barrett friends for Spring break rather than coming home, and this year Spring break is canceled). We went to visit him once during his first year during the so-called Family weekend.
He does not have a car but one of his apartment mates (or somebody he knows in the building?) does this year. (The dorms for the second-year Honors students are apartments with individual rooms that look nicer than the apartment I lived in after I got my first job). That said, I really do not see a need for a car the first year because the Honors cafeteria is in the same complex as the first-year Honors dorms. (The second year Honors apartments are just across the street but with the pandemic it seems that second-year students enjoy spending some time cooking in their well-equipped kitchens).
Traditionally (as in before the pandemic) out-of-state first year engineering students start the school year at âE2 Campâ, and Honors engineering students also get to go to âCamp Bâ at cabins somewhere near Prescott so they can make friends. I am not sure it that will be possible this year but if not, I am quite sure that ASU will find another way to get out-of-state students to find friends.
By the way, I should add that the non-Honors first-year Engineering dorm (Tooker) is also very nice and closer to the Engineering buildings than the Honors dorm. You need a bicycle to quickly go from the Honors dorm to the Engineering buildings (scooters are forbidden on campus) while you can just walk across a pedestrian bridge to get there from Tooker.
Going back to Barrett, you might want to know that there is a very active Facebook group named âASU Barrett Parent Groupâ that let us keep an eye on what is going on there even though we get very little information directly from our son.
Do not hesitate to ask if you have more questions.
Thanks for the info. Glad to hear he likes it.
Yes, we did the virtual Barrett tour that included dorms and Vista. Pretty much the Ritz compared to my other Dâs dorm at UNC. Vista is like the fancy apartment other D leased off campus.
Thatâs interesting about the scooters. We visited ASU for a day in January and saw some along with skateboards and bikes, but they did point out âwalkâ areas that you couldnât ride anything through.
Itâs interesting that your mind went to grocery shopping. I meant girl type shopping (clothes, Ulta, etc.) 
Iâm sure she can figure out public transportation to get her there if needed. Really I think the car is more about access to personal space. Thatâs where she takes her breaks at her hectic fast food job to recharge. Iâm betting she can find a âzenâ spot somewhere there.
Yes, it would be nice if they could have some get to know each other functions.
Iâll check out the parent page.
Have your sonâs classes been in-person, online, mix? Have they done labs in person? It seems like they are expecting a somewhat normal Fall, but helpful to know collegesâ response so far. I know from tour in Barrett they canât eat inside for cafeteria, but didnât get a clear sense of class experience.
How miserable is the heat in the warmer months?
To answer your question regarding in-person vs online, the expectation is indeed that things will be back to normal by the end of the Summer but for now most classes are online. A few labs are in person but my understanding is that it is not the norm. It is certainly not an ideal situation.
The school year starts a couple of weeks earlier than on the East coast and ends earlier too (roughly mid-August to early-May instead of early September to mid-May). It is still very hot in late August but from September to April it is fine. And even in August it is dry so as long as you drink a lot of water to stay hydrated it is allegedly not a problem. Out-of-staters must get into the habit of always carrying a flask with them and drinking even if they do not realize that they need to. There are numerous refill stations on campus.