NC State Student Available for Questions!

<p>Greetings! I am a Senior at NC State University and I would love to answer any questions you may have about student life on campus. Please feel free to send me any questions you may have, and I will be sure to get back to you!</p>

<p>Hey Scyne26. I’ve been looking for a senior to talk to :)</p>

<p>I’ve been recommended for admission to the MS in Computer Networks program for Fall '13. I’m more inclined towards Networks than other areas in Computer Science. Heard a lot about how good NCSU is good for their networks program (which is what prompted me to apply in the first place) but I would also like to know an insider’s view. What’s your take on the faculty and chances of internships at NCSU? </p>

<p>Thanks,
VSN</p>

<p>Forgotmyid, </p>

<p>NC State has a great Computer Science program, and I have many friends studying in that field here at NC State. Many of them have taken the opportunity to complete a Co-Op through NC State which is when students take a semester to work for a company while still getting college credit. There are also incredible internship opportunities in all fields that are available to students. Good luck!</p>

<p>I’ve heard rave reviews of the faculty in computer science at NC State from my comp sci friends. :)</p>

<p>How much do you know about Summer START? I signed up to do that this summer. Is it worth it? Is it fun? How many classes do people usually take?</p>

<p>wolfpack4life, I have heard great things about Summer START from my friends who have participated in the program. I did not participate myself, but I am really glad to hear you decided to take part. Summer START participants can earn up to 8 credit hours before the rest of their classmates even get to campus, which puts you at an advantage in coming semesters. Summer START isn’t all classes though, there are activities and experiences built into the schedule to help you make the transition to being at college smoother. I hope that answered your questions, also here is the link ([Activities](<a href=“http://www.ncsu.edu/summer/start/Activities.html]Activities[/url]”>http://www.ncsu.edu/summer/start/Activities.html)</a>) to the Summer START webpage which has a lot of great information about the program. Good luck!</p>

<p>My son was accepted to First Year College @ NC State, but he applied to Engineering. We are in-state. His GPA is 4.3, 1900 on SATs, extracurricular, volunteer, et al–all in line with Engineering’s acceptance standards. He was also accepted in Engineering to Purdue, Clemson and VA Tech.</p>

<p>Can he take engineering classes at NC State as a Freshman in First-Year College? What are his chances of getting into Engineering as a sophomore (presuming he makes excellent grades as a freshman)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any advice!</p>

<p>bigplans4son, </p>

<p>Congratulation on your son’s acceptance to First Year College! Your son will have an academic advisor through the First Year College who will help him select courses that will be useful once he decides on his major. Unfortunately, I am not able to speak to your sons chances of being accepted into Engineering as a Sophomore, but I encourage you to contact the College of Engineering at, <a href=“mailto:engineering@ncsu.edu”>engineering@ncsu.edu</a>. They will be able to more accurately answer your questions and give you more information. Have a great day! </p>

<p>Best Wishes,
scnye26</p>

<p>@bigplans4son, my son is in the same boat. Accepted FYC when he wants engineering. He was also accepted at VT (my daughter is an sophomore in engineering there). We have been in contact with the FYC advisors and they all assure us that he can take the needed courses and transfer if he has the grades. I’m not sure I believe it will be that easy.</p>

<p>We live in New England and are taking a trip down in mid-April to visit the school and we have made appointments to talk with the appropriate advisors. We will be asking the hard questions and will want specifics on the transfer possibilities.</p>

<p>The questions and concerns I have are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If anyone can take the first year engineering courses, why is there a distinction between first year engineering and FYC? How many openings are there every year? What GPA does he need to be accepted as a sophomore? How likely is he to get his engineering major of choice (industrial)?</p></li>
<li><p>Not living in an engineering community. Study habits are important, especially with the concerns of #1 above.</p></li>
<li><p>I do believe NCSU has a good engineering program but I know VT does. Since he already has a seat in engineering at VT, why give that up for a chance at NCSU?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>NCSU will really have to impresses us or I will be pushing my son to VT. </p>

<p>Unless your son has always had his heart set on NCSU any of his other options look pretty good to me.</p>

<p>OOSVTDad,</p>

<p>I can’t answer every question you have but I would love to take a stab at the ones I think I can. I’m a freshman double majoring in Paper Science & Engineering and Chemical Engineering.</p>

<ol>
<li> Not anyone can take all of the first year engineering courses. The course your son will not be able to take is E101, which is a 1-hour introductory course that basically covers what it means to be in the College of Engineering, all the different majors, and it accumulates in Freshman Engineering Design Day (FEDD).<br></li>
</ol>

<p>The 50th percentile for students accepted into Industrial Engineering has a GPA from 2.604 to 3.417. This figure (I believe) is students that began as EFY, so the GPA requirement for your son to internally transfer from FYC may be more in the 3.0 range than the 2.5 range.</p>

<ol>
<li> The engineering community is new NCSU for the Fall of 2013, so by not living in it, he will be at no greater risk of poor study habits than every freshman currently living on State’s campus. If you are worried about his study habits, I would try to find another FYC freshman interested in engineering and become roommates, so that your son and his roommate will have similar goals.</li>
</ol>

<p>I would try to answer #3 but I think I would get too long-winded. VT is an awesome school, so is NCSU. I would factor in location, the strength of the individual programs, and what else the school has to offer. NCSU has Centennial Campus and one of the largest Engineering Career Fairs in the country. If you have any other specific questions for me, I have my own thread (“Ask a Current Freshman at NC State Anything!”) and you’re welcome to come there. If not, I’ll leave this to scnye26 so I don’t hijack his/her thread.</p>

<p>@ncstatefreshman Thanks for the reply.</p>

<p>So can you be admitted to Engineering without E101 or would it have to be taken over the summer between Freshaman and Sophomore years?</p>

<p>Your answer to the GPA question confirms what I suspected, which is that a higher GPA would be required to transfer from FYC to Eng than would be needed to move from general eng to the desired major. That is how it is at VT and is an area of concern.</p>

<p>I think the engineering community is good because it provides a built in support network. Other students that are working as hard as you, with similar goals. I know it made a huge difference for my daughter her freshaman year.</p>

<p>Finally, I’m sure NCSU is a great school and didn’t intend to impy that it isn’t. I’m just trying to help him look at all the options/risks and, when all else is equal, I tend to be “a bird in the hand” kind of guy.</p>

<p>You can be admitted to Engineering without E101. The introductory course your son would take for FYC would cover that requirement.</p>

<p>I was just suspecting that the GPA would be higher to transfer from FYC, I honestly have no idea. Please don’t take what I said in that regard as the absolute correct answer. </p>

<p>I hope your son is happy wherever he ends up. Between VT and NCSU I don’t think you can really go wrong.</p>

<p>OOSVTDad, </p>

<p>Those are great questions. If you are meeting with First Year College advisors during your visit, they are great and will be able to answer all your questions and address any concerns that you have.</p>

<p>My son is been admitted to FYC college, with full intentions to transfer to engineering as a sophmore.He has heard that the living and learning arts community, Turlington Hall, would be a good option for him b/c there are a lot of engineering students there. What are thepro/cons of either as a studious freshman? Thanks!</p>

<p>I wanted to post an update after our visit to NC State recently. Our (my) big concern was transferring into Engineering from FYC.</p>

<p>We met with a FYC advisor and discussed how this would happen. I already knew much of the information thanks to many on this site. Therefore, most of this will simply confirm what others have been nice enough to post. So what I found out was:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>A competitive GPA to matriculate into Engineering from FYC is 3.0. This is specific to the engineering courses and does not include classes outside their curriculum. Our tour guide said he did not know anyone with >2.9 that had any trouble.</p></li>
<li><p>If you don’t make it at the end of your Freshman year you can still take the classes but it will get more difficult as the Cumulative GPA could hold you back. Basically, one bite at the apple.</p></li>
<li><p>The advisors at FYC are excellent and know their business. They work with the students and help them focus on their academics and find the major that works for them.</p></li>
<li><p>There are pluses to starting in FYC. Mainly, the advisors, dorms and career exploration.</p></li>
<li><p>NCSU has a great campus and the weather is beautiful.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>My son really liked the campus and the energy. I think he was hoping he wouldn’t like it so he would have an easier decision, that didn’t happen. Now it is up to him and we will support his decision wherever he goes.</p>

<p>bigplans4son, </p>

<p>I have heard great things about all of the learning villages! I lived in the SAY village my freshman year and loved it! Unfortunately I have not lived in Turlington Hall at all and cannot speak first-hand to what the community is like, but I have friends who have lived there who loved it and did well academically. In the end it will come down to what your son is looking for and what suits his personality. If he has an interest in the Arts Village I would encourage him to look further into the program. </p>

<p>scnye26</p>

<p>What are the pros/cons of purchasing a computer at the school bookstore? Are they under warranty, so that in the event your computer goes down they can provide a loaner? I think that’s the purchase policy at VT. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>I have been admitted to PHD in ISE…please tell me if they provide on-campus residency and what all are the formalities to be taken care before reaching NC. Also, in case one needs to rent an off-campus house, how costly it wud be for a couple (me and spouse). Cost means rent, groceries and overall monthly expenses…i wud be highly grateful fr ur courtesy.</p>

<p>Hi</p>

<p>I wanted to ask a question about transferring . Is it harder to transfer into NC state as a sophomore than it is to get admitted as a freshman. i applied and was denied so will that make it less likely for me to get in also?</p>

<p>demikelly95,</p>

<p>I’m a current junior at state and I wanted to pipe in to help scnye26 out a little bit. Here is a link the admissions standards and process for transferring: [Admissions</a> :: Transfer Students](<a href=“http://admissions.ncsu.edu/find-stuff/transfer-student/index.php]Admissions”>http://admissions.ncsu.edu/find-stuff/transfer-student/index.php)
Do well as a Freshman and complete 30 hours, I’m sure you’ll be alright!</p>

<p>akr007,</p>

<p>I want to share a link with you with the graduate programs at NC State: [North</a> Carolina State University :: The Graduate School](<a href=“http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/]North”>The Graduate School) I do not know much about grad school, but I do know from living off campus the cost of living will vary from where you decide to live and what you like to eat. There are several off campus housing listings online.</p>

<p>finally, bigplans4son,</p>

<p>I want to provide you with a link to the bookstore’s computer store: [NC</a> State Bookstores - Computers](<a href=“http://ncsu.collegestoreonline.com/ePOS/form=cat.html&cat=39&store=432]NC”>http://ncsu.collegestoreonline.com/ePOS/form=cat.html&cat=39&store=432) NC State has a great Office of Informational Technology (OIT) check out there website to learn more about their computer policies, from what I understand they will help students out as much as they can and the bookstore can help with warranties. [OIT</a> Vision and Mission | OIT Website](<a href=“http://oit.ncsu.edu/]OIT”>http://oit.ncsu.edu/) </p>

<p>Have a great day folks!</p>

<p>jtaylor91</p>