Need Advice on Selecting from Engineering-School Admits

[sevmom]

Good luck with the decision. I am in Virginia and my kids went to UVa and VT for engineering. Both very good programs , as are the others he is considering.

[rdtjgk]

For my family, this is a no brainer. We would go instate for the in state tuition. There is not that much of a difference among these schools in terms of education and placement. If money is no object, then go for fit. My son also got into the same schools as yours minus Wisconsin and UVA (didn’t apply) and got into some others. We chose in state. The oos tuition just didn’t seem worth it to us. So one school is ranked a little higher than another according to a magazine-- who really cares? These schools are all comparable in terms of prestige and placement. As the others said some schools make it harder for engineering students to major in what they want,e.g., Purdue while Maryland allows its students to major in whatever they want in the engineering school. I would go for cost and fit and throw out the rankings as a factor. They are all excellent schools.

[cr]

Your advice regarding fit is helpful. The student needs to find the school a place s/he can call home for four years. Useful information on VT’s new non-Engineering STEM disciplines and their collaboration with Engineering. Inter-disciplinary research and programs are finally getting their due funding. Thanks!

[cr]

Yes, VT is a strong in-state engineering school for us, though a current student told us that she has had to choose her “friends” carefully, so as to feel academically challenged.

[rvalover7]

Two of my brothers went to VT for engineering, and they loved it there! VT is a great school with an excellent engineering program. As a VA resident, I agree that your best two options are VT and UVA. Both are public in-state schools. They are just as great as any of the other schools on the list. I would take a tour of both, if you haven’t already. If I had to pick between those two, well I would pick VT for engineering. UVA is an excellent school as well though. Can’t go wrong with either!

[cr]

“He should consider how hard or easy it may be to get into his choice of major from engineering-undeclared. Some schools have a competitive process and his first choice or even any engineering major may not be guaranteed.”

This is great advice. His performance as a freshman versus the minimum GPA for specific majors will determine whether he gets in. We are trying to get at that now, assuming it’s made public. Thanks!

[cr]

[ quote ] Size of classes may well depend on student-faculty ratio within his major. [ /quote ]

Of course! Makes sense! These can differ significantly across majors. So, need to get more granular, as with GPA-floors for specific majors. Thanks!

[ucbalumnus]

For class sizes, see if on-line class schedules list them.

[cr]

He should look carefully at his admission to check whether he is admitted to:

• A specific engineering major.
• Engineering undeclared or first year (pre-)engineering in the engineering division.
• Undeclared, not in the engineering division.

Declaring or changing to an engineering major can have varying levels of difficulty, and can depend on initial admission status.

Thanks for the advice. We will look at the admission notices again to make sure we read them right.

…If admitted as non-engineering undeclared, it may be additionally difficult to get into an engineering major.
…

Illinois (UIUC) (#6; 44) mostly admits to major, but students had to option to apply to engineering undeclared, which would be like the schools listed above. It may also admit engineering applicants as non-engineering undeclared, after which it is very difficult to get into an engineering major.

Wisconsin (Madison) (#14, 44) admits to major, but has progression requirements to stay in the major that may include GPA requirements as high as 3.5 (ME was 3.2 in major, 3.0 overall to avoid being weeded out for 2016-2017).

Case Western Reserve (#37, 37) advertises a “one door” policy which is supposed to mean that there are no additional admission barriers to any of its majors. He may want to verify with the departments of his majors of interest.

Thanks, again, for this detailed advice. As you and others mentioned, he could end up with a third-choice major…

[cr]

These are all good schools. Is he able to eliminate any of them yet?

Yes, we are focusing only on UVa, UIUC, Purdue and V-Tech–two in-state and two OOS. Thanks!

[cr]

Has he visited the campuses? All those are great schools for engineering although some are better. If you want to look at ranking, check for specific program. Even for alumni network may still depend on the major. We have visited the top 3 schools on your list and my D was accepted by them. They are very different in some aspects and largely in financial aid. Make sure you check out the return rate after freshmen year and percentage graduate in 4 years of all these schools. One extra semester may cost more than the 4 year total financial aid difference among schools.

Yes, we visited all except Penn State (my alma mater) and U-Maryland, which are lower down on his priority. We are looking at major-specific rankings. Will also look at return-rates and % 4-year graduation rates. Great advice overall. Thanks!

[cr]

sevmom wrote:
Also, keep in mind there is a slight chance he may decide to change majors

At some of the schools, the chance may be greater than slight that he will be forced to change majors, due to the GPA thresholds or competitive admission to get into (or stay in) his desired major.

This is great advice; we are looking at major-specific GPA floors.

[cr]

UVA and UIUC are your best 2 choices. UVA for the faculty ratio, cost and the academics. UIUC for rankings, academics and something different. VT would be third for cost.

Yes, that’s where we are, with Purdue still in the mix. Thanks!

[eyemgh]

If this has been mentioned already, I apologize, but engineering recruiting is very regional. If your student wants to live in the east, they could get a job with a UIUC degree, but they’ll have an easier go of it if they go to UVA or VT. Regional companies don’t have the budget to recruit nation wide so they concentrate on the good schools close by. UIUC certainly has a good reputation, but nearly 70% of their grads work in Illinois of the surrounding states.

[ucbalumnus]

@cr

This is great advice; we are looking at major-specific GPA floors.

Here are some:

Purdue: https://www.purdue.edu/futureengineers/What%20To%20Know/Applying%20Info/Transition%20to%20Major.html
Wisconsin: https://www.engr.wisc.edu/academics/student-services/academic-advising/first-year-undergraduate-students/progression-requirements/
Virginia Tech: http://www.enge.vt.edu/_files/undergraduate/com_requirements/COM_Quick_Reference_Chart.pdf
Penn State: http://www.engr.psu.edu/AdvisingCenter/ETM/
Maryland: https://eng.umd.edu/advising-faqs

[sevmom]

“a current student told us that she has to choose her friends carefully, so as to feel academically challenged.” Engineering students at Virginia Tech should be able to find plenty of friends that enjoy academic challenge.

[cr]

Keep in mind that UIUC, although in the top ten for aerospace, is in a state that has not had a budget for almost two years. All state universities are severely underfunded, and Moody & Poors is about to review their ratings, which may have an even more negative effect. H and I are both alums and we didn’t have D17 apply because I’m not at all convinced that UIUC will be solvent four years from now.

Thanks for alerting us to the situation in Illinois.I follow the state of higher-education, but hadn’t realized how serious the funding problem had become. The link below that refers to a report that came out today speaks to this very point.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/04/20/state-support-higher-education-increased-2016-not-counting-illinois

[cr]

If this has been mentioned already, I apologize, but engineering recruiting is very regional. If your student wants to live in the east, they could get a job with a UIUC degree, but they’ll have an easier go of it if they go to UVA or VT. Regional companies don’t have the budget to recruit nation wide so they concentrate on the good schools close by. UIUC certainly has a good reputation, but nearly 70% of their grads work in Illinois of the surrounding states.

Yes, another parent mentioned this to us. While we are fine wherever he wishes to work, we think he might want to be in the East. Companies’ recruiting budgets do matter and overall school prestige and size weigh heavily on which campuses they hire at. Thanks!

[cr]

Purdue: https://www.purdue.edu/futureengineers/What To Know/Applying Info/Transition to Major.html
Wisconsin: https://www.engr.wisc.edu/academics/student-services/academic-advising/first-year-undergraduate-students/progression-requirements/
Virginia Tech: http://www.enge.vt.edu/_files/undergraduate/com_requirements/COM_Quick_Reference_Chart.pdf
Penn State: http://www.engr.psu.edu/AdvisingCenter/ETM/
Maryland: https://eng.umd.edu/advising-faqs

THANK YOU for taking the trouble to include these links.

[cr]

Good luck with the decision. I am in Virginia and my kids went to UVa and VT for engineering. Both very good programs , as are the others he is considering.

For my family, this is a no brainer. We would go instate for the in state tuition. There is not that much of a difference among these schools in terms of education and placement. If money is no object, then go for fit. My son also got into the same schools as yours minus Wisconsin and UVA (didn’t apply) and got into some others. We chose in state. The oos tuition just didn’t seem worth it to us. So one school is ranked a little higher than another according to a magazine-- who really cares? These schools are all comparable in terms of prestige and placement. As the others said some schools make it harder for engineering students to major in what they want,e.g., Purdue while Maryland allows its students to major in whatever they want in the engineering school. I would go for cost and fit and throw out the rankings as a factor. They are all excellent schools.

Both of your advice to actively consider our in-state options is very reassuring. Yes, rankings are helpful up to a point, but there is also considerable noise and subjectivity in the data. Fortunately for VA residents, the marquee companies do recruit at VT and UVa. Thanks!