<p>My S is high school jr who has expressed interest in chem E. He's currently taking AP Chem, physics, and honors precalc. He's a bright kid who has a knack for math and science. However, I'm noticing that his interest in studying and prepping for tests is waning. He seems more interested in socializing than schoolwork, and my fear is that his GPA will drop from here on out. Right now it's 3.6 (unweighted). It could be as low as 3.3 by the time he applies to schools in fall. </p>
<p>So my question is-- assuming the following stats: 3.3 GPA, estimated 1900 SAT (has not taken it yet), what schools should he realistically apply to, assuming he ends up with something like these stats? Thanks.</p>
<p>Since you live in CA I would say a Cal Poly would be a good match and should be relatively affordable. Do you have any cost constraints?</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona would probably be a match, but given the higher entrance standards of the UCs for engineering and their reliance on GPA, at best they might be considered a match. How much can your family afford? Here’s a list of ABET accredited Chem E programs <a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx[/url]”>http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx</a> Most schools on the list are matches/ safeties. UDel has a very strong chemical engineering program but will be expensive for OOS. Other schools on the list, especially U Wyoming will give him merit aid, but keeping it a 3.0 may be difficult for a Chem E major. If your son is hesitant to do required work, IMO I would not send him to a specialized tech institution like WPI. Engineering majors have high rates of failure and a school should offer at least a few other “fallback” majors in case he can’t hack it.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO would be out of the question with his stats. It’s extremely difficult to get in there even for a CA resident (such as we are). Cal Poly Pomona might be a possibility, but I should have mentioned that S wants OOS and in particular wants to go “where it snows” so that pretty much rules out the south. We are also full pay, so based on this new info, any other suggestions? What about, say, Colorado Boulder, Wisconsin (our alma mater), Oregon State, or others? Or even NC State U?</p>
<p>University of Michigan may also be a choice for your son, however, it is very expensive for OOS. In addition, he would need to work harder to get a better score in SAT (or ACT) to increase the chance. My DD is considering Chm Eng as major too and she wants to stay in the mid-West preferably in state unless she gets a good scholarship. So she has less choices than your son.</p>
<p>Another thought - if you can take him to visit a good engineering college that isn’t too far away it might help motivate him to keep his grades up. Once the payoff is more concrete and he knows more about how hard it is to get into better schools, it might help…</p>
<p>I think Michigan engineering might be a little out of reach. The following are stats for the entering engineering class in 2011 (I could not find this year’s class):</p>
<p>Total Freshman Applications 8,040
% Offered Admission 41%
Median HS GPA for Admitted Freshmen 3.9
Median ACT for Admitted Freshmen 32
Median SAT for Admitted Freshmen 1420
Graduation Rate After Six Years 78%</p>
<p>note: we can assume SAT refers to M&CR only</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.engin.umich.edu/about/CoEProfile.pdf[/url]”>http://www.engin.umich.edu/about/CoEProfile.pdf</a></p>
<p>
Bright is not what it takes to make it thru an engineering program. Hard work is. Before you get too far down this road, you might want to have him talk with some current engineering students (perhaps older siblings of some of his friends) so he understands what the workload is going to be like. Nationally something like 1/2 or more of those that start college as engineering majors end up switching to something else.</p>
<p>I don’t think Cal Poly SLO has ChemE (at least it didn’t used to).</p>
<p>I think CP Pomona is the Cal Poly with ChemE.</p>
<p>How much are you willing to spend? Those OOS publics would be very expensive.</p>
<p>*Bright is not what it takes to make it thru an engineering program. Hard work is. *</p>
<p>Very true. I come from a family of engineers and those who majored in other majors did not put in the time that they had to.</p>
<p>If he wants the snow and you’ll happily pay all costs…</p>
<p>Uminn
UDel
UConn
UDayton (check to see if they have ChemE)
Fordham
Gonzaga (check for ChemE)
St Louis U</p>
<p>San Jose State has chemical engineering. For some reason, San Jose State admitted students to that major with just baseline CSU eligibility in fall 2012.</p>
<p>[SJSU</a> Admission](<a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-916.html]SJSU”>http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/admission/rec-916.html)</p>
<p>The eligibility index numbers shown in the above page are calculated as described here:</p>
<p>[CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Calculate Your Eligibility Index](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU)</p>
<p>For all public universities in California, the availability of chemical engineering from ASSIST is as shown below:</p>
<p>Chemical Engineering B.S. (CPP, CSULB, SJSU, UCB, UCD, UCI, UCLA, UCR, UCSB, UCSD)</p>
<p>Note: CPSLO is not in this list, but CPP is.</p>
<p>Gonzaga does not have ChemE, Dayton does. Santa Clara and U Pacific in CA do.</p>
<p>Washington State, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana State all have snow and ChemE along with WUE agreements (need to apply for these). Oregon State would be marginal for snow and does not qualify for WUE. Colorado, Wisconsin and Minn would be outside shots for ChemE with a 3.3.</p>
<p>South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology are both relatively low cost schools with chemical engineering (WUE discount is available at NM Mining; SD Mines’ OOS cost is lower than what the WUE discount would result in).</p>
<p>However, if there is a significant risk of him switching out of engineering or science, these schools may not be good choices, since the selection of other majors is limited.</p>
<p>Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I’m hoping his stats will be better than what I’ve predicted, but it’s up to him. On another note, he’s skilled enough to play college soccer (certainly at the D2 or D3 level), but again is doing nothing to help himself get there. As his parent (and someone who has a few more years of life experience than he does) I see everything he should be doing to get himself where he wants to be, and it is extremely frustrating to me to watch him squander his time. Maybe he has to learn the hard way?</p>
<p>I’m sitting here in Dayton looking at the 6" of snow on my back deck. 
UDayton has a very good engineering program that has a relationship with the Air Force Research Labs on Wright-Patterson AFB for internships and research.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad wow what a coincidence! I just spent the last hour looking at U Dayton on the web and on CC. This school looks perfect for him in every respect but one-- it seems it’s taken on a party school reputation above and beyond the level one might expect at any college. Can you give me any insight on this, since you live in town? Thanks! You can PM me if you like.</p>
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<p>If SJSU continues to admit chemical engineering majors at the CSU baseline, then he should be able to get in easily if your GPA and SAT estimates are anywhere close to accurate. Then again, if he slacks off so much that he cannot even get into SJSU (or does not want to go there), there is the option of starting at a community college and then transferring to a four year school as a junior.</p>
<p>However, the real test will be when he gets to college (any college, including community college) and starts taking the courses needed for the chemical engineering major. General chemistry with lab and physics for science and engineering majors with lab can be rather time consuming. Organic chemistry in sophomore year generally has a fearsome reputation, whether or not he would have to share the class with grade-grubbing pre-meds or be in a harder version of the course for chemistry and chemical engineering majors.</p>
<p>In addition, he better be paying attention in his high school math courses, because freshman calculus can be a shock to those who do not have a strong foundation in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. An engineering major should be ready for calculus at the very least upon entry as a freshman. Some are ready to start in a more advanced course after high school AP calculus. Those not ready for calculus and need to take remedial math courses in college are unlikely to graduate in 8 semesters in an engineering major, since calculus is a critical prerequisite to many other courses in an engineering major.</p>
<p>If you are concerned that he may carry slacking habits into college, you may want to divide your college budget for him by 4.5 or 5 years (instead of 4 years) to arrive at a yearly net price limit that you can tell him that you will contribute before he makes his application list.</p>
<p>Iowa State is a pretty solid Engineering school and I think your son would automatically be admitted based on his GPA/test scores.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/freshman/requirements.php[/url]”>http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/freshman/requirements.php</a></p>
<p>Ucbalum thx for the words of wisdom. Much appreciated. I have thought about SJSU as a fallback since its not far from us.
Pat1120 that’s awesome about Iowa State-- I had no idea. But alas, no men’s soccer team (varsity or club). That could be a deal breaker.
I am also thinking about CU Boulder and Colorado State (and maybe also Mines). Does anyone have thoughts or insights on those?</p>