Petroleum engineering advice for a 1st generation friend

Parents Forum
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<p>I have two D's, no sons, and neither has any interest in a future life in engineering (or wrestling) so I have no knowlege beyond what I can find on web searches and info at Newsweek, PR, etc. Looking for any personal knowlege that might help. </p>

<p>D1 has a friend, rising senior, who will be first in his family ever to go to college, wants to study petol engineering. Single mom, will most certainly be eligible for financial aid. I have no idea how much, but perhaps most if not all. But mom will be overwhelmed by the "quotes" for tuition, room and board, and will have a hard time "believing" that he could ever cover those amounts with grants, loans, etc. He lives in a very rural area, has had to work since he was old enough to have a job, and his income helps support the family. He has been involved in FFA, and has shown livestock at the fair yearly since he was 5-6, very successfully. He has wrestled for 3 years, got to state sophomore year but not junior year in a higher wight class. Hopes to get back for senior year. He also has 3 letters in weightlifing but did not get past districts. (In my area, those who get to state look suspiciously like they are on steroids...) He thinks he might be competative at his weight for a spot on a college team, but there are also no longer any public or private U's in our state with wrestling teams, only nonscholarship wresting clubs. And the wrestling coach at the HS was not asked back this year. Wrestlers from our HS are currently wrestling on scholarship at 2-3 locations, and he does have some sort of webpage with a "scouting" outfit with his stats, and seems to know a lttle about how to get his info "out there" for wrestling.</p>

<p>He has a 3.4-3.5ish GPA unweighted, but no AP or honors classes. SAT scores only in the 900 out of 1500 range, taken once. ( I think he is planning to take the ACT in Sept, with plans to then repeat one or the other, depending upon which one gives him the higher scores.) He has dial-up access to the web, on a computer that is probably running Windows 98, no cable TV, etc. Lives a spartan life. </p>

<p>He has never been more than 100 miles from home, and has had little exposure to the world, yet he has no qualms about going away to college. He is the most well mannered boy. He is intutitive, and can sit down and help D with homework in an honors course by reading an appropriate passage in the textbook, and then pointing out that the answer seems very obvious. There are no funds for SAT prep. But this kid is a diamond in the rough. He will go far in life, given the opportunity. He is a dependable employee, and bosses like his work ethic.</p>

<p>Any suggestions for a petroleum engineering program, or maybe a college or U with engineering and wrestling? He could always transfer after two years of general ed/general engineering requirements. He so much does NOT want to "settle" for 2 years at a local community college. He has found info online for PE programs at locations along the gulf coast, esp Texas, but I don't think he is competative for the big U's there. Any info on a tier three PE program? Thanks for any input you can give.</p>

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<p><a href="http://www.spegcs.org/attachments/committees/11/EngInfo.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.spegcs.org/attachments/committees/11/EngInfo.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This pdf put out by a petroleum engineering society ("Thinking about becoming a petroleum engineer?") had some info about a number of programs in the US.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.spe.org/spe-app/jsp/siteFunctionality/petSchools.jsp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.spe.org/spe-app/jsp/siteFunctionality/petSchools.jsp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This site takes you to a list of all sorts of programs worldwide. </p>

<p>My brother is a petroleum engineer--he had an engineering background, an undergraduate chemistry degree and got a masters in petroleum engineering from USC.</p>

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<p>sunny - check the thread titled Engineering Light Schools. In it I describe two Louisiana schools that have petroleum or similar engineering programs, that while not as prestigious as say UT-Austin or Texas A&M, do offer good industry connections due to prime location. </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=371600%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=371600&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(I do not know if they offer wrestling opportunities though.)</p>

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<p>i am a petroleum geologist, I work with many many PetE and have recruited at times as well.</p>

<p>A couple of comments PetE is a hot/hot field we pay interns $5000/month with no experience and graduates in the $60k to $80k range starting. Oil and Gas are notoriously cyclical, so a ChemE degree has some appeal.. It is highly technical mathematical challenging curriculum ,,, with that said some comments and recommendation. There are only about 20 or so program in the US <a href="http://www.univsource.com/petroleum.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.univsource.com/petroleum.htm&lt;/a> ...The top schools are Texas, OU, A&M, Colo Sch Mines, Penn State, LSU... maybe a few others...</p>

<p>For your friend i would make two recommendations --but nothing on wrestling . Texas Tech and Lousiana-LAfayette.. both in oil/gas area, both known --especially Tech in industry and easier to get into, esp La-La and importantly i think culturally compatible with your description.. hope that helps</p>

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<p>Good advice rty. Lol...never heard USL (now Univ of Louisiana-Lafayette) called LaLa though...backwards LSU yes... (and we called LSU the backwards USL...hehe).</p>

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<p>A few I've heard of: U of Oklahoma, U of Tulsa, U of Kansas, U of Missouri at Rolla. </p>

<p>I noticed Marietta, Ohio on the list--a small school that might not be so competitive. </p>

<p>He definitely should take the ACT/SAT again. Get prep books for $20 or borrow them from the library.</p>

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<p>My son's school has an ABET certified PE program: <a href="http://infohost.nmt.edu/%7Epetro/prospective.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://infohost.nmt.edu/~petro/prospective.html&lt;/a>. New Mexico Tech is not incredibly difficult to get into (their average incoming SAT is about 1250), and -- so far -- has a helpful staff. I know it's small, with about 1,200 undergrads. Since money is an issue, you might want to know that NMT has lots of on-campus employment opportunities. According to just about everyone we met on campus (from students to professors to admin types), "Anyone who wants to can get a job working in a research lab." These were paying positions, and the admissions folks told us that about two-third of students work on campus.</p>

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<p>Also, isn't there test prep for students for financial need in Florida through the Florida One initiative (not sure if this is still in effect). I googled and there is online test prep he should be able to access through his high school. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.fldoe.org/student/default.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fldoe.org/student/default.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I really encourage him to prep and retake, even though it's hard for kids who are working to support their families to find the time. And even though he has no honors/AP, you may want to point out the importance of taking math and sciences his senior year. Some kids opt out for an easy senior year, but for future engineering students, it's important to have that strenuous course load on the application. </p>

<p>I'm really rooting for this kid and would love to hear how things go for him sunny!</p>

<p>(I made a presumption about Florida...hope it's correct.)</p>

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<p>Oklahoma has great programs in both wrestling and PE. I feel sure he can get in with his grades and scores, and there's a possibility of scholarships. He may want to take the ACT as well.</p>

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<p>I second Marietta College in Ohio. Although he might not be in the running for a scholarship, my D did quite well there with FA (and she was in the running for a full scholarship, although she ended up withdrawing her admission prior to the scholarship weekend). We've visited; quite a nice small town in a rural area on the Ohio River near Parkersburg, WV. PM/email me if you have any questions.</p>

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<p>Montana Tech
U Tulsa</p>

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<p>Univ of Wyoming has a PE degree as well as a Wrestling team and may be worth a look. Oil rich state with a lot of money right now. University is seeing huge investments from the state.</p>

<p>I would put Colorado School of mines at the top of any list.</p>

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<p>Mines does have a good wrestling program too. (My husband is Mines PetE alum who was on the wrestling team...coached by Jack Hancock.) Sunny, could you clear us up on the SATs? Are you saying he is scoring in the 900-1500 range? Or 900 on a 1600 scale. Mines would be a good option for him if he can get his SATs near the Mines average of 1250. If the wrestling coaches want him, there will likely be some concessions on SAT and GPA. (He sounds like a kid with a good work ethic who could handle both athletic team obligations and a strenuous curriculum.)</p>

<p><a href="http://athletics.mines.edu/Sports/Wrestling/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://athletics.mines.edu/Sports/Wrestling/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>A fdew word of caution for this second hand advice. </p>

<p>Look at the profile of the potential student.. finances are an issue, but also the rural environment etc ... I accept that the kid is a diamond in the rough... I think that was me many years ago. But some of the colleges mentioned are challenging academically---esp in PETe and might not allow our 'specimen' to flourish. Col Sch Mines is UBER competitive stressful .. and I know many of them as students and adults .... I flourished at Tx Tech as a good STEP on my way to things</p>

<p>I think Tulsa might be a good option -- but expensive.</p>

<p>Thus my suggestions of Texas Tech and ULL (oh and many people these days call it OOH La LA -U La La). Missouri Rolla might be good, but I think it can be techie competitive</p>

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<p>Ooo La La....lol!! That is too funny rty. </p>

<p>Re: Mines, my husband actually found it to be a nurturing environment with little competition between students. It was challenging and petroleum engineering is not an easy degree, but that fact seemed to foster a spirit of cooperativeness....something I witnessed first hand when my apartment became 'study central' for he and his friends before an exam. Everyone looked out for their neighbor academically. Faculty were very involved and accessible. (I do realize this was 26 years ago though.) Btw...I guess everyone has figured out that Colorado School of Mines was where I spent my few years working in college admissions.</p>

<p>But for my husband, it was very hard juggling the athletics and the academics. He did it successfully for three years and finally gave up his athletic scholarship and the stress his senior year.</p>

<p>Now at OooLaLa (University of Louisiana - Lafayette), I would agree the academics will be more laid back, the admissions criteria more relaxed, and the experience probably equally satisfying minus the prestige factor though....I just don't know that they have a wrestling program that could provide the much needed scholarship money.</p>

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<p>Top ten for petroleum engineering:</p>

<p>Stanford
UT Austin
Texas A&M
U Tulsa
Colorado School of Mines
U Oklahoma
USC
LSU - Baton Rouge
Penn State -Univ Park
U Kansas</p>

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<p>LSU's tuition is dirt cheap, like around $4,000 a year with fees included. ULL is even cheaper, but is not in the top ten. You need at least an ACT 22 or so to get in to LSU; I forget what the posted minimum is, but their admissions are more competitive than they used to be and they no longer guarantee you'll get in with the minimum.</p>

<p>There is a great need right now for petroleum engrs, and I think LSU has a special scholarship for anyone willing to major in it. Don't know about their wrestling program if any, but they have a huge facility for helping athletes with their academics. Just remember tho' that engineering very math heavy and no matter what the school is, a very large % of freshman engrg students drop out and don't continue with the major.</p>

<p>If money is an issue, I'd stay away from the private schools. Tulsa is nice, but not cheap. Oh, I guess that 4 grand for LSU is in state, but I think the OOS tuition is around $8,000, so still affordable. ULL is even cheaper of course for OOS as well. Lafayette has a cute fun downtown area now. You will need a car to live in either BR or Lafayette. You will also need a car to go to Texas A&M, and there is nothing to do in College Station, but you can drive over to Austin on the weekends and that's a real fun place.
Good luck.</p>

<p>PS - It may be hard to get into Texas A&M w/o top grades/scores on account of that top 10% rule they have (top 10% guaranteed admission). A lot of Texas kids in the top 20% are going out of state (like to LSU) because they can't get into a Texas school. My oldest D goes to LSU and she has a lot of Texas girls in her sorority for that reason.</p>

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<p>Looked up LSU and maybe ULL would be a better pick for this student. For admissions LSU's minimum is 3.0 gpa and 1030 SAT/22 ACT. The average admitted student has a 3.25 gpa and a 1150 SAT/ 25 ACT. fwiw, the in state tuition is $4620 and oos is $12,920. Our D has a scholarship so I haven't been paying that close attention to the numbers. Sorry.</p>

<p>There's a lot going on in Lafayette; they got put in the top ten nationally for "entrepreneurial cities" by some business magazine, so there could be lots of interesting possibilities for a "diamond in the rough" student. Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Top ten for petroleum engineering:

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I just wanted to add that there are only 16 ABET-certified petroleum engineering programs in the US. There are another 10 that are not certified.</p>

<p>Stanford and USC are not ABET certified in petroleum engineering (although both are certified in ChemE). Since both have programs in petroleum engineering, I have no idea why they aren't certified.</p>

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<p>Another advantage to Univ of Louisiana is that Lafayette is a hub for offshore operations for some of the majors. My husband's first job right out of Mines was for a major in Lafayette, a location he picked for the opportunity to gain valuable offshore operations experience. He had many offers in Houston, but felt (correctly) the best way to build a resume was to have that time in Lafayette first. The major where he was employed was very big on hiring from UL (then USL) as a show of community. So, in addition to a program that may be a fit, there are employment opportunities as well. These companies actively support UL with scholarships and other funding as well.</p>

<p>Downtown Lafayette IS very nifty and the campus is historic and quite pretty, with a real swamp as a focal point. I found it beautiful and peaceful...except when the occasional small alligator decided to 'change classes' with the students. The area has great food, music and festivals. Abbeville and Breaux Bridge, especially, have some wonderful restaurants.</p>

<p>Now I've talked myself into really missing Lafayette. (In addition to being a UL alum, I worked for years as a CPA at a large firm there...and this is where ldgirl was born!)</p>

<p>Btw...it's pronounced 'laugh' ee et' emphasis on the 'laugh' (and laughter and good times...). :)</p>