Picking Schools for Engineering

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>The following framework gives an objective, fact based view to arrive at college selection for OP. (Ref: [College</a> Results Online](<a href=“http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/default.aspx]College”>http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/default.aspx)). Results based on 2008 output. </p>

<ol>
<li>Preference given to universities that have: </li>
</ol>

<p>(a1) High Success Rate: i.e. % of African Americans graduating in 4 years (say, greater than 30% as cut off)
(a2) % of African Americans graduating in 6 years (say, greater than 50%), </p>

<p>(b) Admissibility: Competitive scores for OP to gain admission (lower the general median SAT scores for an institution, easier for OP to gain admission)</p>

<p>(c) % of African Americans attending a given institution (Larger the %, more the possibility of having African American cohorts for support)</p>

<ol>
<li>Preference also given to universities from where the engineering recruiters prefer to recruit engineers (Ref - Best Schools engineering: [School</a> Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ.com](<a href=“School Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ”>School Rankings by College Major – Job Recruiter Top Picks - WSJ))</li>
</ol>

<p>Based on the above 2 considerations, the following 5 Universities come out ahead among 24 universities under consideration. </p>

<p>Univ. of Rochester, Elon, Univ. of Delaware, Univ. of Maryland (College Park) [better one from recruiter’s perspective], Penn State (Univ., Park) [Better one from recruiter’s perspective]. </p>

<p>Note that the above framework did not consider the cost of attendance since OP indicated that cost is not a concern, as he is likely to get outside scholarships. </p>

<p>It is strongly recommended that OP visit some of these institutions, since one’s perception of “fit” is hard to quantify. </p>

<p>Results below: </p>

<p>University,<em>Gen. Medi SAT ('08), _% Afr Amer,</em>% Gradu in 4 Yr.,<em>% Gradu in 6 Yr.
…|…|…|…|…|

  1. Univ. of Rochester _</em>1325 <strong><em>4.3 </em>61.1 88.9
  2. Elon __1220</strong><em>6</em><strong><em>58.8 70.6
  3. Univ. of Delaware _</em>1170 __</strong><em>5.7 _</em><em>35.1 _</em>52.6
  4. Univ. of Maryland, Coll. Prk<strong>1275</strong><em>12.8 _</em><em>35 _61.2
  5. Penn State Univ., Univ. Prk</em><em>1180 _4.1 _33.1 _</em>66.2
  6. Syracuse <strong><em>1220 _</em>7 __31.6</strong><em>56.1
  7. Tulane, Louisiana _</em><em>1280 _6.2 _</em>30.8 <strong>61.5
  8. Stonybrook Univ. _<em>1180 _</em></strong>8.5 <strong><em>27.8 _</em></strong>55.7
  9. Clemson __<strong><em>1215 _</em></strong><strong>7.2 __</strong>27 <strong>58.1
  10. Jackson State Univ. __</strong>865 _<em>__96.2 _</em><em>26.7 _</em><em>31.8
  11. Univ. of Pittsburgh _</em><em>1225 _8.3 _</em><strong><em>25.4 _</em>54.3
  12. Virginia Polytechnic Institute</strong>1200 __<em>__4.2 _</em><em>23.7 _</em>60.6
  13. Ohio State Univ. <em>1220 _</em>__<strong><em>6.9 _</em></strong>21 _<strong><em>47.1
  14. North Carolina A & T State Univ. 880 _</em></strong><em>93.7 _</em><em>20.8 _</em>30.1
  15. Rutgers, New Brunswick<strong>1185 __<em>9 </em></strong><em>__20.7 _</em><em>64
  16. Univ. of Minnesota, Twin Cities 1205 _</em><em>4.7 _</em><em>17.6 _</em><em>41.2
  17. Iowa State Univ. _</em><strong>1125 __</strong>2.8 _<strong><em>14.8 _</em></strong><strong>41
  18. Texas A&M, College Station _<em>1190 _</em><em>3 _</em><em>14.5 _</em>55.1
  19. North Carolina State Univ. 1180 <em>8.9 _12.8</em>52.9
  20. Texas Tech _<em>1085 _</em>4 <em>__11.6 _</em><em>34.9
  21. Mississippi Stae Univ. _</em>1085 <em>20.6 _</em><em>9.4 _</em>36.9
  22. SUNY College at Buffalo _<em>980 _</em>14.5 ___9.1</strong><em>27.3
  23. Rochester Institute of Technology 1195</em><strong>4.6 __</strong>3 <em>45.5
  24. Northeastern _</em><em>1255 _</em><em>5.9 _</em>58.9</p>
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<p>I don’t know if it helps, but I am a female, African American wanting to pursue engineering.
Thank you Trinity7. The data is really helpful.
Sorry if I sound crazy but what’s OP? Is it other poster?</p>

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<p>^^^
Original Poster= The person who initiated the thread/topic.</p>

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<p>OP= Original Poster, i.e. Vloria.</p>

<p>By the way, the college graduation rates for female African American are higher than males, so there may be additional universities that could be considered.</p>

<p>If you are open to profession in medicine, there could be additional opportunities in the form of BS/MD at a few other universities.</p>

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<p>Do you think it’s a good idea to do dual enrollment engineering?</p>

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<p>If I were advising you, I’d make sure that you look carefully at the average math SAT scores for the schools of interest. Your SAT math score is not competitive at very strong schools. 560 is on the low side for engineering. I’d make sure you applied to schools that have a decent number of students w/scores like yours so you know you can succeed there. I suspect that you would get a better score after completing the math classes you are currently taking - all that work will pay off.</p>

<p>I do hope you pursue this, and succeed! Good luck.</p>

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<p>I agree with treetopleaf regarding scores in Math. I would even recommend that you take math classes during summer. The level of difficulty in math & science is several magnitudes higher at university level than high school. If by the end of this semester, if the SAT scores still remain low, then you will have to reevaluate the potential universities under consideration. You can take evaluative tests to assess your level in SAT math. </p>

<p>With looming doctor shortages, especially in under-served areas, there is a strong demand for doctors and physician assistants. HS students from under represented minority with a fairly good aptitude in STEM (Science Tech, Engg & Math) are likely to stand a better chance of being admitted into medicine and health science areas. Of course, for BS/MD one needs to have volunteering experience at a hospital/clinic and/or shadow doctors etc. as part of showing interest in the field. Keep in mind that a typical medical school applicant applies to an average of 14 med schools to get at least one acceptance. So it might make more sense to investigate BS/MD route while still in high school. Since the admission to med school is guaranteed, it lessens the anxiety related to (med school) admission after undergraduate. Also, it is not mandatory to attend med school after obtaining a baccalaureate. Amongst engineering majors, biomedical engineering, and in a few cases chemical engineering, offer a pathway to medicine. For BS/MD admission a higher SAT or ACT score & GPA will be needed & admission is very very competitive for non URM students. The application deadline for many BS/MD programs is coming up very shortly, within the next 2 Weeks in many cases.</p>

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<p>That is really true. I am trying to find more schools that match my SAT scores. It is not easy but I am trying. I was thinking of adding more SUNY’s to my list that have dual enrollment engineering or apply to Penn State or Rutgers like many were suggesting.</p>

<p>The medical field is an interesting fact to bring up because I was looking toward the direction of Biomedical Engineering, and possibly going to medical school but I wasn’t sure about the medical school part.</p>

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<p>Out of curiosity, if cost was a factor what schools would be taken out?</p>

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<p>if i could do it again, i’d say pick a school with plenty of companies in your industry nearby. don’t get stuck at some state school with no chance to get an internship if you dont have a 4.0 gpa</p>

<p>also if they pay for your full tuition that’d be killer. i’ll be 30k-40k in debt by the time i graduate and i really need a new car</p>