Another wow! He is more interested in math and science, but doesn’t have a clear direction about college yet. Hoping he finishes this semester with a 4.0 and we’ll get him to apply to UA early in the process. That would put him in an excellent position for the rest of his applications and senior year.
I really like the rest of what I read on this thread - parents talking about engineering at UA not being as “weed out” as other schools and that there are so many high stat kids who choose UA because of the generous scholarship money. Those are good fit factors.
Worst case with a 3.5 and 36 act he gets 28k. That’s if they see the 3.6. They also have a scholarship app. My daughter got $4k more from that. Engineering he’ll get another $2500 if that’s his major as I see was akready mentioned.
Either way - at $28k off tuition is $5k a year as a worst case. Of course you can get a great deal at many schools. Is Bama the right school ?
They use the highest GPA reported on the transcript. If your school reports the GPA as 4.2 then that is the number they will use for scholarship purposes. It does not matter if it is weighted or not.
I don’t have the transcript in front of me, but I know the transcript has weighted and unweighted. One is 4.0-ish and one is 3.6-ish. You’re right, I can call. I’m looking at doing a visit over spring break as well.
My Georgia Tech Civil Engineer had to take both linear algebra and differential equations (he placed out of calc 1 and calc 2). Looks like my entering Georgia Tech freshman will have to take both also for mechanical engineering. I think all engineering majors do there. They also have to take a CS course (computing for engineers which I think is matlab). Of course, even the business majors at GT have to take a computer science class there :).
I looked at the Alabama curriculum and looks like they take Calc 3 as a substitute for linear at least in some majors.
How can a kid do multivariate without linear algebra? Do some engineering programs not require differential equations or is linear algebra packaged into some other course?
I guess you could combine multivariable calc with linear algebra into one class, although that seems kind of odd to me. Maybe some places offer it in one semester for expediency. I also don’t see how Calc 3 could substitute for linear algebra. Some people skip linear algebra and go straight from Calc 3 to diff EQ, so maybe that’s what they mean by “substitute”. Some engineering majors at some colleges don’t require linear algebra and/or diff EQ. I do think that a combo class of linear algebra and diff EQ in one semester is a fairly common option.
For ME at Alabama, Linear Algebra is covered in an ME class. They do take Diff Eq The description for ME 349: This course covers fundamental concepts in mathematics and computer programming, which will be the tools for mechanical engineering analysis. It includes Linear Algebra and Numerical Analysis with application to engineering problems with elements of Programming, Statistics, and Engineering Economics. MATLAB is utilized as the programming software with students exposed to basics of coding and high-level functions for solving specific mathematical problems. Computing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course.
My daughter was the opposite, didn’t take calc in high school, didn’t do that well on her ACT (but more of a test taking thing than a knowledge thing) and she sat her fanny in the chair for study tables and work on her calc for several hours every night. She got an A. My nephew, also in engineering, spent more time drinking beer and got a D. Same book, by the way (even though my sister claimed my daughter’s calc I class was easier; same book, same material, but hers was easier?).
He retook calc I and studied harder and stayed in engineering.
I don’t think they are weed out classes but rather what the student is expected to master by the end of the course. Many of the ‘all A’ students have never had to work that hard. My daughter always had to work that hard. She’d be at the dining room table at 7 am on Sunday to get her chemistry done before going off to play her sport for the day, then back at it at night. She was used to studying a lot of hours in high school, even more in college. The STEM classes were easier for her and she put in even more time on humanities (she’s not a strong reader). She had NO interest in an honors program even though she had the grades for one.
Many schools have different ways to get early registration, including honors programs.
Athletes almost always have priority. At some schools, student leaders (government, Greek life), grad students (even if taking an undergrad course). A friend got early registration because of her special need.
If 1/3 of Alabama is honors, and they are all registering early, and all the athletes, and all the other ‘special people,’ is it really an advantage and is it really needed? How many people are shut out from an upper level engineering course?
One of my kids was an athlete so registered first. No problem getting classes. but I don’t think other kids had a problem either.
Other kid had no priority (ever) and never had a problem getting any class she wanted. She started as a theater major and the department saved the seats for majors and always had room. A non-major honors student would not have been able to bump a major out of the class as it appeared as ‘full’ in the computer registration system and the department had to manually admit students. Really, never a problem. She was in the second to last orientation group as a freshman and still found classes to take.
I hear a lot of students complain about not getting the classes they need but once classes start it all works out. That’s why school have drop/add.
I think it probably does work out for most students. But last summer, it was stressful for my son to get his first semester classes. A week before class started, he only had 9 credits. He and I both tried multiple times a day to add the rest of what he needed. We did get him what he needed, but it wasn’t easy. Yes, he could have taken some class that he didn’t need just to fill up his schedule, but he wanted to take the classes he needed.
For spring, he was much earlier and it was so much easier. He got everything the first try and was just done.
I have no idea how that might change for upper level classes. But for freshman and sophomore classes, scheduling early made things much less stressful. Not only did he get the classes he wanted, but the professors he wanted at the times he wanted. Sure, there are options that would have worked for him, but he likes having a break for lunch, having enough time to get across campus to band, etc, so he’s happy having the schedule he has.
He had quite a few AP and IB credits, so that pushed him early in the list. Honors moved him up more. He likely would have been fine with just his credit count. But if kids don’t come with a lot of credit, honors might make the difference.
My son is graduating in May and as such we discussed UA and its lack of weed out classes as opposed to his experience. Some Universities, UMD comes to mind, allow all who apply into Engineering. They then weed them out by extremely rigorous introductory classes to get down to their desired number of students. (according to the internet) UF had two weed out classes accomplishing the same. He acknowledged that UF Engineering was much harder than High School, but many never survived the initial weed outs, or retook the classes over the summer, some attending other colleges where the course was easier. Of course retaking of classes is not available to NMF scholars on Scholarships at many Universities but it is at UA.
Some multivariable calculus courses include just enough linear algebra needed for multivariable calculus without covering all of the content of a typical standalone linear algebra course.
Are you saying that students commonly earn D or F grades in those courses?
Looking up UMD grades at VA Grades , it does not look like the typical frosh/soph courses for the ME major have any with a very high percentage of D or F grades. (The GPA calculation there seems to be incorrect; it lists a GPA of 2.18 for MATH140, but the distribution shown gives a GPA of 2.60.)
Actual weed-out would be where there are high GPA requirements to stay in a direct-admit major (like 3.0 or higher for some engineering majors at University of Wisconsin), or where secondary admission to some majors requires a high GPA or competitive process (like at Texas A&M engineering). It is not just engineering majors – nursing majors are also known for weed-out policies.