<p>My S just got back his Oct SAT scores and only got 520 in Math. So my question is this:</p>
<p>Assuming he gets accepted to Purdue but does not get into the engineering program is it better to enroll as undecided and get his math skills up freshman year and then try to transfer into the engineering school or should he just go to one of the schools that did accept him into their engineering program? I would think that the former would require an extra semester or two to finish his degree but might be worth it in the long run. (let's assume that all other schools have accepted him into engineering but Purdue, Northeastern and Syracuse only accepted him into undecided.)</p>
<p>He is applying to the following schools (in order of preference):</p>
<p>Northeastern
Syracuse
Purdue
Drexel
Temple
UConn, U. Rhode Island, UMass, Rutgers.</p>
<p>I actually had a talk with the office of admissions at Purdue today. Even though I’m going to Management or at least trying to get in Krannert the guy I talked to said Engineering is very tough to get into and you definitely need higher than a 520 math im sure. I know for management i needed at least 550 math but I got 630 so I can’t imagine what Engineering would be. Also he should be good in math classes in general. What’s his GPA? I would personally say he should go to Purdue. He can take classes needed to get in Engineering school and I think after 1 semester freshmen year (if he qualifies) he can enter Engineering school, at least thats what it is for Krannert.</p>
<p>GPA is 3.4 from a private HS (if that matters). He does well in his math classes and enjoys math but is not a good standarized, timed test taker.</p>
<p>What level of math is he presently taking in high school and how is he doing so far this year? I’m not all that familiar with Purdue, but I know the kids who went into highly regarded engineering programs (RPI, Northeastern Lafayette, Lehigh, Cornell) from this area had completed Calc I at the very least before entering college. Nonetheless, they all struggled with real college calc at first.</p>
<p>How badly does he want to be an engineer? We’ve probably all known people who were not naturally brilliant students but who by sheer determination and by outworking everyone else were able to achieve their acdeemic and career goals. If your son has his heart set 100% on becoming an engineer the “safe” path may entail accepting admission to an engineering school that accepts him and believes he has what it takes to succeed. On the other hand, if he is uncertain perhaps he would be better off enrolling in the college of arts & sciences at Syracuse or wherever. If he then set up freshman year classes to mirror as closely as possible the schedule of a first year engineering student he should be able to better determine if a) he really wants engineering and b) if he feels comfortable that he can handle the academic rigor of the engineering curriculum.</p>
<p>He has wanted to be an engineer since freshman year in HS and has not waivered since. But you never know if that will change once he takes a few courses in college, so I think that either option that HV51 pointed out may suit him. But of course I will have that candid conversation with him once his acceptances have all come in so he does make the right choice based on whether he still has that 100% desire to be an engineer or would rather go to Syracuse, etc and explore his options.</p>
<p>He is applying to Purdue mostly because of their engineering program’s reputation (even though there are other things he likes about Purdue) so that might leave Purdue out if he does not get into College of Engineering but gets accepted to the university. He would definitely need that 100% committement to make Purdue viable since transferring into the College of Engineering seems the toughest of all the colleges he is looking at.</p>
<p>To be honest, I wanted to be a Civil Engineer while I was at Purdue my freshman year but if your son isn’t committed to his academics 100% it will be TOUGH to stay/get admitted into the program. The math classes that he will have to take is just tough, if you go to the Engineering website and see an example plan of study you will notice that they take ALOT of math classes and more or less can get a minor in Mathematics.</p>
<p>I dont know much about engineering, but I’d think someone only up to pre-calc and doing B+ work would struggle at the college level. I was a B math student, and I know I’d get killed taking the math classes engineering majors take.</p>
<p>Getting a 520 math SAT and doing B+ level work in Pre Calc as a senior in high school is going to be rough for him once he gets to college as an engineer. Unless he has a change in his study habits, most likely he will not make it as an engineer especially at Purdue. Most freshman in engineering come in and are all proud that they’re engineers but after a year or 2, I’d say over half of them have switched to some other major or have failed out completely. They spend many hours studying and it is a very rigorous subject. This is even for people who are good at math. Thus, if your S wants to be serious about this, he had better commit 100% once he gets to college or else he will join the ranks of the others who have to switch majors (thereby wasting time) or failing out completely. That is my experience at Purdue.</p>
<p>DS did better in math (630) but that’s still going to be real “iffy” to get into ENGR. He had a 700 CR, and 750W, so he just didn’t want to do the test again. He knows it’s a risk. He is currently in AP Calc (with a A-/B+) and AP Physics (A-). He also had pre-AP Physics last year, so this is his 2nd year of that.</p>
<p>I know if varies at different schools - but at Purdue, are you admitted directed to the ENGR school or are you admitted as something like “pre-ENGR” and then move into ENGR after the first year (taking specific courses and earning a minimum GPA)?</p>
<p>You are admitted to the First Year Engineering (FYE) program when you apply to Purdue. Then your first year in FYE you take courses that are required like CHEM 114, MA159 or MA161/162 I believe with other classes and need to have a certain GPA prior to your Sophomore year. All these classes you take freshman year will be calculated to your EAI(Engineering Admissions Index). Then each school has a certain EAI you need to be in the program like I believe Civil Engineering was 2.0? </p>
<p>The information for the classes that are applied to your EAI, required classes during your first year, and the EAI requirements for every college is here:</p>
<p>And as the poster above said, ALOT of people are proud that they are Engineers @ Purdue however many of them drop out. Either to Krannert or to Knoy School of Technology. From Building Construction Management, Computer Graphics Technology, etc.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently a Freshman at Purdue enrolled in the FYE program. She scored well in the SAT math (790) and scored a 5 on the AP Calc BC. She has found math at Purdue to be a step change from High school. Doable but takes a lot of work. If your son really wants to be an engineer then give it your best shot. Im also an engineer and the high attrition is no different then the 80’s. Many start, not all finish. Best of luck with your decision.</p>
<p>SAT CR was a 690 did not take any SAT II. She used AP credits to skip FYE Chem & first Physics but is finding Physics II (not sure course) relatively easy.</p>