My son wants to attend a smaller school, liberal arts is ok, for Computer Engineering. He comes from a college prep school but ends with average GPA of 2.64 and tested low (18) for the ACT. He has a 504 with accommodations and always tests low-hoping to find a college that will work with him on the 504 as well. Considering Loras-although it’s not specifically Computer Engineering. There are so many out there and I don’t have time, nor the money, to drive to every school and see if it’s worth it. Been to a few college visits already that ended up being a waste of time-don’t want to do that anymore. He would do a 3-2 program as well.
Thinking of these and curious if anyone has any input:
Calvin College
Millikin
Walsh
Drake
John Carroll
University of Cincinnatti
Lawrence Tech
Michigan Tech
Purdue Polytechnic
West Virginia University Institute of Tech.
Simpson
Beloit
Knox
Monmouth
Lake Forest
Community college, then transfer to a state university? If he does well in community college, he may have a better selection of schools to transfer to than he is likely to have now with a 2.64 GPA and 18 ACT.
Engineering is going to be high pressure, there are going to be horrible tests, even in CC. If this is his passion, is that something that shows up in his application?
I can tell you about a few of those schools. Monmouth is a joke and has been for decades, everyone I knew who went to Knox hated it, Lake Forest is nice, but pricey, Calvin has a decent reputation, Millikin is a good school, but the computer program is really small. They do have a 3+2 agreement with either SLU or Wash U.
I just finished a 2-year stint as a 1-on-1 for a communications tech (think e-commerce and networks type things) student at a state school. I can tell you that a private school is definitely the way to go. The state school only offered certain accommodations and nothing else, so my student got forced into large group tutoring despite it being obviously inappropriate for him. Here’s what you need to do: when you get the list narrowed down a bit, call or meet in person with the school’s service coordinator and see what they offer and how far they’ll go to meet his needs. If anyone says something about the school not recognizing his disability/diagnosis, run. If you can, get whoever handles his stuff at the high school to do up a college transition plan. I know from experience that Millikin is pretty good about things. They offer free 1-on-1 tutoring for a lot of classes and they’ll find someone if you need help in a class that doesn’t have a tutor list. His classes would be super small (odds are 10 or less) so that may be a pro or con depending on your child.
Another piece of advice is to try to meet with someone from the department/program when you do visits, or ask the traveling admissions person for a point person. Ask for an example schedule, because they’ll vary more than you’d think. Honestly, the admissions counselors don’t know much about any specific program or the services the school has. It’s better to get your info from someone who knows for sure and isn’t just guessing.
I don’t know that the school needs to be private, but I do get the sense that it should be small. I wasn’t a great student, and the personalized attention I got at the little, 3000-student public university where I got my undergrad degree made all the difference in the world.
Lake Superior State might be a better call. Small campus 1200-ish), and if you miss a class, someone checks to see if you’re OK. Tutoring available for many classes.
Indiana Tech might be worth a look. I understand the EE chair changed a year or to ago (relative of a friend of mine).
Not to discourage his choice of major, but once on the workplace he’ll be expected to produce equivalent quality and quantity as everyone else in that pay grade. This can be extraordinarily stressful for some, and/or a.real challenge to find the right fit.
That said, some people think like an engineer - nice modular, scalable designs that fail.gently and predictably. Some, even some with high GPAs probably shouldn’t engineer a happy meal. On their own time.
Your plan sounds ambitious, which I like. But having a plan B might be wise.
I am going to throw this out there. Look into the University of Toledo. It is mid sized, not small but I think your son might find his way better there than say at U of Cincinnati. Like UC it has a mandatory coop program and a very good engineering dept. It is less selective than UC, accepting over 90% of its applicants, though engineering will probably be more selective than the school in general. I don’t know this for a fact but UT accepts students who have some catching up to do and might be more willing to help someone find their way. If computer engineering is not his chosen path down the road they would have a number of options beyond the standard liberal arts degree.
With his stats, he should better look at Information Technology instead an ABET computer engineering. Information Technology is easier to master and he will get a better satisfaction by taking it. There is no easy way out for Engineering and he will be frustrated. A happy student is a successful student.
“My son wants to attend a smaller school, liberal arts is ok, for Computer Engineering. He comes from a college prep school but ends with average GPA of 2.64 and tested low (18) for the ACT. He has a 504 with accommodations and always tests low-hoping to find a college that will work with him on the 504 as well.”
Honestly, I think a student with a 18 ACT would really need to work on raising that score. The ABET math and science requirements are very rigorous.
Having said that, it can be done. If he is motivated you could work with him or get him a tutor. It will take some time though.
Computer Engineering is going to require a lot of effort and good study skills. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that your son should immediately rule it out, though. He should give the major a try and see how it goes. If it doesn’t go well, then find a different major.
Why I say private and not state has very little to do with the size and everything to do with services. Many, many state schools are a lot like some of the k-12’s when it comes to accommodations: they have a list of “recognized diagnoses” that they’ll service and a list of services and that’s it. They won’t do anything that’s not on the list, even if it won’t cost them extra and won’t require extra people. If you need anything that’s not extended time, private testing, or a note-taker, too bad. It’s easier to fight with an IEP, but 504s are sometimes gray space. Some of the private schools I’ve worked with are much more willing to work with you or do minor accommodations without taking weeks to process the paperwork either.
I don’t know that it’s accurate to assume all private schools are rolling in enough dough to provide services, and anyway, I didn’t see anything from the OP that suggested their son had any kind of learning disorder that had to be dealt with. Sometimes just being in a small class where you know your professors is all you need. There are small, public universities that provide that kind of environment.
The less selective private schools that will admit a student with a 2.64 HS GPA and 18 ACT are less likely to be the ones with lots of money to provide more than an economy-class college experience.