momofthree, he was a bit lopsided. not extreme. he is doing well in physics this year, just built a steamboat that works…idk, doesn’t test well, silly mistakes. as I write, he is definitely more of the idea/designer type than the one who has to be perfect with calculations.
Answers to your questions. not financial need, not terribly lopsided, ACT 26 in math and science. 24 overall. we are in texas, he is interested in the northwest…oregon and washington state. he loves physics but i don’t think his grades will show excellence, high B maybe? Curious what you found in your coast to coast search!!
scmom12, texas. and yes, he will have to take fewer classes. we are even doing that now, he gets overwhelmed and it all falls apart otherwise. and good idea about summer school. gotta spread it out!
I know many kids at both UW and WSU, and a few at Gonzaga, if you are looking for some particulars. I also know a few at Oregon State and my son was recruited by Oregon Tech but never visited.
UW - engineering is higher stress and hard to get into. Frankly, not recommended for him. It takes about a 3.6 at the end of sophomore year to continue in engineering. (Note; UW Bothell does have a small engineering curriculum but is mainly a commuter school).
WSU - A few miles from the Idaho border, so not typically Pacific Northwest, but most of the kids are from “wetside” towns. Lots of spirit and kids tend to love the school, but engineering is still pretty hard. The commute would be bad at break times. Don’t expect any financial aid.
Gonzaga - I don’t know anything about the engineering school though we did look at it for S1. We did look at some sample tests and they seemed in line with what would be typical, not super hard. Except for the athletes we know, the kids there came from strong academic backgrounds.
Oregon State - Again, I only know non-engineering kids, but for the out-of-state ones it has been a mixed bag. Some love it, one hates it, one so-so.
Some others to think about, kind of northwestish but not technically NW, ones my kids considered:
U Idaho, shares a lot in common with WSU and is only 8 miles away;
Montana State, good mix of theory and hands-on;
Boise State, trying hard to become less of a commuter school in a pretty vibrant spot by Idaho standards;
Utah State, no particular reason but it seemed similar in academics to this list;
Wyoming, as the only state college it gets the full gamut, and has oil money.
yes magentron - We looked at and visited Montana State, Boise State, University of Utah, University of Wyoming. I liked Montana State the best, and it was my son’s "super safety’ school for engineering. Son had a friend who did go and absolutely loves it. and is managing just fine in engineering - stats wise probably on par with your son. My son had plenty of schools on his list and we’re in the engineering powerhouse midwest so did not ‘drift’ into Oregon or Washington or even Idaho when researching options to the Michigan engineering programs.
English is not easy for those of us who hate to write (even if one can get A’s). I never heard of it being traditionally easy, especially for someone with word processing problems.
OP, has your HS provided much support for your child through an IEP ? My D is also dyslexic and dysgraphic but with help provided by the schools OT and special ed staff she has learned to compensate. All kids facing learning challenges deserve to get the support they need to ameliorate the effects and help them reach their potential.
Singersdad. yes he has an IEP and has decent support. the truth is, he is just not too interested in the grades, gpa, etc. likes the projects in physics and photography. doesn’t seem to “get” the big picture of stats (grades and test scores)…somewhat feels he would be just fine at U of Arkansas, but talks about rowing and the nw.
Mom2, will check it out. yowza! wish there was something closer to home, but sounds like a good fit!
mamaduck, yes, RIT fits all the criteria. really need to visit and learn more about this. could be right up his alley, and engineering technology & rowing!!
Magnetron, thank you dearly for the info on each up there. Doesn’t seem to fit too well. I think he is interested in the NW for the physical beauty, but the school needs to make sense. Nothing on the extensive list you gave seems to make sense, and we don’t need to spend the money and effort to go out of state for a non serious student who to just see him not get into engineering due to GPA. That is the major state schools in Texas’ story too. Altho I don’t think he could even get in them. Many thanks for all the information!!
momofthree, that is Bozeman, right? We visited one time we were there. He would just ski and continue his non serious student days. He needs to be hands on engaged. These tech RIT type schools make more sense. Many thanks.
ucbalumnus, class rank is probably going to be middle 50. He will not get any auto admits at UT or Texas A and M, the two top engineering schools here. Can get into Texas Tech, and they have engineering technology and LD, but he is not interested in Lubbock, likes U Arkansas better…prettier.
it is hard, my oldest is a serious student and first year at Wake Forrest and loves it…dont mind spending the money and hassle of commuting when they are serious about their schooling, but this guy?? A competitive academic environment is not for him…Dont need to go halfway across the country to find out that. IF it were a good fit, like it sounds like RIT might be, then yes…hard to treat kids the same when they are SOOOOOO different!! thanks all
It does look like several of the less selective Texas public universities (for which he may get automatic admission to) offer engineering and/or engineering technology.
ucbalumnus, yes, Texas Tech is the best fit. He is just not too interested, although he WILL look at it! Lubbock is a pretty nothing town, and he is looking to see another part of the country.
Shrinkrap, I will check those threads. awesome!! congrats on that BS in ME. I am sure it will say, but the suspense is killing me, where is he?
I crack up at your titles…x number of A’s and x number of F’s…oh yes, same kid! And the next, yes I have an A student/liberal arts too…quite different…polar opposites…cant wait to read more!
Florida Tech has rowing, although I’m not sure how the scholarships work for men because rowing for men in not an NCAA sport. It is a very ‘hands on’ school, and athletes are required to attend study tables for a certain hour of numbers a week until they make a certain gpa.
Men’s rowing scholarships are not through NCAA but they do exist. the school can give them, private sponsors can give them, but they are just not an NCAA sport (but have many of the same rules for competing, just self governing). I think most schools treat the rowers like they do other athletes with the same privileges and conditions, use of facilities, uniforms, academic requirements. There are many (many many many) athletes at colleges not on NCAA scholarships.
It sounds like your son really wants to row, and if so he’s going to have to apply to engineering schools that don’t require such high stats. I don’t think he’ll be giving up opportunities because I don’t think he’s going to get into schools like GaTech or MIT with his academic stats. If he’s a recruited athlete (I don’t know what level his athletic level puts him in recruiting-wise), he may be admitted to a D1 school but not into engineering.
Others have suggested schools like Wyoming. Your son’s numbers are good enough to get him an automatic acceptance to the university, but I’m not sure about the school of engineering. My other daughter (not in engineering) couldn’t be happier than she is there. She also likes rowing, but no rowing there (lots of other sports at D1 or club level). Your son might like rowing because that’s what he knows. He might find he would like kayaking, mountain biking, rafting, xcountry skiing if that was available.
thanks all