Thoughts on Colleges With good Mathematics and Engineering programs?

College Search & Selection
1

Hey there everyone. I am a High School Senior looking to study Engineering (no clue what branch) or Mathematics but am undecided so I was wondering if you guys had ideas for colleges that have programs in both fields and are alright with transferring fields after the first semester/year. Suggestions for colleges strong in only one of the fields that match my stats are alright as well in case I figure out what I want to do but I would prefer colleges strong in both. And keep in mind that while I am pretty competitive and studious I want to take some time to enjoy myself at college so feel free to include more rigorous/time consuming colleges but just keep in mind I would prefer otherwise. Here are my stats:

ACT: 34 (Without writing and not really planning on retaking it)

SAT Subject Tests: Planning to take Math II and likely Physics but have not taken them yet.

GPA: 4.0 Unweighted 4.785

Class Rank: School doesn’t officially report but I know for sure I am in the top 10 of about 450ish students

AP Scores: 3 European History, 3 Physics 1, 4 Physics 2, 5 Calc BC, 5 English Language, 5 US History, taking Micro/Macro, Government, English Literature, and Statistics this year.

Extracurricular: Sadly lacking, there is a decent amount of stuff but nothing extraordinary and nothing I am super passionate about. I have done BPA for three years and am president this year, did Arabic club for one year, Math League/Mathletics for four years, this trivia/quiz type competition for one year, and am considering getting involved in theatre crew this year.

Community Service/Volunteering: I do some community service through my church at some local homeless shelters but it is fairly infrequent and I do some volunteering through my school’s NHS.

To make it a little easier here are some colleges that I have on my radar but am unsure if they are good choices:

Safeties: K-State, Wichita State, Minnesota Twin Cities, Illinois Urbana Champaign, Virginia Tech, Penn State
Matches/Reaches: Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Northeastern, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bowdoin, Wash U, UPenn, Cornell, Tufts

2

Cost constraints? Is Kansas your state of residency?

3

K-State is a good choice. It has a new engineering building and a strong program. Son’s best friends are both engineers. The math program is also good. His gf is a biology and math major and loves the program (she was valedictorian of her high school and very good student). The honors college is excellent and adds an interesting dimension to the college. It may be easy to get into but it has some very challenging options you can take. My son is pre-vet and is having a blast there. His grades are good, he is joining a fraternity in the spring, has joined a couple of clubs, goes to football games, went camping at the lake last weekend and has met a lot of people. He says it feels like home. (We are OOS and he had never been to Kansas until he visited). Go visit and see what you think.

4

How’d Bowdoin (excellent for math, but no direct engineering curriculum) appear in your group?

You might want to look into Union, which offers engineering and would be easy to explore in before committing to a major.

5

I think U of M-Twin Cities is a good choice.

6

Look at Pitt! Smaller school within a large school, focus on coops, lots and lots of research labs to get experience with. good school spirit, sports concerts.