Transfer student with near 4.0, but no college calc+physics, sub 20k a year. Where?

If you are applying as a transfer student, you usually don’t have to send ACT scores. You would have to send transcripts from all your colleges.

Would the U of Minn take you as a transfer to another major where you could take the calc and physics classes, then transfer to the engineering program? Do they have a CS program that isn’t in engineering?

My daughter’s engineering school takes transfers, offers scholarships, but it would be as if you were starting as a freshmen. For most of the engineering majors, there are only 10 or so credits allowed as electives, and usually they are from a limited list. Each engineering student must take (or test out of) 2 English classes, one history, one or two economics, and then a few electives, but those are usually a choice between xxx engineering or yyy engineering. They offer a few languages or psychology, but there just isn’t room in the schedule.

I’d say try for one of the flagships that you find to be a better size for you - ND, SD, Montana, Wyo, Utah. Most aren’t that expensive and many have some money.

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology welcomes transfers, has a strong reputation for high quality STEM programs, actively seeks female applicants, and is very affordable. It’s a small school in an interesting town, that is admittedly in a remote location (Denver is the nearest metropolis and it’s 7 hours away from Rapid City SD). Besides the great engineering and outdoor life, it’s less than a hour’s drive from Mount Rushmore.

One issue is that many schools (particularly public ones) want to see transfer students graduate quickly – ideally four semesters for junior level transfers, six semesters at most. Transferring into engineering without calculus and physics would likely mean needing seven or eight semesters, since your previous course work could only cover H/SS breadth requirements, rather than anything in the relatively long prerequisite sequences for engineering majors.

You would likely have many more engineering transfer options after you complete the frosh/soph math and physics sequences (and any other frosh/soph courses needed for your major).

Any chance you’d consider computer science? Would take care of some of your math challenge depending on the department it was offered through.

@twoinanddone Many of the schools I have been browsing included ACT in the required or recommended bin, even for transfers. To some extent, I’m glad about that as a 31 can only help me there. I don’t know why they still need HS level stuff when I have substantial college done, but by HS wasn’t bad either, so fine. As for elective, well, that’s a pity but what must be done, must be done. Hopefully I can at least fight hard enough to get the foreign language courses I’m super interested in to be a part of my schedule.

@LakeWashington I will look them up specifically, then. Do I need to be concerned if my engineering department doesn’t focus on the sort of applications I would like to work in, eventually? That is one thing that pulled me away from NDSU.

@ucbalumnus Yeah, I’m not gonna be a fast in and out. I’m already doing my financial planning based on another 8 semesters. While money is obviously an -issue- for me, I am willing to make it work for 4 years. That is why I am limiting my budget to 25k or so a year - I know I can make that happen for 4 years, and I know I can start that next fall.

@50N40W Perhaps. But I must admit, I liked the mix of real world and digital/virtual world realization offered by computer engineering. I’m distinctly leaning that way now after more research than mechanical engineering, but of course, still keeping my options open.

@eyemgh Since you listed specific schools, I thought I would respond to you first out of courtesy. Lehigh’s poor safety ratings off campus and extremely high levels of alcoholic partying are an area of major concern for me. However, some of my reading implies that if you go into it intent to stay away from those areas of social life, it is not exceptionally difficult to engineer a preferable social environment. The fact that Lehigh can offer a great engineering program and meets financial need will keep it on my radar as I college search. WPI will not consider me as I have not taken college calculus.

@eyemgh Forgot to include the following in the above post: the search you originally recommended does not return any viable options for schools offering computer engineering with enough % need met for their overall tuition + housing price tag. However, it seems many schools do not report the percentage of need met to this tool, as schools such as the aforementioned Lehigh which apparently meets need do not appear with this search.

First investment when I inherit every dollar on the Earth: creating a perfect tool for this. Hah.

Do not rely on “percentage of need met”, since each school may define “need” differently.

Use each school’s net price calculator to get an estimate more specific to your situation. At age 21, colleges will require parental income and wealth information. If the school uses only FAFSA for financial aid, only the parent(s) you live with matters here. If it uses CSS Profile, both parents matter even if they are divorced or separated. In the divorced parent case, income and wealth from any remarried new spouse also must be counted.

No matter whether or not you use percentage of need met or the net price calculator there’s another trick schools hide. Some use loans as a means of meeting need. Another useful metric is average student indebtedness after graduation.

Anyone know anything about how the program at Mankato State is for computer engineering? It doesn’t sound like they help find internships, etc.

At the moment I think I’m looking most closely at University of Wisconsin Madison. Not big on the size, campus style, or the safety rating but… It might be the best door to the future for me.