<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I am currently a student in Essex County College in NJ and ever since I lived in Nigeria I have been fascinated by oil which lead me to Petroleum Engineering. Anyway, money is an issue. Therefore I am afraid I am taking classes which wont be transferable to Texas A&M or LSU. So far (this semester) Im taking ENG 101, MTH 119, ENR 100, HST 101 and ECO 101. These classes were given by my advisor whos son is also going to do Petroleum Engineering after finishing 2 years in community college. Apparently we are required to take these classes in order to attain an Associates Degree in Engineering. My questions are, am I on the right track in transferring departement, What other classes should I take (a real necessity) and how competitive is Texas A&M Petroleum engineering department? </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for all the help! :D</p>
<p>I can’t speak for Transfer admissions, but undergraduate admissions into petroleum engineering at A&M is pretty tough.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about finishing your AA degree. If I remember correctly, A&M requires 24 hours to be considered for transfer (check me on that). So I would be taking you Calculus, Chemistry and Physics series. Your goal, especially if money isn’t an issue, is to transfer as quickly as possible in order to get into an internship. It is going to be nearly impossible to get an internship at a community college in NJ. Have you looked into Colorado School of Mines? They will take transfer students even earlier than TAMU.</p>
<p>Haha good luck getting into A&M you’ll need it, for LSU I have no idea</p>
<p>There are geology classes being offered in my college, should I take them as well? Colorado school of mines is way too expensive unless I get a scholarship. Right now my GPA is around 3.0-3.2. I remember talking to Texas A&M representative online who kindly told me 3.5 GPA is the average for the petroleum engineer. I am afraid as A&M and LSU are the only cheap colleges I can afford or maybe I believe New Mexico Tech? Being an international student (not really, my father just travels a lot) will getting in be harder? I want to get into Stanford (dreams) but with those grades its too hard 
Any tips?</p>
<p>I got accepted to A&M with a 3.9+ as a transfer, and I was one of their last ones which means I was just barely above their cut… the criteria has gotten tougher for petroleum</p>
<p>Tips—> get a better gpa</p>
<p>Did you get any scholarships or financial aid when you got in? :o you are scaring me…</p>
<p>No, they did not offer any sort of scholarship, which was the deal breaker.</p>
<p>And you get financial aid anywhere as long as you qualify, however, that is not nearly enough especially if you’re an international.</p>
<p>Sorry for scaring you, but that is the truth</p>
<p>I was in a similar boat as you being from a community college in Chicago and transferring with a 3.6 gpa and money was an issue for me. I chose New Mexico Tech over University of Louisiana-Lafeyette, and if I were you I’d strongly look at those two petroleum schools because they’re established, not difficult to get into, affordable, and have high job placement rates. You should forget about the major universities, they’re too expensive</p>