Would love to hear from anyone who has gone through their community college’s Pathways to Engineering program. Any feedback, good or bad, would be appreciated.
http://pathways.engineering.illinois.edu/ suggests that the requirements for the guaranteed transfer admission to UIUC are rather strict, after initial (competitive) admission to the program. These include:
- Complete the specified transfer prep curriculum in two years of 15+ credit semesters.
- Earn at least a 3.5 GPA in the required courses, with no grade lower than B in the required courses.
My son has a friend from high school, who transferred into Mechanical Engineering at UIUC. He spent 2 years at CoD (College of DuPage) and moved to Champaign Fall of 2017. Speaking to his dad, he feels like CoD prepared him well. He has adjusted to campus and is living in an apartment with other “pathway” kids. The rigor is harder, but that was to be expected. The dad says the hardest part was adjusting to the job search part of school. His son was surprised by how quickly he had to do the resume and job fair ‘stuff’. Not having done it at CoD, it was a little unsettling. Anyway, this young man is planning on going one extra semester in order to spread out the academic demands and job preparation. Hope that helps.
Wow! That’s fantastic 88jm19! Love to hear it. My daughter, a 4.6 gpa (weighted) student, feels she can handle it but I worry about the strictness of falling below that 3.5 gpa. I mean, life can get in the way…things happen…So far, it’s been easy for her but if she fell below 3.5 while at UIUC, they wouldn’t boot her. For her, pathways makes sense as it helps to save a ton of money. I just don’t want her to start a program that to me, feels a little unforgiving. I really appreciate the feedback and hope to hear from some students that went thru the program. I’m glad your son’s friend did so well!
You’re welcome. If I were in your position I would contact the school you’re looking at (maybe stop by in person) and talk about the program’s success rate. Perhaps they can help your daughter contact a current student in Pathways and one who is either currently at U of I or a graduate. Peer mentors can be a good thing. Lastly, if CoD is your CC, I’ve heard good things about the school. Good luck!
Will do. Thank u!