Hi all,
Trying to decide whether this college is worth applying to. The NPC and scholarship page are highly unhelpful!
DS interested in mining engineering, so there are very few schools with this major. Reno is one of them. DS doesn’t want a tiny school, so this seems like a good option. Does anyone have any data points that they can share with me?
West Virginia University is the current leading contender, and they just came out with their merit scholarship chart for 2024, so now we’re just trying to figure out if it’s even worth applying anywhere else!
TIA!
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It’s always worth applying if you are unsure - and they are two different schools.
Where do you live? I ask because are you in a WUE state?
Have you looked at Arizona ($20K off) and Kentucky?
Other than an app fee, you have nothing to lose - sometimes there’s hidden money that comes that you are aren’t aware of - but not sure the SAT will help in that regard.
Good luck.
This on the UNR page.
It appears the largest is $8K but most are $2K. It doesn’t seem to differentiate in vs out of state -but you can call and ask.
Presidential Scholarship
The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to those who demonstrate a combination of outstanding academic performance and excellence in the criteria listed above. The minimum grade point average for consideration is a 3.8. These awards are limited and are awarded on a competitive basis. The value of this award is $8,000 per year.
What is the award amount for most scholarships?
Scholarships amounts range from $500 to $2,000.
What is the required grade point average for scholarship and award consideration?
A 3.2 unweighted GPA is recommended to be competitive.
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Thanks for your reply! It says in one section that scholarships range from $500 to $2000, but then in the other section says there are $8000 scholarships! Not clear at all.
We are from New Jersey, so not WUE, unfortunately. I know there is always a chance, but I’m just looking for some data points so we don’t waste our time/money. E.g. Virginia Tech & Penn State also have mining engineering and would be great schools, but I KNOW he won’t get any merit there, so not worth applying.
Yes, we have considered Arizona and Kentucky as well! DS doesn’t like Kentucky because of the program there, and I believe Arizona will be too expensive, even with the $20k scholarship (OOS tuition there is crazy!)
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If your kid loves them and you can afford them, but if it’s about money - no.
I take the UNR website to read that you’d likely get $2000. It looks like COA is $38K (reasonable) so bring you down a little.
But it’s “possible” to get the $8K - because the language they use is The Presidential Scholarship is awarded to those who demonstrate a combination of outstanding academic performance and excellence in the criteria listed above which I think are these - but yes not clear.
- Participation in leadership activities such as student government, service organizations or student activities
- Community service
- Work and family obligations
- Special talents
- Potential for success based upon academic performance through the completion of an academically rigorous program, e.g., class rank, AP credits, honors classes, IB program, foreign language, number of college credits while in high school
- Completion of a writing sample
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If your kid loves nature -it’s not big but SD School of Mines is only $15K tuition, it’s in Rapid City which is AWESOME…but no, it’s not big.
Edit to add on the previous note - you can always call and ask an admissions counselor.
Va Tech might be a reach…given this is likely a small major, you might find out if it’s impacted anywhere.
I’d also look at UK - my old boss sent their kid for MechE and had a wonderful experience.
Also interesting on UNR - most schools seem to give differing amounts in and out of state with OOS getting more. It doesn’t appear UNR does this but perhaps it’s worth asking.
Utah may be another to look at. I’m no expert but I’ve read many times on here you can get residency.
I know this is the case for Missouri and Missouri Science and Tech is on here. At least Mizzou offers a path to residency so I’d assume Science and Tech would do - but not a large school.
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I agree- I think those amounts for the UNR scholarships seem reasonable for the in-state prices, but very low for OOS prices. Hopefully someone will chime in who actually received merit OOS and can give me some data points. But otherwise I’ll contact admissions.
Thanks for your reply!
Looks like OU (u of Oklahoma) has a new major. Of all the school visits we did they were most impressive. Had a 1:1 day with several groups. They hit merit nicely. Beautiful campus. Well I think it’s similar major. . They say geo engineering.
WVU is drivable from NJ so that’s good. And they have a monorail :). Disney in Morgantown.
Have you visited ?
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Thanks for the info on the new OU major - will definitely take a look!
We have visited WVU. Had a great tour and also we met one-on-one with the head of the mining department. He was such a great guy - even though he was clearly incredibly busy, he spent almost an hour discussing the major, the school, and the career with us. We came away super-impressed! Loved the department. Many positives about the school - great vibe, great school spirit, excellent facilities, many outdoor opportunities. Also plenty of options to change majors to if engineering proves to be too hard. Downsides were the sketchiness of the town, the lack of open spaces(it was all very hilly), two separate campuses (PRT/monorail is cool, but I’m sure gets old!), and all the other general ‘big school’ problems like class registration, bad food, lack of personal attention.
Overall it seems like WVU is the right choice for him, but I just don’t want to leave any rock unturned, and want to explore all his options. Budget is under $30k, so it’s tough. I did just read this morning that WVU has put many majors, including mining engineering, under review for cuts, so we need to keep our options open through the spring.
I helped my older son through 18 applications three years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process, so I’m looking forward to this upcoming cycle and all the research required to make the best decision. There’s a lot of information available here on CC about the more popular schools, but it’s hard to come by any real life data/experiences with schools like UNR. If I can’t find anything here, I’ll start contacting admissions departments, looking at Reddit, and trying to talk to current students.
Dang. Under review for cut. Yes that’s a HUGE red flag. Even if not cut are the supporting the program in class offerings or other things? My daughter had a preferred major at her school. Couldn’t get it. They offer it but not really the quantity of classes / sections to provide a good experience. And few choose the major, likely because of it.
I wonder how many students are in ? Maybe not enough.
I agree $30k is tough and PSU and Ba Tech are out.
Are there any adjacent majors at other schools - like OU is geo engineering ? I’m thinking maybe schools in the Dakotas or Montana might have this ?
Or do some kids go from other majors - like petroleum or mechanical - into the career ?
With all the mining being done with electric vehicles, you’d think it’d be an up and coming, not declining major.
Would he consider a smaller school if it was the only way to make cost ?
How does one in NJ even find this as a possible major ?:).
Just an FYI, Arizona scholarships for OOS for 2024 admission will be updated in August.
Hope they don’t downgrade them…
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To be fair, I think WVU has put over 40% of their majors into ‘review’, so there is a good chance that nothing will change for mining engineering. Fingers crossed! According to collegescorecard, there were 13 students graduating in the senior class in mining engineering last year, which isn’t too bad!
The way he decided on this major… he’s always been active, and an avid adventurer/outdoorsman. Started with mountain biking, moved to hiking/backpacking trips, and then off-roading. We live in Central/South Jersey, so they spent a lot of time exploring the Pine Barrens, as well as the mountains in Pennsylvania. There are lots of quarries(slate, sand, etc.) that they come across , which led him to look into how they work/what they are/ who runs them. He has a mechanical mind, but needs a focus to really be engaged, so something like mechanical engineering is just a bit too broad. He’s done a ton of research on his own and just feels like mining engineering is what he wants to do.
As far as tangential majors, yes there are some. Our default choice would probably be civil engineering at Rowan. But I also worry that he won’t be able to get through the tough engineering curriculum (mining or otherwise). He’s dyslexic, and while he’s done well in school and works really hard, it doesn’t come easy to him. He won’t be coming in with any college credits(well maybe one or two electives). He needs to be somewhere that he could easily change course if necessary. This eliminates all the smaller mining schools like South Dakota and Montana. Bigger schools with mining are too expensive, like PSU and VT, which is what brought me to UNR as a possible alternative to WVU. Checks all the other boxes, so now just trying to figure out if we could possibly get the cost down to our budget. Hence the original question I posted 
One of my newer concerns is the amount of classes a student has to get through for engineering. Looks like mining at WVU requires 134 credits, which averages to 16.75 credits per semester. That seems like a very full plate, with no room for failure! (my older son is at GT cruising along with 12-14 credits per semester b/c of all his AP/DE credits, and it’s still not easy!) I’m also wondering if a merit scholarship would continue into a 9th or 10th semester if a student isn’t able to graduate in four years. If not, are you stuck paying full OOS tuition for those semesters? That would be a disaster… Maybe a question for a new thread!
A question for the school - although likely in their scholarship terms.
My sons scholarship at Alabama was for 8 semesters but they have others that are 5 years. They’re in the terms.
I think engineering is a brutal major - you know this - and there’s a reason 40-60% don’t finish. So yes, it’s good to be somewhere with alternatives. Not sure how is SAT math is but his SAT is likely on the lower side for engineers who make it through.
On the other hand and i don’t know - I don’t have a child with LDs but is a large school the right thing? Then again, the major won’t be large so hopefully most classes are small but there might be shared classes with other majors.
In your mind, what types of majors would be alternative for him. My son says most engineers end up in business and his friend at UTK said the same.
But I imagine others would end up in science.
Well, it sounds like you do have an overall plan. Hopefully it works out for your son. As an outdoorsy guy, he’d love Reno!!!
All good points… his math SAT is 630. But his Pre-calc grade this year was a 97. Not honors, though. I truly don’t know if he’ll survive through Calc II, Differential Equations, Thermodynamics, etc… but since he wants to try I don’t think I should stop him. We do discuss just how hard it’s going to be. We’ve gone through the course of studies. WVU’s minimum SAT score for admittance to engineering is a 510. So he definitely won’t be bottom of the class, at least starting off. But I know how many kids drop.
Alternative major would be something like Geographic Information Systems, Cartography, Surveying, Wood Science, or Construction management. All of those have much lower salary ranges, which is a big deterrent for him. If he can just make it through the mining engineering curriculum, he would be set.
One other key factor we’re considering - what gpa is required to maintain scholarships. I believe Arizona is a 3.0. WVU is 2.75. I haven’t found this info for Nevada yet. 3.0 scares me.
And I agree I believe a smaller school might be better for him. We’re going to go look at York College in PA. No mining, but they do have engineering, and a variety of other majors to switch to if necessary. Cost might just be in our budget. I just don’t know if I can get him onboard with a smaller school.
Thanks for discussing this with me! Most people just get a glazed-over look when I start delving into the tricky details of this college search! Lol.
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Yep. Reno is extremely well-situated for the outdoorsy oriented.
Mining is a big deal at UNR and in Nevada generally. I think Nevada and Arizona are the two biggest mining states in America. California, particularly the portion of the Sierra Nevada adjacent to UNR, also has a lot of mining opportunities. Anyhow, big mining companies like Newmont ensure that the mining programs at UNR are well funded and resourced. My understanding is that mining companies have to aggressively recruit potential employees because it’s an unknown industry to most people. And there are a lot of employment opportunities (particularly if you don’t mind living in the middle of nowhere).
Downsides: Reno is almost always a two-stage flight to most destinations east of Utah. Although, Jet Blue now runs direct flights to and from NYC, if that’s convenient. Also, the cost of living in Reno is high. It’s not quite as bad as the Bay Area, but it’s not so far behind. UNR does its best to take care of its students, but it’s a big school and you won’t get the kind of hand-holding you might at smaller, private colleges.
I assume the Colorado School of Mines is too expensive or a bad fit? It seems like it’d be worth considering simply because it’s known as an engineering school and it has the word “Mines” in its name.
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Thanks for your thoughtful response! It does sound like a great fit for my son, but yes, the distance and ease of travel is probably the biggest hurdle. He’ll apply and see where the Cost of Attendance lands, but I think it would have to be significantly less than WVU for it to win out.
We considered Colorado School of Mines for a minute, but it’s just going to be way to expensive. My older son with ridiculously high stats applied a few years ago, and the price only came down to $40k, which is out of our budget for DS#2.
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Upside to a small school like Montana Tech or South Dakota School of Mines, or Michigan S&T is that they would have more personalized attention, smaller classes, and a more goal-oriented student body. Downside is that if he decides engineering is too hard, and needs to switch to something less math-intensive, then he would likely have to transfer schools, which would wipe out any chance to maintain a decent merit scholarship. Ugh. What to do.
Go to the right school for him. But if you do feel that engineering will be a problem and I know you said he does struggle, then you might be on to something.
SDSM has atmospheric sciences and Bus Mngmt in Technology
Montana Tech has IT and a few others.
Michigan S&T has more majors.
But yes Reno and WVU will give the most flexibility. Seems like Michigan S&T has plenty but would they work for him?
In the end, hopefully he finds a school he likes - and then he’ll find something there he likes if for some reason the engineering doesn’t work out.
But hopefully with a smaller program he’ll have lots of support and it will work out ok.
Just curious - did you look at Kentucky? You’d likely get merit and it’s gonna have everything. It’s a fine school.