Veteran seeking direction...

State Forums
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm a former California resident that is currently looking into the possibility of returning for school. At the moment, I’m working on my pre-engineering courses, and should have them complete by spring of next year. Being that I have a somewhat nontraditional background for a prospective undergrad student, I’d greatly appreciate feedback from fellow posters. Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Here's my story....</p>

<p>-Joined the military upon graduating from high school. While serving in the Army, I deployed three times in a special operations unit. I was stationed in Washington State for the duration of my enlistment and have been here since. </p>

<p>-During my time in the military, I decided to take online and evening classes. At the time, I had no direction and was just taking classes that seemed interesting to me. By the time I finished my stint in the military, I had completed my associate’s degree.</p>

<p>-Upon leaving the military, I picked up an entry level supply chain position with Intel. I left after six months due to hearing of possible downsizing. It's good I did, being that they're closing down the WA plant...</p>

<p>-Due to my experience at Intel, I managed to pick up a supply chain analyst internship at Boeing. While interning, I managed to cross train with the Industrial Engineers frequently, and knew that my passion lied more so towards engineering than business. </p>

<p>-Originally, I was only slated to stay for the summer, but was given an extension with the stipulation that I continue going to school in the evenings. I stretched a once planned three month internship into seven, and managed to excel ahead of my cohorts. When my internship was dialing down, I managed to get a few different job offers. Keep in mind that I still haven’t completed my degree.</p>

<p>The offers I received:
1) Come back the following year for another business internship in a project management role
2) Come back the following year as an Engineering Intern specifically focusing on Industrial Engineering
3) Two different full time business positions in different locations</p>

<p>While I was primarily interested in sticking with industrial engineering, I decided to pass up my interests and take the permanent business position instead. Gotta pay the bills…</p>

<p>-While working, I’ve managed to continue taking college courses part time. I’ve even managed to obtain a fair amount of Lean / Six Sigma training.</p>

<p>-I’ll officially have one year with Boeing next month, and don’t see myself leaving until next year.</p>

<p>Now that you’ve read my story….</p>

<p>-I’d like to return to California to study Industrial Engineering.</p>

<p>-As mentioned above, I currently hold an AA and will have my engineering prerequisites completed by next year. At the moment, I hold a 3.2 GPA. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to maintain excellent grades while in the military. I tried taking some classes overseas, and found out that it was a huge mistake. So far, I’ve maintained an upward trend (3.4+ GPA) each quarter with primarily engineering prerequisites. For the entire duration of my academic career, I’ve maintained a full time employment.</p>

<p>-At the moment, I’m not quite sure which schools I should be striving for. While I know Stanford is out of the question, I was hoping my non-traditional background could possibly assist me with acceptance at either UCLA or USC. I have strong recommendations from Industrial Engineers (Managers and Sr. Employees).</p>

<p>-Are either of these schools within reaching distance with my credentials? I’m assuming I’ll lock in a 3.3-3.4 GPA by the time I complete the prerequisites. I’ll be turning 24 in July. I’m the first person in my family to have attended college. Not sure if either make a difference in the eyes of ADCOMs.</p>

2

<p>UCLA and USC are quite competitive when it comes to admissions. I am not familiar with their policies on transferring credits, which you would need to do. They could be hard to get into.</p>

<p>You definitely should apply to both UCLA and USC, anyway, but also should apply to at least a couple of Cal State branches (especially both Cal Poly branches). I suggest that you apply to at least five or six colleges in total; and at least one should be a school that you are almost guaranteed admission because you don’t want to end up with no options. I think Cal Poly Pomona is very likely to admit you.</p>

<p>Good Luck. </p>

3

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

<p>Honestly, I know my grades are seriously lacking in terms of USC / UCLA material. I’m just trying to get a feel on if its even worth the application fee to apply to either. </p>

<p>I’ve looked around at some of the other California IE programs, and Pomona seems highly appealing at this point; San Diego as well…</p>

<p>I know that by giving up my full time position at Boeing, I’m likely to pass up around 200k of earnings if I attend school for 2-2.5 years. While I know it doesn’t make sense financially, I don’t feel satisfied with the idea of obtaining a business degree while working full time. Nevertheless, I’d like to be certain that I choose a reputable school, with promising return on investment .</p>

<p>Of the following list, do you have any others you’d say were worth applying to? In terms of likeliness of acceptance and quality of education.</p>

<p>California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo </p>

<p>California State Polytechnic University, Pomona </p>

<p>California State University, East Bay </p>

<p>California State University, Northridge </p>

<p>Loyola Marymount University </p>

<p>San Jose State University </p>

<p>Stanford University (not happening) </p>

<p>University of California, Berkeley
(not happening) </p>

<p>University of California, Los Angeles </p>

<p>University of San Diego </p>

<p>University of Southern California</p>

4

<p>Well, you never know if UCLA or USC will accept you. Because you are older, and because you have industry experience, they might accept you despite mediocre grades. Personally, I think that it is worth applying to at least one or two schools which might be a little beyond your reach. In fact, if UCLA or USC are important to you, then I recommend contacting their transfer offices directly (email, or phone, or personal visit) and asking them about your chances. You might get a candid answer, and if nothing else it will show them that you are truly interested.</p>

<p>If you are still a legal resident of California (but it does not sound like you are) then I would not apply to any private universities such as USC, or U.SanDiego (unless you actually meant U.Cal.SanDiego). One of the great things about California is that it has an excellent system of state universities.</p>

<p>If you are now a resident of Washington state then you might still want to at least consider a state university there. I see that Central Washington University has a bachelors degree in Industrial Technology, and Eastern Washington University offers one in Manufacturing Technology. These could be a backup plan to going to a school in California, and would save you a lot of money (but again only if you are a resident, otherwise forget it).</p>

<p>See this website about the difference between an engineering degree and an engineering technology degree:
<a href=“http://www.abet.org/engineering-vs-engineering-technology/”>http://www.abet.org/engineering-vs-engineering-technology/&lt;/a&gt;
ABET is the accrediting organization for engineering schools. Very respected.</p>

<p>Of the colleges you listed, I think your best chances are the following:
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal State East Bay
Cal State Northridge
San Jose State (except for computer science which apparently has tough admissions because of its proximity to silicon valley)</p>

<p>I think that Cal Poly SLO might be a little bit of a stretch, but I recommend applying anyway. Something tells me you would like it if you got in. It has plenty of prestige among engineering schools.</p>

<p>I love the University of San Diego, and they might accept you. But this is a private school, and quite costly. Same with Loyola Marymount. Still, probably easier to get in than USC.</p>

<p>Finally, are you sure that you are willing to give up that kind of salary in order to return to school? Not only would you give up $200, but also might need to pay almost that much for school, thus doubling your true cost.</p>

<p>So, also consider an online degree:
Arizona State: <a href=“BAS in Operations Management degree | ASU Online”>Page Not Found 404 | ASU online;

<p>Operations management is a lot like industrial engineering. You might consider that too, especially if it looks like it uses plenty of mathematics.</p>

5

<p>Unfortunately, I’m no longer a California resident. Washington has no income tax, so it seemed like a good idea to change my residence while in the military.</p>

<p>I’ve previously been accepted at WSU, EWU, and CWU before taking my current job role. I never applied to the University of Washington, but have contemplated going through their industrial engineering program as well. Its fairly competitive, but at least I’d have preference due to state residency.Although, moving back to California is growing on me each day. Most of my family and friends are in California, and I miss the weather.</p>

<p>I’d rather stay away from engineering technology. I’ve worked with Industrial Engineers and Technicians in the past, and the most common suggestion I get is to stay away from engineering technology. After hearing their observations of the outlook for technicians, I have to agree with them.</p>

<p>Being former military, I have a generous source of financial aid available to me. The gi bill covers around 18k of tuition each year (without factoring in the yellow ribbon program), and provides a decent housing stipend that is dependant on the schools location. My housing stipend would be around 2200 a month if I went to school in LA.</p>

<p>I’ve contemplated the idea of completing my engineering degree online or through evening classes. Being in Washington, I have a few opportunities available. The only downside is that all of these type of programs are part time, and usually require double the amount of time a normal student would expect. I’d rather not spend 6 years working towards an engineering degree, when I can bite the bullet and knock it out in 2. Then again, if I continue to work with Boeing fulltime, 100% of my tuition will be paid for.</p>

<p>Thanks again for your thoughtful suggestions.</p>

6

<p>Glad to help.</p>

<p>Also thanks for your explanation of the real life differences between engineering and technicians. That gives me a better perspective myself.</p>

<p>Given that you have such generous GI benefits, I can see why you want to move ahead with this.</p>

<p>My recommendation, then, is to apply to a cross section of easier and harder schools to get admitted to. Perhaps the following:</p>

<p>UCLA
USC
Loyola Marymount
U.SanDiego
Cal Poly SLO
Cal Poly Pomona
San Jose State</p>

<p>Those include four state schools and three private ones. At least some of those should admit you and work out financially. In my opinion, it is always worth the application fee.</p>

<p>Even if you are not sure that you want to do this now, you might move ahead with applications. Transfer applications have much later deadlines than entering freshman deadlines. You can decide later if you are actually ready to move forward.</p>

<p>Good Luck! </p>