Do a little due diligence on the ABET site for states your child might be interested in.
Lots of very good and underrated engineering schools in the midwest and TX. They are cheap to boot. The west coast is not cheap for most.
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University of Hawaii may have WUE tuition and access to surfing.
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Iowa State and Missouri S&T are two of the best.
They don’t offer engineering, and admission is pretty competitive.
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Yes, he submitted the ASU app already in order to apply to Barrett Honors by Nov 1 EA deadline - must have the ASU acceptance by Nov 1st in order to complete the Barrett application. He is also applying for OSU honors program.
SAT scores come on Oct 15th, and depending on the results, he may take ACT on Oct 23rd. Really hoping to skip the ACT… So many people say their kids do better on the ACT, we’ll see.
This is all really good advice. Appreciate it.
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They are different tests. ACT is much more about speed and reading comprehension.
If you’re willing to spend $29 and your son is OK giving up half a day, he can do an at home diagnostic. That way he can know if it makes sense to even prep for or take the ACT.
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Thanks for all the advice, everyone! So disappointing that Mines is a reach, but I think you are right. The almighty GPA. My daughter has a 4.0uw, so she would probably have a better shot of getting into these places, but honestly, my son will be a far better engineering/stem student. He has taken much harder classes at a much harder school than his sister, and is further along in math, but she gets A’s where he sometimes gets B+… He has the natural intuition for math, etc.
S22 doesn’t want to go into the mid-west, Texas, deep South or East coast. We are sticking with the West. And the UK (S22 is dual citizen and has lots of family there)
Budget is not the top concern. The best college he can get into with a good residential college experience, not a mostly-commuter school. Though, I always appreciate good value!! And UC’s irritate me with their exorbitant OOS cost - it’s much higher than other OOS. We are going skip all the UCs. He’s unlikely to get in anyway with his GPA, and it’s a lot of hoops to jump through to basically make a donation to the UCs.
Expanding the list:
(was just ASU, OSU, WSU, CU Boulder, CSM, Gonzaga-maybe)
U of Utah. You guys are right - Utah should be giving you commission! If a liberal atheist from CA is comfortable there, S22 will fit in fine. S22 was certainly impressed with the nearby skiing!
Cal Poly Pomona (is it mostly commuter tho??)
San Jose State U
San Diego State U
Santa Clara ($$$)
U San Diego ($$$)
U of Arizona
Colorado State U
Thanks!
In between Santa Clara and USD (both geographically and in competitiveness) is Loyola Marymount in LA. Their engineering programs are likely to rise in competitiveness/rank/prominence now that their ABET accreditation has come through. Surf club makes waves on campus | Sports | laloyolan.com
Edit: I’m not sure there’s actually a meaningful difference in competitiveness between LMU and USD. LMU has a slightly lower acceptance rate but also a slightly lower median GPA. Pretty much a tie on test scores. If there’s any significant difference, it would be in the engineering-specific stats, which I don’t have.
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There are two other mine schools in SD and NM that are less expensive and less selective than the one in CO.
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These CSUs are probably about half resident half commuter, based on percentage of frosh living in the dorms (resident upper level students more commonly live nearby off campus).
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If it is unclear, note that the Barrett application can be submitted even before receiving ASU acceptance. The Barrett application will automatically become "complete when:
- The student has finished all sections of the application, including the required essay.
- The Barrett application has been submitted, not just saved.
- Both letters of recommendation have been received by Barrett.
- The student has been admitted to an Arizona State University undergraduate degree program […]"
“You do not need to wait for ASU admission – all you need is your ASURITE ID and password (if it takes longer than 72 hours after submitting your ASU application to receive this information by email, contact your ASU Admissions Representative).”
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This is all about definition. The best college for him is the one that checks the most boxes he wants checked.
I’d pass on CPP, based on your description.
Good luck.
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Unigo reviews overwhelmingly describe CPP as a commuter school.
SDSU and SJSU are also largely commuter schools but probably have strong on campus options. SJSU’s benefit is its proximity to Silicon Valley. SDSU is a great OOS value with more (athletic) school spirit than SJSU.
Utah looks like a great option. ASU too if the price is comparable. Iowa State is a very good engineering program. Out of these three, Utah ticks a lot of boxes with more outdoors fun while cheaper than CU-Boulder and Mines.
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I rarely jump into the admissions chances threads because I don’t know what I’m talking about.
That said, I’m assuming no UW because it’s direct admissions to engineering and you’re worried about the 3.5? It would be interesting for those who really know UW admissions to weigh in on whether the SAT score might make UW a possibility. @ucbalumnus tends to know this area of competitive STEM admissions at large publics.
Historically the magic GPA number is 3.7 for in-state kids applying to the university (not direct admits to competitive programs). The UW application as I recall does call out rigor, although perhaps imprecisely. I know they consider it because it’s well known that UW loves IB kids and IB diploma kids below that 3.7 often get in below that GPA mark. Also, all my info/experience is about 5 years old, so there’s that.
For STEM and schools in the West, UW is fantastic and should be on anybody’s list if there’s a chance of getting in. Also, based only on friend anecdotes, Mines is super tough and I would have thought a kid who could get into Mines would have a good shot at UW.
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Ah! Boys and their GPA…I feel for you and have one a couple of years behind yours.
In terms of schools to look into, Chico State has more of a residential college feel and produces great engineers. Not sure of the cost to you but I think they’re a WUE school for engineering.
Good luck!
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I agree it’s a bit unclear about Barrett. I read somewhere on the Barrett website that applications not “complete by the deadline” will automatically be deferred to the next deadline. Part of “complete” is ASU admission. Plus they say to apply 4-6 weeks earlier to ASU itself, so the ASU admission will be in by Nov 1. We got the ASURITE login and have started the Barrett app.
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Good question on why we left out the obvious, UW. Mostly for the reasons you mention. The difficult direct admissions to engineering, seems unlikely he would get in with his GPA. Also, we know UW pretty well, and it’s not got a good community feel. Lots of commuters. Word from parents I’ve spoken to is that you have to go Greek to get that residential campus feel. People rave about WSU for the school spirit etc. In fact, I’ve never met more loyal people than WSU alumni! I went to UT Austin myself, and I liked it fine, but I don’t go on and on about it like the WSU grads do. WSU is a screaming deal too…
Still, UW is worth a shot. Top notch program, in-state tuition. UW knows his high school, etc. However, S22 is really thinking of taking a GAP year, and UW is one of the few places that DOES NOT allow any sort of gap year deferrals. So we’re thinking that S22 can apply next fall if he really still wants UW. Hopefully, by then, his senior grades will help. Seems like good grades in APs Calc BC and Phys C would be an indicator of future engineering success.
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@skkseattle: SDSU has a 2 year on-campus housing requirement for all in-coming Freshman and once off campus, most will live in close proximity to the school giving it a more residential feel.
Yes, CPP is more of a commuter school which can be said for the majority of CSU’s, but it still has a Freshman on-campus housing requirement and many students will live close to campus after Freshman year.
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Thanks for mentioning Loyola Marymount. Coming from Texas, I just don’t know CA unis at all. It’s super helpful that you and other parents on here mention places like this that I’ve never heard much about. That’s how I came to consider Santa Clara and USD as well. we’ll look into it. Our approach is to do virtual tours now, and visit places once admitted. I expect one of these will resonate with S22 more than the rest. Honestly, we haven’t been able to visit many campuses in person, so it is hard to know what he prefers. We looked at UCSD and SDSU this summer, but the campuses were ghost towns.
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UW is essentially test blind this year. It will only look at your SAT or ACT score if you are on the bubble or waitlist. From the school’s website:
The UW is technically test-optional. However, test-optional can mean different things at different schools. At the UW, you will not be disadvantaged for sending low scores or for not sending scores. In fact, when reading your application, the reviewers will not see your test scores, if provided. However, test scores that fall above our middle 50% may be considered for a handful of students who may not otherwise be admitted.
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LMU is going to be fairly pricey without aid. UCSD would be a reach. Suggest SDSU if insisting on California.
However, would be pursuing ASU, Iowa State, Utah (in that order).
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