University of Rochester is another small university that has engineering/CS.
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I agree actually but the only thing that popped into my mind being stuck in traffic. Lol. I would steer clear of 3/2 programs. They sound great but not sure how they are in real-life. Seems many don’t pursue the engineering part when time comes.
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Regarding 3+2 programs:
- Extra year of cost.
- Admission to the “2” school may be competitive and not assured.
- Financial aid at the “2” school is not known in advance.
- Some “3” schools limit the choice of majors.
- Student may lose interest, since there is limited or no “engineering culture” or engineering experiences at the “3” school.
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My D21 will be an engineer major in the fall. The first year is foundational engineering. AP Calc BC and AP physics C is great. D is taking AP physics C: Electricity and Magnetism now in her senior year. The hardest class she has ever taken but she is learning a ton and has a high A. Here are some of the things she did: High School Aerospace Scholars | NASA
High School Students REAP the Benefits of Summer Apprenticeship Program Offered by Texas Tech University | Texas Tech Today | TTU She was paid 3K for the REAP program. The program at our university was in electrical engineering (D’s intended major) These two programs have been really helpful in confirming engineering is the career for her. She has said her plan B would be applied math. Best of luck to your child. She plans on this program this summer. High School Students REAP the Benefits of Summer Apprenticeship Program Offered by Texas Tech University | Texas Tech Today | TTU again and https://www.lspace.asu.edu/
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Right, I am a single mom who works in healthcare.
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@Knowsstuff @ucbalumnus I completely understand and 3-2s are not an option.
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@TVBingeWatcher2 Amazing opportunities to learn by doing! Best of luck to your daughter… it sounds like she’s well prepared 
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Axiom
∑ Engineering GPA-> 0 is Business
∑ Business GPA-> 0 is Arts and Sciences.
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Not getting in or advancing as far as you plan to, the first go around, is not the end of the world. In fact it is becoming more and more status quo. Its important to take a step back and re-evaluate where you are in your life in relation to your aspirations as an engineer. One handy tip is to consider participating in an internship for job experience, or a summer study program for graduate prospectives. Wish you the best of luck! If you need any further advice hit me up!
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I think it also comes down to persistence and determination. Engineering appears to be one field that is so tough you don’t need great grades to succeed. Most hope to stay around a 3.0 for employment cut offs for some companies. If you go on just about any schools engineering reddit you will see countless of students retaking classes, sometimes multiple classes, not getting internships etc but still moving forward. One engineer recruiter on there said he retook Calc 2 and 3 twice and physics 2 once or something like that. But he’s an engineer today with a known company. Many once they fail or drop a class would just resign. Go in a different direction. So my theory is if you want something bad enough then go after it. As stated above get help along the way. At some point reality will set in to help guide your path but as also stated above set yourself up for success not failure.
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Why not consider tech schools, like Caltech and MIT? You don’t declare major until late second year, you start with P/F quarters or semesters. The core classes introduce you to various fields. You are admitted to the school, not a program.
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I am laughing since sure consider these school but they are kinda very hard to get into… Lol…
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@Knowsstuff Agree that persistence is key and use of supports essential. If going the engineering route, DS will need to be ALL IN :), clear on the ups/downs that await him, willing and ready to do what it takes, and invested in his own outcome.
That said, we also learn by doing and much of this learning will take place freshman year. It’s hard to predict how it will all go down. I like the sound of having options and alternate paths to explore if things don’t work out as intended!
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@bookworm Huh… I’m not sure MIT is the answer, but I do understand the importance of low stakes, intro exploratory classes
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It looks like proficiency in math and science is a major predictor of choosing engineering as a major but not necessarily a predictor that one will stay in. Poor preparation in math and science has a definite correlation with switching majors. One area I would be curious about is how motivated is the student about solving practical problems using things that they’ve learned and how much do they like working with others to solve those problems?
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Bucknell and Lehigh have fairly strong engineering programs and are very LAC like if not often mentioned as LACs.
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If a person really wants to be an engineer and they know it, I would go to the state university in your state that offers it. Growing up in Indiana, a person would really have to have a bullet proof reason to not go to Purdue for engineering. It is the lowest cost option and they are a top 100 engineering school (actually top 10, but just about every state has a state university or an agreement with a neighboring state that has a top 100 public engineering school). The teachers are good, there are plenty of EC engineering activities to play engineer in, and there are usually great fall back options. I know I said earlier that if I had it to differently, I’d go the LAC or private research university path that has a strong LAC feel, that was because I’m not sure I would have went the engineering route. But if you are sure that is the path you want to pursue, you will graduate with more opportunities from a large engineering university than you will from an LAC. I recruited engineers early in my career and attended recruiting fairs at Big Ten and midwest LACs and I can tell you that the Big Ten fairs filled huge campus malls and the LACs filled gymnasiums. Most of the Big Ten fairs had every national and some international firms where the LACs had mostly local firms and a few national ones.
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But is this the student who would not like heavy general education requirements that Caltech and MIT have?
But do these colleges have a heavy party, drinking, and fraternity/sorority reputation?
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Since OP’s son is highly unlikely to major in anything outside of STEM, based on OP’s other threads, it seems to me the question should be whether he prefers and is more comfortable with the more abstract/theoretical side of STEM or the more applied side. If pure math and theoretical physics is on the most abstract side of the STEM spectrum, then engineering is at the other end of the spectrum (subfields of computer science would be spread out over almost the entire spectrum). Which part of the spectrum one fits depends on where one’s interest and talent lies. For some HS students, it may already be obvious. For others, it may not, but there’s usually some telltale sign of the direction a student is leaning toward.
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@ucbalumnus Yes, we are looking to avoid heavy core requirements and party campuses.
Even schools like RPI, WPI, and Rose Hulman have thriving Greek systems.
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