Engineering schools that won’t crush my child’s soul

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

+1

If the kid is doing well at a school similar to TJ then he’ll be fine at a top-ranked, rigorous engineering school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several threads discuss engineering schools that are hard to just survive. Some hint that there are alternatives

Could you list these alternatives?

Short background: my HS sophomore has great grades and tests well at a difficult school and has a general interest in engineering. But I don’t want him to drift into a situation where his soul could be crushed without choosing that.

Are there schools we could choose with engineering majors where you just learn how to do it without the excessive pressure and stress?

Yes. Schools that support engineers have highest retention from freshman to sophomore year.
The top schools with over 96% retention from freshman to sophomore years (major declaration is typically after the end of freshman year) for those who are admitted to Engineering, as well as no enrollment caps in certain engineering disciplines.
MIT, Penn, Princeton, Hopkins, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Georgia Tech and CMU all boast 96-98% retention for engineers specifically, and none of them have enrollment caps that affect undergrads after admission. Sure the classes are difficult but if you can get admitted to these E schools, you can get out with an engineering degree! These schools also tend to have the most research spots per undergrad E major (comparing the privates to each other and GT to similar sized publics).
Cornell and Berkeley despite having top students are all lower, 85-90%. Purdue, UIUC similar to those.
Harvard and Yale do not have figures for undergrad Engineering retention specifically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WPI seemed almost joyful when we visited, although with the fast paced quarters, kids still work hard. Rose Hulman has small classes, even freshman year, which helps foster relationships with professors, which is protective against stress.

Yeah, but the kids at WPI and Rose seemed weird. High percentage of neurodivergent

Welcome to engineering.

Haha, truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

one hundred percent this! peers matter! undergrad matters! It is a waste of a top brain to send them to a less rigorous Engineering school. Go to one of the top privates or the top 3 publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not consider Virginia Tech. As a parent, I had the rudest responses from them. I asked if it was possible -to just- plan for 5 years to complete the program. Plan from the beginning, plan to take a lighter load. Instead of explaining why not or just saying a simple no, they were insulting, berated what they thought were my DD's qualifications - based on nothing. They did not know, die not know her stellar qualifications.

Tbh, it is weird to ask about a lighter -oad 5yr plan from the beginning. The common assumption would be they are not qualified. Plenty of top-stat females in engineering go through top schools in 4 years with no problem, let alone a less rigorous school.

[Anonymous]

Major tech companies are not just recruiting at top 3 publics. Most big tech companies also are recruiting at these regional public engineering programs like GMU, UMCP, UMBC, UVA, VCU, and VT.

I am sure they also recruit at other publics, but I know it is true for those publics.

Pushing "top ranked" is a DCUM thing across this forum. It is not reality for engineering degrees. ABET sets a high floor and most employers know this. A more supportive engineering program without the weed out classes also meets the standards and is NOT usually lower quality.

[Anonymous]

Would your son be interested in a military service academy (USAFA, West Point, USNA etc). It’s very difficult to gain entrance but all have excellent engineering programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would your son be interested in a military service academy (USAFA, West Point, USNA etc). It’s very difficult to gain entrance but all have excellent engineering programs.

Um…did you read the OP? I would not suggest West Point or USNA for any parent asking about a school that isn’t “soul crushing.” If you think Cornell engineering or similar is going to cause your kid too much mental anguish- a service academy is not going to be a good fit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would your son be interested in a military service academy (USAFA, West Point, USNA etc). It’s very difficult to gain entrance but all have excellent engineering programs.

Good college options for the right student. Not a good fit for OP's DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

one hundred percent this! peers matter! undergrad matters! It is a waste of a top brain to send them to a less rigorous Engineering school. Go to one of the top privates or the top 3 publics.

Disagree! If dc’s son is a happy toiler, fine. If not, quality of life/mental health really matters.

Some kids can pull off straight a’s and high scores in high school without a ton of studying but have no interest in or ability to tolerate major lots of grinding-they don’t belong in the most grueling program they can get into just because they are cognitively capable of doing the work.

[Anonymous]

UF.

[Anonymous]

Part of why engineering rank does not matter so much is that most test questions have known mathematical answers (not usually subjective questions such as essays), part is ABET outlining what topics various courses should cover and outlining what courses to include in degree requirements, part is that roughly the same questions get asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone compare Mines vs Virginia Tech? Thank you!

11:03 again. DD dismissed Tech. I'm sure it's a great school but it wasn't what she was looking for. Mines is small. DD knows a lot of kids and professors. She's just comfortable there. It's about 45 min west of DIA. The flight home is roughly 3.5 hrs. Since IAD and DIA are both UA hubs, flights seem to go all the time. It's relatively easy to get to the airport from campus. Mines does have a football team, but football isn't a big deal. There are a few frat/sororities on campus but not an overwhelming greek culture. The town of Golden is adorable and the school and the town are tightly integrated. Many of the Mines kids went to the HS homecoming parade to cheer on the kids. DD loves to bake and there's a small shopping center across the street from campus with a Safeway. She's always running to the grocery store to pick up eggs, milk, chocolate etc. There is a kitchen in her dorm that she uses. As I said earlier, it does have a nerdy culture but it's also very inclusive. DD has felt welcomed into every activity she has tried. It helps if your kid likes the outdoors.

Mines does an amazing job with freshman orientation. It's the week before classes start and includes a 2 night overnight off campus. At the end, there is big hike. Freshman get their hardhat and the upperclassman throw paint at them as they climb. Call it the induction ceremony if you will. It creates a sense of unity and belonging. One of people DD met on the hike was the president of the university. She and he chatted. To her, he was just another adult. But she mentioned that she was interested in a specific company and a program they offered on campus. He told her to email him the next week to set up an appt to discuss it further with him. She has her summer internship lined up as a result of that conversation.

Classes aren't overly challenging. She had AP Physics, Chem, and BC. Most of this semester has been a review. She could have opted into higher level classes but chose not to. Many of her friends also chose to repeat the AP material. Freshman fall courses are fairly standard. She was given her course schedule even before she got to campus. Both programs are ABET so academically there probably isn't that much of a difference.

I worked with the president of Mines in grad school and this doesn’t surprise me at all. Based on my knowledge of him, I would expect the culture at Mines to be both challenging and supportive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dad went to engineering school many years ago, and on the first day was told -- look to your left, look to your right, they will BOTH be gone by graduation.
Obviously, that doesn't work from a basic math perspective, but the point was made. I think the drop out rate literally was about 2/3.
So at least things are a little more supportive than they once were.

I really appreciated my freshman orientation at MIT for not doing this. In fact, they specifically said they were not going to do the look left, look right thing. Instead the message was if you’re here, you can do the work, now go do great things.

[Anonymous]

Parents also impact this. If kid is getting Bs and Cs in engineering - and remains on track to graduate - celebrate that - and don't freak out that they are not getting all As.

Encourage them to find compatible serious engineering students so they can form their own study groups.