Questions for junior considering engineering programs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't recommend ODU for a high stats student like this.

Lowest I would recommend is Penn State for someone with these stats. Guaranteed acceptance to PS w/ these numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GMU, ODU, VCU

GMU has a strong engineering reputation. Might make honors program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a NOVA junior hoping to stay within 6 hours of home for college, the closer the better. He currently has a 4.3 and 1550(800 math). He won’t take the SAT again and I imagine his GPA will stay about the same. This page leads me to believe he won’t get into Tech or UVA. Naviance is unclear thanks to wait listing all over the place. He is thinking of NC, Penn State or Pitt, but in state tuition would be better. He’s not looking for a commuter school.

Are there other in state programs he should consider? Where are kids getting in with his stats? What does direct admit to engineering mean-Don’t all schools require a certain GPA to get your first choice? If not, what are those schools!?

Is this a serious post? Those numbers are a lock at Tech and better than 50/50 at UVA.

Unfortunately they don’t look like a lock on Naviance. He’ll be scraping the bottom of UVA admissions and VT has waitlists all around his scores. We are hopeful that one of those will come through but want to have options. He doesn’t have all As and I don’t expect him to get all As this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a NOVA junior hoping to stay within 6 hours of home for college, the closer the better. He currently has a 4.3 and 1550(800 math). He won’t take the SAT again and I imagine his GPA will stay about the same. This page leads me to believe he won’t get into Tech or UVA. Naviance is unclear thanks to wait listing all over the place. He is thinking of NC, Penn State or Pitt, but in state tuition would be better. He’s not looking for a commuter school.

Are there other in state programs he should consider? Where are kids getting in with his stats? What does direct admit to engineering mean-Don’t all schools require a certain GPA to get your first choice? If not, what are those schools!?

Is this a serious post? Those numbers are a lock at Tech and better than 50/50 at UVA.

Unfortunately they don’t look like a lock on Naviance. He’ll be scraping the bottom of UVA admissions and VT has waitlists all around his scores. We are hopeful that one of those will come through but want to have options. He doesn’t have all As and I don’t expect him to get all As this year.

Agree, although those stats are excellent, from DMV region those are not a lock for Virginia Tech engineering. My kid has similar stats and naviance shows a lot of green checks at her stats, but also some Xs and wait lists. There are kids north of 1500 sat getting rejected from Virginia Tech. I think there are just so many high stats kids coming from this region.
This isn't to discourage the OP - I think there's a very good chance your kid gets accepted to Virginia Tech. I just think some of the reactions aren't quite up to date on getting into Virginia Tech engineering from the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Pitt engineers do very well financially after graduation (regional living cost adjusted) and it's a fun school that has a wide variety of majors. I am a Pitt Liberal Arts grad but I had engineering major friends. Campus has a balanced feel - no major more important than another.

Pitt is simultaneously more intellectual and humbler than PSU, where I spent my freshman year. PSU is very normcore, drinking oriented, Greek oriented, football oriented if that's your kid's preference. Liberal arts are lowest in prestige at PSU which is a problem because universities stem from a liberal arts tradition.

Both Pitt and PSU have solid engineering programs but your kid should have a campus and lifestyle preference. There isn't a right answer...just be careful when evaluating. PSU and VA Tech may be more similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a NOVA junior hoping to stay within 6 hours of home for college, the closer the better. He currently has a 4.3 and 1550(800 math). He won’t take the SAT again and I imagine his GPA will stay about the same. This page leads me to believe he won’t get into Tech or UVA. Naviance is unclear thanks to wait listing all over the place. He is thinking of NC, Penn State or Pitt, but in state tuition would be better. He’s not looking for a commuter school.

Are there other in state programs he should consider? Where are kids getting in with his stats? What does direct admit to engineering mean-Don’t all schools require a certain GPA to get your first choice? If not, what are those schools!?

Are you excluding private schools because of cost? I would also try applying to Boston University as an RD.

It might be a reach, but they offer good financial aid. I'm not sure what your household income is, but if you receive some aid, it could be comparable to the cost of attendance at UVA Engineering. The merit scholarships may be competitive, but they cover full or half tuition. However, the deadline is earlier than RD, so keep an eye on it.

If you get in but don't receive aid, you don't need to go since it's not binding.

Also, it's really easy to get to Boston from NOVA by plane or train.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't recommend ODU for a high stats student like this.

Lowest I would recommend is Penn State for someone with these stats. Guaranteed acceptance to PS w/ these numbers.

Can I ask why? As long as the program is ABET accredited, should it matter?

[Anonymous]

I recommend applying to Ga Tech/ it is a top 3 engineering school with tuition at $53k for out of state. My DS is currently a freshman there and has amazing opportunities already. He was a 4.53 gpa with 1500 SAT (800 math) last year. He did get in to Va Tech for engineering and Nc State (with merit) and Pitt (with Merit). Ga Tech has been a great fit for him! Highly recommend.

[Anonymous]

If considering VT & UVA, encourage him to take multi-variable calculus (if offered) in addition to Calculus BC.

It really will depend on the caliber and number of students applying from his high school.

[Anonymous]

DS has 4.0/4.63 1540
Applied to Pitt engineering and got $20k/yr. Just apply early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't recommend ODU for a high stats student like this.

Lowest I would recommend is Penn State for someone with these stats. Guaranteed acceptance to PS w/ these numbers.

Can I ask why? As long as the program is ABET accredited, should it matter?

It really does not matter very much where - if ABET Accredited engineering school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If considering VT & UVA, encourage him to take multi-variable calculus (if offered) in addition to Calculus BC.

It really will depend on the caliber and number of students applying from his high school.

This - but he is only competing with other E School applicants from his HS.

Most places put engineering school applicants in a separate bin for admissions purposes - and most colleges directly admit to the e school, but often (not always) students can choose their major within engineering. Need to explore each candidate school to determine precisely how they do it.

Apply to UVA and VT certainly, but have safeties. For in-state, if son's desired major is offered, then I would look also at GMU, VCU, CNU, and ODU.

If GMU, I would urge that he live in an on campus university dormitory at least for first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the ideas. I’ll be watching the results here this year. Is there an easy way to determine if they are direct admit to your specific (at least intended) engineering major? Or is no major guaranteed?

At VT, all engineering majors are accepted to general engineering. You are guaranteed your first choice at the end of freshman year if you meet a minimum gpa. I can't remember the number, but they say the large majority of students get their first choice.

+1. and VT is a weed-out program unlike UVA

This can be a preference item for some. UVa filters more heavily on the front end (partly because it is a small e school) so UVA does not have intentional weed out courses, unlike VT.

[Anonymous]

GMU these days does have a fair number of undergrads living in dorms. Even if one lives in NoVA, it likely would be best for DC to live in the dorms and have a meal plan and a more usual college experience.

[Anonymous]

CNU has ABET EE