Engineering path at a liberal arts college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a junior, not sure what he wants to do yet. Possible interests have been business and IR, but now he's realizing he may want to explore engineering. He likes and is good in math and sciences, likes building things too. We have been targeting liberal arts colleges for him, both because the smaller size would suit him well, and also to allow some time for exploration before declaring a major. Most of these schools have some type of path for engineering, such as a 3-2 program, or a pre-engineering advisor, and some say that students major in a field like physics then apply to a master's program in engineering.

Does anyone have experience with engineering or pre-engineering at a liberal arts college?

And yes, I'm aware that there are more traditional engineering programs, but DS is just starting to explore this. He's not going to be in a position to lock in and apply to an engineering program in less than a year. We just want it as a viable option in college.

3-2 program can be good but you might have to get started on something like a Physics major early to make it work.

[Anonymous]

I would look into Lehigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bucknell, Lafayette and Union have specific engineering majors and Swarthmore has a general engineering major. All these programs are ABET certified. Washington and Lee has an engineering program that is not ABET certified. It would be easy to change majors if engineering isn't his thing and you don't declare majors until sophomore year.

I wonder if swarthmlee’s engineering program is easier or harder to get into than swarthmore generally and if it is easier or harder to get into than bigger engineering schools. I’m finding the engineering thing really perplexing because a lot of schools don’t post the admissions rates separately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bucknell, Lafayette and Union have specific engineering majors and Swarthmore has a general engineering major. All these programs are ABET certified. Washington and Lee has an engineering program that is not ABET certified. It would be easy to change majors if engineering isn't his thing and you don't declare majors until sophomore year.

I wonder if swarthmlee’s engineering program is easier or harder to get into than swarthmore generally and if it is easier or harder to get into than bigger engineering schools. I’m finding the engineering thing really perplexing because a lot of schools don’t post the admissions rates separately.

Does Swarthmore accept by major? Most of those LACs don't accept by major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:has your kid finished calc. with an A? that's the first step

Most students take calc senior year and would not have finished calc even after submitting apps. I think OP's kid is a junior.

not in my kid's case. VT told him they wanted to see Cal BC done with an A before they would consider him for VT

They absolutely did not.

[Anonymous]

Swarthmore does not admit by major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would look into Lehigh

Agreed. I would say Lehigh, Bucknell, and Lafayette for engineering if you want an LAC, OP. Maybe look at all three of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many mid-size universities offer ABET-accredited engineering.

This!!! DOn't do a LA college without a true engineering dept---the 3+2 or 2+3 programs are not ideal and often hard to get into. Your kid will want to spend 4 years at the same university, not go elsewhere for Junior + years.

There are many 5-8K sized schools with engineering schools, that are not Strictly engineering schools. So you have options to explore more than just STEM

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS is a junior, not sure what he wants to do yet. Possible interests have been business and IR, but now he's realizing he may want to explore engineering. He likes and is good in math and sciences, likes building things too. We have been targeting liberal arts colleges for him, both because the smaller size would suit him well, and also to allow some time for exploration before declaring a major. Most of these schools have some type of path for engineering, such as a 3-2 program, or a pre-engineering advisor, and some say that students major in a field like physics then apply to a master's program in engineering.

Does anyone have experience with engineering or pre-engineering at a liberal arts college?

And yes, I'm aware that there are more traditional engineering programs, but DS is just starting to explore this. He's not going to be in a position to lock in and apply to an engineering program in less than a year. We just want it as a viable option in college.

They are viable but they do involve compromises that I think hold a lot of kids back when it comes to actually doing them.

Completing the prereqs for engineering school requires a more structured environment while LACs are exploration centric.
Does a kid want to leave their friends and graduate somewhere else after 3 years?
Dos a kid want to go an extra year?
Do parents want to shoulder the cost of a 5th year?

I like them but one needs to be sure. I think that a safer path for many are LACs like Lafayette, Union, Bucknell which have engineering. They aren't in the very top tier but they are quite selective and great schools overall. Another option is small R1s like Rochester and Tufts. Rochester is very flexible and very strong for engineering.

Rochester is an excellent choice. The flexibility is real. Also, their Phsyics/Optics program is very strong, so if Engineering isn't his thing there are tons of STEM choices as well. Many engineers minor in Humanities/Social Sciences, as you are 50% there with your "Core Curriculum"

[Anonymous]

There are so many mid size schools with engineering.

When it comes to targets and safeties, several Jesuit universities also have ABET-accredited engineering programs with small class sizes and are often reasonable for admission chances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many mid-size universities offer ABET-accredited engineering.

This!!! DOn't do a LA college without a true engineering dept---the 3+2 or 2+3 programs are not ideal and often hard to get into. Your kid will want to spend 4 years at the same university, not go elsewhere for Junior + years.

There are many 5-8K sized schools with engineering schools, that are not Strictly engineering schools. So you have options to explore more than just STEM

Almost all engineers from our kid’s LAC that doesn’t offer engineering majored in physics or chem, spent all 4 years there, then went straight into a MS or PhD engineering program. The 3-2 program is more appropriate if you need a state’s professional engineer license, which as an earlier post mentioned most fields don’t (civil engineering being the biggest exception.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tufts

Came to say this.
Also Rice which is known for engineering and now has a b school undergrad

[Anonymous]

Loyola Maryland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many mid-size universities offer ABET-accredited engineering.

This!!! DOn't do a LA college without a true engineering dept---the 3+2 or 2+3 programs are not ideal and often hard to get into. Your kid will want to spend 4 years at the same university, not go elsewhere for Junior + years.

There are many 5-8K sized schools with engineering schools, that are not Strictly engineering schools. So you have options to explore more than just STEM

Almost all engineers from our kid’s LAC that doesn’t offer engineering majored in physics or chem, spent all 4 years there, then went straight into a MS or PhD engineering program. The 3-2 program is more appropriate if you need a state’s professional engineer license, which as an earlier post mentioned most fields don’t (civil engineering being the biggest exception.)

Re the 3-2 programs. Research carefully. My iwn SLAC says it offers such a program but in reality it's just on paper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:has your kid finished calc. with an A? that's the first step

Most students take calc senior year and would not have finished calc even after submitting apps. I think OP's kid is a junior.

not in my kid's case. VT told him they wanted to see Cal BC done with an A before they would consider him for VT

They [url]absolutely did not.

[b]

Strange. I was standing there when it was said, but you know better, I guess.