Wake Forest, Boston College for engineering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:90% of what matters is that the program is ABET accredited. All ABET programs will have substantially the same curricula. Almost all engineering programs are rigorous.

This is a common misconception about ABET accreditation. According to its own website https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2025-2026, ABET's "curriculum requirements specify subject areas appropriate to engineering but do not prescribe specific courses." This is why for example a circuits class can be a 6 credit hours two-semester sequence at one school and a 4 credit hours one-semester-long course at another. The same class may cover 9 chapters of the same textbook at one school and 7 chapters at another. The difficulty of homework and exams can also vary greatly from one school to the next. This is why even directional state schools can offer ABET-accredited engineering degrees. Does one honestly believe these schools cover the same material as MIT?

1000x yes. DC is at an intense top 10 private and the engineering courses for physics and calc cover material almost twice as fast as our local 4-year public T-100ish engineering school where they did Dual Enrollment in high school for Multivariable calc, linear, and Physics-mechanics. Their HS did not have the courses at the high school so there was no choice. Their peers who did DE at similar 4yr ABET schools around the country noticed the same issue, and many retook various calc classes due to stark differences. The friend who comes from the bay area got to take Stanford courses in high school and found them to be just as fast as the ivy. They came in more ready for the pace, as did students who came from northeast private schools that taught top level stem in the high school.
ABET is just a minimum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I think he's worried about not fitting in with an engineering program in a super intense engineering environment and not finding his people. He's a hard worker and loves math but is also a relaxed teen who also wants to have fun, play sports, watch sports, etc. in college. Not sure what i'm trying to say, but somewhere like MIT or similar would not be a good fit.

Any recs for less intense engineering (oxymoron?) school environments?

most engineering programs require 5 courses most semesters to graduate in 4 yrs, 3-4 of which are stem. Whereas a regular chem major or math major would need 4 courses most semesters with 2-3 being stem. Even at less intense/non elite schools engineering is much harder than arts and sciences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I think he's worried about not fitting in with an engineering program in a super intense engineering environment and not finding his people. He's a hard worker and loves math but is also a relaxed teen who also wants to have fun, play sports, watch sports, etc. in college. Not sure what i'm trying to say, but somewhere like MIT or similar would not be a good fit.

Any recs for less intense engineering (oxymoron?) school environments?

Engineering students often can take off between Friday late afternoon and Sunday morning. Many students find the rest of the time is spent on sleep, eat, study, class, or labs.

"Less intense" does not fit with Engineering.

I will recommend that a student like that avoid engineering colleges with the deliberate / intentional weed-out classes designed to fail a % of students out of engineering. Look at the 4-year engineering graduation rates and pick someplace with a high graduation rate.

Agree, and look at the retention rate for engineering students freshman to sophomore year. That is the highest year of drop out. Top schools such as Stanford and ivies all have over 97% retention because they do not "weed out". Non-T50 engineering schools weed out about 20%. The issue is the caliber of student is quite different non elite schools. However, taking a look at Michigan which is a top public for engineering, it has a retention rate of 88%. UCB and GA Tech have 96-97%, similar to ivy/top privates.

You may be misunderstanding retention rates. In most schools, if you end up in the fail category for the weed out classes or just decide that you are miserable you don’t leave the school, you change your major. A lot of engineering students drop down to business. The schools graduation rate is still high.

[Anonymous]

Look at Pitt. They have a good engineering program that doesn't have the "weed out" mentality of some schools.

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest keeping those schools on your list since your child isn't set on engineering yet. However, as others have mentioned, they may not be the strongest options if your child does decide to pursue engineering professionally. ABET accreditation is essential for engineering programs, and I suspect schools like Wake or BC may have limited engineering recruiting compared to more established programs.

It sounds like your child might prefer athletic, mid-sized Division I schools. In that case, you might want to consider avoiding highly specialized engineering schools, as they tend to have more intense academic cultures that may not align with your child's social preferences.

I think that Lehigh has been mentioned as a good option, and I'd also suggest adding Syracuse University to your list. Both offer solid engineering programs while maintaining the campus culture you're looking for.

While your kid may prefer to avoid large public universities, it's worth noting that these institutions typically offer the strongest engineering programs and have the most extensive industry connections. They might be worth considering despite the size factor.

[Anonymous]

NP. Doesn’t WF have a different vibe than the others mentioned on this thread because it’s more conservative rather than liberal? Are there any other options on the conservative side for a guy interested in engineering who is very smart but more interested in sports than classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I think he's worried about not fitting in with an engineering program in a super intense engineering environment and not finding his people. He's a hard worker and loves math but is also a relaxed teen who also wants to have fun, play sports, watch sports, etc. in college. Not sure what i'm trying to say, but somewhere like MIT or similar would not be a good fit.

Any recs for less intense engineering (oxymoron?) school environments?

most engineering programs require 5 courses most semesters to graduate in 4 yrs, 3-4 of which are stem. Whereas a regular chem major or math major would need 4 courses most semesters with 2-3 being stem. Even at less intense/non elite schools engineering is much harder than arts and sciences

If you pick a state school (Pitt, Penn State, Ga Tech et al), they accept tons of AP credits. So, you can effectively place out of many of your electives if you want a less hectic schedule.

My kid’s friend at Ga Tech is actually graduating with a Masters in 4 years because they were able to get credit for like 8 - 10 classes from AP scores (received BS after junior year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I think he's worried about not fitting in with an engineering program in a super intense engineering environment and not finding his people. He's a hard worker and loves math but is also a relaxed teen who also wants to have fun, play sports, watch sports, etc. in college. Not sure what i'm trying to say, but somewhere like MIT or similar would not be a good fit.

Any recs for less intense engineering (oxymoron?) school environments?

Some of the strong public universities in engineering also have a fun, sports, more rah rah environment, at least on weekends - Michigan, Texas A&M, Purdue, Maryland, Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin, Penn State. For privates that are pretty balanced, there's Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, USC - but all are very hard to get into.

Given how competitive engineering is, I'd plan on applying widely regardless. BC is very new to engineering, and even if they are fully committed to their program, it's going to take years to get it up to speed. I don't know much about Wake Forest. But I would encourage the kid to look beyond whatever groupthink may have settled in at his high school. 17 year olds have very limited experience, so I'd suggest a lot of school visits to broaden his horizon. But I'd also stress that there's no easy way to get through a serious engineering program anywhere. Cornell and Carnegie Mellon might be the most notorious for stress, but it's no walk in the park for students at Penn State and Colorado either.

[Anonymous]

Top State Engineering schools like Georgia Tech,(Top 4) U Michigan and UT Austin will give the balance of Div 1 sports and college life as well as great engineering programs. These schools however are extremely hard to gain admission to out of state.

The next notch down state schools like UMD, Purdue, Pitt etc can also provide this.

[Anonymous]

You're better off looking at BU or Northeastern in Boston, or if you want the south, Georgia Tech.

[Anonymous]

Look at UF for Engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top State Engineering schools like Georgia Tech,(Top 4) U Michigan and UT Austin will give the balance of Div 1 sports and college life as well as great engineering programs. These schools however are extremely hard to gain admission to out of state.

The next notch down state schools like UMD, Purdue, Pitt etc can also provide this.

Dating is better at wake / bc as a guy

The percentage of polished and fit girls is way higher at wf/bc than gt/michigan (still 50% in state), UTA

Op’s son wants a good education but also a umc ses social life surrounded by these kinds of women

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I think he's worried about not fitting in with an engineering program in a super intense engineering environment and not finding his people. He's a hard worker and loves math but is also a relaxed teen who also wants to have fun, play sports, watch sports, etc. in college. Not sure what i'm trying to say, but somewhere like MIT or similar would not be a good fit.

Any recs for less intense engineering (oxymoron?) school environments?

Engineering students often can take off between Friday late afternoon and Sunday morning. Many students find the rest of the time is spent on sleep, eat, study, class, or labs.

"Less intense" does not fit with Engineering.

I will recommend that a student like that avoid engineering colleges with the deliberate / intentional weed-out classes designed to fail a % of students out of engineering. Look at the 4-year engineering graduation rates and pick someplace with a high graduation rate.

Agree, and look at the retention rate for engineering students freshman to sophomore year. That is the highest year of drop out. Top schools such as Stanford and ivies all have over 97% retention because they do not "weed out". Non-T50 engineering schools weed out about 20%. The issue is the caliber of student is quite different non elite schools. However, taking a look at Michigan which is a top public for engineering, it has a retention rate of 88%. UCB and GA Tech have 96-97%, similar to ivy/top privates.

You may be misunderstanding retention rates. In most schools, if you end up in the fail category for the weed out classes or just decide that you are miserable you don’t leave the school, you change your major. A lot of engineering students drop down to business. The schools graduation rate is still high.

Not misunderstanding at all, the schools publish data on what percent of students who start in the engineering school as freshman are still in the engineering school as sophomores. We did a lot of research on it when our student was looking. Michigan does not have the same level of retention despite being very similar to UCB and Ga Tech as far as the student body that matriculates to the engineering school. My student is at an ivy with engineering. It indeed is 98% who stay in the engineering school after the first year. Only 2% internally transfer to another undergrad school. Whether that 2% truly failed or just were miserable does not matter--the fact that it is only 2% is very favorable as a prospective student, indicating the supportive peers and faculty as well as admissions that accepts students who have a high chance of success. And that has been the experience so far as a rising senior it was an excellent choice! All top schools have similar engineering retention. Significant "weed out" of engineering students simply does not happen at the best schools. It does not mean it is not hard, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top State Engineering schools like Georgia Tech,(Top 4) U Michigan and UT Austin will give the balance of Div 1 sports and college life as well as great engineering programs. These schools however are extremely hard to gain admission to out of state.

The next notch down state schools like UMD, Purdue, Pitt etc can also provide this.

Dating is better at wake / bc as a guy

The percentage of polished and fit girls is way higher at wf/bc than gt/michigan (still 50% in state), UTA

Op’s son wants a good education but also a umc ses social life surrounded by these kinds of women

WTF ewww

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest keeping those schools on your list since your child isn't set on engineering yet. However, as others have mentioned, they may not be the strongest options if your child does decide to pursue engineering professionally. ABET accreditation is essential for engineering programs, and I suspect schools like Wake or BC may have limited engineering recruiting compared to more established programs.

It sounds like your child might prefer athletic, mid-sized Division I schools. In that case, you might want to consider avoiding highly specialized engineering schools, as they tend to have more intense academic cultures that may not align with your child's social preferences.

I think that Lehigh has been mentioned as a good option, and I'd also suggest adding Syracuse University to your list. Both offer solid engineering programs while maintaining the campus culture you're looking for.

While your kid may prefer to avoid large public universities, it's worth noting that these institutions typically offer the strongest engineering programs and have the most extensive industry connections. They might be worth considering despite the size factor.

Wake has ABET accreditation.