Engineering programs at smaller schools, less selective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

The score does not predict success in any engineering program in the T50. Smaller schools that are less selective that would be in range for his scores are not going to have good engineering outcomes. He would be better off at a less selective public that has ABET engineering where his scores are above average and he can do club swimming

What is ABET?

U.S. accreditation non-profit for rigorous, quality engineering programs.

https://www.abet.org/accreditation/

[Anonymous]

UVA is not great for engineering, VT is better. For smaller schools, agree with many suggestions above but don’t know what would appeal to your kid - Lafayette (more well rounded kids then some of the other suggestions), Olin (quirky vibe and will be a reach), WPI (heavy STEM but interestingly has a PE requirement), Rose Hulman (very STEM focused with what seemed like a lot of ADHD or kids on the spectrum) and Union (heavily Greek) . Other suggestions with strong engineering programs some of which may be a tad larger than you indicated but worth looking into - Bucknell (yes it has a bit of a bro vibe), Santa Clara (well rounded, fabulous facilities and school spirit), Gonzaga (easier to get into version of Santa Clara in a harder to get to location), CU Boulder (it’s Engineering campus is separate and makes it feel a lot smaller), Colorado School of the Mines (it’s unique and very hands on), and Trinity (mainstream and growing engineering program). You want an ABET accredited school, avoid schools with just a general engineering degree and watch those 3-1 or 3-2 combo schools (awful to stick with)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smaller colleges may lack research opportunities. R1 schools, whether you like it or now, have a lot of research activities ongoing.

The vast majority of engineering students get involved in zero research projects during their understudies. It just isn’t a thing for them. They will lose nothing going to a smaller school with ABET accredited engineering.

not true at all for every single school we toured, which were almost all elite/T25: every single one mentioned research research research and not just for stem. Even William and Mary touted research for all undergrads on the tour. Kid would have done applied physics there but tourguide was psychology and showed various-department undergrad research posters.
We did separate engineering tours in person or the online live engineering info sessions, and it was more emphasized for the E schools, with 60-75% of undergrads doing research at the ivy-type E schools. Kid put it on the spreadsheets and noted it for every school and research was again emphasized at admitted student days. One T15 had lower research than the others and was moved down the list after admitted days.
Mine matriculated at an ivy and in reality it is more like 90% in engineering. Everyone wants it and it is indeed guaranteed by sophomore year, if you email enough professors and get ghosted you can ask the advisor to help if you still cannot find a lab. Over half the labs pay students too, and there are paid summer research positions open to freshman though who knows with cuts if all of those will stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

Depending on the specific engineering degree desired, and narrowly looking at Virginia public universities, look into engineering at CNU, GMU, UVA, and VCU. All are smaller engineering programs. UVA Engineering has distinct admissions pool and requirements from other parts of UVA. Ditto for the others - engineering is usually a separate admissions pool with different requirements Also, VT Engineering is a much harder admit that VT non-engineering.

Generally, smaller engineering programs will have a lower ranking because of the (seemingly arbitrary) weights associated with the ranking schema, but I would not worry about that. I believe all 4 of the smaller in-state publics above are ABET accredited programs. ABET is the mark of a credible engineering program. Many engineering programs will have competitive admissions, so apply widely.

VT is the top ranked engineering program in Virginia, but it cannot reasonably be called "small". JMU only offers a "general" engineering degree, which is largely meaningless to potential employers like me.

As a STEM hiring manager, my experience is that graduates with a specific engineering degree (e.g., AeroE, ComputerE, EE, MechE) from the 4 smaller programs - and from VT - all perform well. I am happy to hire an engineer from any of those. My experience is that college rankings are mostly meaningless (i.e., low correlation) in the context of "on the job" performance. I do prefer someone from an ABET engineering program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smaller colleges may lack research opportunities. R1 schools, whether you like it or now, have a lot of research activities ongoing.

The vast majority of engineering students get involved in zero research projects during their understudies. It just isn’t a thing for them. They will lose nothing going to a smaller school with ABET accredited engineering.

Research part is def not true particularly if your kid is thinking about grad/phd later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smaller colleges may lack research opportunities. R1 schools, whether you like it or now, have a lot of research activities ongoing.

The vast majority of engineering students get involved in zero research projects during their understudies. It just isn’t a thing for them. They will lose nothing going to a smaller school with ABET accredited engineering.

Research part is def not true particularly if your kid is thinking about grad/phd later.

+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/best-small-colleges-for-engineering

He should really look at Union College. Good engineering school, with a real connection to General Electric. Small school. Athletic student body, and a D3 swim team that you can easily walk onto. And an very likely admit for your kid.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

The score does not predict success in any engineering program in the T50. Smaller schools that are less selective that would be in range for his scores are not going to have good engineering outcomes. He would be better off at a less selective public that has ABET engineering where his scores are above average and he can do club swimming

My 1310 kid went to a smaller engineering school...and is currently working as an engineer!

[Anonymous]

I came to say Stevens Institute of Technology. DS applied there, but end up going to the ED school instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Smaller colleges may lack research opportunities. R1 schools, whether you like it or now, have a lot of research activities ongoing.

The vast majority of engineering students get involved in zero research projects during their understudies. It just isn’t a thing for them. They will lose nothing going to a smaller school with ABET accredited engineering.

And there are some smaller schools where research is a very real thing for engineering students. Think RPI, WPI, Rochester, etc.

My kid started TAing courses in spring sophomore year as well as doing research sophomore year at Rochester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

The score does not predict success in any engineering program in the T50. Smaller schools that are less selective that would be in range for his scores are not going to have good engineering outcomes. He would be better off at a less selective public that has ABET engineering where his scores are above average and he can do club swimming

My 1310 kid went to a smaller engineering school...and is currently working as an engineer!

Which is what the vast majority of kids wanting to study engineering do. But instead we are getting constant comments from people focused on T20 or elite engineering programs obsessing about research. Find a good ABET accredited program, do well and you will be fine. Missouri S&T is another school to consider. It produces fantastic engineers.

[Anonymous]

WPI
RPI
Rose Hulman
Clarkson

My child with no test scores and a 3.5 gpa applied to 3 of these and was accepted into all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

The score does not predict success in any engineering program in the T50. Smaller schools that are less selective that would be in range for his scores are not going to have good engineering outcomes. He would be better off at a less selective public that has ABET engineering where his scores are above average and he can do club swimming

My 1310 kid went to a smaller engineering school...and is currently working as an engineer!

Which is what the vast majority of kids wanting to study engineering do. But instead we are getting constant comments from people focused on T20 or elite engineering programs obsessing about research. Find a good ABET accredited program, do well and you will be fine. Missouri S&T is another school to consider. It produces fantastic engineers.

At least last year, MS&T participated in niche direct admissions -- you apply now (no essay or recommendation needed) and get an answer within minutes.

[Anonymous]

Check out the engineering program at Elizabethtown College in PA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there any that are worthwhile? DC would like to go to a school less than 5000 undergrad, maybe even around 3000. His core classes are all top rigor, almost all As but UVA etc not possible due to GPA being around 4.15 and less world languages than UVA desires. His ECs are pretty much all sports. Unprepped SAT 1320, 680 in math last spring but he will take it again. Ideally D3 school where he can swim.

The score does not predict success in any engineering program in the T50. Smaller schools that are less selective that would be in range for his scores are not going to have good engineering outcomes. He would be better off at a less selective public that has ABET engineering where his scores are above average and he can do club swimming

My 1310 kid went to a smaller engineering school...and is currently working as an engineer!

Which is what the vast majority of kids wanting to study engineering do. But instead we are getting constant comments from people focused on T20 or elite engineering programs obsessing about research. Find a good ABET accredited program, do well and you will be fine. Missouri S&T is another school to consider. It produces fantastic engineers.

Research is important in engineering regardless of your school ranking.