Does size of college matter if in engineering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be really helpful to go to an engineering school with a culture of group work and collaboration. This can be a big school or a small school, but having a good study group makes a huge difference. Engineering classes are hard and you want to be able to work collaboratively to learn the material. I taught at UCLA and the engineering students really struggled because they were so dispersed amongst liberal studies majors that they didn't find each other. It's also hard to be the one studying on a Thursday night when all of your English-major friends are going drinking. I'm so sure all schools are so disaggregated, but I really felt bad for those engineering students. Lots dropped out of the program.

You also want a school with professors who have office hours that are open to students and TAs who speak good English.

I'd look at Clarkson University, RPI and Case Western.

I went to Va Tech, and I think bolded above was probably true there as well. And my niece at U MD said the same thing. But many of the engineering schools are part of a large univ so I'm not sure where else it would be much different except some place like MIT or Cal.

There are large differences across the engineering schools in how they are run. You have to ask a lot of questions.

Cal tech, Stevens's, WPI, Rose Hellman, Harvey Mudd are small and college-like in that they focus on the bachelors level. A bunch of others have grad students and are less like nerdy liberal arts colleges. Some engineering schools have engineeering dorms and separate advisors. Others mix the kids in with the general population. Pick a school, and ask questions. We did a lot of looking and found the engineering tours were very good and the tour guides knowledgeable.

Cal would be the same.

[Anonymous]

My DD was looking at engineering at not large schools last year. She's now at Wash u. Other medium sized schools with engineering we looked at were Rice Carnegie Mellon and rpi. Small were Lafayette and Harvey Mudd. Also think about case western Bucknell or Lehigh.

[Anonymous]

OP, get familiar with The Common Data Set. It is a document which virtually all colleges fill out for the US Govt (perhaps a rare private objects and doesn't) It should be available online, or ask the college how to find it. Lots of important information. Among other things, on the last page (ish), is a breakdown of degrees earned by the student population by major. Our DD considered an engineering degree from a small school, and was told by the school that they had a vibrant program - they only graduated 30 students, however.

[Anonymous]

Another point to consider -- it may be too early, but what type of engineering is your DC wanting to study?

Labs are expensive, and smaller schools tend to focus in on only a few of the possible engineering majors. The more capital-intensive engineering fields (ocean, aeronautical, biomedical) can cost a bit more and thus require more institutional support/a large school.

Also, there are specialized engineering fields (textile engineering at Clemson/NC State) that don't exist everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

OP here. Thank you everyone for the helpful comments so far. I guess based on PP's comment above, I should add that dc is not an academic superstar. Will be sitting for ACT this w/e and has been scoring 34-35 on practice tests, PSAT in 99% from 10th grade, but gpa is a bit lackluster. If this year goes well, it will be 4.1, otherwise somewhere in the 4.0. Will likely have 8-9 APs by end of HS. So "rigorous" but not "very/most rigorous" by public HS standards.

Based on the comments so far, it sounds like larger schools/program may be advantageous. Another question I have is how important is it to show interest in engineering on your application? Dc just decided he may be interested in engineering recently, so there isn't a long history of involvement with robotics and the like to be put on applications. I am thinking about an engineering summer camp this summer but wondering if they are beneficial. By "beneficial," I am referring to both for admissions purposes as well as in helping him determine whether engineering is the right path for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to Cal Poly SLO and that seemed a good size. There were a lot of engineering students and they definitely stuck together at study time (same with the architecture students)

Excellent undergrad engineering program.

My concern would be that my son went there, discovered he didn't like engineering and then was at SLO for his degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

OP here. Thank you everyone for the helpful comments so far. I guess based on PP's comment above, I should add that dc is not an academic superstar. Will be sitting for ACT this w/e and has been scoring 34-35 on practice tests, PSAT in 99% from 10th grade, but gpa is a bit lackluster. If this year goes well, it will be 4.1, otherwise somewhere in the 4.0. Will likely have 8-9 APs by end of HS. So "rigorous" but not "very/most rigorous" by public HS standards.

Based on the comments so far, it sounds like larger schools/program may be advantageous. Another question I have is how important is it to show interest in engineering on your application? Dc just decided he may be interested in engineering recently, so there isn't a long history of involvement with robotics and the like to be put on applications. I am thinking about an engineering summer camp this summer but wondering if they are beneficial. By "beneficial," I am referring to both for admissions purposes as well as in helping him determine whether engineering is the right path for him.

Check out these two programs next summer.

WPI and Stevens. Both are middle of the pack engineering schools with an undergrad focus and nice non-elite summer programs. WPI in particular is praised for its hands-on project based curriculum. Your kid can get in and your questions will be answered.

My kid attended one. Really enjoyed it and realized that she wants to be an engineer but didn't want a small school. Great opportunity.

Also, I think your child is a better candidate than you realize for some of these schools. When my kid was checking out schools, we asked. A ton of kids enter with normal skills and training. Most were not on an international robotics team, and were not using computers of their own build.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Cal Poly SLO and that seemed a good size. There were a lot of engineering students and they definitely stuck together at study time (same with the architecture students)

Excellent undergrad engineering program.

My concern would be that my son went there, discovered he didn't like engineering and then was at SLO for his degree.

I have a business degree from there with a minor in statistics. I've done quite well in my career and think I got a great education there. It was also my dad's first choice recruiting school for grads in information technology and graphic design (his field and why he pushed for me to go there). However, I will concede that it's not as well known outside of California so getting a 1st job outside of CA may be more challenging (my 1st job was in CA and then I moved to DC when hired by one of my clients).

Another important consideration for prospective students is that it is very hard to change majors. Most majors are impacted so they don't take many transfers and since you start your major classes in freshman year, switching can set you back a lot. One of the things that's great about Cal Poly is that, because you start your major freshman year, kids are generally pretty focused on what they want to do but that also means it's not a good place for the undecided student.

[Anonymous]

I was at Notre Dame for engineering. It's a pretty small school, and not predominantly focused on engineering, but has great facilities and labs. For my personality, I'm pretty sure I would have washed out in a large place like Virginia Tech or Michigan, but thrived in a smaller environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

OP here. Thank you everyone for the helpful comments so far. I guess based on PP's comment above, I should add that dc is not an academic superstar. Will be sitting for ACT this w/e and has been scoring 34-35 on practice tests, PSAT in 99% from 10th grade, but gpa is a bit lackluster. If this year goes well, it will be 4.1, otherwise somewhere in the 4.0. Will likely have 8-9 APs by end of HS. So "rigorous" but not "very/most rigorous" by public HS standards.

Based on the comments so far, it sounds like larger schools/program may be advantageous. Another question I have is how important is it to show interest in engineering on your application? Dc just decided he may be interested in engineering recently, so there isn't a long history of involvement with robotics and the like to be put on applications. I am thinking about an engineering summer camp this summer but wondering if they are beneficial. By "beneficial," I am referring to both for admissions purposes as well as in helping him determine whether engineering is the right path for him.

There are certainly medium and smaller sized colleges with strong engineering programs. My kids are early hs aged so I may be out of touch with college admit requirements, but those stats seem like your son would be a great candidate at Duke, Rice, Wash U, and probably for merit aid at Carnegie Mellon and Bucknell. All strong engineering programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

OP here. Thank you everyone for the helpful comments so far. I guess based on PP's comment above, I should add that dc is not an academic superstar. Will be sitting for ACT this w/e and has been scoring 34-35 on practice tests, PSAT in 99% from 10th grade, but gpa is a bit lackluster. If this year goes well, it will be 4.1, otherwise somewhere in the 4.0. Will likely have 8-9 APs by end of HS. So "rigorous" but not "very/most rigorous" by public HS standards.

Based on the comments so far, it sounds like larger schools/program may be advantageous. Another question I have is how important is it to show interest in engineering on your application? Dc just decided he may be interested in engineering recently, so there isn't a long history of involvement with robotics and the like to be put on applications. I am thinking about an engineering summer camp this summer but wondering if they are beneficial. By "beneficial," I am referring to both for admissions purposes as well as in helping him determine whether engineering is the right path for him.

There are certainly medium and smaller sized colleges with strong engineering programs. My kids are early hs aged so I may be out of touch with college admit requirements, but those stats seem like your son would be a great candidate at Duke, Rice, Wash U, and probably for merit aid at Carnegie Mellon and Bucknell. All strong engineering programs.

This is OP. I would love to believe this but a weighted 4.0-4.1 gpa from public is pretty low for these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the schools mentioned here are more than a little difficult to get into. This kid really needs to be an academic superstar to be accepted at CalTech or Harvey Mudd.

OP here. Thank you everyone for the helpful comments so far. I guess based on PP's comment above, I should add that dc is not an academic superstar. Will be sitting for ACT this w/e and has been scoring 34-35 on practice tests, PSAT in 99% from 10th grade, but gpa is a bit lackluster. If this year goes well, it will be 4.1, otherwise somewhere in the 4.0. Will likely have 8-9 APs by end of HS. So "rigorous" but not "very/most rigorous" by public HS standards.

Based on the comments so far, it sounds like larger schools/program may be advantageous. Another question I have is how important is it to show interest in engineering on your application? Dc just decided he may be interested in engineering recently, so there isn't a long history of involvement with robotics and the like to be put on applications. I am thinking about an engineering summer camp this summer but wondering if they are beneficial. By "beneficial," I am referring to both for admissions purposes as well as in helping him determine whether engineering is the right path for him.

There are certainly medium and smaller sized colleges with strong engineering programs. My kids are early hs aged so I may be out of touch with college admit requirements, but those stats seem like your son would be a great candidate at Duke, Rice, Wash U, and probably for merit aid at Carnegie Mellon and Bucknell. All strong engineering programs.

This is OP. I would love to believe this but a weighted 4.0-4.1 gpa from public is pretty low for these schools.

I would love to believe it, too.

OP - I think you and your kid should tour some schools and ask some questions.

You asked about "showing interest in engineering" - at the state schools, by and large you have to be admitted right up front. Transferring in is hard. You check the box on the Common App, mostly. Then if you aren't good enough for engineering you get considered for the plain old Arts and Sciences admission. In contrast, at the more stem-focused privates, you don't have to be admitted to engineering specifically. At some schools, like UC System and Cal Poly, you get admitted to a specific major and that's it. Transferring is hard. It is time to start reading the websites.

[Anonymous]

Matters a very great deal, unless the student is looking to spend four straight years alone but for classes and labs.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you are making this more difficult than it needs to be. Just go to your instate flagship engineering program. The flagships usually offer variety of engineering majors and a lot of different research activities your DC can join. Unlike years ago when many of us were in school, having research experience/internship is a must now days.