Engineering path at a liberal arts college?

[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

I understand this post isn't specifically about Virginia Tech, but I’d like to correct a piece of misinformation for readers in general. Virginia Tech does not require students to complete Calculus BC before applying to their engineering programs, and it's unlikely that an A grade in Calculus BC is a strict admissions requirement either. That being said, taking Calculus AB or BC as a senior is definitely a plus for admissions, and it's essential for students to take physics as well.

I currently have a senior, and from our experience, getting admitted to an engineering program is relatively straightforward as long as you have competitive test scores and a solid foundation in math and science. I wouldn’t worry too much about extracurriculars unless you're aiming for extremely selective schools like MIT or Caltech. Encourage your child to enjoy their high school years and continue excelling in math and science—this should open up a lot of great options for them.

We also considered engineering schools of all sizes, including a couple of LACs. One challenge of not declaring engineering as a major from day one is that engineering programs typically follow a strict 4-year curriculum. If a student doesn't start the engineering track immediately, they may risk not being able to graduate on time. You could also look at Case Western as they technically don't admit to a major.

[Anonymous]

Roger Williams in Rhode Island is an accredited CompSci but is a liberal arts school. Nice campus and good program.

[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.

Generally, an engineering major isn't something you dip your toe in and explore. It's a pretty rigid and demanding major. Like if you dilly dally freshman year and don't take the pre-reqs and weed out classes, you probably will have to add an extra semester or two to graduate with an engineering degree. You should be ready freshman year to get going with the Chemistry and Calculus pre-reqs. Better to start as an engineering major and then drop it and change majors if it's not for them. I don't know about the SLACs, but generally engineering programs are super competitive. Make sure they get through at least Calculus BC in high school if considering an engineering major.

Mostly agree with the above.

However, I do NOT think one needs Calc BC in HS to be admitted, to graduate, or to be successful.

I DO think some form of HS Calculus is needed (if available) to have good admissions chances and to have good graduation chances in Engineering. Honors Calc would be better than regular Calc. Calc AB would be better than Honors and BC better than AB.

It also is very helpful to take the most rigorous Physics and Chemistry classes one's HS offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loyola Maryland

We attended last year's admitted student day at Loyola and focused on the engineering dept. It's small, about 25 students per class year, but we all really liked it. Very personal attention and lots of research opportunities, since there is no competition from graduate students. DD chose a different school, but would have been happy to attend. It was a close decision. COA is $10-$15k more than in state options, with typical ($30-$40k) merit.

[Anonymous]

I suggest delving more into Lehigh. We toured last year and my impression was that it was fairly easy to change majors. Lehigh has a close to equal ratio of male to female students. The culture definitely is less nerdy than a place like Case.

[Anonymous]

If you're open to Texas, Trinity U is ABET certified.

Engineering Science | Trinity University https://search.app/qR8BWaEPKFyXHbEP7

[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

I understand this post isn't specifically about Virginia Tech, but I’d like to correct a piece of misinformation for readers in general. Virginia Tech does not require students to complete Calculus BC before applying to their engineering programs, and it's unlikely that an A grade in Calculus BC is a strict admissions requirement either. That being said, taking Calculus AB or BC as a senior is definitely a plus for admissions, and it's essential for students to take physics as well.

I currently have a senior, and from our experience, getting admitted to an engineering program is relatively straightforward as long as you have competitive test scores and a solid foundation in math and science. I wouldn’t worry too much about extracurriculars unless you're aiming for extremely selective schools like MIT or Caltech. Encourage your child to enjoy their high school years and continue excelling in math and science—this should open up a lot of great options for them.

We also considered engineering schools of all sizes, including a couple of LACs. One challenge of not declaring engineering as a major from day one is that engineering programs typically follow a strict 4-year curriculum. If a student doesn't start the engineering track immediately, they may risk not being able to graduate on time. You could also look at Case Western as they technically don't admit to a major.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

how important is ABET? What does it do? Explain it to me like I'm 5 please, this is all new.

ABET is the accrediting body for Engineering Schools in the USA. It defines minimum standards for engineering curricula. One really ought to be getting one’s engineering degree from an ABET accredited E School in almost all cases.

The exceptions to this “ought” are the top-10 E Schools, places such as MIT or Caltech, which might not bother with obtaining ABET accreditation. Their curricula still follow the ABET guidance in general, but possibly vary by requiring more rigor than ABET requires.

Note that one wants an ABET accredited school for any sort of engineering, even for engineering degrees (e.g., Computer Engineering) which will not later require a PE license to be employed.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would look into Lehigh

We actually did, but it's larger and you have to apply directly into one of the four schools, one of which is engineering, another is business. That's too locked in for DS.

So here are some choices, that don't "lock you in".

Marquette
Gonzaga
WPI
RPI
CWRU
URochester
RIT
Drexel
Many other Jesuit universities---you can easily switch majors, and religion is not an issue other than taking a religion and philosophy course or two (we view it as history and critical thinking)
Tufts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

how important is ABET? What does it do? Explain it to me like I'm 5 please, this is all new.

ABET sets standards for engineering curriculum. ABET is important in traditional engineering fields like mechanical, civil, and electrical (electrical overlapping with computer engineering, which is different from computer science). ABET accreditation is less important in computer science.

Excellent and accurate info

[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

I understand this post isn't specifically about Virginia Tech, but I’d like to correct a piece of misinformation for readers in general. Virginia Tech does not require students to complete Calculus BC before applying to their engineering programs, and it's unlikely that an A grade in Calculus BC is a strict admissions requirement either. That being said, taking Calculus AB or BC as a senior is definitely a plus for admissions, and it's essential for students to take physics as well.

I currently have a senior, and from our experience, getting admitted to an engineering program is relatively straightforward as long as you have competitive test scores and a solid foundation in math and science. I wouldn’t worry too much about extracurriculars unless you're aiming for extremely selective schools like MIT or Caltech. Encourage your child to enjoy their high school years and continue excelling in math and science—this should open up a lot of great options for them.

We also considered engineering schools of all sizes, including a couple of LACs. One challenge of not declaring engineering as a major from day one is that engineering programs typically follow a strict 4-year curriculum. If a student doesn't start the engineering track immediately, they may risk not being able to graduate on time. You could also look at Case Western as they technically don't admit to a major.

Yes, if you think you want to be an engineering major, start there and then switch out if it's not your thing.
There are plenty of mid size schools where this is easy. You want a place with open majors (CWRU is one of them). Because many engineering majors switch out to Business, so you want that to be an option wherever you go IMO.

[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.

Generally, an engineering major isn't something you dip your toe in and explore. It's a pretty rigid and demanding major. Like if you dilly dally freshman year and don't take the pre-reqs and weed out classes, you probably will have to add an extra semester or two to graduate with an engineering degree. You should be ready freshman year to get going with the Chemistry and Calculus pre-reqs. Better to start as an engineering major and then drop it and change majors if it's not for them. I don't know about the SLACs, but generally engineering programs are super competitive. Make sure they get through at least Calculus BC in high school if considering an engineering major.

Well that is the thing. How are these high school kids supposed to be so sure that they want to major in engineering before they even graduate from high school? And yes he's taking Calc BC and AP Chem now so that part won't be a problem.

[Anonymous]

Furman has a 3 -2 with Clemson. Other Southern Schools do as well. The difference is that you need a 2.75, I think, to get admitted to Clemson. Other programs don't have a specific GPA that is required.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I suggest delving more into Lehigh. We toured last year and my impression was that it was fairly easy to change majors. Lehigh has a close to equal ratio of male to female students. The culture definitely is less nerdy than a place like Case.

Yes-- I'd be shocked if he couldn't easily switch into the business school. I'd talk to someone at the school before dismissing it. Probably harder to go business --> engineering though so I'd start with engineering and switch out if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Generally, an engineering major isn't something you dip your toe in and explore. It's a pretty rigid and demanding major. Like if you dilly dally freshman year and don't take the pre-reqs and weed out classes, you probably will have to add an extra semester or two to graduate with an engineering degree. You should be ready freshman year to get going with the Chemistry and Calculus pre-reqs. Better to start as an engineering major and then drop it and change majors if it's not for them. I don't know about the SLACs, but generally engineering programs are super competitive. Make sure they get through at least Calculus BC in high school if considering an engineering major.

Well that is the thing. How are these high school kids supposed to be so sure that they want to major in engineering before they even graduate from high school? And yes he's taking Calc BC and AP Chem now so that part won't be a problem.

The vast majority of E School undergraduate applicants in the US have decided on engineering in HS and they applied directly to the E School at whichever universities. Many already had a specific engineering department or degree in mind when applying. This is quite the "normal" path for HS students, not unusual at all.

One thing to keep in mind: There are no "easy" E Schools or engineering majors. The various E degrees do vary a bit in rigor, but any engineering degree at any E School will require a lot of hard work from every student. No one accidentally gets an engineering degree; each student has to really want the degree to put the amount of effort needed. This is not to scare anyone, but it is approximately the reality.