Engineering schools that won’t crush my child’s soul

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I just wanted to point out that sometimes it's less stressful to be at a higher ranking place because you don't need to do as well to get a job.

A C student at MIT is going to have better job offers than a C student at a lower ranked school, all else equal.

I didn’t think employers cared about GPA. How would they even know? I’ve not seen this written on anyone’s CV/resume- interviewing for an actual job ever (not internship).

Most do not care very much. Instead, we care what upper-level electives one took and what skills one has.

Contrived Example: If I need someone who knows digital communications, then someone who focused on 3-phase power will not do (and vice versa).

Do you ask? I haven’t seen anyone putting courses they took or GPA info on their resume

We ask what in-major electives were taken.

[Anonymous]

If you are an engineering student and your GPA is >3.0, you put it on your resume. The only situation in which you don't is if it's lower than 3.0. Many internships at bigger companies have minimum GPA requirements.

Some people put GPA for their major, most put overall GPA, just depends.

And yes, you can absolutely list relevant coursework. This helps the employer understand how far along you are in the subject, as it isn't always clear from your grade level. Plus, it allows you to showcase courses that may be helpful that aren't specifically in the major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are an engineering student and your GPA is >3.0, you put it on your resume. The only situation in which you don't is if it's lower than 3.0. Many internships at bigger companies have minimum GPA requirements.

Some people put GPA for their major, most put overall GPA, just depends.

And yes, you can absolutely list relevant coursework. This helps the employer understand how far along you are in the subject, as it isn't always clear from your grade level. Plus, it allows you to showcase courses that may be helpful that aren't specifically in the major.

Adding, remember that bigger companies, and perhaps most companies, do the first cut by electronic filters. You want to get lots of keywords on the resume.

[Anonymous]

Consider going to school abroad?

My child loathes the idea of more Gen Ed classes. Despite me trying to convince otherwise. We’ve (bc it was my initial idea & wanted to make sure it was possible in budget), have started looking at schools in England. You do need to research accreditation & how that might transfer back to US but from first hand accounts I’ve read, the English students seem to be less stressed. And it’s 3yrs (unless you want to add a year internship which seems like a good idea). Some schools appear to have housing set ups similar to US schools so taking the stress of finding lodging in a foreign country before you know the area is eliminated

It’s important you can test well because they want 5s on APs or high math SAT score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WPI seemed almost joyful when we visited, although with the fast paced quarters, kids still work hard. Rose Hulman has small classes, even freshman year, which helps foster relationships with professors, which is protective against stress.

The 4x7-week quarter system is a crush though. Every 3.5 weeks you either have midterms or finals. You have finished the course when your friends at other engineering schools are approaching mid terms. You have to be a fast learner.

Not sure I would recommend going to a school that is on the quarter system to study engineering.

Cal Poly SLO is also a quarter-system school

[Anonymous]

What about george mason?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WPI seemed almost joyful when we visited, although with the fast paced quarters, kids still work hard. Rose Hulman has small classes, even freshman year, which helps foster relationships with professors, which is protective against stress.

The 4x7-week quarter system is a crush though. Every 3.5 weeks you either have midterms or finals. You have finished the course when your friends at other engineering schools are approaching mid terms. You have to be a fast learner.

Not sure I would recommend going to a school that is on the quarter system to study engineering.

Cal Poly SLO is also a quarter-system school

Cal Poly is switching over to semesters this coming fall.

[Anonymous]

VCU. All the kids I know who went there were looking for a less pressure program and had great job placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider going to school abroad?

My child loathes the idea of more Gen Ed classes. Despite me trying to convince otherwise. We’ve (bc it was my initial idea & wanted to make sure it was possible in budget), have started looking at schools in England. You do need to research accreditation & how that might transfer back to US but from first hand accounts I’ve read, the English students seem to be less stressed. And it’s 3yrs (unless you want to add a year internship which seems like a good idea). Some schools appear to have housing set ups similar to US schools so taking the stress of finding lodging in a foreign country before you know the area is eliminated

It’s important you can test well because they want 5s on APs or high math SAT score.

Just be aware that because English students start specializing around age 16, often they arrive at Uni at 18 with a much deeper and broader understanding of their major subject matter than an American could does.

[Anonymous]

I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

+1

If the kid is doing well at a school similar to TJ then he’ll be fine at a top-ranked, rigorous engineering school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several threads discuss engineering schools that are hard to just survive. Some hint that there are alternatives

Could you list these alternatives?

Short background: my HS sophomore has great grades and tests well at a difficult school and has a general interest in engineering. But I don’t want him to drift into a situation where his soul could be crushed without choosing that.

Are there schools we could choose with engineering majors where you just learn how to do it without the excessive pressure and stress?

Yes. Schools that support engineers have highest retention from freshman to sophomore year.
The top schools with over 96% retention from freshman to sophomore years (major declaration is typically after the end of freshman year) for those who are admitted to Engineering, as well as no enrollment caps in certain engineering disciplines.
MIT, Penn, Princeton, Hopkins, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, Georgia Tech and CMU all boast 96-98% retention for engineers specifically, and none of them have enrollment caps that affect undergrads after admission. Sure the classes are difficult but if you can get admitted to these E schools, you can get out with an engineering degree! These schools also tend to have the most research spots per undergrad E major (comparing the privates to each other and GT to similar sized publics).
Cornell and Berkeley despite having top students are all lower, 85-90%. Purdue, UIUC similar to those.
Harvard and Yale do not have figures for undergrad Engineering retention specifically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WPI seemed almost joyful when we visited, although with the fast paced quarters, kids still work hard. Rose Hulman has small classes, even freshman year, which helps foster relationships with professors, which is protective against stress.

Yeah, but the kids at WPI and Rose seemed weird. High percentage of neurodivergent

Welcome to engineering.

Haha, truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd really warn here against the advice of going to an "easier" engineering school for a less 'soul-sucking' process. Yes, the introductory classes are a grind, but just like any other step in your kids' education, think about the peers they'll be surrounded by. You want them to be intellectually challenged and with kids on their level.

Yes, engineering majors usually end up employed but the ranking of your program does matter for what companies recruit at your school. Just like any other field. And the reputation of your undergraduate program does affect graduate school admissions, for those considering post-grad education and training.

one hundred percent this! peers matter! undergrad matters! It is a waste of a top brain to send them to a less rigorous Engineering school. Go to one of the top privates or the top 3 publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not consider Virginia Tech. As a parent, I had the rudest responses from them. I asked if it was possible -to just- plan for 5 years to complete the program. Plan from the beginning, plan to take a lighter load. Instead of explaining why not or just saying a simple no, they were insulting, berated what they thought were my DD's qualifications - based on nothing. They did not know, die not know her stellar qualifications.

Tbh, it is weird to ask about a lighter -oad 5yr plan from the beginning. The common assumption would be they are not qualified. Plenty of top-stat females in engineering go through top schools in 4 years with no problem, let alone a less rigorous school.