Anonymous
Post 01/16/2025 19:22     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Nano is strong and likely has legs, but there is still very strong demand for EE and CompE graduates.
Anonymous
Post 01/16/2025 13:03     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Civil and chemical engineering are relative easier admissions. AE (sub of ME) and BioE are more popular. CompE and EE are the most competitive. All sciences are similar.


Please spell out those acronyms.

NP but they are not that hard! CompE - Computer Engineering and EE = Electrical Engineering

I have two kids in Engineering in College - would agree on Chemical being not as competitive. Tough one right now is biomedical. The irony is that Chemical Engineering has really changed - it's not just Dupont which is what I thought of. It focuses on atoms/molecules or the whole "nano" world which is the new buzz word. My Chemical Engineering kid wants to do something that borders with biomedical focusing medical research - things like tissue regrowth. There are a lot of similarities between Chemical and Biomedical so if your child can't get into Biomed encourage them to look at Chemical.

Mechanical can be competitive- depends on the school.


Nanotech is definitely where all the jobs and $ will be shifting, already happening in industry! My DS great but not top-5 public college of engineering is adding Materials Science as a major in engineering, and word is bringing in new professors. The current Nano stuff is currently under mech-E, not chemical, in this school, but based on how the top-15 E-schools list their courses, Materials Sci is really a mix of the two. Son is mechanical but now wondering if should switch to materials, though as it is new might not make sense
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 22:20     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ve read here that Engineering and computer science programs are very competitive right now in general. What about other STEM subjects?

- biology
- biomedical science
- physics
- chemistry


Those 4 often have more challenging job prospects than most engineers will have.

Most US colleges do not ask about applicant's intended major as part of the admissions process.


Every school 2 kid applied to (20) asked about intended major; most had room for 3 choices.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 20:36     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I’ve read here that Engineering and computer science programs are very competitive right now in general. What about other STEM subjects?

- biology
- biomedical science
- physics
- chemistry


Those 4 often have more challenging job prospects than most engineers will have.

Most US colleges do not ask about applicant's intended major as part of the admissions process.

NP. Most US colleges do require a student to choose between Engineering and Arts & Sciences, where you'd find the above majors, at the time of application. There are exceptions, of course.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 20:34     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does universities distinguish between a "Pure Math" applicant vs a "Applied Math" applicant?

Are they both hard majors to apply for?


Yes. At some colleges Applied Math is housed in the College of Engineering/Applied Sciences and Pure Math is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences/Liberal Arts.


Is one more competitive than the other? If so, which one?


It probably varies. E School admissions are tough most places right now, so maybe Applied Math is a harder admit than Pure Math. However, there are plenty of top colleges where the Arts & Sciences school or Sciences school also is a hard admit.

Either Math is more employable if combined with some relevant minor. That minor might be CS, engineering, physics, or something else -- depending on the student's intended career field.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 20:06     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s actually STEAM and not stem; which is important because arts and art degrees are increasingly sought after now.


Laugh. Funniest post today.

DP disagree with STEAM, but arts programs are insanely competitive, especially any technical art program. Artists design and create a lot of our everyday products.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 20:02     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:It’s actually STEAM and not stem; which is important because arts and art degrees are increasingly sought after now.


Laugh. Funniest post today.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 20:00     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:I’ve read here that Engineering and computer science programs are very competitive right now in general. What about other STEM subjects?

- biology
- biomedical science
- physics
- chemistry


Those 4 often have more challenging job prospects than most engineers will have.

Most US colleges do not ask about applicant's intended major as part of the admissions process.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 19:58     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Most E Schools do not ask about the intended major at application time. So this does not usually impact E school admissions.

Often, not always, student needs to declare a major at end of 2nd semester. Some E Schools (example: VT) will require a minimum GPA as of the end of some academic term to select a particularly popular engineering school major.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 19:47     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Does universities distinguish between a "Pure Math" applicant vs a "Applied Math" applicant?

Are they both hard majors to apply for?


Yes. At some colleges Applied Math is housed in the College of Engineering/Applied Sciences and Pure Math is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences/Liberal Arts.


Is one more competitive than the other? If so, which one?
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 19:16     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:I really, really wish my son had been willing to consider Materials Engineering. There's a high demand right now, and it's a bit easier to be admitted into. We visited a few engineering schools, and they all had nearly 100% placement for materials engineers.


Was recommended for my kid to do ChemE and MaterialsE would be an available option for employment. Not sure if that is accurate- she only wanted ChemE anyway
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 18:55     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:Does universities distinguish between a "Pure Math" applicant vs a "Applied Math" applicant?

Are they both hard majors to apply for?


Yes. At some colleges Applied Math is housed in the College of Engineering/Applied Sciences and Pure Math is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences/Liberal Arts.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 15:56     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
I really, really wish my son had been willing to consider Materials Engineering. There's a high demand right now, and it's a bit easier to be admitted into. We visited a few engineering schools, and they all had nearly 100% placement for materials engineers.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 15:53     Subject: Insight into STEM admissions
Does universities distinguish between a "Pure Math" applicant vs a "Applied Math" applicant?

Are they both hard majors to apply for?
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2025 13:03     Subject: Re:Insight into STEM admissions
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Math has gotten competitive, since people use it as a backup to CS. Most other majors are not gonna be competitive. All engineering will be competitive.


Unsure about saying competitive as most programs don’t have it as a protected major. However there has been an uptick in the number of majors.

The competition is usually some of the highest in the applicant pool.


That’s because some of the smartest people are applying to be math majors. But I’ve never known anyone not admitted to the major in itself. If you’re trying to go into a field where you have to be incredibly intelligent, of course admissions will be tough, but there will always be a space for those who can cut it.