Anonymous
04/18/2026 21:32
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
EA at Georgia Tech. Hope you have been donating to alma mater
Anonymous
04/18/2026 21:28
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
NC State has a very strong nuclear engineering program.
Consider Texas A&M also. Very strong engineering school - but overshadowed by state politics.
Consider Texas A&M also. Very strong engineering school - but overshadowed by state politics.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 21:14
Subject: Re:Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:Don't know if this helps but my son had very similar stats (smidge higher SAT, 4.0 UW- something like 4.9 WGPA). He took BC Calc jr year and multivariable this year.
Your daughter hopefully will get a little boost because they need more females.
Here's what happened with my kid:
Accepted with no merit -
Purdue, Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC, and UMD-College Park, Univ of Pittsburgh
Accepted with merit (sometimes lots of it)-
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Delaware, RIT, RPI
Waitlisted-
Ga Tech (but you're an alum; I think that helps a bit)
Rejected regular decision-
Vanderbilt
My kid will probably end up at College Park - it still has one of the lowest costs and offered him some perks. He liked the opportunities there and it'll be nice that he's not far.
Based on your son's course selection, he is probably in a magnet program.
Just curious why did he apply to so many safeties considering his high stats? My son has identical stats and had UMD, VT and Purdue as safeties. He got into all but we (literally) forced him to apply to VT just to add an extra safety.
Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC, and UMD are top engineering schools with very low acceptance rate. Congratulations to your son!
Anonymous
04/18/2026 19:35
Subject: Re:Help with this list for an engineering major?
Don't know if this helps but my son had very similar stats (smidge higher SAT, 4.0 UW- something like 4.9 WGPA). He took BC Calc jr year and multivariable this year.
Your daughter hopefully will get a little boost because they need more females.
Here's what happened with my kid:
Accepted with no merit -
Purdue, Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC, and UMD-College Park, Univ of Pittsburgh
Accepted with merit (sometimes lots of it)-
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Delaware, RIT, RPI
Waitlisted-
Ga Tech (but you're an alum; I think that helps a bit)
Rejected regular decision-
Vanderbilt
My kid will probably end up at College Park - it still has one of the lowest costs and offered him some perks. He liked the opportunities there and it'll be nice that he's not far.
Your daughter hopefully will get a little boost because they need more females.
Here's what happened with my kid:
Accepted with no merit -
Purdue, Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC, and UMD-College Park, Univ of Pittsburgh
Accepted with merit (sometimes lots of it)-
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Delaware, RIT, RPI
Waitlisted-
Ga Tech (but you're an alum; I think that helps a bit)
Rejected regular decision-
Vanderbilt
My kid will probably end up at College Park - it still has one of the lowest costs and offered him some perks. He liked the opportunities there and it'll be nice that he's not far.
dcum5577
04/18/2026 17:01
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
UC schools have a common app system. Same essays and you just check the schools you want to apply to. So, one application goes to multiple schools. No effort at all, just a matter of paying more for each school you apply to. That's 3-4 applications in 1 go.
As others said, apply to all state schools early to maximize the admission chances.
Mechanical Engineering has a good future in AI era if combining with robotics.
As others said, apply to all state schools early to maximize the admission chances.
Mechanical Engineering has a good future in AI era if combining with robotics.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 16:54
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for the helpful input (OP here)! I tried to get everyone's responses, below:
She did have Boston University (and yes, it is on the exchange list) but for some reason I forgot it here! I think reach? Are 4 reaches too many?
Unfortunately Cooper Union and Rose Hulman (which IS on the exchange list) she has ruled out as too small. And no to Annapolis, she isn’t interested in a service academy.
We won’t qualify for any FA – I thought Wisconsin, Boulder, and Northwestern were very stingy with merit? She doesn’t want to live in TX otherwise I think Rice would be great for the list.
RIT IS on the list (not WPI) so maybe add that?
Ideally I’d like to get some OFF the list. 14 seems like a lot to apply to and now you all have come up with more great suggestions!
How many safeties should she have with that list? Are there too many? If we add U New Mexico should we take another off?
Someone asked how she came up with the list- great question! I gave her the list of tuition exchange schools and she picked some from there and then added others based on (my guess) conversations with friends and a little research on her own.
Her extracurriculars are OK- a lot of clubs + honor societies + varsity sports but nothing wowza. She’s had the same job since she was 14 (with promotions) along with lifeguard summer job since 15 (with promotion last year). Basically your average teenager
I think she will likely pick ME, not nuclear. Someone one told her she can make a lot of money with nuclear and I think that stuck with her lol.
Having 14 on the list seems like a lot.
Tell this to Blair or Poolsville kids. All apply to 15 to 20. My son was super confident and applied to "only" 17.
When you work hard, you want to maximize your chances when the admission is so random.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 16:37
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:If Nuclear E is a serious option, one should filter on availability of that degree. Many strong engineering programs do not offer Nuclear E.
Btw, Navy ROTC prefers NuclearE majors (along with Nursing) for their 4-year full ride scholarships.
Of course, Nuke Navy love NE majors. But is she willing to spend her career in military?
Anonymous
04/18/2026 15:57
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for the helpful input (OP here)! I tried to get everyone's responses, below:
She did have Boston University (and yes, it is on the exchange list) but for some reason I forgot it here! I think reach? Are 4 reaches too many?
Unfortunately Cooper Union and Rose Hulman (which IS on the exchange list) she has ruled out as too small. And no to Annapolis, she isn’t interested in a service academy.
We won’t qualify for any FA – I thought Wisconsin, Boulder, and Northwestern were very stingy with merit? She doesn’t want to live in TX otherwise I think Rice would be great for the list.
RIT IS on the list (not WPI) so maybe add that?
Ideally I’d like to get some OFF the list. 14 seems like a lot to apply to and now you all have come up with more great suggestions!
How many safeties should she have with that list? Are there too many? If we add U New Mexico should we take another off?
Someone asked how she came up with the list- great question! I gave her the list of tuition exchange schools and she picked some from there and then added others based on (my guess) conversations with friends and a little research on her own.
Her extracurriculars are OK- a lot of clubs + honor societies + varsity sports but nothing wowza. She’s had the same job since she was 14 (with promotions) along with lifeguard summer job since 15 (with promotion last year). Basically your average teenager
I think she will likely pick ME, not nuclear. Someone one told her she can make a lot of money with nuclear and I think that stuck with her lol.
Having 14 on the list seems like a lot. The wild cards are applying for a competitive major and potentially needing TE to make it work financially and that also being a competitive process. Also, since a lot of the schools are public universities that offer EA with Oct 15 or Nov 1 deadline, they could have like 7-8 applications that need to be ready to go early fall.
I would recommend prioritizing a rolling admissions safety and applying earlier than the EA deadline so they hear back early - but it has to be one where they would be willing to attend and where you think the numbers would work. Have one other safety. The rest should be targets and reaches but you need to add in TE/merit/affordability when classifying as a target because it will be both getting in and getting money that isn’t need based.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 15:03
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:Cal Poly is absolutely a reach, but what about Harvey Mudd? They keep the enrollment 50-50 male/female, which is a big difference from most engineering programs (even if the total enrollment for the school is 50/50).
Mudd offers a general engineering degree, but students can absolutely specialize via research programs and internships.
Harvey Mudd is expensive (over 100k/year). Cal Poly is probably a good school but little know outside California. Didn't hear anyone applying there at my kid high school. Cal Tech and UC schools ( Berkeley, UCLA) attract more out of state students.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 14:33
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Cal Poly is absolutely a reach, but what about Harvey Mudd? They keep the enrollment 50-50 male/female, which is a big difference from most engineering programs (even if the total enrollment for the school is 50/50).
Mudd offers a general engineering degree, but students can absolutely specialize via research programs and internships.
Mudd offers a general engineering degree, but students can absolutely specialize via research programs and internships.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 14:10
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Anonymous wrote:If nuclearE major is not offered, kid can do chemE or mechE and take few upper classes in nucE during senior year. All 3 are tier 1 majors for navy rotc
Programs without a NuclearE major often do not offer any NuclearE courses at all. Again, if this is a serious option filter for this.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 10:46
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
If nuclearE major is not offered, kid can do chemE or mechE and take few upper classes in nucE during senior year. All 3 are tier 1 majors for navy rotc
Anonymous
04/18/2026 10:44
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
If open to smaller schools, take a look at Smith (historically women’s college) and Swarthmore, both have ABET programs. CU Boulder is a great likely school to check out.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 10:39
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
If Nuclear E is a serious option, one should filter on availability of that degree. Many strong engineering programs do not offer Nuclear E.
Btw, Navy ROTC prefers NuclearE majors (along with Nursing) for their 4-year full ride scholarships.
Btw, Navy ROTC prefers NuclearE majors (along with Nursing) for their 4-year full ride scholarships.
Anonymous
04/18/2026 10:37
Subject: Help with this list for an engineering major?
Do not count on TE. I believe when my S23 went through the process USC awarded only 2 tuition exchange scholarship awards that year. TE is a crazy competitive and unpredictable process, and you often won’t hear if you’ll be receiving an award til late in the game. Check College Confidential forums for all kinds of TE info. Your best best for TE engineering will probably be Bucknell, Syracuse. My D26 applied to LACs, she did get several TE offers, one was fantastic and the others were just similar to what more competitive schools offered with their regular FA. For instance, Brandeis started offering TE, so D26 applied for it, the FA office reached out and said that her presidential scholarship was worth more than the TE award, and they aren’t stackable, so we didn’t accept the TE.