Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 18:10     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:What would you suggest for schools for engineering schools, prefer a diverse school on the east coast, will consider mid-west or Texas but not California (too far). Trying to limit to 6 schools) 2 reach, 2 target, 2 safety.

male minority MCPS
4.0 UW, weighted 4.8
1190 SAT
6 APs by junior year, so far, no scores above a 3) (physics, chemistry, AB calc, lang, apush, world)
2 years HS language (through level 4)

Good extracurriculars — varsity sports, great leadership / community service, peer tutor

Plans to take SAT again, and work over the summer before senior year. The only reason I mentioned he’s a minority is to emphasize his desire to be in a diverse environment

Georgia Tech and Rice are top of list.
What else do you recommend?



Just curious why his GPA is so high but SAT is kind of low with this GPA both W and U/W
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 17:02     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:No shade on OP's child, but how do you get an A in AP classes and then get below a 3 on the actual exam?

Grade inflation. My kid is the same. But, also, they don't test well, and has learning disabilities that impact reading long text.


My NT kid got a couple of 3s. His SAT one and done was 1430.

Just like SATs, this board is skewed towards parents that report high scores.

Some ways you get 3s are:

1) Not much prep for exam
2) Course was fall semester, exam in May
3) Teacher's class is not pure AP compliant
4) Wide ability levels in the class, resulting in a curve

Somebody has to get the 1s, 2s, and 3s.

ETS has done an analysis that supposedly shows that even students who get a 1 or 2 have an advantage when taking the college class.


Unless everyone is getting an A in class, the people getting 1s, 2s, and 3s should be the same people getting Bs and Cs in the class. Which isn't to say they shouldn't take the class -- there's value in being challenged, absolutely.


DP: I have a kid who takes longer to synthesize material, and who used to be disorganized. He got some zeros on late homework, bombed a few quizzes, and then got an A on the midterm and final. His C grade for the course reflects his learning style. His 5 on the AP exam reflect his knowledge and mastery of the content by the end of the year. In college, that kid will have an A in the class because the midterm and final are what counts.

On the flip side, sometimes the A grade is a reward for being diligent and timely and storing information well in short term memory - a good student. The AP score will reflect whether that knowledge was mastered and stored in deeper memory.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 16:59     Subject: College list for engineering schools
There are so many good recommendations already provided in this conversation. Really like Clarkson, WPI, NJIT, Stevens Institute of Technology, etc.

This list is worth checking out: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/engineering-for-b-students

Their college book (on the website above) is our go-to source.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 16:47     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:My kid’s safety school was York College PA. They are guaranteed engineering if they have a math SAT over 620 I believe.


THIS!

York College
WVU
Loyola University Maryland
Marshall University
ODU
Robert Morris
Most any 3+2 program
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 13:26     Subject: College list for engineering schools
My kid’s safety school was York College PA. They are guaranteed engineering if they have a math SAT over 620 I believe.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 12:38     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Top rate engineering (and highly regarded by engineers) but has a 73% acceptance rate. Can't say enough good things about this school
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 12:29     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:UMD has a top engineering program. In-state tuition. That would be my top pick. Apply to Virginia Tech and other easier to get into schools for safety— Pitt, Purdue, Penn State, NC State. State schools typically have higher ranked programs than privates.


Virginia Tech and Purdue are not easy to get into. I'm not sure about the other ones, but I'd imagine they aren't easy either.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:23     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:This is why the TO policies are such a BS.


I disagree. Some students simply don't perform well on standardized tests, yet they excel in real-life situations or other types of tasks.
So I wouldn’t judge someone solely based on a test score, and I believe colleges consider this as well.

However, in the OP's case, there are multiple factors to consider.
Even if a student gets into a good school with TO, they may struggle to keep up with the coursework.
If they can, that’s great, and the problem is solved. But if not, having a backup plan would be wise.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:18     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Find a counselor to help you if full pay. A few specialize in MCPS and engr, and at least 1 in both. There is a Blair PTA college event for juniors if you have a Blair kid or know one.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:07     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:UMD has a top engineering program. In-state tuition. That would be my top pick. Apply to Virginia Tech and other easier to get into schools for safety— Pitt, Purdue, Penn State, NC State. State schools typically have higher ranked programs than privates.



None of these are safeties for engineering.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:03     Subject: College list for engineering schools
What type of engineering? That makes a difference. My son has a similar profile, with higher SAT scores. He is considering Rochester, RIT, UIUC, WPI, and Drexel.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:02     Subject: Re:College list for engineering schools
No shade on OP's child, but how do you get an A in AP classes and then get below a 3 on the actual exam?


My son got an A- and got a 3 on the exam. The reason is that part of the class grade was finding news articles and tying them to the class, which he was better at than the actual AP-type questions.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 09:01     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Case western, u of Rochester (I would Ed at both of these) and wpi or rit are if you don’t want to Ed. Others you mentioned are high reaches which could (maybe, if ED) work out in terms of admissions since urm but might not be best academic fit.


All good schools. But he would struggle at Case or Rochester if he got in. They would be good Reaches .

WPI can be a Reach/Target. They are Test Blind. However their GPA UW is 3.89, but that is without GPA inflation. The average SAT before Covid (and they went test blind---they were on the way to test blind since 2012) was ~1390, with 97% of kids having a 600+ on Math (63% having 700+). So unless your kid has a 700+ in math, they might get in but struggle still.

RIT and Drexel would be good targets.



Posts like this are so presumptuous. “He would struggle at…” You have NO idea if this kid will struggle anywhere. This assumption is not in any way backed up by his AP scores or any other info provided by the OP. For your information, any engineering school worth its weight is difficult. If a kid will struggle at the schools you name, they will struggle in any engineering school. They are ALL challenging. It’s the nature of the subject matter.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 08:54     Subject: College list for engineering schools
UMD has a top engineering program. In-state tuition. That would be my top pick. Apply to Virginia Tech and other easier to get into schools for safety— Pitt, Purdue, Penn State, NC State. State schools typically have higher ranked programs than privates.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2024 08:27     Subject: College list for engineering schools
Anonymous wrote:No shade on OP's child, but how do you get an A in AP classes and then get below a 3 on the actual exam?


Unfortunately, grade inflation.
Student could also have major test anxiety. However, these top colleges want to see a student who has worked through that.