Techy233

To the OP - That's why it's important to apply to a myriad of programs. We have to trust that universities/colleges administer the application process the way we're told, but if not, and he ends up being rejected, there are several options: 1) petition the rejection; never too difficult a thing if it isn't a particularly selective university/college, 2) Start lower, and transfer to another more recognizable program after 1-2 years in college.

Kansas State University, for example, does not require SAT scores nor ACT scores. Students are admitted into the College of Engineering based on GPA alone. Your son could go to a program like this, and transfer out after 2 years. (If you are in Kansas, the college is only 6k tuition) Another option may be taking the ACT. I do tutor SAT, and I find that a self-selected group of students {namely, those who perform well in school, but maybe not so hot on the SAT} whose SAT scores are questionable, do better on the ACT.

Lastly, I do think if it is your sons intention to go to school for engineering, he should apply as an engineering major. If he's showing aptitude in math and science otherwise, his SAT scores will not hinder him from being accepted into a solid program. He could also apply as "undecided" and then switch to engineering once admitted.

G.P.Burdell

That's usually because people trying to transfer in to engineering are usually business or science majors that lack the normal engineering pre-reqs (the calc sequence, multiple lab sciences, and/or CS classes). If a student plans ahead, takes the same classes as the engineers, and does well (GPA 3+), I can't imagine an academic advisor would reject the application unless the program was full.

member

My brother didn't have the grades to get admission directly into his engineering department of his U. So he applied as a Philosophy major and got accepted with much lower grades than the engineering school would have had. He likely wouldn't have gotten accepted to the school if he didn't apply for Philosophy.

He go batch/auto registered for philosophy classes and then when he got access to the schools registration website he simply dropped all his classes and registered for the classes suggested by the academic catalog for his admission year.

Most schools operate in a way so that all new freshman are not actually accepted into the major until they meet a certain requirements. Many schools only accept students into their major after 2 years of academic work with a certain gpa and others have a set number of classes plus a gpa requirement.

At My U you actually didn't need a advisor for your major, it was all merit based. If you took the classes, you applied for graduated and if you meet the degrees requirements they would grant you the degree. I likely saw my advisor 2x my entire college career.

Engineering schools almost never finish the year with the quota they hoped to meet. Such as my U, the CSE department had a 72% drop out rate of new freshman. So of all the new cse freshman, only 28% or so actually registered for the sophomore courses. Numbers were lower in others engineering disciplines, but not by far. Engineering schools literally always have room for new students, so many people drop every year.


BTW, I had a 490 on my Math SAT when the test was of 1600 and I graduated fine with a engineering degree. To be honest I did better in some of my math classes than some of the math majors taking them.

The SAT is not a good judge of ones intelligence. Its a rather stupid test.

hasuchObe

Fine, but the math section is honestly very easy. If you don't do well, you will likely struggle. But as long as you work really, really hard, you have a chance

Before attending college, you sometimes hear stories about people having to put 40-60 hours a week into school and may come to assume that this is the norm. However, this is very far from the norm. But if you do want to succeed, you may have to put this into practice. Of course, you have to approach this intelligently. It's not about how many hours you put in. It's about your technique (no, not memorization). But if you're willing to come out day 1 and say you may have to sacrifice all your weekends to maintain good grades, then you have a chance. Otherwise, sink to average and do a lot of extra curricular activities. Although I'm not a fan of option 2 (to me, it's a cop-out), it will maintain your mental sanity and you will still have a strong chance of getting a job (provided you at least maintain a 3.4).

purduefrank

I’m not sure where you are getting your information, but a hell of a lot of people who don’t have a 3.4 GPA get jobs. If your statement was correct, only about 1/3 of engineering students would find employment after graduation (if that) – and we all know this isn’t the case.

hasuchObe

Of course you'll wind up with a job. Any gpa gives you a job. But I'll never say its okay to graduate with a low gpa due to this reason. At some point, a low gpa is due to the fact that you were lazy. There's no way you work your ass off and wind up with a 2.5-2.8 gpa (unless you're from MIT). Hard work is relative.

purduefrank

I agree with you, I was just commenting on the statement about still finding a job with a 3.4. Like you, I agree that there is no reason not to work hard, and no reason to accept less than you are capable of. However, there are surely people who work very hard and can’t make a 3.4 in good engineering programs. Depending on the class, I’ve seen curves for A’s made at the top 10% - simply put, there are enough people who are both hard working and very intelligent to take up those grades - leaving people who are only one or the other to collect the B’s.

weldon

OP- My own experience is that providing Choices 1,2, and 3 means exactly what you think it means- if you can't get Choice 1, you are then considered for Choice 2, etc. Your wife's interpretation, on the face of it, doesn't make any sense; if rejection from your first choice means general rejection from the school, why would you be given a Choice 2 and Choice 3?
But if you're worried about this you really don't have to guess. Contact the school(s) involved and find out for sure! You may be afraid that this is a dumb question to ask- I had to confirm some similar information when my first son went to college. However, just remember the person on the other end doesn't need to know who you are! (ha-ha).

Techy233

"(unless you're from MIT)."

Or Cooper, or CalTech, or HMC, or GT....

hasuchObe

Apparently you missed the thread :P

MidwestMom2Kids_

Check transfer requirements at each school. At some schools, you need to have taken engineering pre-reqs and have earned a very high GPA in order to transfer into engineering. It is really hard to predict which h.s. students will earn a very high GPA freshman year. If my kid really wanted to be an engineer, I would strongly urge him or her choose a school where he or she had been accepted as an engineering major. I really would. But at the schools I am most familiar with, it is pretty darn hard to transfer into engineering if you weren't originally accepted in the school of engineering. Maybe at other schools, this isn't as hard.

You can get great engineering training and a great engineering job without having gone to MIT or CalTech.