@ucbalumnus I know, beggars can’t be choosers, right? Location and reputation are the drawbacks to those campuses. He hasn’t got a good shot at the better-for-engineering UC’s, so he would probably focus on finding a fit somewhere that takes a more (buzzword warning) “holistic” approach. Hence the desire for somewhere that might accept a portfolio… He’s super bright and will thrive out in the world working somewhere… he just needs to find a school that values his hands-on approach and portfolio of work.
So how much is his GPA due to lack of focus and how much due to rigor at his private school? At my kids private school, a 3.3 wouldn’t be that bad at all. You have to look at in the context of his school.
Does his school rank? If so, where does he fall?
Does your school give you access to naviance so you can see how others with his stats have done from that school?
What does his counselor say? Any suggested colleges to look at? Often, private schools have decent college counseling.
Regarding Rose Hulman, I think they would overlook his GPA. If you are interested, he might want to apply to their Operation Catapult for this summer. Gives him a good look at the school, he can probably work on a project in his area of interest. I think maybe registration closes today, but I bet if you called this week they would fit him in. Also, they give a couple thousand dollars a year off to kids who attend Catapult – they will NOT tell you that when you apply, it is a “surprise” they announce on the last day of camp.
Also, I would avoid the 3-2. A kid truly committed to tech would probably be unhappy for those 1st three years.
@am9799 Good point. I don’t know anything about those requirements… probably pretty high for gpa, since they track to good programs. He would be happier in a techie environment, for sure. His room is basically a maker space/lab.
Re: 3+2 programs
https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/combined-plan describes 3+2 programs from Columbia’s point of view as the “2” school (lots of LACs advertise 3+2 programs with Columbia).
Note that the requirements include a 3.30 overall and technical GPA, and no grade lower than a B on the first attempt for any technical course (i.e. one B- or lower in a technical course and he would not get the “guaranteed” admission). Generally, earning a 3.30 GPA in college is more difficult than earning a 3.30 GPA in high school.
@doschicos a mix of both, many ambitious kids there taking the APs they do offer, taking extra classes in the summer, staying up 'til all hours striving for the best shot at schools (he’s staying up doing projects instead). His HS doesn’t rank. He focused a lot on his projects and has taught himself an insane amount, but (as we tried to warn him) his subsequent lower GPA will now hurt him… I think he’s not near the top of his HS, many are probably sitting at 3.5-3.7 and have taken a more rigorous load (again, his choice so he could still have time to build). No access to Naviance for us. The mom who said her son was obsessed with robotics… well, that’s basically my kid, but with designing and building drones. He is very personable/likeable, incredibly well-spoken, adults love him, so he would most likely interview well if given the opportunity.
*Edit: college counseling is good, but his school doesn’t seem to do as well with the engineering type kids as it does with the kids who want LACs (who they do very, very well with). That’s why the counselor is suggesting a 3/2 or a 4/1 somewhere. He’d rather just go somewhere and be able to start in immediately on projects at least part of the time.
Others have mentioned WPI and RPI which are worth looking into. I’ve heard good things about Trinity University in TX and they have engineering.
@sunshineallday NMSU might work; it has AeroE and MechE, and might/should give your son tuition & fees plus a stipend. It’s not particularly prestigious, though.
What you may want to do is look at the curriculum of various schools under consideration to see if the frosh year schedule includes “introduction to engineering design” type of courses along with the more usual math and science courses. That may keep him more interested in his course work.
Probably not surprising that the counselors suggest 3+2 programs if the high school tends to feed a lot of students to LACs (that they are familiar with) and has relatively few hard core engineer types.
I wouldn’t count on NMSF just yet. SI cutoff for CA is predicted around 220/221. You can’t go by the percentiles on the score report as they were not based on the actual population that took the Oct PSAT but on some test group. What is his SI? If he was heavy math with a 1470 he could be sitting on a 218/219 because the reading is counted twice.
There are a lot of the tech schools that really look at the entire transcript. Is the math challenging? Did the student take physics and chemistry? What is important to you (and son), a more highly ranked school or one where he’ll be challenged but may also be at the top of the class? Embry-Riddle would be a good choice (Arizona or Daytona), any of the Western Exchange schools with mechanical engineering or robotic.
Some of the school do award merit money by score/gpa. His gpa is going to hurt him there, but there isn’t much you can do about it.
Although his GPA is low for Case Western, they highly value demonstrated interest. They have a brand new maker space “Think Box”–check it out… If you visited early and kept in touch with your regional admissions representative maybe he’d have a chance. I’d think they would be interested in his “maker” interests. Worth giving it a shot. High test scores could help.
What math and science classes has he had?
And don’t secind guess yourself about taking himself out of private school. Personally I think kids find their own level. My S graduated from a middle class public HS, in the top ten percent of his class but not Val or sal. He is at a competitive Uni and was tutoring his freshmen classmates who had gone to prestigious private schools because his school had prepared him more thoroughly. There is no assuming your son would have a higher GPA at a public school. And anyway, the education received is more important than the GPA.
Look at Olin. I think he would be a great fit, and they would evaluate him holistically.
Don’t overplay the ‘competitive school’ card in interviews and essays. Every city has them and kids there are still expected to perform well and have high gpas. Rose Hulman seems like a good fit. If he can make national merit finalist, lots of options will come.
Liking to build would be a plus. But I think three things are missing here. 1. Is he involved in team activities? Engineering can be team oriented or collaborative and adcoms can look for that interest, mindset, strength. Robotics, eg, or even math or sci academic team. Etc. 2. Did he get A’s in math/sci, stretch himself with rigor? Was it non stem that pulled down the GPA? If so, he might be ok or better off than just overall GPA makes it seem. Try calculating the GPA with just cores. Then just math-sci. 3. LoRs.
I second this suggestion. Based on the OP’s description, he sounds like a good fit (assuming E-R is affordable). The school also participates in a lot of national and international design competitions, which sounds like something he might enjoy.
Has anyone suggested Lehigh University? I have the impression that Lehigh values the rigor of courses and the students who are taking challenges tof learn. The average GPA of their admitted students isn’t high. If interested, you should visit it and arrange an interview there. Showing interest is big to Lehigh. Also consider Lafayette and Union.
Not entirely sure about which engineering field suits your son’s interests, but Northeastern University has a college of engineering and would be a great fit for a career-focused student. They are big on co-ops and in my brother’s experience do a great deal to open up career possibilities for their students. My brother was a 3.4/Magnet HS/1490 M+V/few EC’s and applied early. It’s a mid-sized school in an urban location.
I assume the school uses Naviance? You might want to spend some quality time with the scatterplots from your school to better gauge his chances of admission at various schools.
I also thought that Case Western might be worth a shot if his test scores check out.
If he finds a school that he loves, is affordable for your family, and seems like a modest but not insane reach, you might consider Early Decision to give him a boost in admissions