Chance Me - Freshman at Boston College applying to transfer to Engineering Schools [MA resident, 3.9 college GPA, 98.05/100 HS GPA, 34 ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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I am a freshman at Boston College from the Greater Boston area, currently on track to major in Business Analytics. When I applied to schools last year, I split my applications between business and engineering schools, as I was torn between studying those two disciplines. I ended up choosing BC’s Carroll School of Management, but took a couple engineering prereqs to confirm my choice of major. After one semester, I am sure that I would rather study engineering as opposed to business. While BC does have a human-centered engineering program, they do not accept any transfer students. Therefore I am working on sending out transfer applications.

In high school, I got a 34 on my ACT and got a 98.05/100 GPA. As well as being accepted to BC, I was also accepted to Clemson and Villanova, among others. I was waitlisted at UVA, UMich, and Notre Dame. I was rejected from Northwestern (ED → deferral → reject), Vanderbilt, and UNC.

I took 17 credits last semester and finished with a 3.9 GPA. My classes and grades are as follows: Grade Class Title (Number of Credits)

A Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics and Engineering (6)
A Statistical Analysis (3)
A Introductory Physics I (4)
A- Portico - Introduction to Business (3)
B Introductory Physics I Laboratory (1)

Next semester, this is my planned course load:

Calculus II (4)
Introductory Physics II (4)
Introductory Physics II Laboratory (1)
Self, Mind, and Society (3)
Financial Accounting (3)

For extracurriculars, I am involved in a few things. I play intramural sports, am a member of Outdoor Adventures, volunteer through Habitat for Humanity, am a part of the Boston College Investment Club, participate in a mentoring program called Freshmen League, and am going on a weeklong service trip through the Appa program. During the spring semester, I also plan to

In general, I don’t love BC but don’t hate it either. I love the school spirit that the sporting events create and enjoy the dorm life, but other things like the location and overall social life are a source of frustration for me. In choosing schools to send applications to, I am trying to keep a BC-like vibe, but with things that I lack at BC such as an engineering program, ideally warmer weather, a club hockey team that I could play on (BC has one, but I did not make it - 70 people tried out for 5 spots. It was brutal.), a larger school perhaps, and a more vibrant social life.

I am going to be applying to transfer as a mechanical engineering major. My current list of schools to apply to is this:

University of Texas - Austin
Vanderbilt University
University of Michigan
University of Notre Dame
Georgia Tech

I would very much appreciate my chances of being accepted into these schools. I feel as I have the best chance at Michigan and Notre Dame as I was waitlisted there, and then Vanderbilt, and then UT Austin, and then Georgia Tech with the worst odds. If anyone has any other schools that they feel would be a good fit, that would also be much appreciated. Thank you!

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Are you applying to more likely schools, such as your in-state publics? (UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell)

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I think it will be hard to get Mich, ND, and Vandy with only one semester of college under your belt, but you can try. Why UT Austin and Georgia Tech?

If you 100% want to transfer, you will have to add at least one affordable safety/highly likely school. I would encourage you to also add some target schools. Why not Clemson and Villanova?

Are you applying for financial aid?

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I will not, as one of my criteria is a school in a different area. I’ve lived in MA my whole life and would like to live in a new area of the country.

I have learned at BC that I would ideally like a more Southern school and would not be opposed to being in a city. Those schools also have great engineering programs.

I will not be applying for financial aid.

I am not 100% set on it but am leaning toward it.

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There are other southern schools that are less selective and which have ME. Did you apply to them as more likely schools?

If not, what is your plan if you do not get any transfer admissions?

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We are back to - if you want to study engineering, the “where” doesn’t matter.

Take my son for example - he is in a leadership program with kids from Purdue (he turned down), MIchigan, Case Western, Washington, NC State and also kids from W Michigan, Akron, Bama, Auburn, Utah etc. You need ABET. You are overthinking the “ranking” thing. They all get paid the same. My son interned with Ga Tech kids - he went back a second summer. They weren’t asked back.

The point being - if you want to be an engineer, you need to apply to schools where you can study engineering.

Sure - it’s possible. But you need to check, who takes sophs. Who takes engineering majors?

U of Texas - for example, you’ll need the following:

  • Transfer students must have completed at least the equivalent of:
    • Mathematics 408D or M 408L or M 408M (TCCN: Math 2415)
    • Physics 303K (TCCN: PHYS 2425)
    • Physics 103M (lab)
  • Transfer applicants must also complete four technical courses (math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science and engineering).

Applying to schools that you didn’t get into after one semester or hard transfer schools is not easy.

Sure go for them -

But why not re apply to an excellent Clemson - who has Club Hockey (I know a student who did this exact path - BC to Clemson and played hockey of all things) or a UAH - which is a fantastic engineering program, surrounded by a plethora of jobs in NASA’s second city - and hockey is their big sport - NCAA and club. It would be a sure fire admission.

This is no different than your last thread

Sure, reach for the stars - but if you truly want to be an engineer, apply to a college with ABET accreditation (which BC wasn’t anyway and would have precluded you for applying to many jobs) and study engineering. Companies won’t care where you go - they’ll care about ABET.

If you are hung on big names, look at a Pitt but maybe add in a WPI, Denver and to be safe a URI and maybe a UMASS and Penn State.

I’d look at each school - because at some, you’'ll be starting over.

New thread - but same guidance.

If you liked Clemson before, why not again? But it’s still not safe. It’s why you need a UAH type. Bama has a huge NE contingent - it’s 60% OOS. But likely too big. In between a UAH and Bama, you’d have a Ms State - excellent for engineering and southern . All appear to have hockey.

PS - Vandy is a hard one to understand - it’s EHHHHH for engineering - fine, but not really worth it (IMHO). I live in Nashville…it’s not why people go there.

Congrats on your successful first semester. But time to plan appropriately IF you want to be an engineer…vs. an engineer only from a certain caliber of school (which is not necessary). Btw - engineering at most/all will be hard. No matter your perception of a school’s overall rep, anyone who gets through is wicked smart IMHO.

Good luck.

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This. Huntsville, AL is also a neat city, and the 2nd largest in Alabama.

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For engineering, all you need is an ABET accredited school. I think you’d do great at UMass, and it’s a well recruited school for engineering. All those other schools, you’d be paying double the tuition for the exact same degree, and their engineering schools are HYPER competitive, especially UT-Austin. You don’t want to take the chance of having to transfer a second time because you didn’t make the “cut.”

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You’re wanting mechanical engineering, a club hockey team you can play on, a place with school spirit related to sporting events, and preferably warmer weather, a larger student body, and a more vibrant social life.

In looking at your current proposed list of colleges, you have a lot of reach-y schools on there. If you definitely want to transfer, you need a more balanced list. I have used ACHA’s site as a list of club hockey teams. If that’s not correct, then I imagine you know the best place to look for club teams. I’ve avoided the D1 club hockey teams (U. of Delaware, Villanova, Lehigh), but you can check with the coaches about likelihood of making any teams for any school with a club team.

Some schools you may want to consider (that all have ABET-accredited ME) are listed below, and categorized according to my guesses as to what your chances for admission might be. The ones in bold are the ones I’ve added to your list.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Baylor: About 15k undergrads, D3
  • Miami U. (OH): About 17k undergrads, D2 & D3? (2 programs listed at different levels with 2 different coaches)
  • U. of Louisville: About 16k undergrads, D2. I’ve heard lots of good things about their engineering program and the hands-on model they use.

Likely (60-79%)

  • Ohio State: About 46k undergrads, D2
  • U. of Dayton (OH): About 8400 undergrads, D2. Lots of people who like ND also like this school.

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • North Carolina State: About 26k undergrads, D2
  • Southern Methodist: About 7k undergrads, D2
  • Virginia Tech: About 30k undergrads, D2

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Georgia Tech: No club team listed for ACHA
  • Purdue: About 39k undergrads, D3
  • U. of Michigan: D3
  • U. of Notre Dame: Maybe D3? The ACHA map has the school in South Bend labeled as U. of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, which I think is a mistake.
  • U. of Virginia: About 17k undergrads, D2

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • U. of Texas at Austin (most of its transfers are probably from Texas community colleges), D2
  • Vanderbilt: No club team listed for ACHA
  • Washington U. (MO): About 8100 undergrads, D3
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I would reconsider the schools that you turned down last year. 99% of schools will honor your acceptance for a year, making it easy for you to transfer- they recognize that people change their minds. You will still need to provide a copy of your BC transcript. But assuming no problems there (which, based on the info you provided, there appears to be none), this would be a less labor-intensive move, particularly as I assume you may have already visited these schools.

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Appreciate the advice. Think I’ll add VT and UVA to the list.

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Just make sure that you have a SURE THING on your transfer list if you want to major in engineering. Virginia Tech and UVA are great schools, but neither are extremely likely admits. I urge you to find at least one school (and preferably more than one, so you are guaranteed to have options to choose from) where you are extremely likely to be admitted for engineering, that your family is willing and able to afford, and that you would be happy to attend for the remainder of your college career.

So far, I haven’t heard you mention applying to any school that would meet these criteria. I would hate for May to roll around and you don’t have any options of schools where you can study engineering (as BC would still be an option, but no engineering).

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Good point - will add that to the list as well. Really appreciate the advice everyone.

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I think and please correct me if I’m wrong - you’re putting up excellent colleges - but excellent colleges aren’t always easy to get into.

Also, many will have pre-reqs that you may or may not have - and you may want to look into transferability of some classes that will now become electives (if you’re lucky). Your engineering classes may or may not be accepted - and ABET may impact that.

So the guidance here was that you need to add a couple of less selective colleges - and as long as they are ABET, they’re great. That’s what jobs seek.

You read it above and on your last thread - but the program my son is in - has Purdue, Case Western, Michigan, NC State, Ohio State…but also Bama, Auburn, W Michigan, Akron, etc.

They all make the same. The job he’s in required ABET accreditation as do so many. I repeat it because this is so important and that you understand this. This is where the BC engineering kids may see issue. Many many many companies won’t consider them for many engineering jobs.

So if you 100% truly want to be an engineer, make sure you have a 100% truly admit on your list. If it’s I only want a big name and Vandy may be the name as it’s transfer friendly - but check the engineering transfer requirements which may differ, that may be the best bet (although I don’t think it’s seen in engineering at the level of the overall school).

Many schools (UAH was pointed out) deliver way above their weight - in their case because they are surrounded by high tech and aero companies. Florida Tech is another…Arizona, UMD, UMass, Montana State, Michigan Tech, Missouri Science and Tech…there’s just a TON of schools that punch above their weight. You might also look at Colorado School of Mines for smaller.

Best of luck whatever you do.

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@hockeyguy6543 please look at the fine suggestions @AustenNut provided upstream a little bit. At the very least, it should give you some food for thought.

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Clemson also going back on the list after further thought. Surely they would readmit me, right?

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Not necessarily. Check their engineering transfer requirements. It’s a harder admit first year than transfers by pure #s.

That said, transfer rates are a bit harder to understand if they have an assured guarantee to SC community college students which would alter the numbers… They are over half admits tho so that’s good on paper but I’d talk to a counselor to understand how many are assured vs other schools, and see if they take second year and is engineering open.

Transferring is different than first year. Numbers wise I’d think good things but not a sure bet. I’d have a sure bet. But it seems good on paper. But a sure bet fixes those issues - that’s why schools like UAH, MS State…you’ll have the same outcome - and a place you know you can go!!! There’s others too.

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If you want to transfer to Clemson, you need to get your app in ASAP…it opened on Dec 1 for Fall 2024. They admit transfers on a rolling basis and close apps as majors fill up. I don’t know how many OOS transfers they took last year, but the app was closed for all majors by sometime in Feb IIRC. Good luck.

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Just heard back from Clemson that I was-readmitted for the fall semester! Heard back only two days after applying as well. Thanks everyone for the help so far, and I will keep you posted on the remainder of my results.

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Congrats on the readmission - are you comfortable if that’s your opportunity? I know it was the initial choice.

Who else are you waiting on?