<p>My S was admitted to Nuclear Engineering for Fall of 2014, but now wants to be in Mechanical Engineering instead. Admissions indicated he’d need to stay in Nuclear for 2 semesters before he could switch. He got a good scholarship to UIUC. How big of a risk is pursuing Nuclear for a year then switching to Mechanical? Some engineering disciplines restrict transfer #'s and Mechanical is often one of them. Anyone have experience with ICT’ing into Mechanical - good or bad? Any recommendations for getting switched ahead of starting in the fall? </p>
<p>You can’t get switched prior to the beginning of your freshman year. Your son will have to do an intra-college transfer, which is much easier and more likely to occur, and he’ll have to request it during the spring term of his freshman year to be effective next fall. Since the two programs share many of the same courses in Calc, Chem, and Physics, you won’t be impacted by remaining in Nuclear for a year, but you will need good grades (they say 3.0+), but you’ll likely need at least a 3.5, and likely higher depending on your competition for the limited seats that may become available. A transfer is not guaranteed. Also factored into the decision is whether you would have been admitted to the program if you had applied directly as a freshman.</p>