@MomHopesNxtGenAg Thank you for your insightful response.
Thank you for your reply, MomHopes. Thatâs exactly what I wanted to say. The transition from HS to college can be drastic for some students, for a lot of students, actually. Until they learn how to really study ad take responsibility, it can take a little bit. And these students will be punish by ETAM.
Yes, well said, @MomOfTeens77. Learning to really study and take responsibility is exactly it and is a process that can take time. The later bloomers could be put at a severe disadvantage by ETAM. I am just hoping that there is mostly enough give in the process, enough thoughtful review and enough slots, etc., that this works out mostly ok. These are young people and can still change a lot. At the same time, I know there are students that may need to look around and not continue in engineering, for example.
Parents, support your kiddos with love and good coaching if coaching would help. My older son, fifth year computational biology major with three minors, is far beyond any technical help his parents could give. But we still say say hi several times a week. Live and learn. We fault ourselves for not giving him more support his first year.
@remive Have you considered Interdisciplinary Engineering? You could speak with someone about it and design your own studies around your interests. If you designed your degree plan thoughtfully and, very importantly, got some high quality additional experience in something civil engineering related through internships, I believe you could get into your field. I would think the prospects for civil engineering studies would be very good due to US aging infrastructure. Be sure to pass your professional engineer licensing tests when the time comes. They are really important for civil engineering. Please consider writing back about your decision. You might be able to transfer into ITDE, and you could also do well on your courses now and try to transfer into Civil directly. I donât know how competitive that transfer might be, but perhaps you could research it. Good luck, @remive!
For ETAM they are not just looking at GPA, but also the grades in the specific classes. I think the reason a 3.5 is auto selection is because it means they performed strongly in all subjects. They evaluate below that and attempt to make a good fit for a studentâs natural strengths. If someone gets Câs in physics, but does better in math, they might find more success in a discipline that focuses on math instead of physics. I would ask an advisor what engineering disciplines match well with your academic strengths. That really is the goal of the process - to match students with disciplines they are likely to be successful in. And most likely, one will enjoy a major more if it is a good match to their natural strengths.
I wish there were some indication that ETAM closely matches students with an engineering major that was truly the best seeming fit for them. That would be a really good idea @h2omom, definitely. I havenât gotten that sense about ETAM yet, however.
Imo, Etam or any program will not match students to their best fit, if there is a best fit. Etam or any similar screening processes if existing will help but certainly will not âmatchâ students to their best fit. This has to come from the student, (maybe) the parents from observing certain interests/skills the students may have, and/or from talking with counselors. Ideally, this is something that should be decided by the studentâs side. Once itâs decided, the student needs to do her/his part to show etam or any similar program that they are capable to do this. Etam should only be the last check point/gate. Unfortunately, it may take a long time to find out what the best fit is. The good thing is they are young. They can always learn, make mistake, change if needed.
All of the various TAMU engineering majors, and there are many tracks in some departments, can be seen at catalog dot tamu dot edu slash undergraduate slash engineering, click on âmajorsâ. I was looking at the various majors that this threadâs original poster specified. This 33-item list is worth a glance if you havenât seen it previously. Engineering minors and certificates are also listed under their respective tabs.
@ icedmachiato the original poster stated they were declined for Civil with a 3.0 GPA. Civil is not super hard to get into, so being declined with that GPA Suggests it was based on another factor I know from conversations my Aggie had with advisors that they do look at performance in the specific classes. The students get to express their interest. If their class performance doesnât match their stated interests, they are likely to be disappointed with the outcome. My observation is that Aggies that understood their strengths and weaknesses and incorporated that into their ETAM selection, have a higher likelihood of getting their top choice.
I have previously sent @remive a private message following up on the first posting here and hope to hear back.
@remive I recently read of a few studentst that were able to do another ETAM cycle. Apparently if you donât recieve any of the majors you chose, you have the option to do another ETAM cycle. In their particular case, they tried to take a few classes in that major but that werenât locked and to raise their GPA too. I think maybe showing dedication/perserverance helped eventually getting them into the major they wanted. I would ask your advisor and aggressively pursue your options if this is your goal!
@remive - is it possible to select Interdisciplinary Engineering with a focus in Civil Engineering (via electives, research, internships, co-ops)? A&M has so many research labs and opportunities to get experience in the area you are interested in. Try and maintain a high GPA > 3.0 and then transfer into Civil. Even if thatâs not possible get involved with research/clubs in transportation or whatever interests you. Take your EIT exam in senior year and you will have plenty of opportunities to work in Civil once you graduate.
I think the ETAM process is risky for those kids who are late bloomers. They may stumble the first year as they adjust to college. However they more than catch up in the next three years. Have see examples in my sonâs friend group. Selecting a University that admits to major maybe a better decision for such kids- especially with how competitive and stressful the ETAM process has become over the years.
@pbleigh - Agree with you that it is not an even playing field GPA wise across the different campuses. Physics and Math at CS are major weed out courses. I donât know if thatâs changed recently. Maybe getting rid of a 3.5 auto admit GPA and having only a holistic review may work better? Or like you suggested everyone takes Math and Science at CS via satellite / online classes. Or every campus takes a common exam for the Math and Science ETAM courses - this will elimiate the unfair advantage of exams that test for defined content vs exams that push the limits.
A&M could also move back to acceptance directly to a major like UT does. Make the selection to a major more stringent at initial admission. Or if a particular major has 100 openings then do not admit 400 kids who have pre-selected that major. This only leads to most of those kids NOT getting their intended major - which seems unfair especially if they have a 3.0 to 3.4 GPA. Itâs a way for A&M to fill the less desirable majors because most of the kids who donât get the major they really want will just accept another major and not switch schools - they have already become loyal Aggies or just donât know how to navigate the system. It forces them to change the direction of their lives.
The primary purpose of ETAM is enrollment management. A few years ago we heard Dr. Banks talk about issues the COE was having with a high percentage of students changing majors. I donât recall if it was primarily changing to another engineering major or majors outside of engineering. Iâm not sure how successful the ETAM process has been in reducing the number of students changing majors. I had a conversation with another parent last night and they said that their son and three of his friends were admitted to MEEN. A year later the three friends have switched out of MEEN to IDIS. It would be nice if the COE was more transparent with ETAM statistics and providing updates if their goals are being achieved.
Thatâs interesting about students still transferring some after ETAM, @TexasAggie. Also, this might be encouraging data for those trying to transfer into their preferred department after ETAM. A person really does have to wonder why the CoE doesnât post better data.
@MomHopesNxtGenAg - Iâve read a few comments elsewhere that a few students have had luck transferring into the more crowded majors like Computer Science. I would not always count on that happening and there should be a plan B in place.
My son had his own struggles with ETAM, but eventually ended up in his desired major. While it was nerve racking for everyone I think he is a better student because of it. I do think the ETAM process is flawed and needs refinement. Sure there are stories with happy endings about students that do not get their desired majors and ended up loving the major they were placed in. What I would like to see is what eventually happens to the students that donât their first pick. How many eventually transfer to the desired major, how many transfer to another College at A&M and how many transfer to another University. Going to college is a major financial commitment and students deserve a little more flexibility in obtaining their goals.
Hi all,
I figured I would update on my thread for anyone in the futureâŠ
I guess I should say first: It is a total lie that they say 100% of students get put into a major! I was denied by ALL majors even though I had a 3.0 gpa.
So I contacted the dean of engineering and he told me the reason I was not accepted into any major was because I applied in the December ETAM which has less open spots available since not as many students are graduating. He even told me my GPA was better than a lot of students so that wasnât the problem!
This was also my second time applying and he said itâs better to only apply once and accept a major you get the first time. My advisors made it seem like I could decline and try again a second time, but now I know that was a mistake because the majors donât want someone who already declined them!
I cannot do interdisciplinary Engineering because you need a 3.5+ gpa to even be considered for that.
This semester I was able to bring my GPA to a 3.1. I am applying for ETAM one final time. My results will come back in July, and if I donât get into any major I have no clue what I will do then since I have finished my 4 semesters in general engineering⊠I really hope my previous applications and declining will maybe overlooked if any department has a spot⊠I already have an apartment for the year so I canât transfer colleges until next year.
Engineering is what I want to do and I would rather switch colleges before changing into another major despite how much I love TAMU
@remive hey there. Sorry youâre going through this. No one ever said 100% get put into a major. With a 3.5 youâre guaranteed first choice. A 3.0 is low regardless of what the advisor told you. Itâs solid, donât get me wrong, but for engineering competitiveness, itâs low for ETaM.
Best of luck and please keep us posted.
Yes, I remember having presentations saying that everyone gets placed into a major if they make eligibility requirements⊠and either way there were people with lower GPA than me that got in so I understand itâs not really a GPA issue I am having. I guess Iâm just super unlucky
At least thatâs what I thought everyone gets in but Iâm wrong of course (:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/22591743/#Comment_22591743 lists other Texas public universities that you may want to prepare transfer applications to for civil engineering.