Help? Engineering

My son got accepted to Rutgers (aerospace/mechanical engineering), UDel (mechanical engineering), UMD (Undecided), FSU (undecided), and USF (mechanical engineering). Oh, and UF PaCE (not considering). I have no idea how to help him choose a school. None. I was literature undegrad and have no idea how to assist with engineering.

Money first. Which school is affordable? What is your EFC, are you hoping for FA? What can you afford?
Are his stats still the same, 1250/gpa 5.3 ish (what is that as UW?)? Are all these schools direct admit to eng majors? ? Have you got a clear idea that many students drop engineering, so the school he picks needs to be able to absorb that. Also the ROI won’t be the same if he drops out of engineering, taking you back to money.

USF or FSU are the most inexpensive, but Rutgers is excellent, close to home, and not that much more (nothing in Jersey is inexpensive). FA is probably only a factor for UDel. I doubt he’ll get it at UMD, and he doesn’t need it at Rutgers (needs only) or Florida schools as they are so reasonable. If he doesn’t do engineering, he’ll end up in science or math, so ROI will likely be decent either way.

I would start by making sure each program is ABET accredited. Using the link below, type in the major, then follow the prompts to select the different states. All of the ABET accredited programs for that state will then show.

http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx

You can also find data about the colleges and individual majors at the link below. You might find more data if you look at the year 2016. On the left, you’ll see a section for undergraduate. If you click on “Program Comparisons” you will see the average time it takes to complete a 4 year program.

http://profiles.asee.org/

Look at entry to his specific major. Does he have to declare up front or does he get some time to explore? And then after freshman year does he have to apply to his major or does he get to choose?

If he has to apply to his major, how competitive it is to get the major?

Ask how difficult it is to change majors within engineering. If he is already in Mech e and changes his mind, how difficult is it to switch to Chem e or comp sci? At some schools, it is very easy and at others it can be almost impossible. This aspect of engineering majors is not like most other majors.

Find out the graduation rate for incoming freshmen engineering majors. The range can be huge.
Find out the 4 and 6 year graduation rates at each school. Those can vary wildly for engineering and impact cost a lot.
Find out about access to tutoring. Almost every engineering is lost at some point. How are the resources to get them back on track?

Also, if he decides to drop engineering, do they have the subjects he is likely to major in? Where to students who drop engineering usually go? For example, at D2’s school, I learned from current engineering students that students who struggle in engineering usually switch to systems engineering (the students say it is a bit easier than other eng majors), and students who still struggle at systems engineering usually switch to business.

This matters because some of the schools may not have business, for example.

Congratulations on all the admissions - you should be very proud of your future engineer! But as a former Anthropology student /dirty hippie from the 70s - and the father of 2 ChemEs - I suggest you talk to your son. I will bet that he has it all scoped out! I was pretty impressed with my kids research into where & why they wanted to go to school. Good Luck!

First, you can’t go wrong with your in-state option of Rutgers. It’s has a large, well established engineering program. It’s also affordable. You need to compare all of your other choices against Rutgers.

Between FSU and USF. USF has the better engineering program, while FSU is generally the better school. For engineering I would lean toward USF, but then, I’m a biased Gator. Keep in mind that neither school offers Aerospace Engineering. Was he able to get the OOS tuition waiver at FSU or the generous OOS scholarships at USF? If so, they both are VERY affordable OOS options, in case he just has to go OOS.

UMD has, IMHO, the strongest engineering department/college in your list. How much of a premium in cost, is that worth over Rutgers? I wouldn’t pay full OOS for UMD, if Rutgers in-state was an option, but that’s just me.

UDel has an underrated program. However, it’s at least as strong as USF if not better, and it’s comparable to Rutgers, if perhaps a step behind.

What is a “strong” program? Large selection of majors and electives. Fairly well recruited. Strong faculty (decent student to faculty ratio). Large number of design teams, engineering clubs, etc. Significant $ spent on research (which opens up undergraduate research opportunities and helps recruit better faculty).

What does he have to underpin his science and math interest? What are his AP scores? What was his math SAT?


[QUOTE=""]
, so ROI will likely be decent either way.<<<

[/QUOTE]

Maybe you could explain your thinking here?

 Are you borrowing to pay? 

@danielle6849

Another issue to be aware of is that nationally the engineering drop rate is around 60%. It is quite difficult. Most students who begin don’t make it, and many that do will fail a course or two before they are done. The first year is when most students drop. The second year there are still quite a few drops. After the end of the second year, there aren’t very many.

The significance of that is that getting off to a good start, and being supported when you struggle, is very important from day 1 of freshman year. Also, failing a course is not a disaster, or even uncommon. What matters is what the student does next. They need to get some help and do it again.

You guys are awesome. I’ve been swimming in self pity here over the rejection from UF. Here’s what I’ve got:

My son has been in the PLTW program for four years. It’s an articulation with Lockheed where the student takes engineering coursework for four years of high school. He was invited to apply and then accepted out of the applicants. It gives him some insight into engineering and he is now in the middle of his engineering capstone. One caveat- I never felt like he loved the classes as he loves some of his pure science classes. SO…I wanted him to go to a school with a strong STEM program so that he could have some choice if he decides engineering isn’t for him (there is a ton of pressure on students nowadays to go into engineering!).

@Sybylla What I meant is that he actually loves science and STEM majors seem to do fairly well, so I’m not too concerned about his career. He’s driven and articulate, and I think he’ll do well at anything he tries.

@nugraddad I met my husband on Dead tour. He didn’t leave me in the parking lot. It was love at first sight. Ha. I am very llaissez faire (and a staunch libertarian) so he can go wherever he likes. I beg him to just tell me what he likes. He doesn’t. He doesn’t know what he likes yet and needs to explore a bit more).

@Much2learn The one thing I really liked about Rutgers is that the students in engineering are housed together (could be good- could be bad) but they said they even bring a tutor to the dorm to work with the students. I thought that was awesome. School has always been easy for him and he’s only ever once had a B (mid-term- not final). This is pressure he put on himself, not from me. I usually try to pull him back a bit. I’ve been prepping him for realistic expectations in college. It will be a bit of a shock for him.

@Gator88NE You’ve been so helpful. We do live in Jersey but we also have a home in Florida. I know that he would get in-state at some point as we are moving down full-time. Even OOS in Florida is as inexpensive as in-state in Jersey (which isn’t inexpensive at all). You think maybe we should cross FSU off the list as being too liberal arts for a STEM kid?

Rutgers would be our natural first choice but it’s smack in the middle of New Brunswick which doesn’t excite my country boy. I agree that OOS UMD fees are crazy and not gonna happen (much as I love the school). I wasn’t wild about USF, but it might be a better choice than FSU if he decides on Florida and it is only an hour from our house, so we could see him often. I’ve been to UDel for lacrosse tournaments, but not to tour as an accepted student, so that is on our radar as well.

@carachel2 He’s been accepted into his intended major at three of the schools (mechanical). UMD we didn’t apply into engineering (I have no idea why) but they seem to be pretty supportive of student decisions.

@Sybylla We likely won’t borrow to pay unless he has his heart set on one we can’t swing, like UMD. In that case, he pays for the difference.

Aerospace and mechanical engineering are harder to get your foot in the door than other programs. Often, students have to get a masters degree to find a job. Just in case, it may be wise to minor in computer science and get some proficiency in a programming language just in case. All these are good schools. It’s best to go to the school where he’s already accepted into the major. Rutgers is ideal. For some schools like UF, the engineering school is cutthroat competitive and he could risk not getting in because grades aren’t competitive enough.

@danielle6849 "The one thing I really liked about Rutgers is that the students in engineering are housed together (could be good- could be bad) but they said they even bring a tutor to the dorm to work with the students.

That is good. Engineers get more homework. It is easier to adjust to it when you are surrounded by other engineers.

@danielle6849 “School has always been easy for him and he’s only ever once had a B (mid-term- not final). This is pressure he put on himself, not from me. I usually try to pull him back a bit. I’ve been prepping him for realistic expectations in college. It will be a bit of a shock for him.”

As you investigate schools, be sure to ask what the average engineering GPA is. At D2 school the average engineer has a 2.8 or 2.9 GPA. These students had about a 31 ACT average, so they are not slackers. It is great that he works hard, that is much more important than talent, but he also has to realize that the students are better and the grades lower in college, and that is especially true in engineering.

FSU has strong Physics and Chemistry programs. A STEM kid would do well at FSU, especially in the physical sciences. FSU’s physics and Chemistry programs may be the best in the state.

USF is a R&D powerhouse, but much of the research is being done in the life sciences. It’s physical sciences program is a bit weaker than FSU.

@Much2learn SO true. Nothing is more painful to a FYE student than putting in the grind and watching the kids with much lighter loads leaving for all the fun. Hang with the engineers. Embrace the grind!

Wanting to be with only or mostly other engineers is not for everyone though. My sons were both in engineering , but lived with kids in the dorm and later off campus with kids in varied majors, and still did very well academically. They just were not interested in honors programs or being primarily with other engineers. They, of course had friends they met in engineering, but also had friends/roommates in business, biochemistry, history, etc.

@Gator88NE That is really good to know. I’ve always maintained that the only course I ever really saw him “love” was AP Physics. Thank you. I appreciate that information.

@Sybylla I finally figured out what the EFC is. Ha. We will likely be paying 100%. He may get scholarship if he attend UDel, but I don’t think he will get it at UMD. We are over the threshold for FA, but we do have 529 savings (not enough for UMD).