I was very similar to you and loved UT Austin. I was a pianist, too, but I didn’t run back then.
This was me a lifetime ago (early 90’s). During senior year of HS I had no idea what I wanted to do, but always excelled in my math and science courses and was very much enjoying my physics class. So, I thought that engineering would be the best option. After researching the highest paid engineering discipline (then, and I think still) and sadly realizing that the closest petroleum engineering program was 1,000 miles away, I found that the second highest paying engineering discipline was nuclear engineering and there was a program right down the road.
Four years later I graduated as a nuke, but never practiced a day as an engineer.
FWIW, while most graduating engineers at my school sat for the EIT exam (sounds like what is being referred to as the FE exam above), but few became PE (except for civil engineers).
The point of this rambling is that your son is not too old to decide what he wants. That comes when it comes and pressing a decision too early is likely to have unpleasant repercussions.
Also note, there are many engineering adjacent programs that may fit better for your son. In my program many came to our graduate program from a physics undergrad program, materials science, etc. And, we sent many graduates to MS, PhD, and MD programs (my roommate got a PhD in physics, a friend went to medical school, and I went to law school - all with undergrad nuke degrees).
I’ve grown attached to a phrase mentioned by another “schools with margin for error”. I take that to mean go somewhere that has a good enough reputation across a number of interests. It is unlikely that your (or your son’s) teenage self knows what they want to do in 5 years. Schools with margin for error provide this necessary flexibility.
Good luck to your son - sounds like a great kid.
ETA, I apologize, started off my ramble in response to tamagotchi, but in my mind switched over to responding to OP.
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That’s interesting! Each state has its own rules, but in VA you can’t apply until you have 4 years experience. When I got my current job, it said “able to get PE within 1 year of employment.” I was at 3+ and felt they meant I was what they were looking for. No, they mean already had a stamp but possibly in another state and it would take 1 year to obtain the VA one.
So they me sign something that said I’d pass by the October exam the following year giving me two chances to pass. But then I went and got pregnant and older S was due the day before the April exam, so I only had one shot to pass. And I had to go back to work FT after 1 week with him since I didn’t get any maternity leave. So I had to study working full time with a newborn with the thought if I failed, I could be fired and I was the main breadwinner and health insurance holder for our family. It was horrible. Don’t recommend it!
But in VA you can get a PE without an ABET degree, you just have to work longer. 6 years. Or at least the last time I looked. But also some programs, even ABET accredited seem to be better then others. Most people I know from tech passed the first try. Some of the other lower ranked schools I know people who needed 3-4 tries to pass.
I think it makes school selection easier if a student is definite on what they want to study. This is even more so if it’s engineering. However, most students have more curiosity than passion when it come to what they want to study. In my opinion if engineering is a strong consideration then I would apply to schools with an ABET accreditation and start in engineering. Second I would apply to schools large enough to have a variety of engineering disciplines and a lot of other options. Usually that rules out smaller schools. In engineering (regardless of the field) the first year will mostly be a lot of math and science prerequisites but it will give them a feel for the rigor of the program (it won’t get easier). If they choose to change fields it’s typically much easier to transfer out of engineering than into engineering. Some LACs have 3+2 programs but typically they aren’t recommended. However every student has their own path. Good luck.
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In addition to a 3+2 program, Dartmouth offers a 2+1+1+1 option which treats the third year almost like a junior abroad, enabling the participating LAC student to return to their home school for senior year. A lot of LAC kids dislike the 3+2 program because it takes away the possibility of participating in commencement ceremonies. The fifth year back at Dartmouth is the same for both programs:
Dartmouth Engineering | Dual-Degree
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I think Wesleyan participated in this with Dartmouth. I tried to convince mine to consider this since he liked Wes so much. It’s a great idea.
Here’s a complete list of participating LACs:
Amherst
Bard
Bates
Bowdoin
Colby
Grinnell
Hamilton
Hobart & William Smith
Middlebury
Morehouse
Mount Holyoke
Pomona
Simon’s Rock
[Skidmore](https://www.skidmore.edu/
St. Lawrence
Spelman
Vassar
Wesleyan
Wheaton
Williams
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lol the food at my college dining hall was gross, that freshman 15 was ice cream, and I think every college dining hall today. Most of my kids’ dining was rather a B+ on niche and yet parents would complain their kids were starving and needed grub hub. When my kids moved off campus sophomore or junior year, they were thrilled to be gifted guest swipes, or to get food snuck out (one daughter loves mug sushi).
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It has some of the usual drawbacks that 3+2 programs have:
- “Admission to the Dual-Degree Program is limited and competitive” according to https://engineering.dartmouth.edu/undergraduate/dual# .
- An extra year of costs, and FA at the Dartmouth portion is not known beforehand beyond net price calculator tests.
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Wonder how many students really do this 2/1/1/1 ? Very few do the 3/2
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I have known two. Neither did it intentionally… one switched majors midstream and didn’t want to transfer to a college where she could have graduated in four plus one semester; the other ended up in it due to poor planning.
Both families had enough money to finance the extra year… I think it’s cost prohibitive for families who are trying to budget.
I’ve known several who say they are going to do it-- and none do. Interesting that the 2 who did it did in unintentionally.
Unintentionally as in “This is the best of a bunch of sub-optimal choices”!
Most college kids (except for the miserable ones who want to transfer) really, really really want to end their college careers with their friends!
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In 2-1-1-1 dual programs, they do.
That’s clear. But how many students actually do this program???
Including the kids from Dartmouth? I’m curious how many of them finish both degrees in four years.
At the time of this post, the program at Dartmouth seemed quite active, with mentions of students studying in the same cohort from Hamilton, Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, Vassar and Colby: Hamilton rigor - #13 by akin67.
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Some other options might include specialist Lib Arts cohort programs/ LLCs in large state schools, which allow Engineering majors to participate. This gives your son the small supportive community, good discussion classes, and the ABET Engineering. The example I know about as my D attended was Blount Scholars at Alabama (NOT saying it’s a good fit for your son before anyone shouts at me- its just the one I know!) I am sure there are other examples.
Or a school which has has strong Lib Arts core for all majors - e.g. Boston College or other jesuit schools. I remember a discussion on BC engineering being new, so maybe not exactly there, but you get my drift.
HMC and MIT also have lib arts requirements for all their majors, so are there are other programs that replicate this??
You may have to do some digging, but these might provide some other ideas…
As far as I understand it, its not a 2/1/1/1 if its ONLY a Dart student. the program is for students who attend one of the partner schools
How many finished?