Hello, I am going into my junior year of highschool in NJ, and I really want to study electrical/computer engineering. I’m just wondering, is it really that hard to get into the engineering program at schools like rowan university and rutgers? From alot of what I see on the internet, it seems like those schools will be extra extra hard to get into their engineering program, and my top priority for picking a college will be a major, as I probably wouldn’t want to major in anything MAYBE besides comp sci. Lets say I get around a 3.5 gpa UW as that’s about what I have right now, 1300 sat score as I got an 1100 a year ago on the PSAT, and good extracurriculars but nothing outstanding, should I have to worry about somehow getting rejected from every single school I apply to next schoolyear, or is this just overthinking? Please don’t just tell me it’s too early to think about this stuff as that won’t help me.
There will be many a school for you - Rutgers, Rowan or otherwise.
There’s 305 accredited CE schools and 408 Electrical. Unfortunately, there’s not a count of ECE majors.
It’s too early but if you’re on the path you’ve stated, you’ll have many potential homes - in state or otherwise - and not sure why you want in state. But if it’s budget, there are many budget schools OOS too.
Be the best you that you can be - both inside and outside the classroom - and things will be fine.
Yes, you’re overthinking this…as long as when the time comes you build a proper list. Yes, people get rejected everywhere. In almost every case, they don’t build a proper list…in other words, user error.
I see you tagged Iowa State. The good thing is you can see right away if you will get into Iowa State by figuring out your RAI. First-year Students - Iowa State University
“But if it’s budget, there are many budget schools OOS too.” Yeah that’s true, I have some of those types of schools in my thoughts, the only thing is that they are still gonna be more expensive than instate schools, especially paying for transportation, and I am not 100% sure if I wanna live that far away as of right now, but I do know that I don’t want to live in NJ forever. But thanks for the response
I tagged it b/c it is one of those out of state schools that auto admits people and isn’t that selective. The rai calculator seems to say my projected stats would get in, but even then Iowa doesn’t seem like a place id wanna live for atleast 4 years. Thanks for the response
Auto admits and isn’t that expensive*
I grew up in NJ, now live in MA and we visited Iowa State last year. While it wasn’t my first choice of where I’d want to be, it’s totally doable for 4 years. It’s a nice college town and the school is so big that there’s anything you could ever want to do. Great job prospects coming out so you could move anywhere you want after graduation.
And the people were wonderful.
Alright, when it comes to an auto admit school id either apply to their or Arizona state just incase, Iowa state seems to be cheaper but as of right now I am not sure which I would apply to.
No. Not hard to get into Engineering. There are many ABET certificated ENG colleges. 3.5 GPA should get you admitted to one of them. But getting an ENG degree will be much harder, only 1/3 students started with ENG major end up graduate with it. Just be ready for the hard work…
I am trying my best to prepare for engineering while I am in highschool. Thanks for the response.
When you’re ready think of type of engineering, size, geography and budget (most important) and you can build a nice list from suggestions people will be able to give you on CC.
Not necessarily more expensive.
Sounds like your profile will be pretty good.
A lot will depend, too, on what you want to study.
Be a kid and don’t worry prematurely.
Come back in a year after another year of grades and an SAT.
Enjoy your year.
But don’t be afraid to visit some campuses - see what type of size and environment you like.
I have a feeling I would like the big state school atmosphere because I want to meet a lot of diverse new people. Thank you for your response.
NJ has four public universities with electrical engineering and computer engineering (NJIT, TCNJ, Rowan, and Rutgers).
The cost constraints that you have will determine which schools, particularly out-of-state public schools and private schools, will be affordable.
If you want to study engineering, you will have options! Sure, there will be schools you can’t get into, but there will also be plenty that will be happy to have you.
In addition to the NJ publics, you can also look at the SUNY schools that participate in the flagship match program, in which NJ participates. Check out SUNY Poly’s ABET-accredited ECE program, for example, or SUNY Oswego’s. U of Maine has a flagship match program too, and is a solid engineering school that offers both EE and CE.
If your family can go above the in-state cost of Rutgers, budget-wise, then you’ll have even more options. If you let us know what budget you have to work with, you’ll get lots of suggestions.
What’s important is to make sure you have a strong academic foundation, especially in math, so that you’ll be well-prepared for the rigors of engineering school. Even the schools that are easier to get into are tough once there, and often have high attrition rates out of engineering. (Iowa State is a great example of this.) Make sure you’re well-prepared and that you’re expecting to work hard and utilize all of the available resources (study groups, tutoring, etc.) to succeed, and you’ll be fine.
WOW I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THE SUNY TUITION MATCH THING! Alot of other states such as the western ones have the wue thing, which has me really jealous because they have so many cheaper options. But the flagship match program seems great anyway! Thank you for your reply!
For budget, I am not exactly sure, I honestly can spend as much as I can but that would equal debt. I think I would want to spend at most 50k a year for everything, perferably less, maybe closer to 40k or 30k if I want to be more realistic.
And it can be at many places.
Have that discussion with your folks. Really, over the next 6 months, understand what they are able and willing to spend. Don’t panic at the #.
Start visiting local schools to get a sense. You think you light big but verify by seeing large, medium, and small.
And in a year with a fully defined gpa and sat, you can figure out the where which is likely to be many.
And focus on school and ECs this year.
With a 3.5 and 1300 SAT you’ll have options.
The dropout rate varies by university but overall the theme is right, there is a lot of attrition. I think most of the kids that give it up could have done the work but just decided it wasn’t worth it. They look around and see other kids having apparently the time of their life while they’re spending many hours in the library or lab.
How much time should you be studying per week? Research suggests that students should spend approximately 2-3 hours, per credit hour, studying in order to be successful in their courses. STEM classes often require 3-4 hours, per credit hour, of studying to be successful.
Time Managment Calculator | School of Chemical Sciences | Illinois
If you look at sample programs such as https://www.advising.engineering.osu.edu/media/document/2023-08-16/bingo-sheet-ece-ces-2023-2024-.pdf you can see that most semesters you take 4-5 STEM classes. 12-15 credit hours times 3-4 hours is a lot of study!
I don’t say this to frighten anyone away, just so that they know what they’re signing up for. Kids in engineering programs can have fun in college, but they need to fit it in with the time taken for their major.
As I think others have mentioned, you can borrow only a max of 27K total over 4 years, in your own name. Your parents would have to cosign for anything beyond that. And that limit exists for a reason - it’s unwise to get into more debt than the guaranteed loans allow.
And you should have very solid options at under 40K/year. Sure, you can get into more expensive schools, but I doubt they’ll be meaningfully better than your in-budget options.
A huge factor in attrition from engineering is, as I alluded to, math. Do you get good grades in your math classes? What’s the highest level of math you expect to take in high school?
For students who love science and technology but who aren’t up for the heavy math involved in an ABET-accredited engineering degree, engineering technology programs can be a good alternative. Some schools offer both, which can be great even if you want to start out in an engineering program, because then you have an off-ramp that doesn’t involve leaving the engineering field altogether, if you want or need it. For example, UMaine has EE and CE, but also Electrical Engineering Technology… and SUNY Poly, in addition to having ECE, has both EE Technology and CE Technology. Students with these degrees get good jobs, too. You might want to compare the curricula side by side to see how the programs differ and what appeals to you more. And even if you do want an engineering program, the availability of the tech majors on the same campus might count as a plus for those schools.