<p>Sorry this is a little late, but here goes:
Does anybody have any recommendations for a student who wants to study engineering but doesn’t necessarily have the highest math scores/grades? I go to a stem school in the Pacific NW (have taken AP classes) and was looking for good engineering schools, but I have As mixed with Bs in math. I’ve been looking at University of Washington, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and possibly MIT.
Areas of interest include aerospace and mechanical, although I am not completely sure yet
GPA: 3.78 Unweighted
SAT: CR 800 M 660 WR 700
I’m also on a robotics team for extracurricular, if that helps. Would it be worth it applying to more selective colleges like UPenn or Stanford? Any recommendations on colleges that would be a good fit?</p>
<p>“Pacific NW” – resident of Washington or Oregon? Cost constraints? Be sure to run the net price calculator on each school’s web site if cost is a concern.</p>
<p>Both states have in-state public universities that are not super-selective.</p>
<p>If you want a smaller school, consider South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and New Mexico Institute of Mines and Technology as low cost options that are not difficult to get admitted to.</p>
<p>Do you have the $50,000 it costs each year to attend Michigan?
If your only EC is being on the robotics team, Stanford, MIT, and UPenn are not reachable.
However there are lots of good STEM schools: check out Rose Hulman, for instance,
perhaps Olin…</p>
<p>I think you should attend an easier school than the ones that you mentioned and one that will provide you good support (i.e. help when you need it, and everybody needs it). Seriously, those schools are full of very high achieving students, and even if you got in would lead you to despair because your math would be on the low end. You want a good outcome at a place where you’re not at a competitive disadvantage. </p>
<p>I recommend Worcester Polytech, Rose-Hullman, Rochester Institute of Technology. </p>
<p>Illinois Institute of Technology might be a good bet and their rep is often posting on these boards and can probably give you more info. I’m not sure how easy or how much support they provide, but your stats are right on the money. </p>
<p>I know that RIT does pretty well with more mathematically challenged students. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about the other schools that have been mentioned, but it’s worth checking them out too. </p>
<p>Definitely avoid a hardcore place like Case Western, which will probably admit you then destroy you. The same is true for most large publics with high ranking engineering. </p>
<p>Deadlines:
RIT: Rolling, Feb 1 priority deadline
WPI: Feb 1
Rose-Hullman: Mar 1
IIT: Rolling, Feb 1 priority deadline</p>
<p>A’s and B’s in math are fine, especially at a STEM school that is full of kids that are really good at math. Any idea why your SAT math score was low relative to your grades?
Your math SAT score is a little low for places like Stanford, but if your grades are good in rigorous math courses, you should be OK for lots of engineering schools.</p>
<p>BeanTownGirl, I’d recommend caution. </p>
<p>B’s and a 660 indicate a lack of mastery in math. Engineering builds heavily on the math. It’s cumulative. There is certainly a role for students like this in engineering. </p>
<p>A more deliberate approach at a digestible pace could take this student very far, and that’s what I’m recommending. </p>
<p>Imagine a huge public school with an impersonal hardcore program, a good number of top math students who went there because it was more cost effective, and a rapid pace. The train leaves the station. The student gets behind. The train does not slow down to wait. The school has few resources devoted to remediation. This student gets crushed. </p>
<p>Why subject oneself to this when there are great more suitable options like WPI which are used to teaching students at his level, and teaching them well.</p>
<p>Listen to ClassicRockerDad. A selective engineering school is a meat grinder even for a kid with a 760 math SAT. UW has a good program so don’t discount it just because it is close to you. You will not get into MIT or Penn with your stats.</p>
<p>Are you a junior? UW deadline was Dec. 1.</p>
<p>I agree with CRD. (lol…surprise!! 
)</p>
<p>Students with a sub 700 math are less likely going to do well in eng’g. There’s just too much math req’d…and (often) the Physics req’d is Calc-based.</p>
<p>Maybe attending a lower ranked school might work because they often have “help” for students like you. but, to try to compete at a school like UMich eng’g where the classmates will be much stronger is a recipe for disaster. </p>
<p>At many of those schools, you aren’t just applying to the univ, you’re also applying to the COE and they’re going to scrutinize that M score on the SAT and ACT. They KNOW that those who have sub 700 M scores (or the ACT equivalent) are far more likely going to be weeded out because of grades. </p>
<p>There’s no point to applying to Stanford, UPenn or similar for eng’g. You won’t make it past the first down-selection.</p>
<p>What is your home state? Oregon? Wash? If Wash, did you do Running Start?</p>
<p>What is your budget? How much will your parents pay?</p>
<p>If you need aid, then do not apply to OOS publics unless you know that you’ll get merit there. If you’re OOS for UWash, forget it.</p>
<p>I think you should attend an easier school than the ones that you mentioned and one that will provide you good support (i.e. help when you need it, and everybody needs it</p>
<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>I don’t think many high school students really grasp how much work/studying they’re going to have to do in college as an eng’g major. Too many smart high school students really don’t have to work hard for their HS grades…then they get to college and …oops…they get their first B…or C…or worse…they get a D, have to retake, and then their eng’g course sequence gets messed up.</p>
<p>I recently read a post from a mom of a high stats NMF eng’g student who (surprise) didn’t realize that as he moved up in eng’g classes he’d have to really work at it. He probably thought that attending a state school would mean that he could continue a more laid-back approach to school…Not! Not in eng’g! </p>
<p>CRD can probably better list the “bite in the tush” classes better than I can, but I’m always hearing sob stories from eng’g students in thermo classes, fluid classes, statics classes, and electricity and magnetism classes.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, I am from washington, and have applied to the UW. my ACT math score was 30, which is a little higher than my SAT math 1 score. As far as cost goes, I can afford something in the 30,000/year range, so I would apply for merit aid at private schools.
I’m taking AP Calculus now and have a B. had 2 other B’s and other than that A’s. Some of you guys mentioned RIT, WPI, etc. Are there any colleges in the west coast similar to them for help with remedial math?</p>
<p>OP, why aren’t Wazzu a.k.a. WSU and Seattle U engineering on your list of possibilities? Most engineering programs are demanding but Wazzu and SU are probably among the more “managable” than others. And Wazzu engineers do get recruited by large firms from PNW. Keep in mind also the engineering department at U of Portland.</p>
<p>Washington State is an obvious in-state public choice to consider. Eastern Washington also has mechanical engineering.</p>
<p>Other schools that are not super selective or expensive (out of state) include Iowa State and Minnesota.</p>
<p>As far as high school math goes, you may want to check out these math placement tests (not behind pay walls or student walls) to check your knowledge of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry:</p>
<p>[Placement</a> Test](<a href=“http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/]Placement”>http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/)
[Calculus</a> Diagnostic Placement Exam | Department of Mathematics at University of California Berkeley](<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam]Calculus”>http://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam)</p>
<p>Yes to WPI and Rose Hulman. I would pick WSU over either RIT or IIT and you would qualify for a minimum of $8000 scholarships.</p>
<p>I hear what people are saying about the larger state schools leaving students “in the dust” but those schools ought to do a better job of providing resources for students if for no other reason than their own retention statistics. I know that isn’t the “traditional” engineering approach, but I wonder how many students would succeed with a little more support?
I know at UMass Lowell they analyzed why there was so much attrition from the engineering program and discovered that math was the roadblock for many students. So they now have multiple paths for getting through calculus: the fast path for the AP kids, the regular one-year path for many students and a slower path that takes 1.5 years to get through freshman calc. They found that many students can succeed with enough support and the appropriate pacing to get them that foundation. They presented this info at the admitted students day for engineering and I found it pretty interesting. They also decided to house engineering students together for freshman year because it helped students form study groups. They really seem to be making an effort.</p>
<p>*can afford something in the 30,000/year range, so I would apply for merit aid at private schools. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>At the privates that you’re considering your scores are too low for merit…and some of those don’t give ANY merit. </p>
<p>Umich costs $50k+ for OOS and you won’t get merit there either.</p>
<p>Where are you thinking that you’d get merit?? At privates you’d need about $25k per year in merit to get costs down to $30k…where would you get that much???</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you can’t get merit as some schools, but not at the ones that you’re looking at. Yes, Bama would give you free tuition plus 2500 per year for your M+CR SAT…but Bama is the highest ranked school that would give you a lot of merit.</p>
<p>If you were admitted to IIT you would probably get some merit aid as most of our students do. I cannot tell you how much though as I am a physics professor and not in the admissions or financial aid offices. You probably would be well into the upper third of our entering Freshman class even though the math test score is weaker than the language portion.</p>
<p>I also want to echo what has been said by others here. Most engineering programs are tough and will be a lot of work. If you struggle in math it will be especially hard at the beginning but good study habits will take you far.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s simply incorrect.</p>
<p>Most engineering students do not have 700+ SAT math scores. The fact is that only ~7% of those taking the SAT receive scores over 700 on the math section. And of those 7%, only a fraction go in to engineering programs.</p>
<p>FWIW, the average SAT math score for engineering students was [url=<a href=“http://www.joshuakennon.com/sat-scores-ranked-by-intended-college-major-show-teachers-are-below-average/]587[/url”>SAT Scores Ranked by Intended College Major]587[/url</a>] in 2010.</p>
<p>With all due respect Bean Town Girl - support is nice, but at some point, it has to stop. So some state schools choose to have a "weed out’ aspect in competitive programs. Employers are not going to spoon feed newly hired engineers. So while there may be tutoring centers and such on any campus, it is going to be up to the student to seek it out and use it.</p>
<p>How is my statement “incorrect”. </p>
<p>those with sub 700 math SATs are LESS likely going to do well in eng’g. That is a true statement. </p>
<p>That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some sub-700 math SAT students who make it thru. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some who graduate with 2.5 GPAs. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some that START in eng’g (and their stats are included), but then are weeded out. There are many schools that let ANY accepted student “start” in engineering…but many are weeded out within 2 years. </p>
<p>I wonder what the avg Math SAT is of the average engineer who graduates with a 3.5+ GPA? I bet it’s not close to the average that you provided.</p>
<p>Lastly, the OP isn’t looking at colleges where many eng’g student have modest math SAT scores. he’s looking at schools where his math SAT is low for eng’g.</p>
<p>I think OP should apply to a private universities like Rice where he would not formally be in engineering school but would be able to elect an engineering major. An 800 CR is exceptional but not nearly as important as other scores for engineering schools. Most engineering schools also require SAT Math Level II and a science test for admission.</p>
<p>OP should also consider going to an LAC like Reed or Whitman (in PNW) for a 3-2 engineering program. Both would be impressed with OP’s 800CR + 660M.</p>