Need assistance with college selection...

foolishpleasure
Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:04:01 +0000

I thought the top engineering programs tended to be unis - - MIT, Caltech, etc. - - and that LACs with strong engineering prgms (Harvey Mudd) are less common. Also at a LAC one often receives a BS instead of a BE (bach in engineering, the first professional degree in engineering).

And because the uni engineering curric is often more focused/limited/specialized than at a LAC, it can be easier to avoid some of the humanities or soc sci courses that LACs require to satisfy geneds. A friend’s son (w/ similar profile to your S) chose UMich engineer for precisely that reason (doesn’t have to take a lot of classes outside of engineering, math and sci).

If your S’s skill set is more evenly developed and geneds are not a problem, you might want to consider some smaller unis in addit to the “usual suspects.” In addition to Clark, Case (offers merit $), URocn (very supportive), Union, Trinity, Lehigh and Tufts are all small unis offering engineering. Sorry, other than Case, no small mid-western uni came to mind.