@Sportsball what does your son hope to do as a civil engineer?
When looking at schools, I made S23 identify 2 engineering majors heād be interested in beyond what his original intent was and 2 non-engineering majors he would be interested in. Youād be surprised at the options at schools typically thought of as āengineering schools.ā
Spoiler: S23 decided not to be an engineer before even applying second semester of junior year. At least we didnāt have to start our list from scratch.
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A few random thoughts:
- University of Colorado offers both.
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Engineering is basically using science and math to solve problems or innovate solutions. Students need a strong theoretical base to succeed. All engineering programs have a design, or project component because ABET requires it. Students will get both theory and practice in any good program.
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There are lots of ways to get practical, hands-on experience: joining a professor/PI in an engineering research lab, getting involved in clubs (e.g., Formula SAE, Student Engineers Without Borders, Steel Bridge Competition, Robotics Competitions), project classes, and internships.
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Many classes have a lab associated with it and that is where theoretical class work gets a hands-on learning component.
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Sometimes project based classes are better in theory than in practicality. Projects are almost always group based, so a students grade depends partially on the group they are assigned to. Thatās good real life experience because in the working world they will likely be working in collaboration with others. But in college, if a large number of classes require you to pick up the slack of another team member, if you care about grades and you get paired with someone who is satisfied with just passing, it can wear on you.
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Hoping @MaineLonghorn chimes in here.
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He is interested in international development, and issues like water access, digging wells, sanitation projects, etc. . .
Heās 14, so obviously heās got a lot to learn, and he doesnāt need to decide now.
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I believe these are all āprojectsā. My husband was a career engineer. He did hiring for his firm, including civil engineers. He was not just looking for book smart engineers (which sounds like academic to me). He was also looking for folks with project experience of some kindā¦because it was needed.
I would suggest your son try to spend some time with a couple of different civil engineers to both talk to them and also to see what they actually do.
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14 - wow, heās early.
Someone regularly posts URI for folks interested in international engineering opportunities - so perhaps it would interest you. Iāve attached their international engineering program.
Yes they are. He definitely wants to be the kind of engineer who makes stuff, and solves problems. I can see the problems he wants to solve changing things, but heās been a maker since he was tiny. I can see him feeling @vwlizard 's kid
We do have some civil engineers in our church and community, that he has talked to.
We are in a really early stage of this. Of course we are, because heās only 14. But he needs to make some decisions athletically, that would be easier if he had some ideas about what he wants for college. So, Iām just trying to figure out what the dimensions of his college search will be.
With my older kid we looked at local schools, and schools near where we happened to be for other reasons, until we had a clear sense of what he wanted, and then we started traveling further. I think this is one of the dimensions that we need to sort out.
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Why? Why canāt he do his athletic interest also?
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He plays a couple sports, and his coaches for both are saying that playing in college is a realistic goal, but if he wants to aim for D1 he needs to pick one and concentrate. Also the schools where he could play each sport are pretty different.
So, weāre hoping that a better sense of what he wants might help make the decision. For example, if he really likes P4 type schools, it seems like engineering and sports wonāt mix there. So, then he should just do what is the most fun, which might be playing multiple sports rather than concentrating. Or if he likes the small project based D3 schools, then one sport makes more sense than the other.
So, weāre not picking schools, or even picking a major. Just trying to figure out broad categories, and it seems like this question of project based vs. more traditional is one dimension.
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Why wouldnāt he focus on his sport now - if he loves it - and see where he stands at 16/17 and then what he wants his athletic and academic and future to be then vs now?
If heās recruitable and loves his sport, it makes little sense to make any decision now - at least in my mind.
I donāt feel like I need to give so many specific details. Iām just going to ask you to trust me that heās at a point where he needs to make some decisions and weāre hoping to get more information to make those decisions.
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I think youāve explained it very well; thereās no need for anyone to be second-guessing you about sports decisions, when that isnāt even the point of the thread but rather just some helpful context. Lots of kids have forks in the road, athletics-wise, at your sonās age or even younger. One can feel like it shouldnāt be that way, but that doesnāt change the reality.
Re: your earlier question about a northeast theoretically-leaning school that isnāt too large, my first thought (as gardenstategal said) was RPI. But momofboiler said her d was seeking project-based and liked RPI so maybe not? Maybe BU or URochester? Hopkins?
How did you set up the meeting with the department head?
AFAIK being a D1 athlete is such a commitment that it precludes majoring in Engineering.
You can look at in-state collegesārosters and look at athletesā majors to have a better sense of what they major in, but at D1s it may well be whatever the coach deems the easiest majors.
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Called /email. At UChicago it was our first time doing it we did it as the open house was going on. All people were more then happy to meet.
My daughter did this also for the Lacs she visited. She had a specialty and was wanted but sheās convinced she got into 11/12 program because of it. This is sidetracking this thread so PM if needed.
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We set up our one on ones through admissions. Some schools were very accommodating, others not so much. Same for sitting in on classes.
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Would the colleges do this with a 14 year old?
You should be proud of your son for loving his sport. I know some recruited athletes do get scholarships, but the time commitment is very large usually. At some colleges, there are club sports that are also pretty robust. I would suggest looking at all options for the sport as well. Club sports are a great way to continue a well loved sport, but without the large commitment that recruited athletes have.
If he did a club sport, he could also pursue engineering more easily.
Then again, he might change his mind about major altogether!
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Given OPās specific interests, this would probably not be the school for them ā¦ but it definitely fits the bill for hands on, project based engineering schools, so Iāll throw it out there for others following this thread: Kettering University.
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This is not necessarily true, although engineering majors are underrepresented among college athletes. This (older) page suggests that a non zero number but <1% of athletes at UCB were engineering majors at the time.
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