Son24 has been admitted to 12 schools for mechanical engineering and business. Last two in the running are Bryant University in RI and UNH. At Bryant, he will definitely pursue business, likely supply chain management. At UNH he has the option of business or mechanical engineering through pathway programs with a 3.0 gpa. He is having a terrible time deciding. We have high level jobs in the business/tech sector, but these schools aren’t on everyone’s radar, so it’s hard to get feedback. My instinct is that he will get more individualized attention at Bryant, but I would welcome any feedback regarding either of these schools. I feel like so many of the threads are about top 20 schools, where can parents/students discuss info on the thousands of non-top 20 colleges? All of the niche reviews seem to have a bias. This process is so hard!
How about Unigo? https://www.■■■■■■■■■/colleges
I don’t know about these schools but in engineering the intersection of business and engineering is Industrial engineering. (Business engineering). Might want to see if they have that major and look into it.
Facebook groups for the schools and parent groups for the schools
Thanks! Bryant is the one school that I’ve encountered that they won’t let parents in unless their student has a student ID. Sends up a red flag.
Makes sense. How about Reddit etc then
Also no info on Reddit 
We have friends with super motivated kids who have gone to Bryant successfully. Just hard to make a decision with such a small sample size.
Well, my son went to University of Michigan so a very large school for Industrial engineering. My daughter went to Beloit. Around 1500 students.
Both knew their professors and their professor’s knew their first names. After first year his classes were like 30 people and hers were like 20 or so. They both had no problem meeting with their professors. You can also make a larger school small quickly by getting involved in activities that internships /jobs like kids that are an active part of the schools community.
So… Don’t assume that just because it’s a larger school that he won’t get attention. To me there are advantages to larger schools especially with opportunities. I see Bryant has a lot of 3/1 type programs and just not a fan.
What is his rationale for the 2 school and are any others in the running?Are they affordable also?
I also don’t like when students pick one school for this major and their this one for that major. His two major are very different.
Is either school easier to switch majors. Usually switching out of engineering is easier but can he switch to another engineering major with ease. Kids change their minds/majors all the time.
Is there an interest in engineering, because that won’t even be an option at Bryant. We know plenty of people that have gone to Bryant. Solid business school, good internships, but if he is unsure of major, UNH has so much more to offer.
Beyond that, it comes down to does he want to go to a larger state flagship or a small pre-professional school. They have very different feels.
What does he want in a school?
Can his guidance counselor put him in touch with kids from his HS who are at both places? That’s a good way to get a feel for a campus if you haven’t been able to visit.
And your comment “like supply chain” concerns me. If you mean that he doesn’t really know about a lot of different business functions (and most HS students don’t), it just may be too early for him to pick a college based on a major that he may not even like! UNH seems to have many more options for him if either engineering or business don’t end up being something he loves (or can tolerate for four years). Going to Bryant- learning that supply chain isn’t what he thinks it is, he hates finance, finds marketing boring-- then what?
UNH seems like a much safer option. Hard to run out of programs there!
You are welcome to PM me with UNH questions. I have a junior engineering major there now, with mostly MechE classes for ocean engineering the first couple of years. She has had plenty of individualized support, small classes, and career counseling. CEPS has their own career advisors just for their majors.
Definitely suggest the Innovation Scholars program for first year engineering majors there. This is a small cohort program that immediately gets them doing hands-on projects. He is probably getting emails about it, but it is easy for them to overlook things like this. They have different focuses, but one is on advanced manufacturing ewhich may be of interest.
https://ceps.unh.edu/innovation-scholars
The advanced manufacturing center is pretty amazing:
https://ceps.unh.edu/Olson-Center/collaboration
Dual majors are hard with engineering - anywhere. But at UNH there are lots of opportunities to “pitch” engineering business ideas and there is an entrepreneurial spirit with many of the engineering and business related events.
He is looking at supply chain management because it has a lot of engineering baked in through CS courses and being in physical manufacturing spaces. So it seems like it could be a good fit based on his interests and talents.
He needs to do a lot of thinking this week. Honestly, there is a lot of weight to the idea that a bigger school with a vast array of majors would be a better spot for him.
I appreciate all the feedback!
But there are also jobs in urban planning, sustainable design, environmental policy, facilities management, cybersecurity, transportation, health care, etc. which have elements of CS and engineering which may or may not align with what a smaller school can offer.
I know a lot of kids who gravitate towards supply chain because 'I want a business job but not a desk job" and then discover that their jobs involve-- spreadsheets, algorithms, modeling i.e. desk jobs. Once the big software vendors developed off the shelf products to integrate the entire process-- the need isn’t for folks wandering around factories and loading docks and ports and container yards… the need is for the people who trouble-shoot the software.
Just so that he has a reality check!
Got it! Yes, all three of my kids see their sales parents, who primarily sit on calls/zoom all day, and realize they don’t want to do what we do. Sales is so different than it was when we were young, so much of what we did was in person hitting the road daily. I guess it’s just the natural evolution of the job force.
I love your perspective, it’s really helping me see the bigger picture. These kids want a specific major, but there is so much value in exploring all the options. Our oldest was lucky to pick a major she loves, but she is at a giant state school where she has lot of options to explore so she’s getting a major in a health discipline and a minor in PR/communications.
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