Engineering Schools
 

Hey all. So my youngest is a junior in HS and is looking to go to college for engineering. He's taking an engineering class this summer at Stanford (virtual of course) to dip his toe into it. He's not sure of any specific discipline yet. He just got a perfect SAT math score, so I am assuming that will help him get into schools.

I know we have some engineers here. Any recommendations? Schools and what to look for in a program. A couple tips I got so far are make sure the school's program includes hands on experience, and make sure they have professors and actually offer the classes they list in their offerings.

Do not let yourself or your son get talked into a 5 year program.

You mean a BS & masters at once track, right? I steered my oldest away from that. In most cases I don't believe in getting a masters w/o also having actual real life experience.

I think he means that a good number of engineering students complete their BS in 5 years vs 4. If he can swing the credits, getting it done in 4 is ideal.

I don't have a great feel for current engineering schools but here are a few pointers if they are helpful.

- The first couple years will weed out those not cut out for the degree.

- If your son isn't one who needed to really study in HS, he needs to understand that he should/will need to in engineering school. Perhaps he is one of the few that just still doesn't really need to study but best to start of strong vs play catch up through the years.

- Ask the questions to understand what the school will be doing to help get your son an internship or any paths that lead towards part time work either within the school or with partnering companies.

- Some schools require a form of writing class so if he isn't competent in writing, he will struggle and should look for help.

- Ask if the school will share any freshman professor grade reports. I've had some really bad professors and the good ones can make all the difference. Hell, myself and a few other students got a professor removed from a course (his track record was garbage when we looked into it).

- Does he have any interests that may be a career option down the road? Gina went into Packaging Engineering (required strong chemical and structural engineering principles) and that path had/still maintains a 100% hire rate. Pharmas in NJ pay well.... As you may recall, I do the energy efficiency side of things and that's an ever growing career. Other engineers can chime in with their experience but like anything else, if the person is hungry and wants to excel they will do well in any industry.

Yea, I meant the 5 year plan of the school "letting" or "suggesting" less credits per year.

Rowan gets high marks from the folks I know that went or are going there. Compared to NJIT (where I went) Rowan has much more hands on learning and labs.

I would not have guessed Rowan over NJIT.

I appreciate everyone's insights.

If he plans on living on campus, its Newark vs Glasboro, which is an easy choice if you look at crime rates etc.

That being said, I survived wandering MLK blvd for a few years. :lol:

Congrats to your son on the perfect SAT score! Hope he can swing some tuition scholarships :) I am glad my two kids are out of college and have fulltime jobs. Just need to get them out of the house, so I can sell the place and downsize :)

My daughter wants to head down the same engineering path, currently a freshman in HS. Thanks for the tip about avoiding the 5 year plan stuff, and will keep you folks in mind if I have any more questions.

Ditto what Brian said.

A few pointers on things from my experience.

- Depending on discipline, look into a double major if there isn't many credits differentiating them. Even a minor. Minors seem to make zero difference in getting a job however.
- If a prof isn't compatible with you, seek assistance. Hated having Engrish speaking professors. Some courses are hard enough to understand the material without having to figure out the words/ sounds coming out of the professor's mouth. This was a big thing in my ears.
- To me, hands on was a big help
- I never really needed to study much in HS, but had to make adjustments in college.
- See which schools works with potential companies/ jobs of interest.
- No foul in going to a county school for gen eds then transferring.
- 5 yrs plan isn't recommended. I didn't do it, but feel you'd be burnt out & have extra debit to pay.

I took some post grad course at Rutgers, but did my degree at U of Alabama. Clemson was my first choice due to their Automotive Engineering program. Applied late & UofA said come on down. Clemson said go to county & apply next year. Always wondered what would have become if I did the later.

Tossing it out there if its of help but happy to answer/talk to any future undergrads about my experience.

Thanks for all the input, really appreciate it. A lot of insight here.

We used to hang with the TAX guys on good old High Street/MLK. :kneeslap: