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So, You Want to Study Engineering?

My son applied as an engineering major to three schools. šŸ˜± Luckily it worked out, he got into two of the three and enrolled at UCI. Fast forward to freshman orientation. It was a two-day event and parents were invited to join on the second day. At the conclusion of the parent orientation session, the students filed in. My son was nowhere to be seen. When I found him outside, he was emersed in a course catalog and informed me that he had a meeting scheduled with a counselor so that he could change his major. Engineering orientation must have been eye-opening. My guess is that they did what many engineering departments have done and told the students to look to the person to their left and the one to their right, and know that in six months, only one of the three would still be there. Philip went on to thrive at UCI – as a business econ major.

More and more high school students are deciding early on that they want to study engineering. Some are drawn to the expectation that there will be abundant job offers on the other side of graduation. Many decide based on a fondness for math and that they enjoyed their physics class. These are not bad reasons, but engineering applicants should be realistic about the difficulty of the major, should learn more about the different disciplines, and be acutely aware of how competitive admissions can be. The bottom line is that aspiring engineers need to plan way ahead of senior year.

How hard is it?

Itā€™s hard, especially if you donā€™t have the academic history to support you such as haven taken calculus. I donā€™t have first-hand, anecdotal information on how difficult the engineering major is. My son, as we know, didnā€™t stick around to find out. He was told that it would require studying all night, and it was his hope that in college he would find better options than that for his evening hours. First year students are often taking chemistry, analytical geometry, two levels of calculus and sometimes a lab bio class or physics. These are typically in addition to general education classes. Worthy of concern, though, is the alarming fact that mental health disorders among college students are rising. Engineering students are particularly vulnerable and often less likely than their peers to seek help. They call it the ā€œNormalizationā€ factor. Engineering is supposed to be hard, so the resulting stress is ā€œnormal.ā€ For more information:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10123580/

What type of engineering?

Over the last few decades, the four major types of engineering have each developed a number of sub-specialties creating options but also confusion for aspiring engineers. Some students know they want to zero in on a discipline that connects them to a personal interest such as biomedical or environmental engineering. Others want a broader education in hopes of making themselves more marketable. For instance, a mechanical engineer can work in aerospace, but aerospace engineers might have more limiting options outside of their field. That said, the time could come when industry prefers the candidate with the more specialized knowledge base. For these reasons, I prefer engineering programs that admit to general or undecided engineering as opposed to specific engineering disciplines so that the students are exposed to the different disciplines and given information to help them predict what the job market is going to prefer.

There are many resources available that explain the different types of engineering. Here is one that has good, comprehensive detail:

https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/3140/a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-different-types-of-engineering-disciplines.html

What do colleges want to see?

ā€œFit for Majorā€ can be shown in obvious ways such as extracurriculars that reflect an intense interest in STEM-related activities. Obvious choices could be robotics, learning more than one coding language (Computer Science), or having a display at a science fair. On a higher level, one might have an internship, do research (independent or with an organization) or enter an engineering competition.

A less obvious but important way to stand out is to demonstrate an adeptness at creative problem-solving. Engineering majors, engineering technician majors, and computer science majors all benefit from having an ability to think of creative solutions to problems. They also MUST need to be able to work well in a group. This skill can be showcased for colleges in activities and essays.

Plan ahead

You can help your admissions chances by engaging in STEM-related activities as volunteers or otherwise participating in research or other relevant endeavors. Maxing out math and science options at school is helpful, as well, and a strong score in the math portion of SAT/ACT is always a good thing.

You can succeed in engineering by being academically prepared and knowledgeable about your intended discipline. If you crave hands-on learning, then find colleges that emphasize field studies and have modern makerspaces. Research the programs that best fit your learning style.

Yes, majoring in engineering is challenging, but if you plan ahead, you can do it!

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In the Spotlight: Legacy Admissions

We have all heard by now that the Supreme Court has ruled against Harvard University and University of North Carolina by striking down race-conscious admissions. While the impact of this is debatable, we know that affected colleges will need to make some adjustments as to how they handle applications.

Affirmative Action has, however, recently only been used by a relatively small group of colleges. Like Harvard and UNC, they are typically more selective colleges. Less selective colleges donā€™t share the same struggles to enroll minorities. Additionally, nine states, California included, had already banned race-conscious admissions.

Even though a majority of schools are not directly affected by SCOTUSā€™s decision, colleges are focused and determined to enroll diverse student bodies. The learning environment is enriched by the presence of a variety of perspectives inherent in students from different backgrounds and cultures with a variety of experiences and interests. Even with their usually sincere dedication to enrolling more underrepresented students and increasing accessibility, colleges are being scrutinized for hanging on to a tradition many feel negates these efforts, the consideration of legacy in admissions.

The tradition of giving admission preference to children of alumni is primarily money driven. Studies show that legacy alumni are more likely to donate to their alma mater as they have a multigenerational loyalty which is often expressed in the form of large checks. Yield is yet another plus for the universities; legacies are more likely to attend, if admitted, taking the guesswork out of planning a freshman class.

In wake of the decision to ban Affirmative Action, colleges are coming under more pressure to prove that they are not giving preferential treatment to white applicants coming from advantaged backgrounds. Schools are being pressured to ban legacy admissions to prove to the world that they are truly striving to enroll racially diverse student bodies. The feeling is that if race cannot be considered, then neither should legacy.

Some of the schools that have claimed to have stopped the practice include MIT, Northeastern, Cal Tech, Johns Hopkins, Amherst, the University of California system, University of Texas and Texas A&M. Nevertheless, itā€™s been estimated that 42% of private colleges and 6% of public schools still use the practice to some degree.

Organized protests are springing up in the wake of the Supreme Courtā€™s ruling. One organization is asking alumni to withhold donations until the practice is banned. Another was formed by a civil rights group and later piggybacked by the NAACP asking colleges to ā€œā€™even the playing fieldā€ by taking measures such as banning legacy admissions. At the end of the day, consideration of legacy in admissions is not a ā€œgood lookā€ for universities. The question is, are they willing to give up the $?

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I Got Waitlisted

One of my professional organizations is having its yearly convention in DC. With it comes the opportunity to go on one of five college tour trips. Out of the five, one was my favorite by far. Itā€™s only one day long (difficult to be away much in June) and was to George Washington and Catholic Universities. The former makes it on my studentsā€™ lists on a regular basis, and the latter is a school that I have a growing interest to explore. These schools were relevant. The trip had everything I desired; it was a good fit.

It was full, and they waitlisted me, enrollment management.

These college tours are limited to fifty people, and as a matter of fact, they want to have exactly fifty people, not 49, not 51. Itā€™s the sweet spot for college tours. That number of participants makes our visit to each campus worth the schoolā€™s time without being overwhelming. They often provide breakfast or lunch, and a campus tour led by student volunteers, followed by an admissions information session. They really roll out the red carpet for us. Fifty people also fit nicely on a tour bus, itā€™s a manageable crowd for the coordinator, and things tend to run smoothly.

Why was I not good enough to have lunch at George Washington University? The answer, as always, is ā€œenrollment management.ā€

Does any of this ring a bell? So ironic to be waitlisted as a college consultant in the spring when the words, “I got waitlisted,ā€ keep popping out of the mouths of my seniors. Colleges use waitlists for enrollment management. They need to accurately predict the number of people who will accept their offers of admission in order to yield a freshman class that is a predetermined and precise number. Implementing waitlists allows them to fill in the gaps if they under-yielded (fewer people opted to enroll than they predicted) thus precisely hitting the sweet spot. We donā€™t know these prediction models, and they change every year. That is why looking at data of how many got off a waitlist one year is not an indicator of what could happen this year. The total number in the freshmen class is not the only responsibility that enrollment managers have. They manage the collegeā€™s needs as determined by an assortment of stakeholders and work to meet these institutional priorities during the admissions cycle. Are they growing their science profile and need more STEM students? Did nursing over-enroll last year creating a squeeze for clinicals? Are there too many women and not enough men? Questions such as these explain why waitlists are unranked; they will draw from the pool of applicants that best fills any gaps in the class.

Your takeaway should be that XYZ University does think you are admissible, and they know you would thrive at their college. They want you; they just donā€™t have the room. I am moving on by looking at other options for college tours and getting excited about the prospects. I suggest that you do the same.

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ChatGPT Applies to College

By now most of us have read an article with portions written by ChatGPT, one of the newest and currently free ā€œGenerative Pre-trained Transformers,ā€ aka AI-based writing tools. Editorialists include these excerpts as examples to demonstrate both ChatGPTā€™s abilities and weaknesses. Spoiler alert: I am not going to use AI to write any of this, but I admit it might do a better job. Although grammatically perfect, algorithmic language falls short in other areas due to a lack of true understanding and a tendency to stick to generalizations without citing examples. Professors agree that ChatGPT papers would mostly get Dā€™s and Fā€™s, but many feel that there are productive ways of using it in the classroom. It might not actually be the death knell of human-generated expository writing as feared, but how will college admissions folks deal with the possibility that some admissions essays will not be the applicantā€™s work?

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Three Steps to Put Joy in the College Application Process

Spring cleaning starts for me as soon as I put away the holiday decorations.Ā  It’s a time when I love to organize and throw things away, any item not nailed down is in jeopardy. Iā€™m sure you have heard Marie Kondoā€™s advice that if something doesnā€™t spark joy, then dispose of it. The same practice can be used with your approach to the college application process. Get organized and be willing to throw some ideas away. This will reduce your stress and bring the most satisfaction when submitting your applications. There are three simple steps you can take to a better college application process.

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Rocky Mountain Tour: Colorado School of Mines

I was perplexed the first time I heard, ā€œColorado School of Mines.ā€ Is there really a school about mining? Who would go there? Answer: Students looking for a STEM-based education with abundant experiential learning opportunities. Its location explains everything. Golden, Colorado, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies, was a product of the Gold Rush. Later In 1874, Colorado School of Mines was founded to ā€œeducate and developā€ this immerging tech workforce. The Gold Rush ended, but Golden and its college survived. Colorado School of Mines’s mission continues to be to prepare students for the evergrowing and changing needs of the world today.

South Table Mountain
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When Things Don’t Go as You Had Hoped

Getting Neutered, The Least Favorite of Things

When I put Boomer in the car this morning, he was anxious. He likes his morning routine, and this was a big departure from it. He didnā€™t know if he was going to doggie daycare (not his favorite thing) or maybe to the vet (even less of a favorite thing). In short, he didnā€™t know what the future had in store for him. Sound familiar? I am writing this on the eve of our own version of March Madness. I work with 20 very capable and talented seniors who are anxiously waiting for colleges to release their admissions decisions. Until they do, these outstanding young people donā€™t know what lies ahead; they donā€™t know where they are going.

This time of year, I frequently tell my own story of my uncharted journey to college. I was wait-listed at my number one choice and ended up attending a school that, although just up the road, I had never seen before the day I moved into my dorm. I had honestly never seen that number one school either, but that didnā€™t seem to matter to me. I was outraged by all of the events and circumstances leading up to my matriculation at this ā€œbackupā€ school. It wasnā€™t fair. My good friend got into #1, and, from my perspective, her resume didnā€™t differ much from mine. Okay, not entirely true. She played badminton, and I have no athletic ability. Was that the magic ingredient to get into that school? Iā€™ll never know.

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What Has Your Attention?

ā€œAt Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future?ā€

ā€œThe University of Oregon values difference, and we take pride in our diverse community. Please explain how you will share your experiences, values, and interests with our community. In what ways can you imagine offering your support to others?ā€

ā€œDescribe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.ā€ – UC prompt

ā€œWhat have you done to make your school or your community a better place?ā€ – UC Prompt

Can you write meaningful answers to questions like these? If so, you are to be commended, but for many these prompts leave them with little or nothing to say. Is it their fault? Their parentā€™s fault? The collegesā€™ faults for asking too much? I donā€™t have an answer. I do, however, have a solution.

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Which, If Any, APs?

With the start of a new school year and the last day to drop/add classes looming, I have been flooded with questions about the importance of certain Advanced Placement classes. We know that rigor in the curriculum and performance in core academic classes carry the most weight in admissions decisions. This is true for schools with and without holistic admissions approaches. Rigor is demonstrated by taking as many core academic classes as possible in the four years of high school and by taking advanced classes such as Honors, AP, IB and, dual-enrollment college classes.

Advanced Placement is the most popular of these advanced classes for several reasons. Unlike dual enrollment, the curriculum is set at a national level and can be reviewed and evaluated by colleges. They are also more prevalent in high school offerings than is the prestigious International Baccalaureate Program. However, when it comes to selecting AP classes, not all are created equal. Many on ā€œboth sides of the deskā€ feel that some APs are ā€œsofter.ā€ Usually mentioned in this list are Human Geography, Statistics, Environmental Science, Studio Art, and Psychology. Sometimes mentioned are English Composition, Seminar, and Spanish Literature. This does not mean that a student shouldnā€™t choose to take any of those. It means that their relevance on a transcript is dependent on a studentā€™s intended field of study in college. Calculus is preferable to Statistics for most STEM and Business majors at highly selective schools, but Stats is a solid choice for others. AP Biology is the right choice for a pre-med student but taking AP Environmental Science demonstrates a deep interest if the student intends to be an Ecologist. In addition to intended majors, one should consider their academic strengths when picking an AP class. Statistics, for instance, is usually easier for students who process language well; strong reading skills often help. Calculus BC is the same as AB but with an additional two or three topics. Pre-Calculus is the prerequisite for both, so the choice would likely depend on how fast you absorb new math concepts and if your school allows you to ā€œskipā€ AB.

Another thing to keep in mind is that every college has its own list of AP tests and minimum scores for which they will give credit. It might be worth investigating the AP policies of schools on your list before you decide to add/drop an AP class. Additionally, many schools and especially the UCs like to see that students who took an AP class followed through and sat for the test. They see taking the tests as another demonstration of challenging oneself. AP test results are not typically considered in admissions decisions, at least not yet, so this is not risky.

Which AP to take can be a complex and individual decision. It should be made based on the studentā€™s future interests. It should also be made with oneā€™s strengths in mind and with awareness of the subsequent workload. The student who takes every AP available is probably sacrificing other important activities and maybe even their happiness. At the end of the day, your mental health is more important than a college application.

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Application Burnout

Have you ever been to a farmers market in the middle of the summer and been so taken with the abundance of heirloom tomatoes, just-picked sweet white corn, summer squash, melons and peaches that you bought more than you could eat? I have, and then a few days later when I realize my folly, I scramble to make sauces that I can freeze in order not to waste the food. Itā€™s actually a bit stressful because I donā€™t always have the time to be Ma on The Little House on the Prairie preserving things for the winter. Later I reflect on my produce choices, and I not only bought too much, I bought some items that werenā€™t really good fits for me and my lifestyle. I donā€™t love eggplant, itā€™s a textural thing, unless itā€™s breaded and covered in marinara sauce and cheese. Why did I buy that eggplant? I guess because it was a beautiful, glossy purple and others around me were snatching them up. In the end I had a full basket of beautiful produce worthy of a Gourmet Magazine photo shoot, but my choices were inappropriate and excessive.

Inevitably as the application season starts to wind down, many seniors experience the results of having applied to too many schools. Some just stop and donā€™t apply to the remaining schools on their list, others blindly proceed submitting inferior essays, ones that they have retrofitted for every school. Iā€™ve heard horror stories about students who forgot to substitute the name of the current school for the name previously used. In short, they bought too much fruit that now needs to be preserved or thrown away. They cast their nets too wide.

How many is too many? The answer is different for each person. The important thing is to make sure that every school on the list is a school that the student could be excited about attending. Parents and friends will influence this list, and it will grow and grow and may quickly become unmanageable. Here are five reasons to reduce your unwieldy list:

1. Lack of Clarity

High school students often fail to realize the amount of work it takes to put together a solid application that best presents themselves to admissions. The best applications flow from a fountain of knowledge about the school and solid reasons for wanting to attend. College-bound seniors with twenty or more colleges on their lists often find that they canā€™t remember details about each school. From experience I will tell you, the devil is in the details. It might be that they donā€™t remember the unique qualities about the programs at each of their schools or simply what the requirements are. Either way, their applications will suffer if they canā€™t articulate what it is about XYZ University that makes them want to attend. An excessive number of schools on a list will lead to confusion between schools and thus a weaker application.

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