Graduating Senior

[Cornell]

At this late stage, I would think that it might be late to apply to major STEM schools. What are his SAT and/or ACT scores?

I would suggest starting on a STEM track at the local Junior College for two years, living at home to keep costs down. Possibly working part time to build a war chest. After two years at JuCo, he will get a better idea of where he wants to go, satisfy his electives and be ready to hit the ground running if he decides to finish at a major Tech university. This will also allow him to avoid the "flunk-out" courses in the frosh program most major universities have (math, chemistry and physics). JuCo's may have smaller classes of these courses with more one on one assistance.

DrQ - BS A&AE Purdue University

My daughter goes to a STEM university. There are really no "electives" to speak of in the engineering programs. There is no way a student could transfer in from a JuCo and graduate in 4 years for certain majors.

 

[jp10558]

and the cherry on top being that "Technology" is such an interesting word. Being a geek from way-back, I sometimes go down the rabbit hole when I hear people use the word in questionable ways. Sometimes it is defined far too broadly, but other times far too narrowly. Example: here is the 1st sentence from wikipedia's page on "Technology". "Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way."
Do they think they could be more broad?
And then many people narrow it way down to "digital stuff".

That is so broad that it ... seems like it'd include stuff I would never call Technology. Specifically, if it's not reproducible you may have art, a miracle, an accident, magic, but not technology IMO. But note the OP said "Tech Industry" which as far as I know has only ever been used recently to refer to something to do with computers or "digital stuff".

 

[pedro47]

IMHO, there are some universities that required a lot of advance math courses.. Basic math courses liked two (2) years of Algebra will not make it some major universities

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

Here is an idea: have him get an apprenticeship as an electrical lineman! Once he gets going, he could take courses in his off time (possibly paid by his employer) for Electrical Engineering or the like. Total cost? $0!

TS

 

[DrQ]

My daughter goes to a STEM university. There are really no "electives" to speak of in the engineering programs. There is no way a student could transfer in from a JuCo and graduate in 4 years for certain majors.

Freshman engineering consists of math (calculus), physics, chemistry (analytical) as well as some english and or language courses. These should transfer in without difficulty.

The OP said there was also a local college, so more advanced classes as physics (thermodynamics) might be available.

Some schools offer two year technical degrees, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Aviation Technology ..., where you can start earning and get a practical view of the craft. I went to school with a guy who had earned his pilots license (multi engine, jet, instruments) and would take one semester on, one off, on his off semesters he flew corporate planes. I worked as an Electrical Technician and a Mechanical Technician before I finished up my degree. I could work an mill and a lathe as well as design a circuit.

 

[Cornell]

Freshman engineering consists of math (calculus), physics, chemistry (analytical) as well as some english and or language courses. These should transfer in without difficulty.

The OP said there was also a local college, so more advanced classes as physics (thermodynamics) might be available.

This isn’t true at all schools. My daughter’s college offers zero foreign languages. Engineering department super strict about accepting transfer credits from other schools.

The original suggestion would never work at her school. It would easily add another year onto the program.

Plus … many universities aren’t going to provide aid / scholarships for transfers.

 

[bizaro86]

This isn’t true at all schools. My daughter’s college offers zero foreign languages. Engineering department super strict about accepting transfer credits from other schools.

The original suggestion would never work at her school. It would easily add another year onto the program.

Plus … many universities aren’t going to provide aid / scholarships for transfers.

Indeed. I transferred from one respected Canadian engineering program to another after my first year (this wasn't a junior college situation- these are equivalent institutions and the same degree) and it cost me a number of course credits. I had to take 8 courses one semester to graduate on time.

 

[DrQ]

This isn’t true at all schools. My daughter’s college offers zero foreign languages. Engineering department super strict about accepting transfer credits from other schools.

The original suggestion would never work at her school. It would easily add another year onto the program.

Plus … many universities aren’t going to provide aid / scholarships for transfers.

I can only speak of Purdue, and more specifically A&AE, but most programs at Purdue are probably close to A&AE:

POS Detail

The Aeronautics and Astronautics curriculum emphasizes the disciplines of aerodynamics, aerospace systems, astrodynamics and space applications, propulsion, structures and materials, dynamics and control, and further provides courses that integrate these disciplines into the design of flight...

engineering.purdue.edu

General Education Electives (24 credits)​

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You must complete a general education program of at least 24 credit hours. Please see your academic advisor for the complete list of approved courses. The general education program consists of two components: foundational learning outcomes and programmatic requirements.​

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Foundational Learning Outcomes​

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You must select from the list of courses approved by the University Core Council (UCC) to satisfy the Foundational Learning Outcomes. Some of these courses overlap with required courses for AAE.​

...​

Transfer Credit​

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If you are interested in registering for a course offered by a different institution, you should first look it up in the Purdue Transfer Credit Database to see how the credit will transfer back to Purdue. In order for the course to be used to meet AAE degree requirements, it must transfer as a Purdue equivalent course approved to meet the requirement. If the institution or course is not listed, it may mean your course has not been evaluated yet. Please see your advisor for additional information.​

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You must earn a “C−“ or better in order for a course to be transferred. Please note however, that the grade will not transfer and there will be no impact on your Purdue GPA.​

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NOTE: courses listed as “#XXXX” are considered undistributed credit, or courses which do not have a Purdue equivalent. These courses cannot be used to meet AAE degree requirements.​

(N.B. These are usually Junior level courses, although I did get credit for a junior advanced physics class for an engineering thermodynamics class)

Also, if the student has not done calculus in H.S., the entry Calculus/Physics courses were notorious flunk-out traps. I didn't take calculus in H.S., but I took Introduction to Analysis which was pre-calculus, which allowed me to pre-test and put me into the advanced Calculus/Physics track. For the physics, the difference was that instead of memorizing formulas, we were taught to derive them from F=ma using differentials and integration.