Florida Institute of Technology...any thoughts???

[forever a child]

Ok, DD is looking at colleges that offer good programs in Mechanical Engineering? We are seriously considering FIT as her first choice. She is graduating in May of 2012 and currently is a National Honor's Society Member, carries a 3.8 GPA and will be participating in her first Robotics competition senior year. We have just started our college visits this spring break and visited a few schools in MI (where we are originally from) and have Visits also planned for Purdue next monday and Vanderbilt later on this summer. We will be adding a day or two onto our WDW trip to visit FIT this Sept in Melbourne, Florida.

Please give us any and all suggestions, advise, opinions! DD is SO excited an definitely plans to participate in the CP Program at Disney and also to apply to the Professionals Program at Disney in Engineering!!!! Please Help us Michigander's convert to Floridians!!! :D

[Scott C]

My two sons go to Rose-Hulman in Terre Haute. It is a fantastic school - one of the top in the country. DS21 is a mech eng with a specialization in robotics--DS18 is a freshman chem e. I would urge you to at least pay them a visit-you will be amazed.

DS21 is actually studying abroad in Germany this year-it sounds like his major is what she is interested in.

Any questions please contact me

Thanks
Scott C

[forever a child]

Thanks Scott, we will look at it! DD would really love to get out of Midwest if at all possible. Terre Haute is close to us. We have family in SW Michigan close to South Bend, Indiana. Just don't know how many more snow filled winters we can handle.

[Scott C]

I understand - especially after this one. I lived in south Florida as a child and I found the climate quite boring.................As a 47 year old however it is sounding better and better all of the time.

It is nice with the kids just 2 hours away

Scott C

[murphy1]

Ga Tech!!!!!!!!!!! One of the best engineering schools in the country! Plus you get the nice change of seasons but not as bad of weather as up north.

Shari

[forever a child]

Ga Tech!!!!!!!!!!! One of the best engineering schools in the country! Plus you get the nice change of seasons but not as bad of weather as up north.

Shari

We can't handle Atlanta, Ga. 5.4 million is too large of a city, Louisville is big enough for us! Otherwise that would have been one of our first choice schools. DD wants to be in a smaller town.

[MNNHFLTX]

DH went to FIT for two years (before transferring to UCF in Orlando--he changed majors) and we also lived for 12 years in the Melbourne area. It's a great school with some academically challenging programs. A couple of things to keep in mind--despite it's location near the coast (and beaches!), Melbourne is a pretty low-key city with little nightlife to speak of and FIT has less social networking than you might find at larger universities. Also, while the neighborhood the school is in is okay, the surrounding area is kind of run-down in places. You will have the chance to to judge for yourself when you visit the campus.

[Beach Club Babe]

My daughter is currently a junior at FIT majoring in mechanical engineering. If you PM me I can give you her e-mail and facebook if you have questions she might be better suited to handle.

[forever a child]

DH went to FIT for two years (before transferring to UCF in Orlando--he changed majors) and we also lived for 12 years in the Melbourne area. It's a great school with some academically challenging programs. A couple of things to keep in mind--despite it's location near the coast (and beaches!), Melbourne is a pretty low-key city with little nightlife to speak of and FIT has less social networking than you might find at larger universities. Also, while the neighborhood the school is in is okay, the surrounding area is kind of run-down in places. You will have the chance to to judge for yourself when you visit the campus.

Thank you so much Beth! I am not sure if the night life is going to be an issue for her. But that is good to know. She is going to be trying to get onto their new Div II swim team that begins fall of 2011. So that should give her an opportunity to meet some people and make some friends outside of the classroom. How about Internships? And International studies abroad? Those are of course some good experience and networking opportunities.


My daughter is currently a junior at FIT majoring in mechanical engineering. If you PM me I can give you her e-mail and facebook if you have questions she might be better suited to handle.

Thank you Heather! Just sent you a PM with our names and email information. Maybe have her put FIT in the memo so we who who she is.

We would be really interested in how she likes it. Would she choose it all over again now that she knows what she does about FIT. Also, Internships and Studying Abroad are important for DD. We are excited about checking it out later on this year.

Thanks again!!!!:thumbsup:

[murphy1]

Another school I forgot to mention--I had a few friends who went to UF (in Gainesville) engineering school, I think it's in the top 25 in the country, very rural area, the social life is good on campus, too. That might be another one you would want to look at. I have heard good things about FIT. My spouse is an engineer and he said they look at Master's Degrees and where you got it from when you interview a lot of times. I went to USF and they have a great engineering program, so that might be another you'd want to look at (it's in Tampa). USF has a great internship and co-op program, as does UF.

[Imalismom]

Sorry - somehow I missed this (thanks Ed for pointing me here).

My daughter will be a freshman there this fall majoring in Civil Engineering. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have through a PM also.

I love the school, love the fact that the engineering lab classes are capped at 12 students per lab. I also like the fact that the school is not a big party school in a big town.

I hate the cost (estimated 1st year is 51K), but I love the fact that the school came up with some solid scholarships that made the cost comparable to A&M and UT Austin (which were the other schools she was looking at).

[forever a child]

Another school I forgot to mention--I had a few friends who went to UF (in Gainesville) engineering school, I think it's in the top 25 in the country, very rural area, the social life is good on campus, too. That might be another one you would want to look at. I have heard good things about FIT. My spouse is an engineer and he said they look at Master's Degrees and where you got it from when you interview a lot of times. I went to USF and they have a great engineering program, so that might be another you'd want to look at (it's in Tampa). USF has a great internship and co-op program, as does UF.

Thanks Murphy1, we'll take a look at them. I know DD is hesitant to look at large schools...but she has to "give" somewhere in what are the more important things. I think she would be ok in a large state school too. But she will have to decide.


Sorry - somehow I missed this (thanks Ed for pointing me here).

My daughter will be a freshman there this fall majoring in Civil Engineering. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have through a PM also.

I love the school, love the fact that the engineering lab classes are capped at 12 students per lab. I also like the fact that the school is not a big party school in a big town.

I hate the cost (estimated 1st year is 51K), but I love the fact that the school came up with some solid scholarships that made the cost comparable to A&M and UT Austin (which were the other schools she was looking at).

Thanks Imalismom. I am sending you a PM with our contact info. So it sounds like your daughter is starting this fall at FIT? Did she visit A&M and UT Austin? We really haven't even looked at those much since she really isn't interested in Texas. We would probably go with Purdue or IU first since they are closer to us. We visit Purdue this coming Monday but we really want to visit FIT and see how it compares...so I would be interested in what you daughter thinks. Thanks for the offer and please have her email us. She can put FIT in the subject line so we will know who she is, LOL. Thanks again! Hope she enjoys her first semester!

[Scott C]

So how was Purdue??

Scott C

[forever a child]

So how was Purdue??

Scott C

Ugh! It was the worst college visit we have had so far. We were going for a Women in Engineering Day on campus. It was to be a few break out sessions on the different areas in Engineering. There was also a career panel, Q&A panel, lunch and of course Financial Aid info for parents, etc.

We registered on line over 2 months ago for this event. We have been getting literally tons of info in the mail from colleges...so I didn't really think about it...but we NEVER got an email conformation or something in the mail from Purdue after DD registered. Sometimes we toss the mail in a pile and try to go through it later...and both my email and DD's is flooded with stuff too. It really takes a lot of time to sort through the relevant info. So needless to say, I was not surprised if we had accidently deleted an email from them or misplaced or tossed a confirmation letter....so we went anyway.

We knew the name of the building we needed to find...and I thought I had the right address for my direction...but I didn't. Of course with it being a monday....there were tons of students so we just kept asking and found the correct building. Problem was...there was NO WHERE to park! I did not have any change for the parking meters. I am used to U of L where you pull into a garage...get a stub and pay for the number of hours you are there when you leave. Well, there was nothing like this there! You either had to have a University parking sticker or use the 2 hour meters. So I would have gotten a ticket sooner or later. So I just pulled up to the bus drop off area and had DD run in to pick up her packet at registration while I waited outside in the car hoping they would not tell me to move.

DD got back and said they did NOT have record of her registered for the day (surprise) but signed her in to the breakouts she needed and we had a map and headed to the parking garage close to that area. They had me assigned to a completely different thing "for parents" so I guess I was not suppose to sit in with her...but I was going to anyway...the day was cold and rainy and the last thing I wanted to do was trapes across the campus in the rain to another location. So when we got the the garage...again...although it said "Visit" parking...it was still just meters and campus required stickers. So we saw a campus parking enforcement office (giving tickets, of course) and stopped to ask him where we were supposed to park. We then looked into the packet they had given my daughter to look for a visitor parking permit for the day. NO, there were none in the packet. But this point we were already 15 minutes late for her first session, we had missed the welcome opening as well. The parking enforcement office said we could park in the metered spots but there would not be enough time since the meters were limited to 2 hours and we were to be there all day....I didn;t have change anyways...so I would have had to stop somewhere to get some. Or to go to such and such an office and get a parking permit for the day! Or just park and chance not getting a ticket...RIGHT! Since he was the one there ticketing to begin with! I was furious at this point!

We had gotten up at 4am...left Louisville at 4am and arrived there at 8am...found the correct building by 8:30, wasted an hour trying to find out how to park to go to that building...found the next correct building and still can't figure out how to park around campus and it is after 10am. So we just left! Yep, we turned around and drove home and never got to do anything!:mad: I was mad the whole way home. We arrived home at 2pm! Wasted the entire day! Wasted Gas at $4.00 a gallon (About $60 worth of gas!) had to get our own lunch on the road! I was SO MAD and STILL am when I think about it! I sent an email to them and their department about the resistration system failure and WHY did we not have any kind of parking permit and instruction in the packet they gave my daughter. HOw we wasted our day and we have crossed Purdue OFF our list of colleges!

At list point we are wanting to stay in warmer climate areas and preferably smaller colleges and universities. We will be visiting Vanderbilt in the next few weeks. Eventually we will probably visit Rose-Hulman (although I really don't want to go NORTH and I was not a fan of Terre Haute years ago when I visited ISU). We will also be visiting Florida Tech and UoF. We will probably make a blind application to Duke and we still have a good half dozon others we are trying to get through to look at info online before we decide to possibly visit. I would say Vanderbilt and Florida Tech are the top of our list. They may not be as high up on the list of Top engineering schools but the fit our criteria of location and size which is equally important for us.

Any other suggestions are welcome, LOL (just not purdue...we have not hear back from them at all after my email...so I assume they do not lament our loss).

[Scott C]

Sorry for the rough day. When DS21 visited purdue - he was just overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the place. Rose-Hulman was the complete opposite. I don't care much for Terre Haute either - but Rose is on the outskirts of town in a park like setting. The campus is in a small park like setting -- in fact DS21 did not have a car his freshman year and it did not seem to matter. My sons went to a small grade school and high school -- they did not want to go to a large school and Rose fit the bill perfectly -- they were very generous with the scholarship monies so that's where we chose to go

[forever a child]

Sorry for the rough day. When DS21 visited Purdue - he was just overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the place. Rose-Hulman was the complete opposite. I don't care much for Terre Haute either - but Rose is on the outskirts of town in a park like setting. The campus is in a small park like setting -- in fact DS21 did not have a car his freshman year and it did not seem to matter. My sons went to a small grade school and high school -- they did not want to go to a large school and Rose fit the bill perfectly -- they were very generous with the scholarship monies so that's where we chose to go

I agree, there is something to be said for smaller and more personal attention. My daughter has also only gone to small schools. She is home schooled now (she went to Montessori for 7 years and a small private christian school for two, up to 7th grade when we moved to KY)...but still goes to a home school group (about 350 kids Middle and High school aged). Her graduating class of 2012 is about 40 kids. I believe she is #2 or 3 in class ranking.

We will try to keep an open mind and will be visiting Rose-Hulman. The Robotics coach has a son there currently as well...so you were the second person to recommend it to us and I felt since it is only 3 hours away, it is well worth the investment of our time to visit and check it out. At least we know that we are NOT interested in Purdue but it was disappointing because we could have visited R-H or Vanderbilt for the day instead. Vanderbilt is also 3 hours away from us. We have been to their campus before as my daughter has swam in their pool for USA swim meets. But we have not had a formal visit to the campus or engineering facilities. Hope to visit both before the semester is out....but it will be close. End of the year is so busy and she is part of the National Honor Society with her home school group and they are always required to work the open houses, college fairs and such even after school is out...plus she has SAT tests in May and June. We ended up having to take subject tests since she is a home schooler...which is fine. Just another thing on our to-do list and for her to study for! LOL

Anyway, thanks. When we visit...I will let you know what we thought about R-H. What other engineering schools did you visit with your sons?

[Hammer]

Sorry you had a rough time with Purdue. I'm going to suggest she add University of South Florida to your list. Yes, it is in Tampa, but the campus is on the outskirts of the city, not downtown. Great school of engineering with good internship and study abroad opportunities.

IMHO, I think it is a great for young people to push their comfort level to try new things, separate from their parents. It helps to teach them independence. As scary as it was for me, and I have always have been close with my parents, I am thrilled that they insisted I go away for college, even if I was only an hour away, and not to come home too often. Unlike many of my friends, I learned to make budgets and find campus jobs as I could not run to ask my parents for money so easily. Car has a problem? I needed to figure out how to do it.

ETA- USF is also a little over an hour from WDW!

[forever a child]

Sorry you had a rough time with Purdue. I'm going to suggest she add University of South Florida to your list. Yes, it is in Tampa, but the campus is on the outskirts of the city, not downtown. Great school of engineering with good internship and study abroad opportunities.

IMHO, I think it is a great for young people to push their comfort level to try new things, separate from their parents. It helps to teach them independence. As scary as it was for me, and I have always have been close with my parents, I am thrilled that they insisted I go away for college, even if I was only an hour away, and not to come home too often. Unlike many of my friends, I learned to make budgets and find campus jobs as I could not run to ask my parents for money so easily. Car has a problem? I needed to figure out how to do it.

ETA- USF is also a little over an hour from WDW!

Thanks Christine! We are looking at more of the State colleges in Florida too. There are really a lot of good engineering schools in Indiana...but again we have to weigh issues of size, location, cost, quality of education. Ugh...so much to consider.

I agree that she will want to be "away" to gain in her independence. But it is only the two of us, LOL. She is an only child. We have 2 dogs and a cat which she adores. I am divorced, never remarried after 13 years and so we are pretty close. I will move to whatever state she goes to college in and at this point we both prefer Florida. I may consider northern Florida if she goes to Vanderbilt. I would probably stay in Louisville if she decided on Terre Haute. But I would like to be about 3 hours away from where she ends up going. Close enough to come home for the weekend but far enough to give her some space. If she ends up at Florida Tech, I will probably end up living closer to her...just cause I will probably end up in Orlando. Boy, wouldn't that be awful! :thedolls: Then I could really get some value out of my WDW AP! :cloud9:

[Scott C]

Purdue - Rose - and U of Evansville(but I went there and did not want my kids going there. Once we saw Rose - we knew it was right for us.

Thanks
Scott C

[Imalismom]

Just wondering how it was going with the visiting of colleges? Anymore thought of Florida Tech?

[forever a child]

Just wondering how it was going with the visiting of colleges? Anymore thought of Florida Tech?

I have not been on Intercot in a while. We are at the tail end of our college applications! :joy:

My DD was accepted to FIT and Rose-Hulman! We are just waiting to see the results of all of her applications and the Merit $/Financial Aid Packages that will be offered. I believe that the one that has the least amount in debt will be the school the she chooses as she is very adamant about having as little school debt as possible.

Will update everyone when we know where she is headed come springtime! Some other schools she applied to include Stanford, Rice, Washington Univ and Vanderbilt as well as Univ of Miami and Univ of Virginia! Ugh....it has been a long process and actually I am off to finish up our Scholarship deadlines so she can complete those shortly. Then I get to complete the FAFSA..I can ALMOST see a light at the end of the tunnel! ALMOST....:cloud9:

[Scott C]

Normally I would agree with you about the debt portion of your equation. However, you should look at a couple of other things like what is the likelihood that she will get a job when she graduates and what will that starting salary be. I think that Rose-Hulman excels in both categories and might be worth a little extra debt.

Thanks
Scott C

[Beach Club Babe]

I replied to this post when it was originally posted and promised to stay in contact. My daughter is currently a senior there majoring in mechanical engineering. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you as our computer died right afterwards. My the time we had replaced it, there was so much going on that I did not have much time for Intercot and it slipped away from me. I don't think I've been back on much since. I do apologize again.

[forever a child]

Normally I would agree with you about the debt portion of your equation. However, you should look at a couple of other things like what is the likelihood that she will get a job when she graduates and what will that starting salary be. I think that Rose-Hulman excels in both categories and might be worth a little extra debt.

Thanks
Scott C

I agree Scott, but one of our other major concerns for her is where she would like to live long term (after college) since a lot of internships for jobs out of college are within a close distance to the colleges themselves. She would be less inclined to stay close to Indiana as to some of her other college choices. So, who recruits from them for jobs will be a major consideration for her.

She does have a concern that IF she decides engineering is not for her...then looking at colleges that have other choices outside of STEM degrees is her other concern. She would like to minor in Asian studies and that would more than likely be her next Major choice if she decides engineering is not what she had hoped it would be. Tech schools like Rose Hulman could not help her there. Did your son ever apply to Case Western Reserve? She has an application there too which looks to be the best of both worlds for her for Major as well as Minor options. Just wondering since it also seems to be well know for it's engineering school.


I replied to this post when it was originally posted and promised to stay in contact. My daughter is currently a senior there majoring in mechanical engineering. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you as our computer died right afterwards. My the time we had replaced it, there was so much going on that I did not have much time for Intercot and it slipped away from me. I don't think I've been back on much since. I do apologize again.

No problem! :thumbsup:

I think I was in touch with your daughter via email for a while that you gave me...but she hadn't official started yet when we were chatting. What are her thoughts on the school now that she has had a year there? DD had a chance to go on an official visit in Jan to visit the swim team...but she didn't want to miss school here and get behind, so she forfeited the offer until April when we can evaluate all her college acceptances with merit and financial aid packages and visit her top two or three (that we haven't already visited). Just wondering what she thinks....

[Beach Club Babe]

I agree Scott, but one of our other major concerns for her is where she would like to live long term (after college) since a lot of internships for jobs out of college are within a close distance to the colleges themselves. She would be less inclined to stay close to Indiana as to some of her other college choices. So, who recruits from them for jobs will be a major consideration for her.

She does have a concern that IF she decides engineering is not for her...then looking at colleges that have other choices outside of STEM degrees is her other concern. She would like to minor in Asian studies and that would more than likely be her next Major choice if she decides engineering is not what she had hoped it would be. Tech schools like Rose Hulman could not help her there. Did your son ever apply to Case Western Reserve? She has an application there too which looks to be the best of both worlds for her for Major as well as Minor options. Just wondering since it also seems to be well know for it's engineering school.



No problem! :thumbsup:

I think I was in touch with your daughter via email for a while that you gave me...but she hadn't official started yet when we were chatting. What are her thoughts on the school now that she has had a year there? DD had a chance to go on an official visit in Jan to visit the swim team...but she didn't want to miss school here and get behind, so she forfeited the offer until April when we can evaluate all her college acceptances with merit and financial aid packages and visit her top two or three (that we haven't already visited). Just wondering what she thinks....

I think you are thinking of imalismom, her daughter was a freshman there this year.My daughter is finishing up her senior year there. She has loved her experience there. It really was the best choice for her. Also since she has been there, she has had a summer internship at Structural Composites, which is nearby, and last semester she had a co-op at Piper Aviation, both of which gave her great experience when applying for jobs. I can put you in touch with her, if she plans on visiting in April. She has worked as a tour guide and extensively with the orientation team. She also is heavily involved with her sorority, should your daughter have any questions regarding those.

[Scott C]

No, He did not apply there. I do know that Case is a fine school. Kevin has three summer internship offers on the table right now -- GE there in Louisville -- Arcelor Mittal(steel mill) up in Valparaiso -- and a small controls firm in Detroit. His classmates are all over the globe though. One of his fraternity brothers did some foreign studies in Japan.

Scott C

[forever a child]

Thought I would follow up with everyone. Looks like DD will be selecting Case Western Reserve University! :D We are both so happy to be DONE with the process. It was very stressful and trying! There were some disappointments with a couple of schools that I really thought would be a match for her and she was denied but she was still accepted to 8 schools. She received a full ride at William Jewell College which has a 3/2 program. She received 80% in Merit and FA to Case Western Reserve University. We have visited WJC and will be visiting CWRU next week. She is leaning towards CWRU and I believe will be committing during our visit assuming she feels "at home" there.

CWRU just seemed the better fit with an affordable FA, offering lots of options in her Major and Minor with an open door policy on making changes to either without having to apply to the school. It is in a larger city with things to do off campus and since I will be relocating back to SW Michigan in June, it will be only a 4 hour drive from "home."

She was accepted to FIT and the swim coach seemed great, but they did not offer her minor. She is wanting to minor in Asian studies and really wants to learn to speak Mandarin, as she loves the culture and we both feel it will make her more marketable after graduation. Both FIT and RHIT offered her less in merit/FA and more in loans and just was not a good fit with the minor. I think she would have jumped at considering either had this been different.

She applied to a lot of different types of schools which really offered her a lot of different things to consider. She was also accepted to University of Miami and I was really hoping this school might work out...but their merit/FA was the smallest offer of any school. Really disappointing too. We did not visit but would have if the offer had been larger. I think DD feels this may be a bit more of a party school than she would prefer. No offense to any []_[] fans. I really to like the school and I am talking to FA right now to see if they can reconsider their offer as both UM and CWRC are equal in ranking/cost etc. But it really was a huge $ difference between the two.

Even though WJC offered a full ride the small town of Liberty did not appeal to me and the lack of things to do on campus did not appeal to DD. She would get to study and swim and she really wanted more clubs to be involved with. They only offered Japanese (no Mandarin) and even though she could have gotten a dual degree in Physics and Engineering she was not happy with the idea of relocating to another school after 3 years. She could have choosen Vanderbilt, Washington University or Columbia. And I was really hoping she would be happy about the dual degree, no loans and everything....but it just doesn't seem like that is what she wanted and I know she is the one who will have to do the work and live there. So I feel it is the best choice for her.

Thank you everyone for your advise throughout the year and your support. Even though she will have some loans....it should only be about $20k so I am happy with her decision.

Just looking forward to our visit and moving on to other things!!!!! :thumbsup:

[Jeri]

I know I am late coming to this, but I see your daughter was part of First Robotics competition and was wondering if you looked into the scholarships available through them?

My son is only in 9th grade right now, but they told us all about the scholarships and things available to First Robotics members that aren't available for everyone. The list of schools and money available is very large. I know FIT is one of the schools and the number of scholarships available there are unlimitied.

Like I said I know I am late coming in on this, and you have made a choice, but just wanted to see if you were aware of that.

On a side note I found this thread interesting as my son is in First Robotics, and is very interested in becomimg an engineer, most likely Electrical . While we have a bit before picking a school, we have been thinking. Want to choose the best, with best chances for employment.

[forever a child]

I know I am late coming to this, but I see your daughter was part of First Robotics competition and was wondering if you looked into the scholarships available through them?

My son is only in 9th grade right now, but they told us all about the scholarships and things available to First Robotics members that aren't available for everyone. The list of schools and money available is very large. I know FIT is one of the schools and the number of scholarships available there are unlimitied.

Like I said I know I am late coming in on this, and you have made a choice, but just wanted to see if you were aware of that.

On a side note I found this thread interesting as my son is in First Robotics, and is very interested in becomimg an engineer, most likely Electrical . While we have a bit before picking a school, we have been thinking. Want to choose the best, with best chances for employment.

Hi Jeri,
Yes my daughter was/is on a FIRST Robotics team. Their team was one of 3 that finished second place at St. Louis Regionals, so they did not make it to the Championships. Which is fine by me because we needed the extra time/$ for potential college visits and DD would have had to miss her Prom :(

Anyways, yes we DID look at scholarships. FIT does offer a $10,000 scholarship to any FIRST senior year participants. HOWEVER, it is not stackable. Which means if your son/daughter receives more in merit aid or any other FIT scholarship he/she will receive the higher of the two. She received $17,000 in merit Aid and $5,000 in athletic scholarship. But she would not have qualified for the FIRST scholarship because her Merit offer was higher. VERY disappointing.

Rose-Hulman and Case Western also had FIRST scholarships. She applied for the general and women's scholarship at RHIT but received neither. I think only 2 or 3 students receive the general and only one woman receives the women's scholarship.

DD did NOT apply to the CASE scholarship. Basically because the deadline was FEB 15th. This was DD's first time on the Robotics team and build season only began Jan 7th...so she really didn't have much time to build a relationship with a Mentor and ask for a recommendation. Plus, that FEB 15th deadline was really an inconvenience to ask mentor's to comply with if she had found someone to ask. I think for your son, if he is on the same team more than just Senior year...then he shouldn't have a problem finding a mentor and just plan ahead on getting your letters of recommendation before build season begins. It just didn't work out for her. But it was still something to place on her resume and help confirm to her that she still wanted to pursue engineering. She was having a hard time choosing which area she might want to study...I encouraged her to consider engineering and that is why we researched and found the FIRST team to help her see if it might be a good match.

Glad this tread has been helpful to someone else. It is a learning process and since I only have one child...I will not be experiencing it again any time soon! :D

[Scott C]

Glad everything is working out - I am sure that she will do fine at Case - it is a very good school. It is crazy what all of this costs these days. I really don't want to add up what my kids will owe when they are finished at Rose. On the brighter side, those job offers are starting to roll in(fingers crossed).

How is mom going to deal with dd being 7 hours away???

Scott C

[forever a child]

Glad everything is working out - I am sure that she will do fine at Case - it is a very good school. It is crazy what all of this costs these days. I really don't want to add up what my kids will owe when they are finished at Rose. On the brighter side, those job offers are starting to roll in(fingers crossed).

How is mom going to deal with dd being 7 hours away???

Scott C

Thanks Scott! Congratulation to your sons and the job offers...that is a big accomplishment, especially in this job market. Which only confirms their choice in school and major! Yes, the debt is concerning. :(

I will only be 4 hours away (if I stay in Michigan) but I would like to relocate to a warmer climate once I get my act together. So I don't know....but yes, it will be difficult no matter how far or close she is since it has been just the two of us for so long!

I know both of your son's have done internships...but did either ever do a study abroad? Where did they go and how was that experience for them? DD would of course love to go to China in her Junior year. And she wants to do the Disney internship in Sophomore year. I worry that will drag her degree out beyond the 4 years. Not that is matters but the $ keeps adding up if she does that. Just wondering what thoughts you might have. She wants to work for Disney...so it makes sense to add that into her college experience. :mickey:

[Scott C]

Where are you going to be in Michigan??
DS22 has an internshiop near Novi this summer


Yes DS22 spent a year in Germany last school year. It really changed him -- he was responsible enough before he went - but he came back an adult. Yes, it did put him a year behind( and another year of accumulated interest)

Scott