I WANT TO STUDY ENGINEERING IN THE UNITED STATES.
What Should I Do?
 Over 300 U.S. colleges and
universities offer Bachelor's degree programs in various fields of engineering.
You will find a complete list of these institutions in the "ABET
Accreditation Yearbook" published annually by the Accreditation
Board for Engineering & Technology, or on ABET's website, www.abet.org.
Study ABET's website carefully. You will discover that 45 universities
offer only one engineering program, while others offer as many as seventeen
different kinds of engineering. When ABET was founded in 1936, 101 programs
qualified for accreditation. Others gained recognition only recently. The
majority of engineering programs are found in large public universities,
but 125 programs are located in private universities, many of them quite
small. Forty institutions were established specifically for the study of
engineering and technology, some in very specialized fields ranging from
mining engineering to naval architecture. If you are curious about this
diversity in U.S. engineering programs (and you should be), read on.
Another book you wilt find
especially helpful is "Profiles of Engineering
and Engineering Technology Colleges", published annually by
the American Society for Engineering Education and available at Educational
Advising Centers worldwide. This book gives you information essential to
evaluating and comparing the features of each engineering program.
Your first challenge is to
select about ten universities that are right for you. In order to do this,
you need to assess your situation. Answer the following questions:
1. What kind of engineering
interests you most? For undergraduate study, you'll probably need to build
a foundation in one of the four main groups before branching into a specialized
area. Chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering are the main
groups, but specialized areas include aerospace, agricultural, architectural,
biomedical, computer, environmental, industrial, materials, mining, nuclear,
petroleum and other fields.
2. What is your academic
standard? If most of your grades are A's and B's, and your SAT 1 scores
are above 1200, you may decide to apply to universities that are graded
Most Competitive or Highly Competitive. Some of these universities receive
ten or twenty applications for each available space. If a high level of
competition intimidates you, apply to universities where your chances of
admission are greater. Fortunately, in engineering all accredited programs
meet high standards, so you can't lose. Choose universities that have the
best facilities and strong faculty, and where you stand a good chance of
admission.
3. How much can your family
afford to pay? Find out from your parents how much they can contribute
to each year of your four (sometimes five)-year undergraduate program,
and select universities according to your budget. The comprehensive annual
cost of education in the United States varies from $10,000 to $35,000 per
year, depending on which university you attend. Read the discussion of
financial aid below.
4. What about personal factors?
Location, size, and living environment are important factors. Availability
of housing, co-operative programs, extra-curricular activities and spore
will all play a part in your university experience: don't neglect these
factors when choosing a university.
Now that you have answered
the above questions, you are ready to select your university programs.
Using the ABET list of accredited institutions, the College Board International
Student Handbook (for current costs), Peterson's Four Year Colleges (for
general descriptions), and ASEE Profiles of Engineering and Engineering
Technology Colleges (for details like how many engineering students graduated
last year), compile a list of universities that meet your needs. Discuss
your list with your educational advisor, who will help you to finalize
your educational plan.
Financial
aid: Financial assistance for international students, whether
in the form of need-based aid or merit-based scholarships, is very rare
in universities that offer engineering. There are only about twenty colleges
and universities that offer significant financial assistance to international
students in engineering, out of three hundred engineering schools! Admission
to the engineering programs that offer full financial aid is extremely
competitive, with ten or more applicants competing for each place. Therefore,
students whose families cannot pay $12,000 or more per year will find it
very difficult to get a chance to study in the States.
If your family is not able
to finance your U.S. education, and if your academic record is not sufficiently
stellar to win you major financial assistance, there are still a few choices
available to you. Discuss these options with your Educational Advisor.
(1) Stay home and complete
your first degree, and try again for a Master's or Ph.D. in the States;
(2) Explore 3-2 engineering
programs;
(3) Consider other fields
of interest to you, such as statistics or computer science, where admission
with financial aid is not quite as competitive.
|
