r/EngineeringStudents • u/RevealIndependent238 • 1d ago
Rant/Vent I'm scared for my future.
I, 15M, an aspiring engineer. I'm going into my sophmore year of high-school in two days, and it got me thinking about the future. I did well in my honors class last year, and this year, I am again taking an honors class for chemistry. I'm here because I'm scared I won't get into a good college for engineering. I always had a passion for cars, and thus, automotive engineering. I grew up as a car guy, thanks to my dad, and I know there are many stories like mine. My question is if I did a car build and put that on a portfolio, and have it to show to college admission officers of what I did. Me and my dad plan to do it together, and I decided to do a build because I was a member of FRC, but it didn't work out. I was a tag along, to say it simply. It was frustrating getting people to try and teach me stuff, and eventually I gave up trying to get people's attention to teach me, after I figured out they would just try to take over after a certain amount of time. Anyways, that leads me here. Why does it scare me? I feel like if I don't become obsessed with school and do all these other extra curriculurs, my application is just going to look like any other guy that gets rejected. If you're curious about the build I want to do, I want to build out a 2013 Mazda Speed 3 GT. I want to rebuild the whole suspension, get some mildly sharper cams, swap to a bigger turbo, swap to a MLS headgasket, throttle body, full exhaust system with v clamps or a bolted exhaust, dyno tune, my dad promised he'd cover it, kill switch, fuel rails and injectors plus a HPFP, catch can, swap the intercooler to a front mount intercooler, big brake kit, basically everything you could do to it. Plus wheels, tires, and a DIY allignment. Cosmetics and other stuff like a short throw shifter are probably going to be for later when I can more comfortable afford them. I plan to push around 350 or 370 horsepower. So, am I cooked or do I have a good chance at this being a compelling argument for admissions officers? If anyone's actually gotten in like this, can you share your stories? Maybe it might help me sleep at night.
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u/gottatrusttheengr 23h ago
Getting into a decent state flagship school for engineering is fairly easy with a reasonable amount of applications.
However I will warn you that the "I like cars" crowd generally gets massacred by engineering classes especially thermo and calc 2-3. Wrench turning as an auto mechanic and engineering are two separate paths.
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u/RevealIndependent238 23h ago
I know, I was thinking of using it as a gateway into it. I see what you mean though, don't think they're the same.
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u/Jumpy-Lengthiness-77 23h ago
Honestly if you do that project you're gonna be a hot pick for them, and projects like that are really good for jobs/internships too, make sure to document it all in a portfolio and emphasise the super technical stuff a lot, you're gonna do great :)
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u/ifrankensteiin 18h ago
Solid advice. Just make sure you also maintain good GPA and have good marks in general.
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u/Mostcoolkid78 1d ago
How prestigious of a college are you wanting to go to? Most colleges aren’t that hard to get into, I got into S&T easily and got very good scholarships mainly because I did well on the ACT and had a decent GPA, still well renowned for their job placement and engineering degrees
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u/RevealIndependent238 1d ago
I wanted to get into something as prestigious as WPI, so not exactly Ivy League. Are you an engineer or are you on track to get there?
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u/Mostcoolkid78 1d ago
I just started my schooling with S&T, why do you ask?
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u/RevealIndependent238 1d ago
I was jusr curious, you sounded like you know what you're doing. I guess tho this is the student subreddit so it makes sense. I'm jusd trying to figure out what to do with this stuff, cuz my school year starts on Wednesday. Anyways thanks for the help!
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u/Mostcoolkid78 1d ago
Eh, I’m confident about the things I said, but no I don’t completely know what I’m doing lmao. If I was in your position I’d want to spend the last 3 years focusing more on preparing for college rather then just trying to get in, like making sure your able to afford it and get good scholarships, and that you really understand the math your learning currently and to ensure you will continue that into college
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u/Hour_Dragonfruit_869 1d ago
There’s a lot of solid engineering colleges you can get into without having anything crazy experience. S&T, as someone said, is a great engineering school and as long as your highschool gpa doesn’t suck and you’ve done some extra curriculars I’m certain you’d get in. Most big state schools with a robust engineering program won’t be very difficult to get into either, and there will be great connections still. Engineering is really one of those degrees that you don’t have to go to renown schools to get value out of.
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u/RevealIndependent238 1d ago
Hey, thanks for the info. I was worried it was one of those things that is hard to get a good roi on. Thanks.
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u/Confident_Review7095 1d ago
I go to a “t10” public school, majoring in aerospace engineering. (Going into my soph. year soon) and when i was your age i didnt do much ec’s. You’ll be fine. Focus on your studies & grades & if you have time do these projects
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u/SwagEater69 15h ago
You have so much time. Getting into a decent school shouldn't be an issue with good-ish grades and any extracurricular or project on your resume. Getting into the best possible school doesn't matter as much in engineering as what you do during your time in school does. If the best thing on your resume after a masters or even bachelors is the school you went to, that's a bad sign. Of course, apply to those reach schools that might not take you, but if you don't get into those you can just focus on doing undergrad research or internships and then getting into a good Masters program.
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u/Acrobatic_Charge_489 11h ago
This isn’t something you should do to impress an AO. It should be something you do because you enjoy it
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u/ooohoooooooo 10h ago
Ok I’m not reading all that, if you’re not doing well in HS go to CC, keep your grades near perfect, save about 40k, then transfer to the best public engineering program in your state. CC is a great option, you can put the car build on your application EC list but it’s not gonna get you into anywhere like your grades and test scores will.
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u/RevealIndependent238 1d ago
Yo, guys, this is amazing advice. Genuinely helped me. Also, you guys, good luck with school. This really motivated me, so thanks!
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u/IReallyLikeAvocadoes 1d ago
There are many "good colleges for engineering" where...you really ain't gotta do all that. Don't get me wrong, go crazy if that's your hobby and you actually want and are able to do it, but don't do some insane ambitious project for the sole purpose of catching an admission officer's attention. The goal of a good engineering school should be to get you a job, and there are plenty with the resources to help you do that which won't require much more than good grades and a well-written essay. Engineering is not law school, it is not make-or-break if you don't get into your dream Ivy League.