Colleges/Universities with high academic standards (engineering)

[DonnyS]

I did a search and came up short. If this has been covered please direct me to the thread.

We have started looking at colleges/universities for DD. She would like to play softball at the college level. Not sure what level she'll end up at and we are casting a wide net in our search. We are hoping to identify multiple schools at each level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA) to investigate and target over the next couple of years.

She is currently thinking engineering as a major (mechanical or aerospace), though I recognize this may change over the next 3+ years. There are obvious choices for schools with that field of study. What I was hoping to get from the collective knowledge on DFS is identification of schools that might not be easily recognized. Specifically smaller schools that have softball programs. Even better if there is first hand knowledge that playing softball and enrollment/success in the engineering program is compatible. We have already talked to one school where the coaching staff was not sure if an athlete could do both.

Hopefully my request makes sense. DD preference is more towards the west coast but we are not ruling out any location at the moment.

Thanks!

 

[softball dad 6]

Worcester polytechnic institute just made the d3 WCWS. I talked to the parents. I think most of the girls were engineering majors. They had girls from all over the country. They had a great season.

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[ChrisSB]

Obviously nursing is completely different then engineering but it's frequently said if you go to nursing school you can't play softball. Maybe some of these schools would have the same openness to engineering and playing softball

List of Nursing Friendly Softball College Programs

Known Nursing Friendly Softball College Programs: Fairfield U (CT) - D1 St Francis (PA) Red Flash - D1 Liberty (VA) - D1 South Alabama (AL) - D1 Alabama (AL) - D1 Dominican College (NY) - D2 Concordia - Portland (OR) - D2 Holy Names (CA) - D2 Willliam Jewell (MO) - D2 University of Charleston...

www.discussfastpitch.com

 

[Vertigo]

MIT, Lehigh, Tufts, and Carnegie Mellon come to mind but are East coast schools.

 

[Vertigo]

You can probably add Case Western and Swarthmore to the list.

 

[diamond14]

Best thing (IMO) is to find a few schools near to you that you think DD is capable of achieving admission to and academically suceeding. Try to be expansive, meaning pick a school that is competetive in softball within their conference. Go to softball games and see if you and DD could see herself playing there, skillwise. Granted this takes some level of projection but you must start early. In my experience most programs have recruits targeted by start of Jr year HS. Be on their list, it is hard to break thru later unless your player is exceptional for that school. Talk to players at various levels to gauge the level of commitment (off season practices, workouts, travel obligations) the coach requires and whether this will be acceptable to your DD and her academic goals.
High academic schools are labelled that way because they require hard working, smart students. Sports can be a great pursuit but many athletes must compromise some experiences to make it work. The more info you gather, the better "fit" you can find for your DD. Having one DD who is on cusp of graduation and another just finished 1st year, I cant emphasize enough the the concept of finding the right space to allow your child to flourish.
Best wishes going forward!!

 

[murphdog]

WPI, MIT and Wentworth Institute of Technology are all fairly local to me. DD has friends at WPI and Wentworth who all seem to love their schools.

 

[marriard]

I did a search and came up short. If this has been covered please direct me to the thread.

We have started looking at colleges/universities for DD. She would like to play softball at the college level. Not sure what level she'll end up at and we are casting a wide net in our search. We are hoping to identify multiple schools at each level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA) to investigate and target over the next couple of years.

She is currently thinking engineering as a major (mechanical or aerospace), though I recognize this may change over the next 3+ years. There are obvious choices for schools with that field of study. What I was hoping to get from the collective knowledge on DFS is identification of schools that might not be easily recognized. Specifically smaller schools that have softball programs. Even better if there is first hand knowledge that playing softball and enrollment/success in the engineering program is compatible. We have already talked to one school where the coaching staff was not sure if an athlete could do both.

Hopefully my request makes sense. DD preference is more towards the west coast but we are not ruling out any location at the moment.

Thanks!

Pretty much all the Ivies, NEWMAC and NESCAC schools in the Northeast - Amherst, Smith, WPI, MIT, Princeton, etc, etc... Colonial D1 schools as well.

Lots of these schools have leading engineering programs

Not as familiar with west coast schools.

 

[burgasser]

I did a search and came up short. If this has been covered please direct me to the thread.

We have started looking at colleges/universities for DD. She would like to play softball at the college level. Not sure what level she'll end up at and we are casting a wide net in our search. We are hoping to identify multiple schools at each level (D1, D2, D3, NAIA) to investigate and target over the next couple of years.

She is currently thinking engineering as a major (mechanical or aerospace), though I recognize this may change over the next 3+ years. There are obvious choices for schools with that field of study. What I was hoping to get from the collective knowledge on DFS is identification of schools that might not be easily recognized. Specifically smaller schools that have softball programs. Even better if there is first hand knowledge that playing softball and enrollment/success in the engineering program is compatible. We have already talked to one school where the coaching staff was not sure if an athlete could do both.

Hopefully my request makes sense. DD preference is more towards the west coast but we are not ruling out any location at the moment.

Thanks!

You can create an account free on NCSA. That will give you the ability to search schools by division, location, major, and academic selectivity. While not perfectly accurate, that search is a good place to start. You will not find a lot of d2 and d3 high academic options on the west coast for engineering (Harvey Mudd has a general engineering degree). You will find plenty for d1. Check out Colorado School of Mines for d2.

 

[Orange Socks]

UT Dallas has a great Engineering School. The school is not small though. D3
https://engineering.utdallas.edu/