Faithful readers who have stuck with me since the beginning (okay, you can put your hand down), will remember one of my first posts about the need for counselors to find current and detailed information to help their students make informed choices. See The Data Is Out There – But You Need To Look For It.

One of my examples concerned the University of Washington, and the data I found was surprising.

Consider the University of Washington, a top-ranked engineering school.  The Engineering Department only admits 10-20% of applicants directly.  The rest are required to apply later, as juniors.  

What happens to [them]?  It isn’t pretty [link omitted]:

. . . .

To summarize, the majority of these very bright and talented students fail to get into their engineering sub-specialty.  (Thus, the would-be aeronautical engineer may have to settle for industrial engineering – much like a would-be brain surgeon ending up as a general practitioner.)  Some students get into none of the available sub-specialties, and either switch majors or transfer to schools to finish their engineering degree.

Well, not that my blog had anything to do with it, but the University of Washington is changing its policy, effective next year.  It will now admit about half its class, 650 students, directly.  Accounting for shrinkage after admission (about 40% of engineering students nationwide switch out of the major), the total will account for about half of the engineering degrees awarded.  The rest will come from students who transfer into the major, from other programs at the university, or from other schools.

However, there is an interesting footnote to this change in policy.  The department plans to enroll approximately 75% of its students from in-state, and the remaining 25% from “out of state or out of the country.”  If international students make up half of that 25%, your out-of-state student is going to find that getting into the University of Washington engineering program difficult, indeed.  But at least they will be rejected at the start, as opposed to waiting for two years for the hammer to fall and then not being eligible for the financial aid afforded to four-year students at UW.

And that’s cause for celebration.