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F.A.Q.s for Parents
- Isn't the College of Engineering awfully big? … awfully small?
- Will my son or daughter be safe at the University of Maine?
- Won't my child be bored with nothing to do but study up in the middle of the woods in Maine?
- What's all this going to cost me?
- But aren't all the engineering jobs being outsourced overseas? I thought the demand for engineers crashed with the dot.com crash.
- But my daughter wants to leave the state, have a city experience, engage in discussions with high-aspiring class mates, and see a bit of the world?
- Isn't attending a state university likely to lessen my child's ability to later attend a top twenty-five graduate program in business, engineering, science, law or medicine?
Isn't the College of Engineering awfully big? … awfully small?
We of course think the college is the perfect size. It's large enough to provide actively engaged first-rate professors and excellent labs and facilities yet small enough so students can get to know their professors and everyone else in their engineering courses on a personal level. UMaine engineering faculty members are among the best teachers on campus and professors, not graduate students, teach all of our engineering courses. Engineering classes are relatively small (most have less than 30 students; few are over 50) and many have "hands-on" laboratories so students have an active role in learning.
Academic success is fostered outside the classroom with opportunities for co-op experience and research participation. The College of Engineering typically receives over $10,000,000 in research support annually, which provides opportunities for undergraduate students to work with faculty and graduate students on both basic and applied research.
Students can choose to live in an engineering residence hall (Somerset), which has proven to be a real advantage when it comes to getting good grades. In addition, first-year students are eligible for our mentoring program and study sessions led by upper-class students. Engineering students can also participate with their peers in a variety of engineering student organizations and competitions.
Due to the University's comprehensive coverage of academic fields, engineering students are able to supplement their core courses by selecting electives from among numerous arts, humanities, business and liberal arts courses. For students looking for an extra scholastic challenge, UMaine offers one of the oldest honors programs in the nation and many engineering students enjoy the extra breadth and depth that such a program can offer.
Thus engineering students at the University of Maine gain the advantages of excellence in programs and facilities that a major land grant university can provide. Yet they also enjoy the camaraderie and support that fellow students and faculty can provide through small classes and close-knit working relationships.
Will my son or daughter be safe at the University of Maine?
Nationally, campus safety has become a big concern. As you might expect given its rural setting, the University of Maine campus has a low crime rate (for statistics on campus crime, check out http://www.umaine.edu/security). Orono has the 85th lowest violent crime rate of 115 Maine towns according to the Maine Department of Public Safety. Recently, nearby Bangor was rated one of the top ten communities in the U.S. and Maine has been named the best state in the nation to raise children by the Children's Rights Council based in Washington DC. Maine ranks 48th out of the 50 states in violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Similar to most modern campuses, "blue post" panic buttons are conveniently located throughout the campus so that campus security can respond immediately when needed.
Won't my child be bored with nothing to do but study up in the middle of the woods in Maine?
Let's face it academics come first. Yet it may surprise you that the University of Maine was nationally ranked number one in an annual survey of students under "most to do on campus." While the perception of some is that there is far more to do "on campus" at very large universities or at campuses in urban areas, this is often not the case. Some campuses such as the University of Maine go out of their way to offer far more entertainment and activities of interest to college students than you would ever find on the typical large campus. The campus activities board plans social activities for seemingly every night of the week and then there are the limitless opportunities to attend or participate in all the NCAA and intramural sports. The Maine Center for the Arts is located conveniently on the campus and is the primary forum for major performance and cultural events throughout the region.
Further, all of that coastline and all those woods and streams provide wonderful opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in beautiful natural settings. Some of the student organizations focused on outdoor activities are among the most popular on campus engaging students from all disciplinary domains.
What's all this going to cost me?
Kiplinger ranks the University of Maine as "one of the top 100 best values in public colleges." The University of Maine has the most inexpensive total annual cost rates for attending a major state university in New England (i.e. total of tuition, fees, room and board). The out-of-state rates are among the lowest in New England and some of our engineering programs qualify for the New England Board of Higher Education Tuition Reduction Program lowering out-of-state rates even further.
Debt burdens are a major constraint on the ability of students to attend graduate school so if you have a high aspiring son or daughter you should plan early by running the numbers. Just because a son or daughter is admitted to an expensive college doesn't mean it is a wise decision to attend if it forecloses the ability of the bright student to later go to graduate school or financially stresses the well-being of the family. For example the family commitment for a typical expensive New England private college using 2005 figures = $43,590 times 4 years (assuming the student finishes in four years) minus the maximum student's debt of $23,000 (limited by federal loan regulations) = $151,000 family commitment minus grants, scholarships and student earnings. Contrast this with attending a state university. The comparable family commitment for attending the University of Maine using 2005 figures = $15,942 times 4 years (assuming the student finishes in four years) minus the maximum student's debt of $23,000 = $41,000 family commitment minus grants, scholarships and student earnings. If your son or daughter can gain a commitment of $100,000 or more in grants and scholarships from that expensive school, it may be financially advantageous to send your child to the college providing such aid. This is certainly not the level of aid that will be offered to most families even if their child is extremely bright. Alternatively, you may have ample savings and want to spend those savings on an undergraduate rather than graduate education for your child.
Whether student or family, those paying 12 to 16 percent of their monthly income to service education loans generally feel overwhelmed (Advice on Paying for College: First, Get Real." Maine Sunday Telegram, 16 Jan 2005, pp.32-34). As a rule of thumb, when the first-year financial aid package offers come in from various universities, check the difference between the grant amount and cost amount. Multiply by four years and see if it exceeds your family's annual income. If it does, your family is likely to be stressed in making repayments unless you have significant savings to reduce the total loan amount.
We are confident that you will discover that your son or daughter can obtain a first class engineering education in Maine at a bargain price.
But aren't all the engineering jobs being outsourced overseas? I thought the demand for engineers crashed with the dot.com crash.
Not true at all. The demand for high-level skills is very strong and growing. It is true that jobs you can do in a cubicle in the basement may go overseas. However most engineering is about all about design to meet real world needs. Jobs designing and adapting technologies to meet user needs require close contact with the clients, businesses and consumers they are serving. You will find graduate engineers engaged in all facets of life in your local communities.
Let's look just at the employment sector that has been most visible in the news. The Maine Department of Labor (2005) projects an "employment growth of 38.6 percent by 2010 in Information Technology, translating to over 3,300 jobs and making it one of the top three high-growth sectors" in the state. Similarly the State of New Hampshire (2005) predicts high growth in the information technology sector while enrollment in information technology-related university programs is dropping. Enrollments have been dropping presumably because of the very visible bad press concerning the industry generally. For university graduates in IT emerging over the next decade, demand is in fact expected to be very high. A Northern New England Technology paper reports that people with high-level information technology education and training already are in short supply and the problem is growing (Interface Monthly, August 2005).
Those dot.com crashes put a lot of people out of work in places such as along the west coast but most of the highly-skilled labor force moved immediately to new opportunities. It is the less trained individuals who are of course most harmed by such economic swings. Ninety-seven percent of graduates responding to our recent College job survey held engineering positions with salaries close to or above the national average.
But my daughter wants to leave the state, have a city experience, engage in discussions with high-aspiring class mates, and see a bit of the world?
That's great. She might want to consider the fact that the past performance of her peers in the College of Engineering will be as good or better than peers at an expensive college across the state line. She might also be able to see much more of the world and have much broader urban learning experiences by looking at other options. When her friends are merely crossing one or two state lines to go to college she might want to consider spending on or more of her semesters in one or more foreign universities. Pick a country where you would like to study and go for it! Study abroad opportunities are available to all UMaine students maintaining a 2.75 grade point average or above. The University of Maine has many formal reciprocal agreements with foreign universities. In these instances students pay their normal tuition fee to the University of Maine but attend the foreign university. Thus the only differences in costs are in room and board which may be lesser or greater depending on the foreign university chosen. These differences, as well as basic travel expenses, may be included in calculating your annual financial aid package. One example of such a program is the formal exchange agreement that the Information Systems Engineering degree program has with the University of Melbourne. In addition to the reciprocal exchange programs and those on the UMaine list of recommended study abroad programs, the University holds membership in several international exchange organizations. These arrangements vastly increase the opportunities to earn credits overseas that will count towards your University of Maine engineering degree. For more information see http://www.umaine.edu/international/If she still wants to leave Maine to obtain her degree, consider the possibility of doing it after a year or two. You and other Maine taxpayers have already paid for about half of her costs to attend college at home. It is true that many students don't find a comfortable match with the first university they attend. One-third of recent traditional age bachelor's degree graduates transferred from one 4-year institution to another before graduating (Begun, Brent, "Trading Places." Newsweek, America's Hottest Colleges 2006 Edition, p. 24). Rather than spending all the family savings or substantially increasing the family debt burden for a year or two elsewhere and then returning to the state, keeping expenses low for a year or two by staying in-state may be the wiser choice. For most students, graduating from the college they prefer is far more important than starting at the college they prefer. Other students prefer to reserve attending the most prestigious university they can gain entry to for their graduate rather than undergraduate degree.
Isn't attending a state university likely to lessen my child's ability to later attend a top twenty-five graduate program in business, engineering, science, law or medicine?
In many instances the reverse may be true. Your ability to attend a top rank graduate school is far more likely to be determined by undergraduate courses taken, grades received, quality of the specific program taken as opposed to the reputation of the overall university, scores on graduate or professional entrance exams, letters of recommendation from undergraduate instructors, and whether a heavy debt burden or other financial obligations will make it difficult for you to pursue graduate school. Changing technology is a major challenge for all disciplines and who better to help address those challenges than students with solid engineering credentials? Engineering students who have performed well and complemented their undergraduate engineering curriculums with appropriate prerequisite courses in other fields are much sought after by graduate schools in those other fields.
Have more questions? Please send them and we will try to list more responses for the benefit of other parents.
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