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Hey guys, it's Alex again! So, applications are due in a month, we've been getting a lot
of questions about that. The design challenge was released last week, and I got a question
from Christine Lee from Australia, and she asks, well what if my library doesn't have
a fab center and I can't get the parts for the design challenge? So in that case, if
you're living in an area that doesn't have a fab center, just send us an email and we
will ship you the parts, we want everyone to be able to participate.
Got a lot of questions also about the portfolio. So first, keep in mind you've been building
up this portfolio for 12 years, so we didn't expect you to think about being an engineer
when you were in kindergarten. Now, some of you may have done that, and that's fantastic,
but a lot of us came to this later in life also, we didn't realize that engineering was
a thing until maybe one of our mentors in high school told us about it, or even now
it's like, hm, that sounds like fun, I might pick it up but I'm also looking at med school,
theatre, or whatever. So this portfolio is really, we're looking to get a sense of who
you are, how you've progressed, what kind of projects you've taken on and how you've
approached them, more so than what they are, it doesn't need to be all technical, we're
also looking for leadership abilities, communication abilities, service abilities, because all
these things are really really important in engineering.
And, and, one of the other things that admissions departments do, when they see your portfolio,
if we think you're also going to be a good fit for another school, we will point you
to particular people in those schools, because separate from high school, unlike high school,
in college it's really really easy to mix and match classes from different institutions.
So you might have an advisor here at Donovan but take most of your classes at another school
nearby, or telecommute to other schools across the country or even in other countries.
For instance, my friend Tony is also a legal engineering major at Donovan, but wants to
focus on chemical research, intellectual property in making new materials, making new chemicals,
making new... so he's in Michigan now taking chemical classes at Michigan State but he
telecommutes back here once a week to meet with his advisor at Donovan and he'll be back
next year to complete his senior capstone on campus. So there are these sorts of blending
learning opportunities, and that kind of thing is an option, and by looking at your portfolio
and helping you hook up with individual faculty members we'll help you figure out what your
pathway is and where you might want to go. You might want to be based at some other school
but do research and take classes here.
Oh, fun history note -- so, in my History of American Patents class with Dr. Nathan,
he was talking last week about... standardized testing, so apparently back in the day, like
decades ago, there used to be these test, think they were called... S... uh, Standardized...
Achievement or Academic Tests or something, and, and, I forget the other one, but there
used to be these really big tests, these standardized kind of multiple choice things, and every
high school kid in the country who was applying to college would take them, and they'd be
given this number, and they would use those to apply to school. And we were all kind of
confused, like all right, did you really do that, and Dr. Nathan said yeah, that's what
he had to do when he applied to college. They didn't have the portfolios back then. So.
Yeah. Fun history note.
But the portfolio really is the most important component of your first round application.
And the second round is more the interviews and interactions, and we'll talk more about
that in our next vlog.
I'm running out of time here, but for those of you who are coming to our November campus
preview weekend, next weekend, make sure you stop by the film booth, it's a really fun
place to let your parents get distracted so you can talk with people, because they come
by and they go oh, I remember that film when I was growing up, and they stay. So, uh...
I hope to see you next weekend, and for those who can't make it we're going to have our
usual chat here Wednesdays 7pm Eastern time.
Um, if you have any questions about applications, or want feedback on your portfolios or anything
like that, feel free to get in touch, you know how to send a little reply here, and
hopefully we'll see your applications coming in in a month!