[cnorgate]

I think the bigger problem lies in how they are taught. They can be extremely 'hard' when taught in an unintuitive, abstract way. There are some people who are drawn to the sort of raw problem sets that typify science and engineering courses - But I believe there is a much larger set of people fully capable of success in those courses, but dissuaded by lack of engaging content and clear path to a future impact on the world (i.e. applicability)

When learning something new, it's important to help the learner see progress and applicability of what they're learning - two things I believe are sadly absent in most entry-level STEM courses... too much focus on theory, too early on.