A lot of college related questions

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I started this same thread last night but I only got one response and it is quickly sliding down the second page. So I'm posting it again.</p>

<p>About me...</p>

<p>I'm a rising senior</p>

<p>93-94 GPA (I think 3.84 on a 4 pt scale)</p>

<p>Mostly honors classes with some AP senior year</p>

<p>30 ACT (1940 SAT but will submit ACT)</p>

<p>2 varsity sports and I play an instrument</p>

<p>I don't have any other clubs, I don't have leadership exp, and I don't have community service...I'm a little worried about that</p>

<p>And I live in NY and I'm white.</p>

<p>I think I want engineering (chemical?) but for a while I was set on astronomy. I turned away from it though because it isn't a great major for job oppurtunities. I'm also pretty interested in the nanotechnology program at UAlbany.</p>

<p>Now for the schools I'm looking at...</p>

<p>University of Maryland, College Park
University of Delaware
Northeastern University
Boston College
Providence College (I'd do the 3+2 engineering program w/ Columbia U)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
SUNY Albany (again, for nanotech)
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Binghamton
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)</p>

<p>Now, for my questions...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>What do you think my chances are for the above schools? Also, would Brown or UC Berkeley be worth applying to or are they way too out of my league?</p></li>
<li><p>One of my friends says I have no reaches...based on my resume, what would be good reaches or other good schools to look at for me? As you can tell, I'm into division 1/well known schools...basically somewhere I can proudly say is my alma mater while watching them in the NCAA tourney. Also I don't want to go anywhere I can't reasonably drive to.</p></li>
<li><p>What do you think about my majors? I know engineers make a lot of money, but is chemical engineering (or any other type of engineering) an interesting subject? Should I look back into astronomy? What kind of things could I do with an astronomy degree...and is it really competitive to achieve them? And what do you think about nanotech?</p></li>
<li><p>What is your general opinion about the above schools?</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, if I decide on schools from the above list, should I boost my resume, or is it good? Should I start doing community service, even this late in my HS career? If I submit the ACT, should I still take SAT subject tests? Should I retake the ACT? Should I join a new club?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>If you can answer just 1 or all of the questions above, that would be great. Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>And I’m top 15% of my class.</p>

3

<p>Your GPA is good, but I’d bump it up a little and try to get into the Top 10%, which may help you with Brown/Berkeley. </p>

<p>As for extra-curricular activities, join more clubs and/or do community service! I think it will definitely help, even if you’ve only just started. On the college applications however, since you may not have a strong background with ECs, make your essays as brilliant as possible.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The most familiar one I know is RPI, as one of my friends go there; he is actually a chemical engineer and is doing well there, but enjoys the party scene a lot. RPI is mainly a science/engineering school and would probably be pretty good for ChemE if you’re still considering it. </p></li>
<li><p>Brown and Berkeley may actually be reaches for you. Brown is an Ivy League school and its admissions is very competitive. Also, I would say Brown is more of a liberal arts school than science, while Berkeley is very strong in engineering. </p></li>
<li><p>ChemE could be an interesting subject if you let it be. What are your interests? Are you interested in chemistry and other sciences as well as what the chem. eng. major entails? Consider that when choosing your final major. Once you get into college, you can try an astronomy class and see how it goes. If you like it, push on.</p></li>
<li><p>I think they’re all pretty good schools, but I don’t know much about them. I’m sorry ^^;;</p></li>
<li><p>Boost your resume as much as you can. If you have a community-service oriented club at your high school, join it. Do as much as possible (but also keep your grades up). If the school(s) you are applying to require SAT IIs, take them. If you feel that you could do better on the ACT than your current score, by all means do it. ACT may send all your scores to the colleges, but I think the college will look at your best score. I know that is how CollegeBoard does it.</p></li>
</ol>

4

<p>Yeah I added Brown and Berkeley after I copied + pasted. I know obviously they are big reaches, when I said I had no reaches I was referring to the above list. Thanks a lot!</p>

5

<p>Good list of schools, IMO.<br>
Delaware and Maryland have good Chem E programs. </p>

<p>If you’re interested in engineering, I would go for the more traditional disciplines (mechanical, electrical, chemical, or civil). That way you keep your options open without limiting yourself too much by specialization. Electrical’s concepts were too nebulous for me to visualize…civil seemed interesting, especially because i like architecture…but ultimately I settled on chemical because i liked chemistry.</p>

<p>Chemical and mechanical are very similar, actually. A lot more physics than chemistry - even though I loved chemistry. Chemical engineering is becoming more broad…they’re starting to call it process engineering - but you can also specialize as your career path gets more defined - including nanotechnology.</p>

<p>You’re on track…good luck.</p>

<p>Go ahead and add some more reaches if you like.</p>

6

<p>Many of the schools on your list are also on my child’s list and were on my first child’s list, as well. I think your stats are well aligned with these schools. Providence has become (I believe) SAT and ACT optional so you don’t need to send them, although you have good scores so they would help you. As far as your resume goes…well, honestly, most schools are interested in your numbers more than anything. I do think you could start some community service so that it shows on your resume. Something simply like helping at a food pantry or helping a sick neighbor. After all, these things are actually valuable because they really are needed by the recipient! Most of all, you should relax! It will all work out and yes, engineering is an interesting career. Perhaps you can combine your interest on astronomy with engineering!</p>

7

<p>Thanks, everyone!</p>