Hi everybody! This is my first time posting to College Confidential, and I’ve noticed that lots of people post their college results here. I’m going to do the same, and hopefully you guys can learn a bit from my successes and shortcomings.
Stats:
Cumulative GPA: W=4.0 UW=3.8 (General upward trend. I went from an UW=3.4 freshman year to an UW=4.0 junior year)
ACT: 35 (Eng: 34 , Math: 33 , Reading: 35 , Science: 36 , Writing: 9)
SAT IIs: Bio E: 800 , Chem: 780 , Math II: 780 , Physics: 790
APs (as of junior year): World: 4 , U.S. History: 5 , English Language: 5
Senior Year courseload: College Physics, U.S. Government/Economics, English 12, AP Statistics, AP BC Calculus, AP Italian Language/Culture, Science Research
Class rank: Top 15% of my class of 245 (my school doesn’t really rank)
Major awards: 3rd place in engineering in WESEF
Applied for Financial Aid?: Heck yes
Intended Major: Aerospace Engineering
State: New York
School Type: Suburban public school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 90-100k
Now onto my colleges: where I applied, why I applied, and my results.
Embry-Riddle: ERAU has the distinction of being the most unique college I’ve ever seen. I applied and eventually committed to this college because I can think of no better way to experience aerospace engineering than by surrounding myself with planes and rockets 24/7! The school definitely breaks the mold of the stereotypical engineering school in that they have an airport adjacent to campus and their extremely prestigious pilot training program (with a fleet of over 50 aircraft). Final Verdict: COMMITTED
MIT: One way in which I judged a potential college’s merit was through the names of their classes. You can tell a lot about attitudes towards academics by the complexity of the class descriptions, and MIT’s was by far the most intense out of all of them. Combined with their reputation as arguably the best engineering school and their substantial focus on undergrad research, MIT was my top pick for quite some time. Final Verdict: DENIED
Cornell: Out of all the places I’ve applied to, I think I spent the most time on the Cornell campus. I fell in love with the combination of their focus on research and absolutely gorgeous campus. However, they do not offer an aerospace program for undergrads, so I ended up looking elsewhere in the end. Final Verdict: WAITLISTED
Princeton: Strangely enough, I was introduced to Princeton by my MIT interviewer who praised their plasma physics program. I was intrigued to say the least, and I regret not physically visiting the university and looking into it further. Final Verdict: DENIED
RPI: What struck me about this college is that it has an unapologetic focus on STEM, especially engineering. The closest thing I could compare it to is the atmosphere at MIT, where undergraduate research is very pervasive and encouraged. Out of all the colleges I’ve visited, RPI’s info session was the best by far. Ultimately, the high cost of this college caused me to look elsewhere. Final Verdict: ADMITTED
Clarkson: New York colleges have a severe lack of aerospace engineering programs, so Clarkson caught my eye. Clarkson is by far the most personable university I’ve been to: scheduling a one-on-one tour and an interview with an aerospace engineering professor for me! By the end of the whole process, they were my #2 school. Final Verdict: ADMITTED
University of Michigan: This university was one of my top picks because I did a research project with them over the course of two years. I admit, I thought I had an “in” because I worked extensively with a graduate student. Final Verdict: WAITLISTED
Case Western Reserve: Much in the same vein as UMich, the aerospace engineering program at this university is very highly regarded. I regret not taking the time to physically visit the school. Final Verdict: WAITLISTED
SUNY Stony Brook: The incredible value proposition of this school combined with its emphasis on STEM made it one of my top picks until the very end. However, a downright abysmal admitted students day ruined this college for me. The most damning and puzzling thing I learned that day was that engineering students are not allowed to switched majors, and that lab access is very restrictive compared to some of the other colleges I’ve looked at… Final Verdict: ACCEPTED
SUNY Binghamton: While I initially applied to this college because of its renowned academics, I was disappointed in the lack of attention the engineering department got. In both my tour and the brochures mailed to me, the engineering department seems to take a backseat to the other five schools. Final Verdict: ACCEPTED
SUNY Poly: Looking back, I probably should have looked at this school more closely. I never even ended up visiting. Final Verdict: ACCEPTED
Final thoughts: One of the main pieces of advice I received over this whole process was to get a mechanical engineering instead of an aerospace engineering degree because it is easier to find job opportunities as a mechanical engineer. However, I know that my heart is in aerospace, so I decided to specialize as much as possible: throwing a bit of job security to the wind as I do so.
PM me if you have any questions/comments! I’d love to help others learn from my experiences.