<p>This is for one of my best friends, asking for advice. Needless to say, he is one of the smartest kids I know (National Merit Finalist, 2190 SAT, 4/213 rank at prestigious school).<br>
We warned him all along about his applications but today, he came to the sad realization about next year. So far these are his colleges:</p>
<p>MIT: rejected (not expecting much here)
Carnegie Melon: rejected this morning
Northwestern: Rejected (first choice)
Washu: Waitlisted (along with a billion others)
Drexel: Accepted with 20k a year. </p>
<p>He is interested in engineering, but does not want to go to Drexel. Today he said he felt "as if the past 18 years of his life were pointless..." What should he do? Gap year, transfer, apply to any more schools?</p>
<p>One option is to go to community college, then transfer as a junior to a four year university and complete his bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>Motivated students who either could not afford all four years or who did not include suitable safeties in their application lists do it, with some going on to top PhD programs in their major after bachelor’s degree graduation. (Yes, this includes engineering students.)</p>
<p>I just looked at Drexel’s website and quite frankly I have no idea why your friend does not want to go there. It is an amazing university that has what I consider to be an excellent focus – a focus on jobs, internships and co-ops. The engineering department looks pretty good too and your friend will get $20K a year. I say forget the past and go to Drexel and look forward to an amazing experience and a great life. If he is still over-focused on “prestige” he can go to grad school at MIT or Northwestern. I say go to Drexel and move on!! There are kids out there who would give their right eye to be in his shoes. This is not a defeat – the universe is directing him to a school that is focused on getting him a real job after graduation. Someone needs him to get over the pity party and accept the fact that he has an incredible opportunity in front of him.</p>
<p>That’s sad. He should have applied to UC Berkeley, which is a pretty strong engineering school, and accepts a high percentage of out-of-state students (40% last year); as long as OOS students have high GPA’s and decent SAT’s it’s almost a guarantee that they are in.
The best choice would probably be to go to Drexel, complete the first semester with a high GPA, and then send out transfer applications during his second semester. Transferring isn’t a fun process though, and it can be pretty miserable going to a school that you aren’t excited about attending</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, guys. I read his essays and they were fantastic…much better than mine (and I’ve gotten into several top 25 schools.) I believe his issue was being unrealistic and applying to some of the best engineering schools in the country with subpar math scores. (Low 700s and high 600s and Bs in math/science classes).</p>
<p>This appears to be an annual scenario because engineering is a very difficult admit even for those at the very top. How did the guidance department and parents only allow five applications, without any safety choices? Remember the adage,love thy safety. My older d graduated with an extremely bright and multi-talented group of students - National Merit, Intel semi-finalists, Coca-Cola scholarships, Presidential Honors…from a well-regarded high school with many Ivy acceptances year in, year out and our head of guidance stood in front of our senior/parent college planning night and said that for all of the students including the above mentioned group, the only sure school that anyone could expect was our local community college. Drexel with $20,000 is a great option and allows you to save money for grad school down the road. It may not be the school of his dreams but it is a strong school with a great reputation and a good program. Philly is a great city. Taking a gap year does not guarantee you any better results next time around. Transferring into a different school from Drexel is always an option if you do well with a strong GPA… although most schools do not offer any funding for transfers.</p>
<p>If he has no interest in attending Drexel, then maybe take a gap year and apply again next year. If he has an aversion to Drexel, then it really wasn’t a safety school.</p>
<p>I also agree with the prior comment, that is is much harder to get scholarship money as a transfer so if money is an issue, it is another reason to take a gap year. </p>
<p>He could also talk to his guidance counselor and see if the counselor might be willing to call some other schools to see if they would be willing to find a place for such a qualified student. I would also contact WashU and let them know that if accepted, he would definitely go.</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that he didn’t listen to the advice earlier on.</p>
<p>Iowa and Iowa State are still taking apps I think. Iowa State is the better engineering school. Several neighbor kids that were NMF’s are attending ISU for engineering.</p>
<p>“Much of Drexel’s success can be attributed not only to leadership and quality academics, but also because of its unique relationship with the corporate community. Since it’s founding in 1891, Drexel’s applied educational philosophy and commitment to professional preparation distinguishes Drexel as an institution that is exceptionally committed to serving the needs of business.” </p>
<p>He got predictable results then. He wouldn’t get I to many mid tier engineering programs with those grades/scores. Not sure a gap year makes sense unless he wants to retake tests.</p>
<p>The Alabama (Tuscaloosa) big merit scholarships for stats (which are not quite full ride, though the top ones are full tuition) have a December 1 deadline.</p>
<p>Berkeley is not an easy place to get admitted for engineering, especially the more popular types of engineering, with the grades and scores stated in post #7.</p>
<p>If he wants to “upgrade” his selection of schools, then the best thing to do is likely attend either community college or Drexel (or a less selective four year school that is still accepting applications), do well there for a year or two, and apply to transfer.</p>
<p>With his scores and grades, he is lucky to have the scholarship at Drexel. Enroll there and he may love the school and decide to spend four years there and graduate from there. I cannot tell you how many folks I’ve known that were disappointed in the school they were accepted to and when they got there struggled to keep up at their “safety school” and ended up getting the education of their lives. He will be more than challenged at Drexel. If he goes there thinking it will be a piece of cake because to him it is a second or third tier school, he might wash out to his surprised. I say enroll and take it very seriously. He’ll get a very good education. Drexel is no slouch of a school.</p>
<p>ah yes you’re right UCB, that was very shortsighted of me to say, I forgot for a moment that he was applying for engineering. it’s very competitive in that case. my apologies</p>
<p>Go to Drexel, stay there, and succeed. If he does well enough, graduate school at any of those other places is within reach.</p>
<p>At the time he applied, did your friend consider Drexel an acceptable safety but didn’t think he’d really have to use it? But now he doesn’t want to “settle” for Drexel because he missed all 4 of the reach schools? Maybe in a month, the emotions will settle down.</p>
<p>Can’t see the sense in a gap year or CC because he’s already admitted to Drexel. One could think of other engineering school matches, but Drexel is a match in the same league. He might have done things differently, but the way things turned out is not nearly as bad as what might have happened.</p>