Advice on colleges for a mechanical engineering major?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm a high school Junior planning on majoring in mechanical engineering, and am trying to narrow down the list of colleges I'm looking to apply to. I wasn't entirely sure where to place this thread, so please move it to the appropriate subforum if need be.</p>

<p>First, here's some basic information about me, so you know basically where I'm coming from and what my applications will look like:</p>

<p>Academics:
-Currently enrolled in an IB Program
-4.0 unweighted GPA (straight As)
-PSAT: 224 (80 English, 76 Math, 68 Writing)
-ACT: 35 (35 English, 35 Math, 33 Reading, 36 Science, 9/12 Writing)
-SAT: Taking it for the first time on the ninth - wish me luck!</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Playing bass: I've played for a church worship band for several years, and various projects and bands. Nothing school related, but I've practiced several hours a day for about two years now and feel as though I'm reasonably good.
-Building basses: Last year, I took a woodshop class and built a 4-string fretless bass. This year, I've taken on building a 9-string. I feel like this may be my strongest extracurricular as I've been involved in it for multiple years and it's a bit unique.
-Academic team/Knowledge Bowl: I just started participating this year, but the school won state 4A last year and went to the national competition. This year we are poised to win again. I'm also the go-to math guy on the team, for what it's worth.
-FIRST Robotics: Again, I became involved this year. I have to travel about an hour out of town to get to the competition. I was invited by a friend from my school, and next year we are planning to start a team in our city.
-Energy Science/Policy: I'm taking an extracurricular class on the politics and science of energy development that I earn college credit for. It's an interesting class with a different speaker each week with a different area of expertise. There's a great depth of knowledge here.
-I applied for the RSI summer program, and will also apply to HSHSP and SuMAC. Hopefully I can go to one of those this summer.
-I recently joined the RiverWatch program, in which we take samples of the Colorado River, analyze them for various pollutants and other factors, and provide our results to various organizations.</p>

<p>Concerns:
-My extracurriculars my first two years of high school are somewhat lacking. I came from private, Christian K-8 school of 100 people, so public high school was a culture shock, and I was extremely socially awkward my freshman/sophomore years. I've really only gotten comfortable and more involved in things this year. Will this significantly hurt me, or will the development shown in my junior/senior years outweigh this?
-I recently took the AMC 12 and did pretty badly (I got a 72, I believe). I had literally never heard of it until several days before I took the test, and my school hadn't offered it in nearly 10 years. I had no time to prepare - will this reflect poorly on me?
-I come from a public high school in an underfunded school district, and the science programs are really quite weak. The only physics class offered at my school is a basic introductory course. Because of my IB schedule, I'm unable to take classes at the college. I'm currently taking IB Chemistry, but it's only offered at the Standard Level. There aren't really any math/science extracurriculars at my school, but I've managed to create my own opportunities. Will this lack of a science background hurt my chances at admissions to the top engineering schools?</p>

<hr>

<p>Now that you kind of know where I come from, here the colleges I'm thinking about applying to:</p>

<p>Reach Schools:
-Caltech (#1 choice, I visited and absolutely loved it. Really hope I can get in, but it's a bit of a dream)
-MIT
-Stanford</p>

<p>Still sort-of reachish Schools, but not as much:
-Carnegie Mellon
-Rice University?
-Georgia Tech?
-I'm not too sure where else, this is really where I need the most help. Any suggestions are much appreciated.</p>

<p>Safety Schools:
-University of Colorado at Boulder (I'm guaranteed admission with my test scores and grades)
-Colorado School of Mines</p>

<hr>

<p>What I really would like the most help with is:
-Do I have a realistic shot at any of my reach schools, even with the concerns I posted?
-What would be some great mechanical engineering programs that I have a more likely chance of being accepted to?
-What do people think of CU Boulder vs. School of Mines for mechanical engineering?</p>

<p>Thank you very much for taking the time to read my rather long-winded post, and if anyone could take the time to offer advice, I would greatly appreciate it!</p>

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<p>Your scores and GPA are very good, but I don’t really want to guess on your chances. Here are a few thoughts though:</p>

<p>With your PSAT score you will probably be a National Merit Semi-finalist. Look at the threads on this site for scholarships available to National Merit scholars and see if any of the schools interest you.</p>

<p>Your AMC 12 score is very good, but you don’t have to report it unless you want to (I think Cal Tech is the only school that specifically asks for your score). I assume it was the 12A since you already got the score back - the AIME cutoff was 88.5 for that test. If you got the highest score at your school you get a pin or medal. Go to the Art of Problem Solving website which has lots of good information and practice tests and I’m sure you will get an AIME score next year. Even though you will have already sent in college applications, that is the sort of significant award schools like to be updated about. </p>

<p>When you visited Cal Tech did you check out Harvey Mudd? Also an excellent school for engineers.</p>

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<p>Cost constraints and financial aid situation?</p>

<p>Will you be taking IB Math HL? Caltech requires entering freshmen to have had ordinary high school or college calculus before (because its “freshman calculus” is more like real analysis).</p>

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<p>Yomama12:
Unfortunately I didn’t visit Harvey Mudd. Someone told me they were a liberal arts college, and that turned me off at the time. It looks like they have some really great programs though, and I regret not visiting them now. Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll definitely have to do more research on Harvey Mudd.</p>

<p>Thanks for the information about the National Merit Scholar program and the AMC12.</p>

<p>ucbalumnus:
I come from what is pretty much an average middle class family. Not exactly poor, but I’ll definitely need financial aid to attend an out-of-state private school, especially since I have a brother who will be looking to do the same in two years. I still need to sit down and talk specifics with my parents, but they have been very supportive of me. Fortunately, it looks like many of the top institutions offer need-blind admissions and promise to meet most, if not all, of demonstrated need.</p>

<p>I’m definitely taking IB Math HL starting next year. I have a great math teacher and am really looking forward to it, since my current Calculus class is easily my favorite class. My math track looks something like this:
Algebra II/Precalc -> AP Statistics -> AP Calculus AB (my school doesn’t offer BC) -> IB Math HL.
This was the most difficult math track offered to me by my high school, so hopefully it’s enough. It’s the science I’m more concerned about - the school’s science programs are somewhat lackluster.</p>

<p>Thank you both for replying and offering advice, I really appreciate it!</p>

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<p>Harvey Mudd is a liberal arts college, but it has an ABET accredited (general) engineering science degree program.</p>

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</p>

<p>Make sure that your safeties will be affordable (check their net price calculators). A school is not a safety if you cannot afford to attend.</p>

<p>If you need other safeties to consider, there may be the automatic merit scholarship ones (Alabama offers full OOS tuition + $2,500 per year based on GPA and test scores; if you make NMF, Texas A&M has a good scholarship).</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice - I suppose I always assumed that the safeties would be affordable. I’ll definitely check into the various merit scholarships to out of state schools. The two safeties I put on the list, CU Boulder and Colorado School of Mines, were chosen mostly because they are state schools, and are considered the best in the state. I have always been under the impression they offer substantial scholarships for in-state students with high grades/test scores but I need to look more carefully into that. Thanks again for the help.</p>

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<p>Schools like MIT and Stanford will look at your background in the context of what resources are available to you, so this shouldn’t hurt your chances. What they really like to see are students who create their own opportunities. You definitely have a decent shot at them, but as you may have read, no one can accurately predict who will get in. I agree that your bass building sounds like a good EC, particularly paired with playing bass in a band.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley and Michigan also have great mechanical engineering programs, but their financial aid may not be as good for OOS students as some of the other schools mentioned.</p>

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<p>Berkeley would likely be a reach financially, though possible if you get the highly selective full ride Drake scholarship. Without it, the out-of-state financial aid offer will be about $22,000 short of meeting need.</p>

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<p>Thanks, photodad, that’s definitely reassuring to know schools take opportunity into consideration. Are they pretty good about knowing the circumstances of schools, or is that something I should make clear in the application? (For what its worth, the school has never had an MIT/Caltech admit. In the past 5 years, we’ve had 1 admit to Harvard, 1 to Duke, and 1 to Cornell, so the school might be a bit under the radar for my top schools.)</p>

<p>As for Berkeley, I wasn’t really planning to apply. Financial situation is certainly a large part of it, but also, when I visited the school last summer, I didn’t feel it was a great fit for me. It’s certainly an excellent academic institution, but I just can’t envision myself living there for four years, for various reasons. I suppose it’s always an option, but I didn’t feel like it fit me as well as other schools I visited. </p>

<p>I’ll have to look into Michigan further, but it would probably only be possible if I got some fairly substantial financial aid. That may be difficult since I’m out-of-state, but I’ll keep it in mind and look into it.</p>

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<p>evanatch, are you female? A girl with your stats would be a strong candidate for a sizeable scholarship at Michigan’s College of Engineering, assuming you apply early and show a great deal of interest in your essays.</p>

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<p>Nope. I’m a Caucasian male. Looking at Michigan’s website, it looks like the expected family contribution for my family’s income bracket, I’d need some pretty substantial scholarships to be able to attend. I’ll definitely still consider Michigan, and </p>

<p>As far as safety schools go, though, I say I’m fairly content with CU Boulder and Colorado School of Mines, and each of those would be easier to afford than an out of state public school. Are there any additional match schools I should consider besides Carnegie Mellon, Rice, and the three aforementioned schools (Harvey Mudd, Berkeley, and Michigan)?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help so far, this thread has been very informative.</p>

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<p>Penn State, Purdue, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin-Madison are all excellent.</p>

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<p>I would definitely make it clear in the application. They are likely to know already, but it’s advisable to make sure they know. Hopefully, the teachers filling out your recommendations will touch on it also, as well as your guidance counselor or whomever fills out your school report. You may want to discuss it with them when you ask them to do your recommendations.</p>

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<p>Use the net price calculators at CU Boulder and Mines to make sure that they are affordable on just need-based aid. If not, check for assured large enough merit scholarships. If there are not assured large enough merit scholarships, consider adding a very assured low cost safety (perhaps Alabama, or Texas A&M if you make NMF).</p>

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<p>If you are interested in Texas A&M, they are an excellent engineering school. </p>

<p>[Texas</a> A&M Engineering moves up in latest undergraduate rankings | 14 | 09 | 2012 | News & Events | College of Engineering](<a href=“http://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2012/09/14/texas-am-engineering-moves-up-in-latest-undergraduate-rankings]Texas”>http://engineering.tamu.edu/news/2012/09/14/texas-am-engineering-moves-up-in-latest-undergraduate-rankings)</p>

<p>They offer a great package for National Merit Finalists. The scholarship is guaranteed - not a competitive scholarship with essays and interviews. </p>

<p><a href=“https://scholarships.tamu.edu/national_scholars/national_merit.aspx[/url]”>https://scholarships.tamu.edu/national_scholars/national_merit.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My son is a National Merit Finalist and his safety was University of Arizona. U of A is a member of the Association of American Universities, the top research universities. They offer National Merit Finalists a full ride + (tuition, housing, meal plan, ipad, research stipend). However, U of A got bumped off the list when he recently got accepted at Cal Poly SLO (great engineering school and a good price for California residents, since it is in the CSU system). Now we are waiting to hear from UCSD and Berkeley.</p>

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<p>Thank you all very much, the information provided has been very helpful.</p>

<p>U of A is definitely an option as well, especially since I have many family members that went there (including my mom), and most of my extended family is in Tuscon. Didn’t know they offered NMF scholarships, I’ll have to check that out. I visited Cal Poly over the summer as well and really liked the area, but got the feeling it would be more expensive for an OOS than a Colorado state school. Good luck to your son with UCSD and Berkeley!</p>

<p>I thought of some more questions I figured I’d ask here:

  • Do non-Math test scores significantly affect admissions to engineering schools like MIT/Caltech? To provide two examples: I got a 9/12 on my ACT Essay, which is good but not great for that caliber of school (I presume my SAT will be similar). Also, I scored a 3/5 on an AP Government test (I have 5 on AP Human Geography and Statistics, and a projected 5 on Calculus AB). Will these scores hurt my chances at all?
  • How will my relative lack of extracurriculars in my freshman/sophomore year affect my application chances? I’m thinking of using my essay to talk about my social development in high school, to better explain reasons behind lack of involvement and demonstrate an upward trend I intend to continue into college. Is this a good idea, or do I need my essay to be math/science related?
  • What do people think of Olin College of Engineering? I haven’t seen anything about them on here, but they seem to be a very solid engineering school. Any opinions?</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p>Nope. I’m a Caucasian male. Looking at Michigan’s website, it looks like the expected family contribution for my family’s income bracket, I’d need some pretty substantial scholarships to be able to attend</p>

<p>Scholarships go towards “need”. They don’t go towards EFC. So, be very aware of that. If UMich costs $50k and it gives you $15k in aid, and your family can’t pay the remaining $35k, then getting scholarships will just go towards that $15k in aid. You’d have to get large multi-year outside scholarships (not likely) to cover MORE than that $15k in aid.</p>

<p>GT will expect you to pay all or nearly all of their OOS costs unless you luckily snag one of their scholarships. Since you’re a white male, your chances for one of those are lessened. GT has a plethora of non-URM males and likely uses their limited merit awards to snag students that help their diversity numbers. </p>

<p>Outside scholarships are very hard to get and are usually ONLY for frosh year. So, they don’t help pay for four years of college. And, the amounts are usually SMALL and often there is a “need” component.</p>

<p>Some OOS publics can be a source of large merit scholarships (like UAz, ASU, Bama, etc), but OOS publics usually do not give great “need based” aid. </p>

<p>So, find out how much your parents can pay each year. For instance, if they say that they can pay $15k per year, then that will cover room, board, and books. That would mean that you’d need to get a full tuition scholarship at your safety schools. </p>

<p>If your parents have an unaffordable EFC, then some of the top schools may not be affordable. </p>

<p>Sit down with your parents and have them run the net price calculator on a school that is known for “good aid”…like maybe Rice. Don’t use HYPS because they give super aid and the results will be misleading.</p>

<p>* I got a 9/12 on my ACT Essay*</p>

<p>I don’t think most schools pay any attention to the essay score unless it’s unbelievably low. Schools know that the scoring is very subjective and really not even reliable.</p>

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<p>I looked at your EC’s and your involvement with the bass is unique and shows some depth. Do you have a lot of volunteer hours? That is very important to the top schools and on many scholarship applications. It would be best to be involved with one group than too spread out. I am talking about 100 hours plus. River watch sounds interesting - how many hours do you spend there?</p>

<p>Do you have any leadership positions? If you start that FIRST robotics team with your friend could you be captain or co-captains? Could you get the lead on the academic decathlon team? Since you only have introductory physics at your high school, what if you founded and led an AP Physics self study group? Using the free open access virtual courses offered by UC online my son took and passed enough AP courses to be a National AP scholar, although his school did not offer some of them.
<a href=“http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=73[/url]”>http://www.ucopenaccess.org/course/view.php?id=73&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Are you in AP English? My son’s teacher gave him lots of advice with the college essays.</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids:</p>

<p>Wow, that’s some pretty eye-opening advice on financial aid. I guess I had no idea how scholarships really worked, so thank you very much. I’ll talk to my parents about specific numbers they can afford ASAP. I think I have a pretty good shot at making NMF (my PSAT score is significantly above previous Colorado cutoffs for NMSF, and I’ve heard 90% of NMSF make NMF), so that could definitely open some doors as far as Texas A&M of U of A are concerned. Again, thank you for the advice, I’ll have my parents read this right away!</p>

<p>Yomama12:</p>

<p>For the IB Program, I need 150 hours of CAS (essentially volunteering, but some extracurriculars fall into it as well). A lot of those hours for me will come from playing bass at church, which counts as volunteering as IB defines it (~2 hours/week for 3 years). That’s certainly not what one would typically think of as volunteer work though, so I don’t know whether it would count for anything on a college application. Riverwatch just started up at my school - we’re currently meeting once a week and just trying to set the program up. Probably the most significant and unique volunteering I’ll do is a trip to Mexico to build houses for families that can’t afford them over spring break 2014 with my IB class.</p>

<p>As for leadership, I’ll probably be a co-captain of the FIRST team next year. The academic team doesn’t have any form of structured leadership, as captains are usually determined at the tournaments and the captain doesn’t really play any significant role beyond a regular team member. As for an AP Physics study group, this is something I’m actually intending to do over the summer. After talking to some friends about it, however, there doesn’t seem to be much interest from anyone else in my class, so it’ll probably be an independent study for me. Thanks for the link to the class, I was looking for a good resource!</p>

<p>I’m currently taking IB English, which is approximately equivalent to AP Lit (with a closer focus on international literature), and have an excellent teacher. I’m definitely planning to ask her for advice on admissions essays. Thanks for your advice, it has been very helpful!</p>

<p>(As a side note: has anyone heard of MIT Open Courseware, or had any experience with it? I’m wondering if it would be better to take AP Physics independently or take an MIT course.)</p>