Am I On The Right Track?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, I'm currently going into 12th grade and preparing for college. I'm definitely going into and engineering field and Electrical Engineering (Or anything close to that) has peaked my interests. Here's some of my "stats":
GPA: Honestly I don't know specifically because its been a while, but I remember being in the 3.6-3.7 area; this is before I was taking any AP-Level courses so the number has probably changed.
Course-Difficulty: I've never taken all the honors and AP-Level courses I could take. I also go to a tech school for half my day (its a three year program; 10-12th grade) in an Engineering Related Technology course. Not sure how much that helps me out.
SAT: I scored a 1920/2400 on my first try without preparing or taking the PSAT beforehand. I plan on taking it again and/or taking the ACT.
Activities: Yeah... about that, basically nothing in high school. I do take music (drums for a few years and now guitar) lessons outside of school. I'm in a band too, if that matters at all. I'm hoping to get some community service in and possibly join a club this year, but its kind of a hassle with high school. I'd be much more willing to join activities and do stuff on a campus where I'm in control of my house, and not having to get picked up by my parents all the time. The fact that I go to tech school also hinders my abilities to reliably play a sport or join a club.
Additional Info: My family is a bit weird, I live with my mother, brother, uncle, granparents, and great grandma; my father passed when I was very young. We aren't doing terribly financially but my grandpa works two jobs (one less often) and my mother is single; might mean something.</p>

<p>Alright so the colleges I'm looking into include Drexel, Lehigh, Lafayette, and Penn State. I see Penn State as the easier one to get into, and while its not completely desirable (wayyy too many people) it seems like my safe option. Drexel seems like a good fit for me but money is always a concern because its quite expensive. Lehigh and Lafayette are kinda my "reach" colleges that if things work out well I'd enjoy going to.</p>

<p>Am I right in what I'm saying, or am I completely off? Any advice for paying or different colleges I should look into? I want to be far enough away from home (Warminster, PA) that I can't efficiently live at home, but not too far away that it'd be a pain to go home and see my family. Drexel/Lehigh/Lafayette are all around an hour away from me.</p>

2

<p>Look at a college finder web site - there is one on this site and one on college board. It will ask you questions about location and financial aid and grades/test scores.</p>

<p>Community college is a good option for cost savings for the first two years, but I guess not being at home is more important to you than cost savings. YOu need to have a talk with your mom about what your family can pay for, and what colleges will expect you to pay. Just because you have a low Expected Family Contribution (if you do) doesn’t mean that the schools are in any way obligated to make up the difference.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Take a look at Temple. It has an engineering school with an EE major</p>

4

<p>Try the net price calculators on the various schools’ web sites to see what kind of financial aid and net price you are look at for each of them.</p>

<p>You can look at [ABET</a> -](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) to find ABET-accredited EE degree programs.</p>

5

<p>Look at Pitt as well.</p>