Am I on track??

College Majors Science Majors
1

Hello, College Confidential network!

I’m new to this website, and have been pleasantly surprised about all of the info people have been receiving from the gracious people from this community, so I felt the need to join! :slight_smile:

So I was wondering about how I stack up for certain colleges. My top 5 are IIT, Butler, Carnegie Mellon, Rhodes College, and U of M Ann Arbor.

This is how my resume’ looks. I’m a current 2nd semester junior at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, a school that boasts #1 in Ohio, #65 in the Nation, and has the most AP courses offered in the Nation (or so I hear)!

-GPA unweighted 3.55/4.00 (has moved from a 3.29 in Freshman year, and still climbing)
-GPA weighted 4.41/6.00 (and climbing like above)
-PSAT: 1230 (I know that stinks, but I’m gonna work hard on my imminent SAT)
-ACT: 31 (first try)
-SAT/subjects: haven’t taken yet, will soon!
-8th and 9th grade Honors program (only 90 kids selected out of the 500 in my grade at the time)
-unweighted rank 101/449, weighted 81/449
-10th and 11th grade more As than Bs
-AP Classes: took - AP US History (5)…taking - AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Human Geography, AP English Literature…will take - AP Physics C, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP English Language
-all advanced academic classes (except one b/c faulty scheduling) since 9th grade

ECs
-played baseball 9th-10th grade
-been heavily involved in the theatre program since 8th grade (even in a show that won a regional award for best musical!)
-been extremely involved 4 clubs, holding positions in each
-50+ hours of volunteering from being a TA to a tutor and a mentor, will volunteer in the summer too
-have a paid minimum wage job

I’m most interested in the physics/astronomy course in college, perhaps astrophysics. However I’m also interested in engineering, pre-med and chemistry. I obviously prefer math over anything!

Do you guys think I’m on a good track to getting into a college like IIT or Butler, or maybe even (maybe) Carnegie with some good financial aid? (my family doesn’t make over 100k a year)

Big thanks in advance to everyone who replies to this with their advice!!

2

I would consider you a match for Illinois Tech. Particularly if your ACT Math score is at least at the level of your composite. Butler would also be a match. CMU has somewhat higher admission criteria and UM depends on the major. As for merit aid, you probably have to focus on the private schools. It is likely that Illinois Tech will give merit aid as most of our students have some merit scholarships. I can’t say about the others.

3

Thank you so much!! IIT has been my top choice for awhile now mostly because I love Chicago and almost all of their programs are flawless! And I love Mies :slight_smile:

I see that your profile picture is an IIT emblem, so did you go there? If so how did you like it? Do you think that it’s a really good school to study physics/astronomy? Also, how is the life there? Quiet, fun?

4

I am a physics professor at Illinois Tech and one of my sons graduated from the Computer Engineering program here. Feel free to ask me your questions about the physics program.