Stats: 31 ACT, 3.93 Unweighted GPA, Top 2% in Rank.
State: VA
EC’s: Pretty good
Financial: Parents make over 200k
Hooks: Black, if that does anything.
Field of Interest: Engineering
Colleges I’ve Applied to and heard back from: Penn State (Accepted) Yale (Deferred) WVU (Accepted)
Colleges I’ve Applied to, didn’t hear back from: Northeastern, Hofstra, Fordham (All free apps)
Colleges I’m Going to Apply To: Tulane, Virginia Tech, Maybe an HBCU…
My #1 right now is Penn State but I’m cannot count on getting a nice amount of aid there. Do you guys feel that this is a solid enough list? Should I apply to any more reach schools? Any more engineering schools that are either: diverse or have great college atmospheres? I don’t want to go anywhere that I feel like I may not fit in. Any schools that might still have scholarship opportunities available? Thanks.
January 15th deadline: Bucknell, Drexel, Case Western, Lafayette, RPI, Union and of course, VT
January 20th - UMD, College Park
February 1st: NC State? Wisconsin, Madison?
Rochester, Lehigh, Tufts and Cornell were due today (Jan 1st)
You’re above average at most of these schools, so you’ll probably get merit aid.
-Allegheny College (3/2 program with Columbia, U Pitt, & Case Western)
-Baylor University
-Catholic University of America
-Clemson University
-Elon University
-George Washington University
-Hope College
-Illinois Institute of Technology
-Manhattan College
-Point Loma Nazarene University
-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
-Smith College
-Union College - New York
-Whittier College (3/2 program with USC & U of Minnesota)
Also, consider North Carolina State University (Jan. 15 deadline).
Tulane’s engineering offerings are not as extensive as several of the other schools on your list (unless you are interested in studying one of the disciplines that Tulane offers); Tulane can also be picky in regards to admissions (demonstrated interest – i.e., campus visit – is important), so I would think about not applying there, and pick another school instead.
Free applications are not always so helpful. My S went to Fordham and loved it but the school does not have engineering (I don’t like 3/2 programs myself). I’d also steer clear of Hofstra (primarily a commuter school and a just OK reputation).
I would certainly apply to VATech and UVA since you are in state.
I don’t think that most of the schools in post #4 will have the big time college atmosphere you are looking for. Agree that Cornell might be worth a shot. And many of the the liberal arts schools suggested (ex. Union, Lafayette, Bucknell) often take into account demonstrated interest so applying last second with no prior contact may hurt your application.