Hello, I just wanted to know if this was a good list of schools to apply to and if I should add or remove any.
Reaches:
-Stanford (parents want me to apply)
-UC Berkeley
Maybe Reaches:
-USC
-UCLA
Matches:
-UCSD
-Cal Poly
-RPI
Maybe Safeties:
-University of Minnesota
-UCI
-UCSB
-University of Colorado - Boulder
Safeties:
-CSULB
-SJSU
I think I won’t be able to afford these, but I think they are matches more or less and will likely apply:
-University of Washington - Seattle
-University of Texas - Austin
-UIUC
-Wisconsin - Madison
-Purdue
ACT: 34 (33 E + 33 M + 32 R + 36 S and 11 on the Essay) I don’t think I’m sending my SAT, ACT is much better
SAT II: 720 on Bio E and 780 on Math II
10-12 GPA: 3.79/4.21
Rank: 26/565
AP’s: World (4), Calc AB (5), USH (5), Lang (4), Bio (4)
Comp Sci, Calc BC, Gov/Econ, Lit, next year in addition to regular physics
Extra-Curriculars: I’ve been playing trumpet in band since 4th grade. I’ve also built some computers and am thinking about a project car or something. I’ve tried volunteer work but I didn’t really enjoy it. I don’t have much to say, is this bad? I’m mostly applying to publics, so maybe they are not as important? Do I really need to worry about this ruining my application? Is it too late?
Major: Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
Budget: About $15,000 to $25,000 (Mix of parent contributions, a job for me, and a small loan)
I would like to go somewhere with good study abroad or internship opportunities. Also, it would be nice if the school had a decent football team and some band opportunities (jazz or wind band, not marching) for non majors. I know that not all these schools fit this description, though. So should I add any schools? Bother not applying at some? Thanks if you can help.
Are you in state for CA? Have you run the net price calculator on the website of each school (links on the financial aid pages)? This is a really important step to see if the schools on your list are realistic. Take off the ones you can’t afford. And I think you know this, but Stanford isn’t happening for you – ECs are nowhere in the ballpark for them.
Also, there is a process/online calculator to estimate your GPA for California public colleges, but I don’t recall the details. But I am sure someone from CA can chime in. That is important for determining your admission chances.
https://secure.csumentor.edu/planning/high_school/gpa_calculator.asp describes how to calculate your high school GPA for UCs and CSUs.
As mentioned above, run the net price calculator on each school to check if it is affordable. The out-of-state publics are unlikely to be affordable unless you get a merit scholarship, which is a significantly higher threshold than admission (if even available).
OP’s UC GPA is 4.21 based on their other threads. I would put UCSB in the match category, not safety due to a small engineering department. I agree with other posters that some of the OOS schools will not be affordable based on proposed budget. I would drop RPI and add UC Davis as a Match due to affordability.
Your budget of $15-25K might be ample or it might be surprisingly inadequate, depending on what a school expects you to pay. So you need to figure out your typical Expected Family Contribution (EFC), based on your family’s financial situation. Run the NPCs at a couple of UCs / out-of-states / privates. It’s useless to try to refine a college list without that information.
Yes, I am in California. My EFC is around $12-20K. That’s a big range, I know, but that’s what I was told. This doesn’t seem to lower any of the net costs, so I think I will have to drop many of the OOS schools. I’ve been told I may qualify for some federal grants, maybe? Also, Do I need another safety or two?
Would this be a better list? I’ve been told to apply to as many schools as possible, like 15+. This sounds like overkill to me, is 10 to 12 a better number?
Reaches:
-UC Berkeley
Maybe Reaches:
-USC
-UCLA*
Matches:
-UCSD*
-Cal Poly*
-University of Washington - Seattle
-University of Texas - Austin*
-UIUC
-Wisconsin - Madison
-UCD
Maybe Safeties:
-University of Minnesota
-UCI
-UCSB
-University of Colorado - Boulder
Safeties:
-CSULB
-SJSU
I put a star by my top four choices. Am I competitive there?
With your budget limit of $15,000 (presumably parent contribution only) to $25,000 (including student work and loans), all of the out-of-state publics should be moved to the reach category, since you are aiming for large enough merit scholarships to make them affordable, not merely admission.
What do the UC net price calculators say for your net price?
15+ is definitely overkill. 10-12 sounds much better, maybe even less than that. I think two safeties are enough, especially since you have a pretty big range of matches and “maybe safeties.”
I agree that it would be best to cut out some of the OOS publics. If UT Austin is a top choice, keep it. But it would definitely make sense to drop or at least drop some out of Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, CU Boulder, and UIUC.
I think UCLA was around $20,000
I think I’ll drop Washington and Boulder, as they are the most expensive. I’m not really interested in USC, so I might drop that as well. That leaves me with 13, which I think is a good number.