What if I told you I my intended major wasn’t CS lmao. I want to major in mechanical.
Probably not if you do not have a year long high school visual or performing art course, a 3 semester or 4 quarter credit college visual or performing art course, or an AP art or music score of 3 or higher.
@penguin2 I’m pretty sure the US news list is held in far higher regard…
Then yes, I would check out the USNews rankings specifically more mech engineering. By that you could consider Rose-Hulman Tech as a good safety.
I played in orchestra within the HS for a year if that counts.
Was that listed as a music course in your high school record?
yes.
I assume you are in-state for Minnesota based on some of the info you provided. If so, then I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting into Minnesota. Madison is harder for OOS kids but it does seem a lot of Minnesota kids go there due to reciprocity and your stats seem pretty comparable/better than the ones I know from Minnesota there. UIUC is hard for OOS kids in both CS and Engineering. My dd applied last year with a similar stats to yours (good GPA and test scores, good activities with a mix of high end sports and robotics/academic activities). She was deferred from EA to regular and then was admitted. Michigan is also hard for OOS kids and they do a lot of deferrals from EA to regular admission. But, if you nail the “Why Michigan” essay you have a good shot.
As for your reaches: They are reaches for everyone. Your stats are great and there is no reason to believe you’d be ruled out for any but the odds really stink for anyone applying to any of those so you can’t count on anything.
I agree that you might want to reach out to track coaches and express your interest!
Having it as a year long music course in your high school record qualifies it to fulfill the art requirement at UCs. But remember that engineering majors at UCB and UCLA are very competitive for admission.