Chance me at Purdue, Notre Dame, Rose-Hulman

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US citizen
  • IN resident
  • Small public HS
  • South Asian/White male

Intended Major(s)

Electrical Engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.57
  • Class Rank: School doesn’t rank
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1540 (780 EBRW, 760 Math)

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

Switched schools before sophomore year (freshman year HS didn’t offer much AP/honors) and took a number of summer classes between 10-11 and 11-12

Have taken Alg I, Alg II Honors, Geometry Honors, Precalc Honors, AP Calc AB, BC (this year)
4 years of Latin completed, currently in 5th year (AP Latin)

11 APs total

10 - APWH (5)
11 - Calc AB (5), Physics 1 (4), US Gov (5), Lang and Comp (5), Comp Sci A (4)
12 - Calc BC, Chem, Human Geo, Lit and Comp, Latin

9 honors classes total starting sophomore year

Awards

HS high honor roll, Natl Merit semifinalist, school culture and class awards, RPI Medalist

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

Piano competition performances (solo & w/ orchestra, in and out of state), robotics team (have gone to multiple in-state comps), NHS (president), student council, AP Comp Sci A teacher assistant, president of classics club (chapter of JCL), founder of school’s first chess club, library volunteer work

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)

Not the best at writing essays but took my time with them, so they turned out decently by my standards.

ND and RHIT are top choices for me but strongly considering Purdue. Have applied to other schools but these 3 are my top/most interested in them.
I’ve been told that ECs like robotics team/NHS/in-school clubs are pretty weak, and others I know who are applying to selective schools have much better ECs, so I’m guessing my shot at ND isn’t good, but I’m hoping. My strongest EC is piano performance but it’s not STEM-related so I don’t know how much it’ll help.

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Likely yes to all three, certainly yes to RHIT and Purdue.

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I also think you will be accepted at Purdue and Rose, and ND is less predictable.

I assume your application is already in at Purdue since they fill nearly all their class in EA. (Deadline for EA, honors and merit is 11/1).

Honestly though these three schools are very, very different from each other. Really the only thing they have in common is being in IN. Where else are you looking?

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You will be offered a half scholarship at Rose and a potential full scholarship.

Agree with above. But as stated drastically different schools and atmospheres. If you haven’t done so visit each one since your local.

Good Luck.

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Well, since you already applied, no use in visiting now. You might as well wait until after you see where you get in. I think you’re good for Rose, and likely for Purdue. For ND it comes down to fit, how is your community service? How was your “why ND” essay?

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Yes, applied EA. Location is important (schools in IN or IL are preferred). Aside from Purdue/RHIT/ND I’m looking at IUPUI and UIUC.

My community service is library volunteering, NHS fundraisers & hands-on community/school projects, and student council projects. (Not that good I know).

As for my ‘why ND’ essay it was good by my standards. Could’ve used some better organization/etc but it’s clear and reads decently (to me).

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If I had Purdue at in-state rates and/or Rose (at half price or so), I’m not sure I would spend time on an app to UIUC. Purdue is every bit as strong as UIUC in Engineering, so I don’t see the value in paying twice as much for another flagship of similar quality – unless it is clearly affordable and you very much preferred the more expensive school. Even then, you’re talking something like $100k in savings over four years to choose Purdue over UIUC. Rose vs. UIUC is more nuanced.

And Notre Dame… that is the outlier here. Notre Dame is not particularly known for greatness in Engineering. What draws you to it? Obviously it is a popular destination for a lot of high-stat kids, and a different experience than the flagships, but what precisely draws you to Notre Dame?

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I agree that ND is the outlier. Much less hands on of an engineering program, theology and philosophy requirements, big service focus, and in general just much more theoretical. It was the first school my Purdue engineer took off her list after the visit. Very, very different schools.

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Anybody who can watch Rudy and not be drawn to Notre Dame is a stronger person than I am. Of course, that’s not a reason to spend 4 years and lots of money there.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

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My son visited all of these (IN resident majoring in engineering), and took ND off the list. He liked ND as a whole, but it seems to punch below its weight in engineering. It didn’t seem “worth it” to study engineering there when he has so many other excellent options nearby, including Purdue (cheap) and Rose (generous aid).

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Agreed. I don’t even watch football and I love that movie. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Though I’m no ND sports fan, I do enjoy that film.

Hey – sports can be a big part of a kid’s experience at college. But not necessarily this one, so I figured I would ask.

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I chose to apply to ND because I liked the campus/atmosphere and heard good things about the engineering programs. But I’m guessing it’s not on the same level as Rose or Purdue. My second supplemental essay (not the “why ND” essay but the other one) was pretty weak in retrospect, anyway.

Also liked Rose a lot (engineering being really strong there) but the huge price tag is scaring me off quite a bit (same for ND - both so much more than Purdue or even IUPUI). Guess I’ll see what how the aid packages - and acceptances - turn out to be. Thanks all.

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Don’t necessarily attach too much thought to the sticker price. Run the Net Price Calculators, and if the calculator asks for academic stats, it will likely include the minimum amount of merit aid you can expect. Rose tends to be much more generous with merit aid than other colleges with strong engineering programs.

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