Chance Me! Female UW: 3.78 W:4.28 ACT: 34 (mechanical engineering major!)

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hey everyone! Current High School Senior here! Super nervous about college, but excited nonetheless. I just wanted some input on my stats and what your thoughts are on the schools I have on my list. I’m also open to any other schools that you might think are a match. It would be appreciated so I can do a bit of research on them. Thank you so much for taking your time with this :slight_smile:

Demographics
US citizen
California (Los Angeles Area)
Large public high school; competitive (4.9 valedictorian GPA)
Female; Asian

Intended Major(s)
Mechanical Engineering

Intended Career
Motorsport Engineering

UW GPA: 3.78

Weighted GPA 5.0 scale: 4.28

Associates of Arts in Psychology through Dual-Enrollement (only person in my high school to do this)

Class Rank: probably 100/500 students I don’t have the exact numbers

ACT/SAT Scores: 34 ACT (E: 32 M:35 R:34 S:33)

AP COURSES + EXAMS
Biology
Chemistry
Comp Sci Principles
Physics 1
Physics C: Mechanics
Statistics
English Language and Composition
US History
Computer Science A
Macroeconomics
Calculus AB
English Literature and Composition
American Government

Extracurriculars
Racing team with friends; small local events and we fix up our own cars
Full scholarship engineering internship in Italy
Two-Week internship at Stanford Medicine
School Robotics Team
Physics Tutor
K-9 Tutor at local library
Piano Senior Medallion at the State level
Medical Science Program
Loyola Marymount Certified Veterinary Assistant (I intern 35 hours a week and yes its legally lol)

Essays/LORs/Other
LOR very strong, teacher and I have a close relationship. One of the teachers has written me LORs in the past for Summer programs and such.

Essays are strong though could be better. Proofread by friends and trusted adults. No college counsellor for help.

Cost Constraints / Budget

No necessary cost constraints. Likely will not receive financial aid, so budget depends on merit aid. Budget is a max of $40K per year (considering no aid) for all costs including tuition, living, personal, etc.

Schools

Cooper Union (ED) (strong demonstrated interest shown on my end)
Case Western (RD)
UPenn (parent’s choice; RD)
Rose Hulmann (RD)
American (RD)
Lafayette (RD)
CSUs (Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Long Beach) (RD)

Please let me know if I’m missing any information! Thank you so much for your time!

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Which aspects of Cooper Union do you particularly love, to help in suggesting additional options? Urban schools? Smaller schools? Intense schools? Schools with both engineering and art / design?

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I believe you’ll get into Cooper Union - even RD - but you’ll pay more than $40K even with the half scholarship (their COA is higher) and then you know college costs more than they say - so - hopefully your parents can afford it.

Since you’ll get in the rest don’t matter - but assuming you don’t qualify for aid - and you should run a net price calculator to ensure you don’t:

Case Western is a reach and you won’t make budget.

Penn will be a real stretch and it won’t be close to budget.

RHIT - is a match - and you may get close.

AU - you should not apply - unless you want to go to a 5th year at Columbia. They don’t have engineering at AU.

Lafayette - reach but not impossible.

I’ll let someone else talk about the CSUs.

If you want to work in motorsports, there’s probably other schools that might put you in better footing as they have ties with the automotive OEMs. Also, IUIPUI offers a degree in motorsports engineering.

Good luck to you - but if you are hard limited at $40K, you need to withdraw your ED and change your list. There are other schools that have formula SAE and ECOcar teams that will get you under that budget.

In addition to IUIPUI, I’d look at Alabama, WVU, Mississippi State, with Honorable Mention to Clemson - which won’t make budget. Since you are from CA, UC Davis would be a good choice for automotive.

Good luck.

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What is your CSU GPA? GPA Calculator | CSU

Your SLO GPA (9-11th a-g course grades plus 8 semesters of Honors points for approved courses taken 10-12th)?

Surprised no UC’s on the list although their costs are close to your maximum budget.

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Thanks for the reply! I’m applying to Cooper mainly because of the small school setting and the specialization of the school. The school doesn’t necessarily have to be intense, I just like to keep busy and make sure there’s always something on my schedule. I don’t mind if a school has art/design; I think the program is unique at Cooper since the three schools are so close, it’s not really a factor at other schools.

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A max $40K budget IS a cost constraint- a major one. Have you run NPCs?

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I have been saving up some personal money for the past two years with my job, which pays about 30k a year, more than 95%+ of which I am keeping in a savings account. Hopefully that helps out with tuition a bit. Depending on how difficult it is to keep up with coursework at the college I plan to attend, I also plan to have a part time job at least on the weekends, making a bit of cash to help out with fees. It makes sense in my head, but I would like to know if you’d think that that’s a good plan.

I was thinking about the Columbia transfer, so I’ll probably apply, but likely won’t go (unless I get into absolutely no where else by some chance)

Thank you for your recommendations! I’ve looked into Purdue, but likely won’t apply because I am not very comfortable with the safety in the school and things I’ve seen on the news regarding them. Haven’t looked into WVU or Mississippi State, so I’ll do that right now! I didn’t know UC Davis was big on engineering so I might start my UC app right now lol.

Thanks for your feedback!

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You wrote this: Budget is a max of $40K per year (considering no aid) for all costs including tuition, living, personal, etc.

So since you asked what I thought, I think you going above this is a HORRIBLE idea. And while they say the price is $44K, there is inflation and as a parent, I promise you that college is many more thousands than they say. And as an engineer, it will be brutally hard for you to work. Did you know that depending on the study, you’ll find 40-60% of engineers never finish the degree - it’s really really difficult. And with clubs/EC, I would say working is highliy unlikely. If you were my kid, you would not have applied ED given this. I would pull my RD and go to RD.

You cannot afford AU - you won’t get close - and going to Columbia adds 1-2 years for another Bachelor - so do you have a 5th or 6th year, and not at $40K. So that’s two strikes against. You won’t get to $40K at AU and you need another year at Columbia, which has no scholarships (unless you have need) - so that’s $80K+ per year at Columbia.

This is what I was saying about redoing your list. No clue about Purdue safety (@momofboiler1 ) but you needed to apply prior anyway. But IUPUI is not Purdue.

The reason I mentioned not just WVU or MS State but Alabama and IUIPUI is - you mentioned Motorsport Engineering and these are schools that are tied into automotive through EcoCAR or Formula SAE that you can afford. You might look at Michigan State too.

I work in automotive - and where is automotive? Today - it’s in the South. Yes, Detroit still - but you have Benz in Alabama (near the university - who do you think they hire?? - lots of co ops), Hyundai in Alabama, Kia in Gerogia, Nissan in TN and Mississippi. Ford is building a plant in TN, etc. Toyota is in Kentucky, MS, and has a joint plant with Mazda in Alabama. GM is in TN and so on and so forth.

For Motorsports, look into IUPUI

I’m looking not just for the best for auto - but also for your budget. You said I have a max $40K budget and then chose schools other than CSU and RHIT that won’t get you close to $40K - so your list is entirely wrong from that POV.

And yes UC Davis.

Time for a reality check. Good luck.

Motorsports Engineering: Academic Programs: Engineering Technology: Academics & Departments: Purdue School of Engineering & Technology: IUPUI

EcoCAR EV Challenge Marks a New Era for UC Davis Engineering | College of Engineering

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IUPUI is in Indianapolis and not the Purdue main campus which is W. Lafayette.

I unfortunately don’t know anything about the safety of the IUPUI campus (which is a partnership with IU). Purdue’s main campus is very safe although sadly made the news early this fall when a student was murdered by their roommate.

Have you considered schools with co-op programs? U of Cincinnati would be in your budget and is great for engineering. You might also want to look at Drexel because you should qualify for some merit $.

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Yes, I know about IUPUI but only brought you in because OP wrote this and I was surprised by the comment even though OP didn’t realize the difference in schools Other than the unfortunate recent incidence, I was unaware of safety issues in W Lafayette.

But as you note - I’m talking about IUPUI and Motorsports Engineering and not Purdue - where it’s too late to apply for all intents and purposes.

But when Purdue is mentioned, who ya gonna call? @momofboiler1 :slight_smile:

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Other UC’s of interest if you will be submitting the UC application:

UC- San Diego is a popular and one of the best Automotive engineering colleges in California. The ME department recorded over 214 graduates last year.
The ME programs in this school provide students with a strong component in laboratory experimentation, numerical computation, and engineering design.
Program curriculum features homework problems, laboratory, and computer courses which include student-initiated projects.

The University of California-Irvine offers 4 Automotive Engineering Degree programs. These programs offer courses that provide engineering fundamentals and technical electives that allow students to study particular areas of interest.
The course curriculum features key concepts in Energy Systems and Environmental Engineering, Flow Physics and Propulsion Systems, and Design of Mechanical Systems.
The school also provides Independent research opportunities that allow students to pursue other avenues for focusing on their studies.

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For motorsports, I expect you will want to look at the Formula SAE teams at each school.

Most UCs and some CSUs have Formula SAE. Don’t miss out on applying to UCs and CSUs by the deadline as these are great options under your 40k budget.

  • UCB and UCLA are high reaches but you can try! They both have Formula.
  • UCSD Triton Racing and UCI Anteater Racing also reach schools but definitely worth a shot.
  • UC Davis Formula SAE already mentioned.
  • UC Riverside Highlander Racing team looks worth checking out.
  • Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona already on your list
  • San Diego State Aztec Racing looks active as well.

Outside CA, Oregon State is my son’s #1 safety school due to their unique Formula program, which is one of the top teams in the US. Cost of attendance under $40k if you get the WUE scholarship, so it may be worth a look for you. Here is some info about the OSU team:

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Does the $40k budget include or exclude your savings from your job? If that is the budget from your parents and you have, for example, $50k of your own money saved up, then I would say you might have closer to a $50k budget ($50k for four years, and saving a bit for inflation). But that would really be the max. I would not count on working during the school year as an engineering major, and certainly not working to pay your tuition, room & board. Perhaps to pay for any extra/spending money, but not for the essentials.

I think that IUPUI is a good suggestion. I’d also look at

  • UNC - Charlotte, one of the first programs I thought of before I even saw your budget which offers a concentration in motorsports engineering.
  • Embry-Riddle at Daytona Beach
  • Colorado State - You can probably get WUE exchange rates here
  • Old Dominion (VA)

Best of luck to you!

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Here are a few more OOS schools from my son’s list with interesting Formula teams, not too late to apply and could fit your budget with some merit,

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ED by itself is the strongest possible way to show interest in a college.

You may want to spend your demonstrated interest effort of colleges where it is most likely to matter like Case Western Reserve University and American University. However, why is American University on your list when it does not offer your desired major?

If you will not get need-based financial aid, University of Pennsylvania will be list price, which is double your budget, since it offers no merit scholarships. It seems like your parents do not realize this.

No UCs?

Use GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub to recalculate your GPA for UCs and CSUs. But note the following:

  • UCs use all three GPAs, but weighted-capped is the most commonly used one on UC web sites unless unweighted or (fully) weighted is specified.
  • For UCs, each semester college course counts as one course and one grade.
  • For CSUs, each semester college course counts as two courses and two grades.
  • For CPSLO, include 9th grade courses and grades in GPA recalculation.
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Consider applying to RPI. They’ll accept you, and probably will give you enough merit money (you can negotiate it up after their offer, too), to bring cost of attendance to below 40K/yr. Car clubs are a big thing there, and you can get into them right off the bat as a freshman.

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I’ve done one of Case Western’s optional interviews this summer, and attended as many online events as I can since It’s unrealistic for me to actually visit the school. My interviewer seemed to really like me and told me at the end of the interview that I was one of the few people who spoke with genuine passion about what I wanted to pursue, so I think I’ll take that as a good sign :crossed_fingers:

As for American, I’ve looked into their Columbia transfer plan, and It’s appealing, though I’m not sure how likely it is for me to get into the program since they terminated the automatic admission as of 2019 or something. It’s mostly a backup right now.

I did end up calculating my CSU GPA and I have a 3.94? I’m not sure if I calculated it right, but I had 8 extra donors points so that probably made up for a lot of it since my regular GPA is significantly lower than that.

Yeah no UCs. I’ve never been a huge fan of any of the UCs. I’ve visited UCLA, Berkley, and Irvine, and they’re all meh to me. Not that they’re bad schools, but they’re just not my style I guess. The only UC I am considering is Davis, but I’m not sure if I want to write all the UC essays just for one school lol.

Thanks for your response!!

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Yep! I do want to end up working for a Formula racing team after college, but I’m not really worried about how competitive SAE teams are. Cooper being my top choice, doesn’t really have a competitive team, but I really like the small school aspect of it in that everyone gets to work on everything since people are spread thin across all bases. So more of a hands on experience. I know Ann-Arbor has a great team, so I might consider applying there.

I am looking to do my Masters at Oxford Brookes or Loughborough in motorsport engineering in the UK, and those programs have placement years, so I’m not super stressed about undergrad SAE. Plus, I do an annual racing thing with my friends where we build/fix cars to race at circuits in Georgia or Michigan, so I’m not super worried about the hands on aspect.

Thank you for your reply!!

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40K is how much my parents are willing to spend out of their pocket annually for college. The money that I have saved up is just extra cushion considering tuition rates are crazy and unpredictable lol. I’ll probably end up having to take out a student loan regardless.

Yeah I figured haha! Just something that I wanted to maybe try over school breaks and side-gigs for whenever I have time.

I’ve looked into UNC Chapel! I love their NASCAR style concentration (if I am not mistaken I think they actually race their cars :thinking: ) The only problem is that I think it is a huge reach given how competitive acceptance to the school is. I might give it a try, but not a 100% on that yet.

I haven’t really looked into the other schools, and have not heard of Old Dominion, so I’ll definitely read up on those a bit!

Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate it very much :smile:

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Probably not a good idea, since it is a 3+2 program with the following disadvantages:

  1. Five total years means a year of extra cost.
  2. Financial aid at Columbia as the “2” school is unknown at best; if you do not expect to get need-based financial aid, Columbia will be list price.
  3. Admission to Columbia is competitive, so you may be stuck having done three years at American without admission to a path to an engineering degree (although probably some CSU like CSULA or SFSU may admit you).

Freshman Student Profile says that your admission index for CPP is 3940 + 450 = 4390 before adding the MFS bonus points (unfortunately, it does not say what the amounts are). It also says that last years threshold for the ME major was 4525. So CPP is a reach.

CPSLO is generally considered more difficult to get into than CPP. CSULB apparently depends a lot on whether you are in what it defines as its local area (see Local Preference Admission Consideration ).

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