Chance me for top engineering schools!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics: Male, Asian, CT, Public School

Intended major(s): Engineering (Undecided)

Academics:
ACT: 33 (33E, 34M, 33R, 33S, 30W), 33 (35E, 35M, 34R, 28S, 29W)- RIP Science subsection, Took ACT in September, expecting a 34 C at least.
SAT: 1510 (Not submitting)
SAT II: Math II (780), Biology M (790)

Class rank: School does not do individual class rank but based on an issued histogram I am at least rank 10/435 students in my grade, which makes me top 2% (Based on weighted GPA)
UW/W GPA: 4.313 out of 4.5 for UW, 4.863 for W.
School does 4.5 scale: A+: 4.5, A: 4.0, B+: 3.5, B: 3.0, C+: 2.5, C: 2.0, D: 1.0, F: 0.0

Coursework:
All core classes are honors, including language classes
Took an online class at a local community college in Computer Science, got a B (The class had a bad teacher that had a harsh grading system)
APs: 10th: AP World History (4) 11: AP Biology (5), AP Calculus BC (5), AP Chinese Language and Culture (5), AP Computer Science A (5), AP English Language and Composition (5)
Senior Year Coursework: AP Statistics, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics 1, AP Chemistry, Principles of Engineering (PLTW), Concert Band, Wellness Beyond High School

Awards (nothing special):
1st Place in Science Olympiad Event State Finals (Individual event)
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Silver Key (2014), Honorable Mention (2015)
Academic Award for AP Biology and AP Mandarin
AP Scholar with Distinction (2016)
HSK Level 4 Passed with 90th percentile (Chinese Language Exam)
ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI)- Advanced Mid for Mandarin

Extracurriculars:
Science Olympiad (Co-captain) (11th-12)
Mock Trial (10th-12th)
Playing the Clarinet for 7 years, in a Youth Orchestra in Principal Orchestra, also in school orchestra
I help run a weather service for my town that makes forecasts when storms, snowstorms, etc. happen and predict school cancellations and other stuff. Helped raise group member numbers to over 3000 from 2000. Collaborated to develop an app (did not code but helped in design process) (11-12th)
Job working as a lifeguard starting in November of 2015. (11th-12th)
Possible internship at biology and pharmaceutical company (Hasn’t been confirmed, but likely. Starts in September)
Went to music camp at colgate, Summer 2015.
Went to an Intro to Engineering program at Johns Hopkins for 4 weeks, got an A in the course and definetly solidified an interest in engineering.

Schools:
University of Illinois- EA
UMich- EA
Georgia Tech- EA
Purdue- November 1st, Rolling
UC Berkeley- RD
Cornell- RD
UT Austin- RD
University of Connecticut- RD

2

Pay attention to how admission to the major and changing major works at each school, since you are undecided on which engineering major you want. Examples:

UIUC admits to specific majors, but may consider admission to a second choice major or undeclared; changing major to an engineering major after enrolling can be difficult.

UCB is similar to UIUC, except that there is an “engineering undeclared” option that allows choosing an engineering major (except chemical) after enrolling. Otherwise, changing to an engineering major can be difficult.

Purdue admits to first year pre-engineering. Engineering majors may not have the capacity to take all interested students, so the more popular ones may require a high GPA to enter.

Have you checked the net price calculator on each school’s web site? Most of the out-of-state public universities do not give good (or any) financial aid to out-of-state students.

Re: SAT and ACT

Is your 1510 SAT the new or old one? If it is the new one, it is equivalent to 1470 on the old SAT CR+M, which is basically the same as a 33 ACT (which is listed as being equivalent to 1460 on the old SAT CR+M). If it is the old one, it is equivalent to 34 ACT.

3

@ucbalumnus Thanks for letting me know, but I asked them and they said they have undeclared engineering- I could also apply under a major if I really have to I do have some choices.

My SAT is the new one.

4

For each school, check whether undeclared engineering allows free choice of engineering major later, or if you need to earn a very high GPA or face a competitive admission process to get into your choice of engineering major later.

5

bump

6

yes

7

Purdue should be a match. It is not that difficult to get in but they do weed out some students in freshmen year.
UIUC would depend on your intended major but it is likely a high match to low reach for you from OOS. Forget about it if you need aids.
For UMich, can you recalculate your uwGPA in 4.0 scale without subgrades. The admission average is 3.9 for CoE. Your ACT is right at the admission median. It would be a low reach for you. I know an in state boy with ACT 33 and 3.8GPA got rejected a couple years ago.

8

@billcsho Straight A’s except for one B+ in AP English for classes (subgrades mean gym, health? Still A’s from all core classes), estimate to be at least 3.9.

9

bump

10

@blue1artic subgrades means + or -. If you only have one B in 9th-11th grade, your UMich recalculated uwGPA should be over 3.9. UMich CoE would be a low reach for you.

11

You have an excellent chance at getting into UT Austin’s Cockrell engineering school. The only problem is that you have to pick a major. Undecided is not a choice for them. For OOS students it is considerably harder to get in, but I think with your stats and EC’s you have an above average chance.

Also, all of the OOS schools you have listed are 45k+ a year. Are you prepared to pay that amount? Do you have any sort of financial need?

12

@Jpgranier Thanks for letting me know, haven’t looked too much into UTAustin, mostly applying there because my parents want me to lol. If it were to come down to a major I think I would choose civil engineering initially.

Tbh I really don’t know too much about financial aid and payment (which is probably a bad thing, no one has really sat down and talked to me about it but my parents seem okay with me applying to these colleges, don’t think money is too big of an issue).

13

I also know Georgia Tech superscores the ACT, so you have a 34 there. Georgia Tech is one of the best engineering schools, probably the best public engineering public school, in the nation. It is world renowned and a lot of companies recruit from there. It also allows you to go up to 60 hours without declaring a major. US News ranked it #2 in civil, above MIT, Stanford, Texas, Berkeley, and Michigan. (University of Illinois is ranked #1 in civil)

You should have a serious talk with your parents about college savings, income, and the amount they are willing to pay per year. These are all major factors you need to consider