Chance me for U of MN, UW-Madison, UMich, Berkeley, Rice, Cornell

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey everyone, I am going to be a senior this year and wanted some chances given what I have:</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian
State of Residence: MN</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>ACT: 34
UW GPA: 4.0 (my school doesn't weight or rank)
SAT 2: Math 2- 800, Physics- 760
APs: Sophomore Year: Calc AB- 5, US History- 4
Junior Year: Chemistry- 3, US Gov- 4, Eng Lang- 4, Calc BC- 5, Comp. Gov- 5, Stats- 5, Physics B- 5, Physics
C Mech.- 5
Senior: Micro, Macro, Bio, Lit</p>

<p>Schedules:</p>

<p>Freshman- Honors English, Honors Geography, Honors Physical Science, Honors Algebra 2, PE, Intro to CS, Band, Spanish 2</p>

<p>Self studied Spanish 3 over the summer</p>

<p>Sophomore- Honors English, Honors Chemistry, Honors Biology, PE, Band, Spanish 4, Health, AP US History, and Calculus 1 through the U of MN Talented Math Program</p>

<p>Junior- Honors Physics, AP Physics, AP Eng Lang, AP Chemistry, AP Stats, AP Comp Gov, AP US Gov, Band, and Linear Algebra and Diff Eqs through U of MN Program</p>

<p>Online World History</p>

<p>Senior (Slide)- Honors English, AP Bio, Band, Middle East Class, Calc 3 Multivariable, AP Macro, Spanish 5, and PSEO U of MN Micro</p>

<p>ECs and Awards:</p>

<ul>
<li>Math Team (3 years)</li>
<li>Science Olympiad (3 years): I got 5 medals at the regional level of the competition and our team qualified for state.</li>
<li>Jazz Band (3 years): In 11th and 12th I was a part of the best Jazz Band</li>
<li>NHS (2 years)</li>
<li>Chamber Winds (2 years): A club where small, instrumental groups play music without a conductor. Our group got the "Superior" Award at the State-Section Music Contest</li>
<li>JV Track and Field (2 years)</li>
<li>Freshman and Sophomore Soccer Team</li>
<li>University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (2 years)</li>
<li>I got the another "Superior" Award at the State Music Contest for a Solo</li>
<li>Attended the Music For All National Festival in Indy as a part of my school's Wind Ensemble</li>
<li>University of MN-TC PSEO program in 12th grade
-BY FAR MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THOUGH: Winning my school's Intramural Pinguard Championship in Junior year :D</li>
</ul>

<p>Volunteering: </p>

<ul>
<li>Tutor at School: 20 hrs</li>
<li>Band Mentor: 40 hrs</li>
<li>Internship/Volunteering at an underprivileged school in India over last summer: 60 hrs</li>
<li>Other random community volunteering activities: 20 hrs</li>
</ul>

<p>Work Experience:</p>

<ul>
<li>Yeah, no work experience. I undervalue money.</li>
</ul>

<p>Recommendation letters:</p>

<p>I'm assuming they are pretty good, but I can't quantify them</p>

<ul>
<li><p>One rec from my favorite AP physics teacher</p></li>
<li><p>One rec from my Ap Lang English teacher</p></li>
<li><p>Maybe a rec from my counselor</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Income: 150k+</p>

<p>Please Chance for these colleges :</p>

<p>U of MN- TC is (hopefully) my safety, UW Madison, U of Michigan, Berkeley, Rice, Cornell</p>

<p>These are mostly great engineering schools since I plan on doing engineering in college, most likely Mechanical or Chemical. Are there any other schools I should look into?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>For ChemE, you should definitely go to UMN-TC. You are in state with great stat and they have one of the top ChemE program. It should be a low match/safety for you. UW Madison is a low match. UMich would be a high match to low reach. You are right at the 75th percentile of UMich CoE, but it is getting very competitive these days. Cornell and Berkeley would be low reach too.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

4

<p>How is MechE at these schools? I know Mich has a great MechE program but say I get a good scholarship to the U of MN, is the U of MNs MechE program good enough?</p>

5

<p>This is a great list and congratulations on all of the fantastic work you have done so far. Rice is particularly strong in Materials research and emerging areas of MechE related to nanotechnology (and also those which overlap with Bioengineering). Obviously many Houston employers are a good fit for Chemical Engineering too (and MechE with the oil industry, and Bioengineering with the largest hospital complex in the world) - Rice has good ties within the energy industry. My son (obviously) loved what he saw.</p>

<p>Best of luck in your college search. Even though the admissions process is less predictable for some of the elite schools on your list, your hard work has given you some great choices.</p>

6

<p>I don’t know about chemical or mechanical engineering programs specifically, but considering the strength of your application, have you considered applying to more Ivy League schools?</p>

7

<p>UMN’s ME is not bad. Their graduate program has good ranking. Considering the cost and likelihood to get scholarships, UMN is your best bet. With 150k family income, you are not likely to get much aid at other schools and you may not want to pay $55k+ per year for UMich or Ivies. Try their NPCs. If you find them affordable, do give them a try. Unlike other top privates, Rice does offer merit scholarships but they are obviously very competitive.
@onlythebest13 OP is interested in engineering. He already has Cornell on the list while most other Ivies do not have strong engineering programs. Do not apply to a school just because of their names.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for all of the great responses guys!</p>

<p>@billcsho Yeah, costs are a big factor in my decision so if I receive a good scholarship to the U of MN, I would go there since their engineering programs are strong. </p>

<p>@2018RiceParent‌ I’m really looking into Rice because of its great engineering programs and opportunities since it is in Houston. Although I would have to get used to the climate! ;)</p>

9

<p>@downhillskater91 Other would say the same going to UMN. We live in the mid-west but my D refuse to go to UMn even with great scholarship partly because of the weather. Houston’s summer can also be very hot. I had lived in Texas for 10 years. However, most of the very hot months would be during school break. So it it not that bad and you can always go to Galveston to have a weekend break on the beach.</p>

10

<p>Cornell, Rice: Low reach
UCB, Michigan: Great chances
UW, UMN: In</p>