Chance me Please for Engineering

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, thanks for reading over this. I would like critical, quality advice and probability for these schools.</p>

<p>I would like to go to one of these schools, in no particular order for mechanical engineering, very competitive major.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley
UCLA
USC
Cornell
Vanderbilt
Stanford
UT Austin
UCSB
Cal Poly
Harvey Mudd</p>

<p>First off, I just finished my junior year of high school in the state of CA. My high school is ranked in the top 100, closer to 90th maybe. My high school is very competitive and offers a variety of APs.
I am a 17 year old male, 2nd generation Cuban.</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Grades 9-11 GPA is a 4.1 (W) and a 3.8 (NW)
Grades 10-11 GPA is a 4.4 (W) and a 3.9 (NW) UCs look at this GPA
I only took ACT, and got:
Composite: 33
Math: 35
English: 35
Science: 32
Reading: 31
Writing: 33</p>

<p>I got a 760 on the Math IIC and a 640 on Physics ( will definitely improve)
I got a 4 on the AP Physics exam and a 4 on the World History exam... but a 2 on the AP US history which I am worried about</p>

<p>I take mostly APs courses, with a 4.7 my junior year. My grades also improved over time toward straight As.
My senior year classes are tough, including AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP Eur</p>

<p>I am ranked in the top 8% for GPA and 11% in overall GPA, testing, etc. at my school</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>I am cofounder and VP of a philanthropy club for a foster high school
I play rec basketball with my friends
I got an internship at NuVasive for biomechanics for about 20 hours so far
I am employed at a gas station with mechanics and will work probably 75 hours
I also job shadowed 6 different engineers at NuVasive for 2 days
I will job shadow another engineer in August
I am VP of a small recycling club as well that sorts out certain plastics for proper recycling</p>

<p>Community Service:</p>

<p>I have 100 + hours with various tutoring programs
I have 30+ hours with my club
I have done a couple beach clean ups (5+)
I have done some homeless shelter stuff to (5+)</p>

<p>Awards and Honors:</p>

<p>I have been in CSF for 6 semesters
I will be in NHS for 2 semesters
We have raised over $4,000 for my club towards an orphanage high school and I am very proud</p>

2

<p>Don’t worry about your 2 on the AP test. They don’t consider that. The only thing that’ll happen is that you won’t get college credit.</p>

<p>The upward trend in GPA should help you a little. Your ACT score should fall at least in the average 50%, possibly higher end or higher. Well, possibly lower for Cornell or Stanford. I’m a bit too lazy to check. It requires too many tabs. I’m not too sure about your SAT II’s, and I’m not sure if all the schools take ACT + Writing au lieu of Subject Tests either.</p>

<p>Your ECs…well, I suppose they’re okay. Not sure if rec basketball would help you much, so I suppose you don’t have to put that on your application. Job experience is definitely valuable though.</p>

<p>UCSB can probably be a safety, or at least almost one. Cal Poly might be as well, especially since I heard they actually favor the ACT. You seem somewhat competitive, and if only grades and ACT are considered, you’d be a match for UCB and UCLA as well.</p>