Respectfully, the 25th/75th ACT composite on the 2021 Cornell CDS is 32/35. It’s not their ACT that will keep them out. It’s too many highly qualified candidates for too few spots that will eliminate them if they are eliminated.
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He is first gen. And he is local. Cornell admits a lot from the local area. Incidentally they seem to take a ton from his school. 70% is a reasonable estimate. The suggestion to improve the ACT is only to be abundantly cautious. That is the only piece that stands out.
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I’m not disagreeing with the chance estimate. I’m saying that the ACT won’t be their rate limiting factor. A 34 is well above the 50th percentile. At that point, it won’t be the deciding factor.
Now, I’ll reiterate my original point…what holds this list together? There are some very different schools.
Thanks for the feedback. I have actually toured a majority of the schools besides MIT, RPI, UPenn and Villanova (which I plan to tour the last two over the next couple weeks). I have liked almost of the schools, except I was just a bit iffy about NYU as they don’t really have a campus, but I decided to keep it on my list as it is only around 45 minutes-1 hour from where I live. I sort of just put MIT on the list as a why not apply, and if I do not really have time to apply I probably won’t. What do think my chances are for schools like northeastern and tufts?
Your list looks really good and is well balanced. I think you will do well. The good thing about engineering is that as long as you are in an ABET program, it’s not going to matter that much where you graduate from. IMO, that is very unlike many majors where things vary quite a bit more.
One thing of note, we toured Villanova last year. My '22 and '24 were not impressed by the engineering dept. It was very small and the building and resources seemed extremely limited. Just mentioning in case you don’t get to visit. YMMV.
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I think your chances are strong at both. That doesn’t mean you’ll get in, but it will only be unknown intangibles that keep you out.
We all liked Tufts a lot. The students seemed happy and the campus and location are nice. Our son didn’t ultimately apply, because we would have been full pay, and he felt there were stronger ME programs that were also cheaper. Budget is something you’ll have to work out with your family.
Have fun on the quest and know that your success will be far more about your curiosity and drive than it will be about where you go. Good luck!
Good overall list, but (and just my opinion) I don’t really see Northeastern and BU as “top engineering colleges”. With your profile and your school’s acceptance records I think you could do a lot better than these. Don’t overlook the public schools - many are better regarded for engineering than the Ivies.
I’d probably also add Stevens Institute of Technology to your list as a likely.
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“Better” is subjective. I probably wouldn’t have Villanova, BU and NYU on my list when WPI, RPI and Lehigh are all in the region. That said, the OP sees something in them or they wouldn’t be on the list. They can’t all be highly reactive schools like MIT or the OP risks being locked out.
Adding to the list of schools in the region, Pitt, Maryland, and Penn State are all very solid, almost certain admits with the OPs stats and might come with money.
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Thanks for the advice. Do you have any other recommendations for schools that are 4 hours or closer from NYC?
I think you’ll have some excellent choices but your list is eclectic? If you’re not sure about a school don’t apply and waste time and effort. Does NYU fit?
Maybe add another SUNY like Bing or Buffalo? I’m thinking of schools like Case, Drexel or Lehigh for engineering. Even Pitt would be a fit because of all the medical research on campus. I would only look at direct admit programs so a school like Penn State would fall off the list.
Are you sure your parents are ok paying $350k for an undergrad degree? No/minimal loans involved?
Good luck.
S21 was accepted to Villanova Honors for Mechanical with lower rank and similar stats. He loved Villanova but ultimately wound up in a much warmer location at half the cost. If they are still having their engineering day try to visit.
What about adding Lehigh to your list? Have you considered it? Fantastic engineering school and gorgeous campus.
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Have you considered Lafayette or Bucknell or Rutgers? All are strong schools and have engineering programs (and the son of a friend of mine got an engineering degree from Rutgers two years ago and is doing quite well in th field.
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Just my opinion. I think that you are doing super well and have a good list.
The four things I would be most careful about would be ED, fit, safeties, and finances.
You want to do your best to make sure that you are applying to schools that will be a good fit for you, and where you will be comfortable. This is particularly true for your ED schools since you are making the choice to attend up front rather than waiting to get acceptances.
As one example regarding ED, I wonder how you would feel if you get into Northeastern ED2, and the same day get accepted to MIT and have to turn it down. MIT is a “fit” school – it is exceptionally academically demanding and you have to want to work that hard for a full four years for it to be a good fit for you. However, given your excellent results to this point is seems like it is at least possible that you might get accepted.
To me this is quite reasonable. Admissions at the top schools (Cornell, MIT, U.Penn level) is indeed hard to predict for the top students. Thus making sure that you are happy with your safeties and that they really are safeties makes a lot of sense, even though you will probably end up at a match or a reach.
I do wonder about adding another SUNY. Otherwise just make sure that the schools that you are applying to are a good fit and that you will be able to afford them.
Also keep in mind that whichever of the very good universities on your list you end up graduating from, ten years from now you will most likely be working alongside graduates from many of the other schools on your list and on the most part no one will care which school each of you graduated from. One reason to attend a top school such as MIT or Cornell is just to prove to yourself that you can do it. It takes a lot of work (over four years of high school plus another four years of university) to do this.
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Agree with others that some of the top state programs can transcend private colleges in the engineering dept at a fraction of the cost. There are also honors programs within some state programs that offer some additional resources. In a field like engineering, you will likely not have trouble finding an internship or job post graduation. But you may want a school that offers co-ops or internships as part of the program.
If you know what type of engineering you are interested in, you can sort out schools and look at programs more closely. Not all engineering programs are equal at all schools.
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With respect to Cornell, the thing you have to keep in mind is that each college within the university has its own admissions policies. The three undergraduate statutory colleges - Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), and the College of Human Ecology (HumEc) - have preferences for NY state residents.
Of the seven students admitted last year to Cornell, how many of them were to the statutory colleges and how many of them were in the endowed colleges - College of Engineering (COE), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), and Architecture, Arts and Planning (AAP)? Cornell does give preference in admissions to students from New York to the statutory colleges, so if you were interested in biomedical engineering, you could choose to do this major in CALS and take advantage of the boost as a NY state resident (and get the tuition benefit).
In the last pre-COVID data set for engineering, the overall acceptance rate for males in the College of Engineering was around 6%. It is very likely lower than that now. I’m sure it is higher in ED, but you are also in a pool with legacies, under-represented-minorities, women in STEM, and recruited athletes.
I’m a Northeastern parent and alum. I think your stats look good for NU. As for ED, you really need to be sure of your desire to make that binding commitment. Northeastern is different than the other schools on your list because of the co-op program. I read many comments in the parents FB group from parents who are thrilled by their engineering kids’ co-op experiences, abroad opportunities and the great job offers they have in hand upon graduation, so I would recommend it. If you want more of a traditional college experience with football games and a lot of Greek life, it’s not the best choice. There is a lot of spirit for the hockey team and my S enjoys the cheap tix to baseball games at Fenway and the many things Boston has to offer.
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Closing thread. OP has created an update. Feel free to comment there.