Chances at a good Mech E school

<p>Academically
I'm a junior at the best academic school in the state (DE)
I have a 4.03 cumulative waited GPA (3.9 unweighted)
SAT Reading-730
SAT Math-750
SAT Writing-630 (ouch)
total-2110</p>

<p>AP Courses
AP Calculus AB-5
AP Calculus BC-5
AP Chemistry-5</p>

<p>I've played lacrosse and have run cross country since sophomore year. I've won two gavels in Model UN, I have around 30 hours of community service at various places throughout my high school career, and I am part of the 3rd JET
TEAMS engineering team in the state and 4th in the nation. Otherwise my extra-curricular activities aren't spectacular but have been time-consuming.</p>

<p>I plan on taking these courses next year:
AP Physics
University of Delaware's Calculus 3
Drexel University's Intro to the Art of Engineering
AP Economics
World Lit
Modern Physics
Programming in Java</p>

<p>All honors or AP</p>

<p>I'm not sure which schools to apply for. I'm hoping Duke though.</p>

<p>MIT would be my first choice if I were a Mechanical Engineering freak! LOL Stanford would be my second choice and Michigan would be my third choice. Cal is also amazing.</p>

<p>Any more comments?</p>

<p>I'm intending on ME, and looking at Cornell, Berkeley, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, and Northwestern. MIT/Stanford/Caltech are too selective for my profile. Also check out Harvey Mudd. While they do not have ME as a major, only general engineering, it is a very good school, almost competitive with MIT. I know of a guy (neighbour's son) who went to HMC and went to Stanford afterward for a master's in ME.</p>

<p>Cornell is my top choice, as it seems better than (except possibly HMC) the other schools I am considering.</p>

<p>GaTech, UIUC, Purdue...</p>

<p>Yeah I'm definitely thinking about Cornell too. Thanks for the advice.</p>

<p>My daughter just finished her sophomore year in mechanical engineering at Olin College, in the Boston area. If you're interested in new engineering education, I'd suggest you check out their website.</p>

<p>Wow, I'd love to go to Olin but I don't think I'm exceptional enough to get accepted.</p>

<p>If you have a strong interest in their program, I'd recommend a visit. They are interested in, and admit students by, many other factors besides tests, gpa, etc. Any student who would consider schools such as Cornell would be a candidate for Olin.</p>

<p>Sound's like a plan. That 75 person class size seemed daunting to me. I'll definitely go visit. From their website the facilitities look amazing.</p>

<p>My friend just got into MIT with stats like yours radiohead1. Don't hesitate to reach for the top...you never know! Good luck.</p>

<p>He got into Duke too!</p>

<p>I'd consider schools like Rose Hulman, smaller schools that focus on teaching. You won't get professors who love to teach at MIT. Remember that the rankings have little to do with the quality of teaching you will recieve.</p>

<p>the OP looks like a strong applicant for berkeley.</p>

<p>If you're interested in Olin, I'd suggest visiting the xforums site, where there are numerous posts by current and incoming Oliners. Just google xforums and olin college, and you'll find your way there. They're a friendly group.</p>

<p>Olin, Rose-Hulman, Harvey Mudd, Kettering, Rice, Georgia Tech... Also check out RPI & Cornell, and it wouldn't hurt to apply to CalTech as a stretch. I'm not particularly partial to MIT because too many undergrads I know there are terribly unhappy... Visit it, for sure, but if you don't absolutely love the environment, it's too expensive to not just go somewhere else where you feel more comfortable.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I would say you get into Rose hulman, Georgia tech, and RPI easily. Kettering, though I havent heard of it, (based on stats) also looks to be a safety-match for you. Cornell is probably a match. Harvey mudd, MIT, Olin all look about equally selective, though Harvey mudd is arguably less random, due to the higher acceptance rate. Rice is also selective, the "princeton" of the south.</p>

<p>Thanks for the comments guys. The way my guidance counselor put it, I thought I wouldn't stand a chance at Olin, Caltech, MIT, etc. I'll apply to as many as I can than. My confidence just went up a lot.</p>

<p>MIT seems to want distinguished independent research from its applicants. im not sure you should keep up ur hopes for MIT, but cant hurt to apply.</p>

<p>Contrary to the guidance counselor's advice, based on accepted students I've known at Olin, you would certainly "stand a chance."</p>