Chances at Engineering Schools - Unique Extracurriculars/Circumstances, Good GPA and Recs

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi,

I know this a long post, but if some of you could gloss over this briefly, I would be extremely appreciative. I believe I have some unique extracurriculars, and I wanted to hear some opinions with regard to everything else. My top engineering school choices are Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Macaulay Honors at City College.

Intended major: Chemical Engineering (Concentration in Biomedical Engineering)

Cumulative Unweighted GPA on 4.0 Scale: 3.91
BCPM GPA Unweighted on 4.0 Scale: 3.68
Non-Science GPA Unweighted on 4.0 Scale: 3.99

*No individual course GPA below a 3.0.
*All honors and AP courses.

Regents Science Scores: (88 on Physics, 87 on Chemistry, 89 on Biology: Living Environment)
Regents Math Scores: (89 on Algebra II/Trig, 86 on Geometry, 87 on Integrated Algebra (Freshman))

**My school does not rank, yet it is a US News Top 50 STEM high school.

**First-generation college student

*Senior course-load: AP Physics 2, STEM Research Program, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature and Composition, and AP Macroeconomics

AP’s taken: AP World History, AP Russian Language and Culture, AP U.S. History, and AP Physics 1

SAT I (March): 620 Critical Reading and 630 Math (I have trouble with geometry), 1970 Composite
SAT I (May): 700 Critical Reading and 620 Math, 2020 Composite
Superscore: 2050 Composite, 1330 CR+M

*I plan on taking the ACT (less geometrical reasoning and more content) in September, and am aiming for a 30+ on the Math and a 29+ on the Science.
*Plan on taking the SAT Subject Tests: Math IIC and Chemistry in October.

Significant Extracurriculars:

Freshman and Sophomore Year: I convinced my Grandpa to work with me to complete a historical fiction novel manuscript he wrote in the 1980s-1990s. I found an editor to hire, discussed payments, found needed services (typists), photographed family artifacts (relevant to the novel), and brainstormed titles and plot developments. I also co-wrote portions. We completed the manuscript when I was a sophomore. Due to a family death, contacting an agent had to be postponed to this summer. I was legally provided the rights to the manuscript.

Junior Year: I emailed an idea for an approach to an HIV-1 vaccine to the senior academic administrator of my local college who is a renowned researcher in this field. I employed the use of computer software on my laptop to locate an HIV-1 vaccine candidate that could function in a broad immune response against 87.5% of the strains (including those regionally distinct) recognized by a US Federal Government Tool. The senior academic administrator allowed me to utilize his laboratory to synthesize my vaccine candidate with his equipment. I later developed a purification process that attained an 88.5% purity (enough for patenting purposes if I pursued that route).

Sophomore and Junior Year: Do-Something Club events: created birthday cards for homeless children, crafted traditional African water-beads to benefit children in poverty-stricken nations, donated books to African schoolchildren, created holiday-themed cards for child cancer patients. During sophomore year, I collected 57 pairs of jeans as a Teens for Jeans volunteer. I oversaw as Vice President during Junior Year. The club had to disband, unfortunately, when the supervising teacher’s husband unexpectedly passed away this year.

Sophomore Year: My childhood best friend suffers from Autism. I peer tutored him at my home for the Integrated Algebra Regents during July. I created homework assignments and lesson plans and instructed him 4 hours per week. His score increased after 6 tutoring sessions from the high 40s-low 50s to two points shy of passing.

Other Extracurriculars and Awards (Not All): Ranger Conservation Corps (Freshman), National Honor Society (Junior), American Council of Teachers of Russian Essay Contests (Non-Native) Gold Medals (Sophomore and Junior Year), Participation Award from Quality of Life for Educational Psychology Research conducted during Sophomore Year (Data was insignificant), Participation Award from New York City Science and Engineering Fair (Junior) etc.

Hobbies: World Science University Special Relativity Course (have not completed yet), deriving quantum mechanical operators/learning about probabilistic nature of matter from textbooks my Grandpa gave me, mostly self-taught on the electric, acoustic, and bass guitars (since 2010).

Recommendation Letters: 1. Director of STEM Research Program/Assistant Principal at my high school (has supervised my research for 3+ years) 2. Junior English Teacher (asked to write my letter) 3. Senior Vice Presidential Academic Administrator of Local College/Renowned HIV-1 Researcher (mentor in my vaccine research, Cornell University graduate in Chemical Engineering Undergrad and Masters)

Again, I’m sorry for the length of this post, but I wanted to include the full picture. Thank you very much to anyone who can help me get a better idea of my chances at my top schools. If you could also recommend other schools you believe might fit me in the north or mid-Atlantic region, I would be appreciative! :smiley:

2

Wow! You have some badass ECs. You seem to be a science-oriented person, but why is your science GPA low-ish? Anyways, your SAT is a bit low for Cornell, JHU, and CMU, but you seem like a perfect candidate in every other aspect. Some other factors that might work against you are not taking calc BC and being from New York.

As for other schools, you should look into Rutgers honors/merit, Penn Engineering, maybe some HYPSM if you can get at least a 2150 or 33 ACT.

3

You have great EC’s. It is curious that you attend one of the top 50 STEM schools in the country and you are clearly oriented towards the STEM subjects based on your EC’s, but your regents test scores in math and science are not exactly stellar. I don’t think the scores themselves matter for your college applications, but I don’t understand why that would be. Are these scores consistent with your overall grades in the classes. I think Cornell, JHU, etc would be a reach with your SAT math scores, particularly for engineering. I would suggest expanding your list. I think you can have a very successful application if you apply to appropriate schools.

Study hard for the SAT2 in Math and your ACT’s. Practice, practice, practice. The ACT is a race against the clock, more so than the SAT. Best of luck to you.

4

Thank you. My science GPA is low-ish due to a two-credit course taken in Junior year (AP Physics 1). Prior, my STEM GPA was a 3.82, so this one course decreased it by 3.6%. Do you think that this should be a significant factor? I have not attained a GPA in AP Physics 1 below a 3.0, so I initially did not believe so. Also, if I was to obtain a 31 on the ACT, do you think Cornell, JHU, and CMU would be feasible for me?

5

To answer your question, these Regents scores are inconsistent with my overall grades. In STEM subjects, I typically have a GPA averaging 3.8 (aside from AP Physics). For some reason, I do not tend to perform as well on standardized tests as I do in my classes. Still, the Regents scores I believe may only come to play with Cornell. Non-NY schools typically don’t care about them from what I’ve read. My trouble with standardized tests extends to the SAT Math. Specifically, I have trouble with geometry (number sense, operations, algebra I do not get many wrong at all). Do you think that the ACT would be a better option for me? I’ve read that the Math primarily covers class material more so than the warped, multi-step ordeals particular to the SAT. I feel if I reviewed the geometry and math from my classes as well as the Red Book I could pull off a 30. Thank you for your advice, by the way.

6

I would definitely take the ACT - S is a STEM kid and scored 2070 on SAT but 33 (no studying, 10th grade) and then 36 (2 weeks studying, 11th grade) on ACT. It is much easier for most STEM kids as the questions are more straightforward, and you avoid the marathon aspect of the SAT.

I’d pick up a copy of Chung’s ACT math book, take a bunch of practice tests and see how you do. Get a tutor if necessary.

7

When your son applied to university, did he submit both his ACT and SAT scores? I feel if I scored a 33+ with my current SAT superscore, I would only submit my ACT.

8

Generally bio-medical engineering is separate from the chemical engineering program. And specifically at Cornell, JHU, and Carnegie Mellon they are separate programs. Unless you mean bio-molecular concentration. So I think you should do a little more research.

9

All three universities offer majors in Chemical Engineering. In addition, Cornell’s Biomedical Engineering Concentration, JHU’s Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Track, and CMU’s Designated Biomedical Engineering Minor for Carnegie Institute of Technology students all appeal to me. Bio(medical) Engineering (for my specific interests) is very suited to Chemical Engineering, and all three universities agree. Why else would these specific subprograms be offered in the departments I am interested in?

10

@VenomRelativity

There is a real difference between biomedical engineering and biomolecular engineering, so perhaps the miscommunication here is because of the way you initially phrased your post.

Here is the exact listing from the engineering majors on the Cornell web site.

Obviously the bolding is mine, but equally clearly biomedical engineering is a very separate major (and is in fact a very different field) than biomolecular engineering. The concentration within Chemical Engineering is biomolecular, not biomedical. It is exactly the same on the JHU web site http://engineering.jhu.edu/fields-of-study/ and at CMU http://engineering.cmu.edu/ (click on departments and it is clear that chemical and biomedical are separate). While CMU is not as explicit about where biomolecular engineering belongs in the titles of their departments as the other two did, a quick search reveals that they put it with chemical engineering. So it would appear that all three universities don’t agree with you in the least, and I can personally tell you as someone that knows these fields well that they are in fact different. Another fact that shows they are different is the there is a department chairperson for biomedical engineering at all three of these schools, a department chair for chemical engineering at all three of these schools, but as far as I can tell there is no separate department chair for biomolecular engineering at any of these schools and in fact the chair of the chemical engineering department oversees that subarea of study and research.

So it seems you are actually more interested in biomolecular engineering, but it is difficult to tell because of what you said in your OP. You have confused the nomenclature. There is no biomedical engineering subarea within chemical engineering, but there is a biomolecular engineering concentration.

11

Yes, they are found in separate departments. But for what I am interested in, the Biomedical Engineering electives available to Chemical Engineering students are thus of my interest. Despite the fact that they are found in separate departments, I would have the opportunity to complete electives from the Biomedical Engineering Department as a Chemical Engineering Major at all three universities. I do not believe I was able to make that point clear, and I apologize. Still, I am aware of how specifically related to Chemical Engineering Biomolecular Engineering is. None of these schools offer Biomolecular Engineering as a distinct major for that reason, despite having Chemical/Biomolecular Engineering Departments. The classification of my major will be Chemical Engineering, but what I have been trying to explain is my interest in pursuing Biomedical Engineering electives as well. Research is an entirely different story. I am only discussing my classes/major as per the moment. With regard to research, you are absolutely right.

12

OK, that makes a lot more sense. For the record, that really was not clear in your OP. But anyway, for sure you are right that you should be able to take some biomedical engineering electives in a chemical engineering major where you focus on biomolecular aspects of that field. It is kind of like biochemistry and chemistry (nonengineering). Some schools have biochem as a separate department, but most have it as a subfield within chemistry, so even those specializing in biochem get a diploma that shows a degree in chemistry. I suppose biomolecular engineering could have been called biochemical engineering, and the two subtracks would have had a kind of symmetry that way.

To get to your main question, I think your chances are decent at those schools you desire, but not at all certain. You need some others that offer what you want while at the same time offering you greater chances of admission. You could look at Tulane, they in fact have a very good biomedical engineering and chemical engineering departments, but I am not current on what they offer for biomolecular. I will check into it. It is hard to make suggestions though when we know nothing about your other preferences in terms of size of school, location, financial restrictions, etc.

I would also add that for the area of study you seem to be proposing, it is likely that graduate work is in your future. For that reason it is less important to attend a top top rated school now, but instead do that in grad school. I am not in any way saying don’t go for the JHU/CMU/Cornell type schools, but just saying that if they don’t work out for you it isn’t the end of the world in the least. There is excellent work going on in many schools just a small step below those in reputation, and those schools have very good track records at sending their graduates to the top engineering graduate programs.

13

I am also applying to Wesleyan University (3-2 engineering program), Drexel University, Binghamton University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Stony Brook University and NYU Poly. I feel my chances at these schools are a bit greater than at Cornell, JHU or CMU.

Anyway, I really have no preferences in terms of size of school or financial restrictions. Location, however, I would like to restrict to some states in the north/mid-Atlantic regions. With that said, I am only interested in applying to colleges/universities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

And yes, you are correct, I do see graduate work as a possibility for my area of study. Thank you for the great advice. I will have a lot to consider once I receive any acceptance letters in the near future.

14

That’s a great list. I would be shocked if you don’t get accepted to most of those schools besides Cornell, JHU, and CMU (although Wesleyan is tough too), and of course you might just get in one or two of those longer shots.

And yes, I think a graduate level degree is almost essential in this area of work. Undergrad work just lays the foundation for the real learning and research that is needed for essential innovations. It’s a long slog, but if you love the field it is totally worth it.

Best of luck, and if you think of it this winter and spring, let us know how it all turned out for you.

15

You are very interesting. You’re ECs will stand out and make you a competitive applicant while your scores will likely hamper your ability to get into your top choices. Cornell receives thousands of New York State applicants and is very familiarized with the New York State Regents. While you seem to be a phenomenal STEM student, a prodigy if I’ve ever seen one, you didn’t get a single 90 on any of your Math and Science Regents. That is concerning and may even be confusing for admissions officers. There are likely kids with no interest in biology who managed a 90 on the Living Environment Regents and you are making groundbreaking discoveries in HIV research and you could only manage an 87? That’s really strange to me. You also need to have a very structured application that is fluid because you’re kind of all over the place. I would discuss the novel in an essay and likely the research in another because those are, in my opinion, you best achievements. You MUST improve your SAT to a 2100+ and the ACT to a 31+ for Cornell (I would typically recommend a 2250+ for any aspiring Ivy students, but your ECs will compensate). Other than that, you appear to be a passionate and devoted STEM applicant and you will likely get into a few of your desired universities. Good luck and best wishes.

Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1786084-chance-a-sophomore-with-a-weak-freshman-year-for-stanford-ivies-mit-etc.html

16

I agree with DreamToRedeem. It is strange that you have accomplished so much in science, coming up with the idea for an HIV vaccine, and then synthesizing it. That is a ridiculously amazing accomplishment for someone so young. My son hated biology, had no particular talent for it, and achieved a 90 in the Biology Regents exam. And I don’t think the science education at his high school is anything exceptional. I am guessing some schools would want to explore the disconnect between your obvious interest and talent, and your Regents scores. I can only guess that you have some sort of test anxiety. If you can really nail the SAT subject tests, that would go a long way. Have you taken a subject test in Bio? (Maybe you stated this and I missed in in your original post.)

I agree with others that your expanded list is good. Several schools there you should be able to get into. I would find out what kind of placement they have into grad schools.

If you could improve our test scores, you might want to consider U of Rochester. Their life sciences is very strong, they promote undergraduate research, and they appreciate students who can demonstrate a focused interest, as well as students with multiple interests.