I’m looking at going to University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and I’m wondering how likely it is that I would get in.
Demographics:
-White Male
-Living in North Dakota (it sucks)
-Middle Class income
-Dad served for 20 or so years in the Marine corps (if that’s relevant)
GPA: 3.56 (I was a lazy slob my freshman year) (17th out of 42)
ACT: My high school does the ACT in April of Junior Year. I don’t know how accurate it is, but it certainly seemed like a good indicator for the class above me, but my predicted range on the Aspire was 27-30. Take it as you will.
AP Courses: None, as my school doesn’t offer any and the nearest one that does is 2 and a half hours away.
Major: Still undecided on that, but hopefully: Civil Engineering, History, Marketing.
Extracurriculars:
-I was a NDAPSSA-credentialed reporter for the town’s newspaper last year. Previously, I had a year’s worth of experience in the newspaper business.
-I am a volunteer at multiple North Dakota Humanities Council-sponsored events.
-I have over 250 volunteer hours at the local theater, which was bought up by the town before it could go out of business.
-I have played the trombone for 7 years.
-I have been a member of the varsity football team for the last 3 years, with my senior year remaining.
-I have been a member of the varsity golf team for the last 2 years.
-I am an active member of our school’s drama department, and was a state finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking.
-I have spoken with multiple professors at the University of North Dakota, who have said they would write a letter of recommendation for me.
-I have experience working with historical documents and in archives, having been cited in a scholarly publication
Also, what other schools should I look at? Some huge factors I want in a school are:
-Major College Sports to follow
-Big City
-Big Campus Size
Sorry for the wall of text and thanks in advance.
Try and bump your GPA up this junior year. Since your school doesn’t have AP courses you need to do well on your ACT to make up for it. (30 plus for sure if you want a shot at getting into College of Science and Engineering (CSE) at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities) If you get a ACT of 30-36 you have a good shot at getting into CSE (almost 100% guarantee if you get 33 or above).
Your extra-curricular activities will look good, but University of Minnesota looks more at your GPA and ACT score. University of Minnesota doesn’t need letters of recommendation btw. If you do send them letters they won’t consider them. They don’t even need an essay.
Your safety schools should probably be NDSU and UND. I’d say look around for schools. You’ll find Big 10 and Big 12 schools attractive, for their good engineering programs, big campus sizes, sports, etc. but you’ll find most of them aren’t located in a big city, but rather in a college town atmosphere. (University of Minnesota and a few other schools are exceptions)
Could you suggest some other good safety schools that aren’t major reaches? I REALLY don’t want to stay in North Dakota and I’d like to know I could leave even if I didn’t get into Minnesota? Nebraska, maybe? Iowa State?
I wouldn’t say University of Minnesota is a major reach of you. I would say it is a High Match for you.
Iowa State is a great school for engineering, but you won’t get that “big city” feel, but with their program it’s worth it and easy to get into. They have many scholarship opportunities so check them out. Nebraska is another good one. Try Michigan Technological University. I’ve heard it isn’t that difficult to get in, but it’s a really well known engineering school. Missouri S & T, University of Cincinnati, Michigan State, University of Iowa might be ones to ponder as well. Look at the fees though.
http://best-engineering-colleges.com/ Look at this website to help you find colleges. The rankings aren’t 100% legitimate but it’ll give you a feel of good engineering colleges around the US, so you can do some more research on them.
University of Iowa has that “city feel” you might be looking for. It has a really strong business program and medical school, but it is a pretty good school overall. And it is in one of the best “college towns” in the nation.
Look at UCincinnati, Temple, UNebraska, Saint Louis University, Illinois Wesleyan, Illinois Institute of Technology, RPI, Stevens, even UMass Amherst (because Amherst is an awesome college town)… but why not look at the South? Ole Miss, USFlorida, USC-Columbia, UAlabama (with a 32 and a 3.5 you automatically get a full tuition scholarship, Honors College, Honors Housing, and a $2,500 stipend for engineering!), Cal Poly SLO or SDSU or Cal Poly Pomona, NCSU…
RUN THE NET PRICE CALCULATORS on all of those though. 
@StuckinND69 I am at the same point as you. I’m a junior with a 3.5, and projected to get about the same ACT score as you. UMN is not as far of a reach as you think!
My brother attends UMN and he is in the science and engineering program and absolutely loves it. You will definitely get the big city feel even if you are just touring. Umn has big 10 sports to follow and they really are quite the event! I think the school is a good fit for you.
As far as your grades/EC/GPA/ACT ect., you will need to work at your GPA, and study hard for the ACT; as far as that goes, you should take it at least twice. Your extra curriculars look outstanding, keep at them! Make sure the challenge yourself as much as you can in this oh-so-important junior year.
@StuckinND69 Did you get a decision yet? I applied late October and still have yet to receive a decision for CSE.
My child is a recruited student athlete at Minnesota. Wants to get into CSOM. High School GPA is 3.5 with mostly honors / AP / and CIS classes. Class rank is only top 30%. ACT was a 30 and will take again in April. Any other athletes out there that were admitted into CSOM? Or any other general students that got in to CSOM? I’d be interested in learning of your stats.