chances [engineering] at a bunch of good schools, pleease.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>main stuff.</p>

<p>Texas resident.
Rank: 42/827 [top 6%; this is a semester behind, haven't seen what it is currently]
Weighted GPA: 4.44 [semester behind and my school does some funky stuff with it, so I dunno exactly what it is.]
UW GPA: 3.7 overall, 3.6 academic only</p>

<p>PSAT: 214
SAT: 2170 [680 CR/790 M/700 W]</p>

<p>--
misc. stuff.</p>

<p>AP Eng Lang&Comp: 3
-[Senior APs: Eng Lit&Comp, Govt, Econ, Comp Sci, Calc AB]
2006 AMC 12 winner [score = 106.5]</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society
9th-10th: Superintendent's Scholar</p>

<p>job: Chinese food delivery since October 2005.</p>

<p>--
choir stuff.</p>

<p>9th grade: Concert Chorale [JV choir, no freshmen allowed in varsity]
10th-12th: Symphonic Chorale [Varsity]
10th-12th: Chamber Singers [24 singers taken from varsity]
--Chamber Singers won 2006 Chamber Choir and Madrigal Festival [competition of around 30 top chamber/madrigal groups in the state]</p>

<p>9th-11th: All-Region Choir [so far]
10th-11th: Texas All-State Choir [so far]</p>

<p>Vice President of Choir</p>

<p>--
School list.</p>

<p>-applying for sure</p>

<pre><code> UT-Austin
Stanford
Georgia Tech
MIT
Rice
</code></pre>

<p>-very likely applying</p>

<pre><code> Carnegie Mellon
Northwestern
</code></pre>

<p>-maybe?</p>

<pre><code> Texas A&M
Cornell
Johns Hopkins
UC-Berkeley
Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Michigan
Washington U St.L

</code></pre>

<p>--</p>

<p>I'm most likely going into Electrical Engineering, with CS being another possible choice.</p>

2

<p>I think you got a good shot at most of the schools. As long as you're not longing to get out of Texas, you're in at UT Austin and I would advise going there (especially is money is any kind of an issue).</p>

3

<p>Yeah, UT-Austin is my first choice, I've been there a couple times and I really like it. I'm applying to the rest in order to keep options open; I've been told by many people that they wished they had applied to more places. Alot can change in 5-6 months.</p>

4

<p>I'm not seeing much special. No significant math/science related things. Average scores and average grades. You are probably set for that school in texas, but MIT, Stanford, and berkeley uhhhhh... I wouldn't bother applying if I were you.</p>

5

<p>i feel like being harsh today.</p>

<p>PSAT, SAT - lol
AMC - lol, you <em>barely</em> made it
3 humanities APs and 2 science APs.
Your EC is choir. Unless you have written audio analysis software, at first glance you look like a music major.</p>

<p>Berkeley normal OOS - reeeeeach...
Berkeley engineering OOS - you'd have to reach so much... ever heard of being quartered?
MIT/Stanford - UCB Engineering is easier to get into.<br>
UT - Austin - now you're being realistic.</p>

<p>Here - I'll just do a quick run through:</p>

<p>UT-Austin - yeah
Stanford - no way
Georgia Tech - match, slight reach, you don't seem like an engineer!
MIT - nope
Rice - nada
Carnegie Mellon - probably not
Northwestern - dunno
Texas A&M - dunno
Cornell - no....
Johns Hopkins - no
UC-Berkeley - no
Illinois Urbana-Champaign - perhaps
Michigan - nope
Washington U St.L - dunno, maybe</p>

<p>Like you say, your school seems to be doing stuff with your GPA. 3.6 academic uw but 4.44 w? either classes are just being tagged with the hl or ap title for the heck of it or your real GPA is lower. Again, 42/867 is not good at all. Stanford wants to see single-digit ranks.</p>

<p>Although your SAT math is your highest score, weak AMC score + low general SAT (MIT wants mathy people with high CR/W scores btw) isn't so great. Your passion lies in choir. Tell me WHY are you applying to top engineering schools, let alone top or engineering schools at all??? The only people with under 2300 who get into ivies are people who have saved the world or just about. And engineering is always much tougher than other majors to get in under, unless you go to a school that wants engineers desperately.</p>

<p>In other words, realistically look below the top 25. I'm sure that aside from a few points, many will agree. kthxbai.</p>

6

<p>I guess "(4.4+, 2300+/800/800, tech-related ec's)" sometimes turns people a little arrogant.</p>

<p>
[quote]
that school in texas

[/quote]
</p>

<p>has one of the top undergrad programs in the nation.</p>

<p>
[quote]
PSAT, SAT - lol

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Ah, a comedian.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Tell me WHY are you applying to top engineering schools, let alone top or engineering schools at all???

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Oh WHAT? People do things in HS that don't relate to the career they want to go into? OMG.</p>

<p>I love CC. Perceptions of what's normal, what's average, what's good, what's bad...just fly out the window! <3</p>

7

<p>The only one of these schools I've looked at closely for my DD is Carnegie Mellon. I think you can get into some of the schools there. Different schools within CMU have different stats. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>That school is texas is unheard of in the engineering world.</p>

9

<p>UT -austin is semi-known. Texas A&M is good.
I'm not being arrogant - I know that since <em>I</em> have no chance at MIT, etc.. with those stats, you have no chance either. Besides that 790 in SAT reasoning math, what makes you look like an engineer in the eyes of the school? Engineering is always tougher than other majors, and you need higher scores (unless you're talking about HYPSM, you need high scores for any major unless you've got a good hook).</p>

<p>it's your time and money - go ahead and apply. I'd bet my money on rejection from stanford, mit, berkeley, probably cornell. </p>

<p>the only things that would make me reconsider is if you got good scores on math IIc and chem/phys/bio SAT II, and posted your course list. from what you've posted, i can tell that the ivies are out of reach. maybe i am being a bit harsh ( i said that right??) but i don't think i'm being unreasonable either.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Perceptions of what's normal, what's average, what's good, what's bad...just fly out the window! <3

[/quote]
</p>

<p>average kids don't go to hypsm.</p>

<p>you can live your pipe dream, maybe someone else will come in here and tell you the brutal truth.</p>

10

<p>desperaclo:</p>

<p>UCB: Reach (out of state, Engineering)</p>

11

<p>I hate to break it to you, but no one in this forum can tell you much about your odds of getting into these schools. Any top school has a decent range of who they accept, and most people who refute that simply don't have the facts. Acceptance depends on how you compare to everyone else, not on how you look in general. Unfortunately, it can also depend on the mood of the person(s) filtering the applications the day they happen to run across yours.</p>

<p>However, you do have a solid credential list, and I would suggest applying to a few of the tops schools you'd really like to get into. Having a general idea of where you want to live and what you want to do should be important in deciding where to apply. If you want to work in the West coast, go to school there, as in don't go to MIT just because you've heard how great it is while growing up (though it is a fine institution). I would also visit some smaller schools that have professors who pay attention to you. Institutions where professors don't have to do research will most likely give you a better learning experience. Anyone who tells you differently is a rare exception or a ridiculous brown nose.</p>

<p>Consider applying to some smaller, more undergrad focused programs for your bachelors in engineering (such as Rose-Hulman, Harvey Mudd, etc...). I have seen both types (large and small schools) of undergrad programs and you will probably like the smaller school experience better (this only applies to undergrad, master's is a different story) if you are looking to actually learn. Large schools are more entertaining, I can't argue against that.</p>

<p>If you're worried about getting a job then keep in mind something I've found to be the case. Even good smaller school allow you to get interviews with large companies. I go to Rose-Hulman and had no trouble getting in interviews with Microsoft for example. But once you're in the door, your school doesn't matter one bit. Engineering interviews are tough and they hire whoever can impress them, not whoever has the highest GPA at the school with the most notoriety.</p>

<p>P.S. Don't be intimidated by naysayers about your test scores. At my school the average SAT I score is over 1300 (remember, SAT I is out of 1600), but I know people who barely beat 1000 and got in just fine, and I know people who got perfect scores. My point is that worrying about the average isn't all that accurate and hardly tells you the whole picture.</p>

12

<p>whoamg,</p>

<p>what are you even talking about??? do you work at MIT or Stanford admissions? how can you tell someone who is scoring in the top 1% of all students nationwide that they have no chance at these places? I know what its like to have early high school issues that make you not first in your class, but that does not disqualify you from any college. Why are you laughing at a 790 im SAT Math? Last i checked that was pretty damn good! Last i checked that is out of 800 and is incredibly far above what you call average.
You need to stop being so arrogant and condescending. Arrogance won't get you very far in life and neither will demeaning people who have a legitamate shot of getting into most of the colleges by telling them that they cannot.</p>

<p>desperaclo, you have a decent shot of getting into any of those colleges, so you should apply. If anything you have a better shot than an idiot like whoamg to getting into any of those colleges. Your test scores show you are elite, dont let people tell you differently.</p>

13

<p>yeah, whoamg is being a bit harsh. Although your scores are kind of at the minimum for MIT/Stanford, you can get in. Just make sure you really ace those SAT IIs and essays. Georgia tech should be fine for you I think. Rice might be a reach, but you can get in. My mom was telling me this story about one of her friends' daughters before. Her stats werent anything spectacular, but she applied to almost every top school. She ended up getting rejected from nearly all of them, but did get accepted at Harvard. So just apply, cuz you never know!</p>

14

<p>UT-Austin - You're in
Stanford - Big Reach
Georgia Tech - Match
MIT - Big Reach
Rice - Reach</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon - Match
Northwestern - High Match</p>

<p>Texas A&M - Low Match
Cornell - High Match
Johns Hopkins - High Match
UC-Berkeley - Reach
Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Match
Michigan - Match
Washington U St.L - Mid Reach</p>

<p>Given your current stats, MIT and Stanford are big reaches for you. It's highly unlikely you'll get into either.</p>

15

<p>how big a difference does being OOS have for Berkeley?</p>

16

<p>go by amptron2x's estimates--they are closest to reality of what I've seen here so far. Stanford/MIT is really a no chance--but Carnegie-Mellon is a match as is Illinois, and maybe Michigan. I think Northwestern and Cornell are maybe slight reaches, not high matches--otherwise I agree with amptron2X.</p>

<p>As far as UC Berkeley and out-of-state: Here are some statistics on the UC's acceptances in general and on how the UC GPA is computed, and on how to pick the right campus for you:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2006/freshman_admit_profile_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2006/freshman_admit_profile_2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman/scholarship_reqs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting_camp.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting_camp.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Since UC Berkeley's average UC GPA is 4.17 with a SAT average of 2007 out of 2400, and SAT IIs (in two subjects) that probably total about 1400, you have to beat these by a bit if you are out-of-state. So that means you probably need about a 4.3 UC GPA (see how to compute this using the link above--and make sure you cap your honors/AP/IB courses at 8 semester hours) with a SAT score of 2100 or so and two SATs II test scores that total around 1425 to 1450.</p>

<p>P.S. Don't even think about applying to Harvey-Mudd (as suggested by someone above). It was ranked the hardest liberal arts college in the country to get into per USNW--meaning it makes Cornell and Northwestern look easy to get into. However, the same poster recommended applying to Rose-Hulman--and I agree you should apply there.</p>

17

<p>


</p>

<p>....</p>

<p>Anyway, thanks all. If I'm getting a little defensive, it's just stress from the whole college app process. :/</p>

18

<p>

That's really a bunch of BS. The OP is definately qualified for several top 25 schools. You're not being harsh...you're being a jackass.</p>