My ACT is 34, but my GPA is low, with only around a 3.8-3.9 ish. Not many extracurriculars or anything outside of school. What are my chances for RPI engineering? Also if anyone knows how much merit scholarship can I get?
Also if it matters, by the end of high school, I will have AP Physics 1 and 2, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Biology, and stat
As far as the GPA, that depends on the courses you took. If you took all honors and accelerated math, that is not a bad GPA at all. If you were not in honors courses, still not terrible, but that would be questioned. Sounds from your AP plans that you do take challenging courses, so I don’t think that is a problem.
My son is at RPI, got in with a lower ACT than that, but he had great ECs.
I would tend to think your ACT will help a great deal, but schools do look for ECs that are relevant to your interests.
Due to high rate of leaving engineering majors, I think something that shows interest would have helped.
Engineering design courses, robotics etc would have helped, but many schools do not have such courses/clubs.
Usually large state universities care only about tests and grades, but often private schools do care about what you will contribute to the community. Lack of EC will hurt, but the ACT will keep you in the mix, I would think you have a good chance. Think of how to demonstrate interest in engineering on your essay.
If I had to guess I’d agree with Blevine and say you have a good chance. Your gpa is just about where it needs to be so it’s not all that bad. I think what throws you over the line is your calc-bc. Your intended major would be a slight factor as some majors are more stricter to get into than others.
With regard to merit, it’s hard to say as there really isn’t a chart like some other schools have so an estimation is only possible with past similar scores. Perhaps someone with similar scores can chime in.
I got into RPI for mechanical engineering with similar scores: 34 on the ACT, UW GPA around 3.8, and W GPA around 4.1. I took four AP classes (Physics 1, BC, Psych, Macroecon) and a couple honor classes. My ECs were not very impressive at all. I received a merit scholarship of around 25k, bringing the COA to around 45k. I’m a woman btw, which may have resulted in more aid.
You’re in but be sure to visit, demonstrate interest and have an interview while you are in Troy. Merit…if you are a woman that would help greatly.
RPI doesn’t offer interviews.