Chances help?

I’ve had a rough year this year, so I’m trying to find my chances of getting into a good engineering school as they are now?

I’m a rising senior, with an unweighted overall GPA of 84.5, which I believe is a 3.0. I’ve taken three AP classes so far, but don’t have AP Credit in anything yet, but I do think I passed the English Language test. (I don’t have the results back from that one yet). My SAT score is also not back yet, but I got 1170 on the PSAT and expect to get about that on the SAT as well.
I’ve also taken three Project Lead the Way courses, which I know is good for some colleges. I have three college credits from RIT for those. I’m taking my final course next year, and intend to do well, so I can expect another 3 credits after that. Along with that, I have three college credits from SUNY New Paltz in Intermediate French.
By the end of this summer I will also have 4 credits of Production and Design workshop and 2 credits of New York Theater, both awarded by NYU.
In terms of extra curricular activities, I’ve done karate for about four years, so I have roughly 400-500 hours of that. I’m part of my school’s GSA club and Teen Dating Violence Awareness, which I helped to start. Next year I will be head costume designer in my school’s Play and Muscial, I had some complications come up this year but do have the position secure next year, and I also will be in the school Engineering club, which complications also prevented me from joining this year. I also do a fair amount of community service. I’ve worked for my Dojo for demos, moving up ceremonies, and the annual Halloween festival, which adds up to about 50-60 hours.
I am going to need Financial aid, however, will that damage my chances?
Also, I’ve heard your ethnicity can also help you get into college. I’m Native American and Puerto Rican, but mostly white. Do I get anything for that?

The one thing I’d say I have going for me is my consistency and my stick to it attitude, which I’m hoping will win me some points. I’m a pretty consistent B student (which isn’t great, but you know) I’ve suck with Karate for four years and will continue it if possible through college.I’ve also known I’ve wanted to be an engineer since I was five, and stuck to that idea. This year is the only time I’ve ever doubted that path, at my parent’s behest I did branch out to make sure that this is the path I want to be on, only to determine that I really want to be an engineer. Will this help me get into a school like RIT? Or is it better that I use the two years community then transfer strategy?

Also, I know that my NYU credits are for Drama programs, but will they still help me get into a good college regardless?

Also! I forgot to mention: My grades for this year were pretty awful (around 70s) Which bumped me down quite a bit, but that was all during a semester where I had a lot of family drama around the death of my baby cousin. Is that something I should mention in an essay or something, to garner empathy? Or is it better to just leave that out and suck it up about my grades?

You may want to do two years then transfer. Engineering schools are crazy competitive right now and your odds aren’t the best. That doesn’t mean that you can’t try, though- by all means, apply. However, If I were you I would be checking out two and transfer options pretty seriously.

Engineering is one of those fields where people don’t care so much about the brand name of the school that your degree came from, so long as you can do the work they hired you for. You’ll be fine!

Thank you!

Check out Alfred University. They didn’t have what I wanted there for programming, but their engineering program seemed very decent.