Chances to join Elite Engineering schools.

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am currently a senior in high school. I am highly interested in Engineering because the concept appeals to me. I know that engineering is one of the most difficult and competitive majors to apply to especially when discussing top engineering schools. I just want to know what my chances are of being accepted to say (CAL, UCLA, Chicago, USC..my top choices so far). I plan on becoming an environmental, civil, or chemical engineer and also hopefully becoming an engineering manager =D. Anyways my qualifications are (please bare with me..seeing as there are nothing compared to others on this site): </p>

<p>Weighted GPA is around 4.1
Unweighted is probably 3.8-3.9
By the end of this year, I will have 8 AP Classes-European History, U.S History, Calculus AB/BC, AP Language, AP Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP Macroeconomics/Gov (that class is merged although I think I'll take 2 AP tests for that 1 Class)..As of this moment I have gotten a 4s on Euro,Calc AB,Lang Exams and a 5 on U.S History..I'll take 4 more AP tests at the end of this year. </p>

<p>Life Member of CSF
I'm Vietnamese =)
I'll be the first generation student</p>

<p>I am scrambling right now to try and volunteer at a hospital or something but at the moment, I have nothing notable in the extra curricular department..therefore I don't think I stand a chance to get into say Cal's engineering programs...so what ARE my chances? =)</p>

<p>Edit- Also my ACT was a 28..percentile was low 90s..I guess it's ok
SATI: 1810
SATII: 590 Lit, 600 Math2, 700 U.S History</p>

<p>I will retake my SATI and I'm pretty sure I'll get a 2000+</p>

2

<p>First generation may be helpful. It also depends on your family background.</p>

3

<p>By background do you mean income? I mean my parents were immigrants and it took them a while to settle…etc</p>

4

<p>Yes. Mention it in the essay. Tell colleges how you overcome hardship, how a college education is meaningful to you.</p>

5

<p>Alright I definitely will, what about EC? Will that like damage me as much as my friends say it will?</p>

6

<p>It also depends whether has opportunities for EC or not. An EC that only collects the hours does not mean much to colleges. It should show your passion, initiatives,… Try to get involved with one or two EC this year. Volunteering in a hospital is probably not very helpful to engineering schools like UCLA, UCB,… unless you really have a passion to help people. May be you can work on math, sciences competitions, Science Olympiads, helping kids learn math & sciences,… It’s never too late. If you work on a job to support yourself, your family, or to learn something then it’s also considered as a good EC.</p>

7

<p>By the way, University of Chicago is undoubtedly a great school, but it does not offer an engineering major.
Northwestern (also in Chicago) does.</p>

8

<p>Whoops I just added chicago because I wanted to go there for economics (correct me if I’m wrong) but anyways…yeah I hear you coolweather…I do basically tutor people in high school the basics of math if that helps. </p>

<p>So no-one has told me if I have a chance or not? xD</p>

9

<p>You need to calculate your UC GPA which will usually fall between unweighted and weighted. If we guess yours is 4.0 and you score a 2000, the UCs likely to admit you for engineering are UCI, UCD, UCSB, UCSC and UCR. All have strong programs.</p>

10

<p>Alright thanks…so I guess my reach schools aren’t possible?</p>