Hey everyone,
I am a African American student currently residing in Iowa, however I studied middle school, freshman, and sophomore year in MidEast. Since I came back junior year, I’ve been working on maintaining my grades at the same level, however, my counselor urged me not to take any AP classes and so my transcript seems a little weak. Anyways, I am in need of a college list to apply to this year. I, so far, have Iowa State and U of Iowa, but I would like to see if I qualify elsewhere, though I realize that I may not be a competitive applicant. Any ideas or recommendations help!
Here are my stats:
9th grade: GPA: 4.0 ( mostly A+)
10th grade: 4.0 (mostly A+)
11th grade: 4.0 (mostly A+) (1 AP class and 2 honors)
ACT: Comp:31 E:30 M:36 R: 28 S:30
SAT: gonna take but practice exams are ~1470
SAT 2: might take in math & Chem
Extracurriculars ( my weak point):
8 years of soccer ( I couldn’t play for school junior year due to injuries)
Many religious related activities: volunteering, teaching, learning
9&10th grade: school broadcast
9&10th grade: school Vice President
Intended major: Chemical Engineering
Financial aid: yes a lot
Hooks: URM
Race: African American/ black
Essay ideas: maybe talk about: changing schools 9 times; different cultures; being Muslim in America; etc.
Just throw in any college you guys think will be a good match. Thanks in advance.
Your stats are good especially if you can get 1450-1500 on SAT and close to 800 on the Math part.
Are you planning on retaking the ACT? If you can get your R score up that would help.
You should definitely the SAT 2 math and chem. Some top colleges require 2 SAT tests to apply for engineering. Plus, you’re likely to score high in both (since you scored 36 in ACT math) and that will help your chances overall.
You’ll want to apply to schools that meet full need (search “schools that meet full need” in Google and you’ll find various lists).
Some reaches that meet 100% need: Rice, Cornell, Notre Dame, Tufts, USC (I’d recommending applying ED to Rice or Cornell).
Some matches that give good aid: Lehigh, RPI, Case Western
Other matches, though you’d be OOS and I’m not sure whether they give in-state tuition to students who need FA–you’d have to research that: Purdue, Ohio State, TA&M
Take a look at the University of Tulsa. They are very generous with merit aid and have a fantastic engineering school. Do you think you will have a chance to visit campus?
Not sure why you were advised against AP classes. Your Math ACT score is tremendous. ChemE is a hard major, maybe the hardest, and going in with some credit can provide tailwind so that you don’t have to overload.
You seem like a good candidate for the Meyerhoff Scholarship, which is a full ride and has a tremendous record of placing students into great PhD programs. There was a 60 minutes on it that you can look up.
http://meyerhoff.umbc.edu/
I think #insanedreamers suggestions are good ones. I might add Rochester into the mix.
Delaware has great Chem E and used to have good merit aid. I’m not sure if that’s true any longer.
Iowa State is an excellent engineering university and is reputedly quite tough in the traditional engineering disciplines. Doesn’t make sense to pass up one’s home state public engineering university if you’re good candidate for admission.
An A+ student advised not to take the hard classes? Something seems wrong here…
Given your financial aid need, run the net price calculator on ISU and UI and other schools.
You may also want to look at big merit schools like those listed in http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com and http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com (Check school web sites to verify and check for chemical engineering. ).
Thanks everyone for your really helpful comments. My counselor was doubtful of the rigor of the classes abroad, and many international students in the school scored poorly, so that’s why I was probably regarded in the same way. I would be perfectly content to go to ISU, but the problem is that even though it is a public institution, attending is very costly, especially for an in-state like me.
I’d switch to at least one more AP class next semester if possible. You need to increase the perceived rigor of your classes. I’d also retake the ACT with a goal of 34C. That also gets your considered for the top merit scholarships. As an AA, high stat STEM applicant, you can pick your choice of private schools which often give better FA than state schools.
Unless you are 100% certain that you want ChemE, I’d look at school with good engineering programs in multiple areas. You might switch to something related or something completely different. Lots on engineers change their minds in the first 2-3 semesters.
If you get very good recommendations, your counselor describes the situation of why you took a less rigorous course load, and you take the most rigorous course load senior year and excel (you can show first semester grades if you’re deferred early), your application will should get a look at even the elite schools.
If you did so well in 9th grade, why didn’t your teachers recommend you to all honors courses the next year. Ugh, educational bureaucracy and it’s stupidity.
If ISU gives out scholarships, I can’t see why you wouldn’t get one. Perhaps Alabama is a decent choice if you absolutely need merit. If you excel at a non-elite school (and really push yourself to achieve near the top), your outcomes should still be fine.
@insanedreamer has a number of good suggestions , Michigan meets need in EA, and Ohio State & Purdue have good merit aid for high stat students.
How many APs are you taking this year. Is there any way you can change your enrollment now to include more APs. This website is not representative of a typical college applicant. Lots of elite school bound students haven’t had the opportunity to take more than 1 AP junior year.
I’d suggest not worrying about the past and looking forward. Self advocacy is fairly important. I’m sorry for your experience with your councilor, but this should teach you a lesson moving forward. And don’t be afraid to take risks. Just because someone else says something is not possible doesn’t mean it isn’t. And it’s OK to try something you think you’re not sure of and fail and then learn from your experience.
@TooOld4School Michigan meets need for IN STATE students. The OP is from Iowa.
https://finaid.umich.edu/how-aid-is-awarded/
@“Erin’s Dad” , Michigan does not guarantee to meet need, but does in most cases. Good point though.
@frontpage I think your right. There is nothing to do about the past. I’ve only signed up for two AP classes this year, AP Calc BC and AP Chem. I signed up for only two since I thought my junior year stats would kill my application anyways, so I took classes that I would personally enjoy. As for the schools, I don’t really want to apply to the big elite schools, but I’m somewhat forced to be attracted to them because of their generous financial aid. I have a chance for EA/ED, but I still have no idea which school/s would be a “reasonable” shot.
@koolguy654 don’t worry about the past, though it’s good that you’re doing AP Calc and Chem this year - those are ones that top schools will expect engineering students to have taken.
I’d also recommend taking the AP Calc BC exam - you seem to be good at math, and if you can get a 5 that will allow you to skip Calc I and Calc II in your freshmen you to give you breather, because as @ClassicRockerDad said, ChemE is arguably the hardest engineering major. My D (now a ChemE sophomore at RPI) was happy she did that as she was able to take a couple of other classes in areas that she felt would help her more. On the other hand, taking the AP Chem exam was kind of a waste because she wasn’t able to use those AP credits effectively (ChemE tends to have fewer electives due to it being a broader major than other Eng). By the way, my D was waitlisted but not admitted to Rice, Cornell and Chicago, but while her overall SAT score was high (2300), her math SAT score was only 750, and her SAT2 math & chem scores were around 720 if I recall correctly, so that’s why I think you have a better shot than her at those colleges since your math/science scores are or will be higher. Plus you’re URM. Especially if you applied ED (which she did not). Also, check out the Chicago molecular engineering program (it’s the only engineering program Chicago has, just started last year) - that’s what my D applied to and it looks pretty interesting.
@koolguy654
I like @insanedreamer’s suggestions a lot. If you want to apply early decision, I think you have a great shot at Rice, Cornell, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Wash U, USC, RPI and Tufts. These are all excellent schools, reasonable reaches, and meet full need (except RPI, where you should be in the running for a scholarship). I’d second the strong suggestion to apply ED to one of the places that meet full need. Matches include Northeastern, Case Western, WPI, and Rochester. ISU and Iowa should be safeties.
Chicago is not an engineering school. They’ve traditionally seen engineering as a vocational major and therefore outside of their breadth. It’s interesting they now offer a molecular engineering major. It’s a very intense (I’d say more so than the above) academic liberal arts college. It might be a good choice for you though.
I think your highest priority should be to register for and take two subject tests ASAP, as they are required for all of these schools. That is much more important IMHO than retaking the ACT. Your ACT score is not bad (your math score - which engineering schools care most about - is fantastic) and there’s not much time to prepare and improve it.
Just to build on @frontpage 's point - my D applied to Chicago because of it’s reputation as an “intellectual mecca” and student body, which is what appealed to her in addition to the engineering. If that’s not your thing, then don’t bother - Rice or Cornell or ND would be better choices. By the way, Rice is tuition free if your family makes less than $80K.
Also, start writing your essays, ASAP! It’s already mid October. They shouldn’t be in “idea” form. Many of these schools require supplements.
Stop worrying and start doing.