College Suggestions

College Search & Selection
1

I’m currently a junior and would like to know what are some schools you guys would suggest me looking into and possibly applying to later on. I want to study engineering, more specifically electrical or computer engineering, so any suggestions for schools offering these programs is what I’m looking for. I don’t have any non-academic wants from a college, like weather or location, I’m mainly just wanting to get some ideas.

The Specifics:

I attend high school in South West Virginia, but wouldn’t mind attending a college out of the area or out of the southern region, it would actually be preferred if the school is worth it. I have around a 4.1 weighted GPA, and about a 3.9 unweighted GPA. I took the PSAT back in October and received a score of 1260 (600 Math, 660 Reading). It’s not a great score, and I’m confident I can raise it up to at least 1350 in total when I take the SAT in March.

I have not taken any AP courses yet, which I know is a negative on an application. I have however taken several Dual Enrollment courses and generally tried to taken the highest version of most of my courses. My school doesn’t offer many AP classes, and most I couldn’t end up taking until senior year anyway.

I haven’t done many extracurricular activities, and no major or consistent ones. I did swim team for 2 years, and have some community service work, as well as a few clubs I have joined but not done much with. I will however be getting my first job working afterschool soon if that would matter.

The cost of the college is at the bottom of the considerations for me and isn’t too important, but is of course considered.

I don’t exactly have a list of schools yet, since I’m still not sure where exactly I stand in terms of which colleges I would have a reasonable chance of getting into. So just general advice on my standing would be helpful. I know none of my credentials are going to blow anyone away, and I’m not expecting to attend to an ivy league school or anything super selective like nearly every other person asking on this forum. So don’t be afraid of speaking the truth or hurting my ego.
Some schools I have thought of are: Virginia Tech(this is the leading choice for me right now) and RIT.

TLDR; I would like some suggestions of colleges offering engineering that I would have a chance of getting in, as well as how I stack up as a college applicant.

2

Although most high school students wish costs were a secondary or tertiary consideration, it often is the key element. So, run the NPC on WVU, VTech, RIT, Rose Hulman, UCincinnati. Show the results to your parents. What can they afford from income and savings?
If all of the above are affordable, fill out the ‘request information’ form at each and click on each email they send you.
Get a Princeton review’s best colleges and start reading.

3

Your GPA should give you quite a few options. You would easily be a good candidate for schools such as Clarkson and RIT, for example, though a range of somewhat more selective colleges, such as maybe Union, could also be within reach.

4

Was that SW Virginia or S. West Virginia? If it’s Virginia, then V. Tech is a top choice. If it’s W. Virginia, then UWV is a top choice.

5

I think you might like Union College. Don’t let the city of Schenectady throw you off. The college is great and the students there seem to find their place. The campus is self-contained and beautiful. If you like a rural area you might like Clarkson. The students there are top-notch.

6

Congrats on your hard work and success! It seems to me you are on the right track with Virginia Tech and RIT. The Clarkson, Union, Rose Hulman, and Cincinnati recommendations are very good as well, depending on what type of location you might prefer.

You might also look at RPI. It offers the Rensselaer Medal, which you can read about in the link below. You could talk to a math or science teacher or guidance counselor about your school sponsoring you for that. It seems like a good thing for the school, as well as for the student, so hopefully someone could help you with that. If the school doesn’t already nominate students, maybe you could start that tradition, which would be a great contribution. If accepted, it would make the school much more affordable, and much closer to an in-state option.

https://admissions.rpi.edu/aid/scholarships-and-grants/rensselaer-medal

We loved WPI–beautiful campus, nice part of town, great campus vibe. It has a very project-oriented, hands-on curriculum with a quarter system, with 3 classes per quarter, so pretty unique set up. It has gotten more competitive in recent years, and the school is making a big push for more female students. So maybe a reach, but you’d certainly be a reasonable candidate.

And a job is a great EC. And not just that, it also teaches one about work and contributing to your community. These are very important things beyond the college applications process.

Good luck!

7

Info on WPI curriculum:

https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/wpi-plan

https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/global-project-program

If you are able to take a trip to visit schools, Albany has a great little airport. Union and Rensselaer are in nearby cities. WPI is a couple of hours east on I-90 and RIT is a few hours west. So four likely schools that are pretty easy to reach in one trip. Clarkson is also in NY, but it is way upstate, but might be an interesting drive if you have the time and money. I know the other schools very well, but not Clarkson so much.

Rensselaer (RPI) is just across the Hudson from Albany, NY’s capital. The school is terrific for STEM. It’s a very nice spot with great views over the Hudson River Valley. The neighborhood is rough with little appealing things for students to do. There could be some fun things in Albany. I personally think the school could take better advantage of its site to really create a stunning campus. It is not far up the road to Bennington, Vermont; Stratton Mountain, and other nice VT ski resorts and towns.

8

Meaning that your parents are ok with paying $70,000 per year that the most expensive colleges can cost?

http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx indicates that there are 324 colleges with ABET-accredited electrical engineering, 246 colleges with ABET-accredited computer engineering, and 295 colleges with ABET-accredited computer science (there are also other colleges with good non-ABET-accredited computer science, but there are also some lower quality ones, so non-ABET-accredited computer science programs need to be carefully evaluated individually).

If you do not have any non-academic preferences or financial constraints, then the next thing to look into is what each school’s EE/CE/CS departments offer in terms of subareas. For example, EE subareas include signals and communications, electronics, power systems, and computer hardware (that overlaps with CE/CS), though different schools have different relative emphases.

9

OP: You have received great responses in this thread. My concern is about your PSAT math score of 600.

10

On SAT/ACT testing, it’s good to try both tests at least once, if that’s possible. Some students do better on one, some on the other. Then, if one seems to be a better test, retake that one, if possible. Many schools super-score, taking the highest total from the subsections and recalculating a composite.

Study for them if you can. Test books and online resources can be very helpful. You can make a difference here with some preparation. It doesn’t have to involve expensive classes or tutoring. Just getting a feel for the questions is important.

11

What is your home state?

<<<<<<
The cost of the college is at the bottom of the considerations for me and isn’t too important, but is of course considered.
<<<<<

That is a naive approach unless your parents have $70k per year for you to go to college. The amount that your parents will pay will largely determine where you can go to college.

How much will your parents PAY each year…yes cost is a big issue if parents won’t pay.

What is your career goal/major?

12

Also, have you taken any SAT Subject tests yet? Engineering generally wants Math 2 (taken after pre-calc) and a science.

13

Most colleges do not require or recommend SAT subject tests at all. It is mainly the more selective colleges or engineering divisions that tend to want them.