Hi all, so I screwed up big time in high school.
I go to a high school in IL and I’m trying to get into good CompE programs that have a mix of both hardware and software involved.
I’ve picked out UIUC, Purdue, OSU, UMinn (Twin Cities) and IIT for starters. My school only shows weighted GPAs on transcripts and mine is not looking good.
I’m currently a senior and overall my wGPA is 3.837 and my ACT is 30. I was a real slouch freshman year and I got a 3.5 and 3.7 for the first two semesters. I sorta stepped up the game sophomore year with 3.7s both semester but where I really improved was junior year with a 4.0 and 4.4. at the end of high school I will have completed 12 or 13 AP classes.
So can anyone give me a rough estimate on my chances at UIUC, Purdue, OSU, UMinn and IIT all for engineering? My biggest concern is UIUC which is also where I want to go the most.
Thanks!
EDIT: forgot to say, one of my biggest mistakes was playing basketball for my school during freshman and sophomore year which cut down on my homework time, etc, etc, it didn’t get me anywhere and I doubt the colleges will see that I played a time consuming sport.
Table C7 list what factors are considered. While UIUC uses holistic admission, and considers nonacademic factors, it puts much more weight on GPA and class rigor.
Many colleges admit by major/program, in that case, you’ll want to search for more details around the admit rate and stats for Comp E majors. Sometimes it’s available, sometimes it’s not.
College of Engineering (Freshman profile)
ACT Score: 31-34
SAT Score (no writing): 1420-1520
GPA: 3.67-4.00
As you can see, your ACT score is a little low, and that’s likely an unweight GPA range.
Each of these colleges have a dedicated forum on CC. Once you’ve done your research, go and post your questions in those forums. This forum is better for general “engineering” questions, but the UIUC forum would be much more helpful on admission questions!
Do as @Gator88NE said and look up the common data sets of the schools you are interested in. Then maximize the things they deem important that you still have the ability to impact. ACT is certainly one of them. Although a 30 is solid, it won’t be above the mean score at the competitive schools. There are two dates left before apps must go out. Prep for it and see if you can improve. Now, all that said, if you work hard and distinguish yourself by maximizing all your opportunities as an undergrad, you’ll be fine where ever you end up. Good luck.
Thank you both. I’ll try my best. I don’t think I’ll be able to take another ACT though because September is next week and October is cutting it close to the EA deadline. I’ll check out the UIUC fourm.
You can look up the reporting dates at the ACT website. There’s limited downside to retaking. If you don’t get your EA acceptance, it will bolster your RD applications.
If you are admitted to the College of Engineering at OSU you will need to complete several classes before they admit you to the specific program you want. Freshman year is pretty much the same for all engineering students, sophomore you would plan your schedule to reflect your intended major (CSE) and usually spring of sophomore year you will have completed all the prerequisites for your intended major and apply to your specific program. So for OSU it’s a two step process if you are directly admitted to College of Engineering. The advisors there are really great (they are all professionals in higher education) and will keep you on track, but there is also tons of information online about the process.
PS- staying active isn’t a mistake. Every time my D14 was having a hard time in class we would always ask when the last time she exercised was. Every time she realized it had been a while, would do a run or take a swim and the subject matter would miraculously seep in.
@eyemgh wait if I don’t get in EA for UIUC, I can still submit a RD app?
EDIT: Nevermind I get what you’re saying. I don’t plan on applying RD anywhere. Should I?
@BuckeyeMWDSG sounds like it’s kinda like Purdue’s FYE program. Are there any major downsides of this? Is there a chance that I won’t make it into my intended major? And I’m definitely planning to stay active granted I make friends
The biggest reason you won’t make it into your intended major is because you will discover you like a different one much more. That’s why FYE (yes, like Purdue’s) is great, it let’s you figure that out Freshman/Sophomore year and keeps students open to all the possibilities. You declare your major when you have a much better idea of what that actually means.
I will caution you, if you don’t make it into College of Engineering as a direct admit, and decide to start working on CS degrees offered in the College of Arts and Sciences and applying to the College of Engineering later, the general education requirements (thinks like History, Econ, etc.) are a little different, so you will have to carefully review the differences and stick to those that work either way (there are plenty, work with an advisor to double check selections).
