I applied to Purdue early action for computer engineering. Within the top 75% of their profile, I felt very confident about getting in, even for engineering. I was denied… Does anybody have any ideas as to why? Im curious if its something in my application that i should be worried about or could change/improve.
My application looks like this:
ACT: 31
SAT: 1380
UGPA: 3.3
WGPA: 4.3
IBCP (Certificate Programme), taking IB Math Studies and IB English Literature
20 credits of Dual Enrollment total at my local community college
3 AP classes: Environmental Science (3), World History (2), and Microeconomics (3)
Decent amount of extracurriculars and sports;
3 Years Varsity wresrling (2 of which was captain, went to State Competition in my weight class)
1 year Varsity Swimming
4 years computer academy
2 years Computer Club
40 hr/week summer job and 20 hr/week school year job
My essays are strong, probably 8/10
Strong work experience;about a year of experience working in IT troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining computers for my local school district. I also have a list of 12 professional certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, Aruba) that were offered by my school through a computer academy program.
I’m sorry you were denied. It looks like you have good computer science experience and programming. Your ACT looks strong. I would say it was your unweighted GPA at 3.3. Also…have you taken pre-cal or calculus? I would think they really want to see that on an application.
Ditto. The UW GPA is the weakest part. Not sure exactly what IB Math entails. What is your safety? It’s more important at this point to apply to the right schools and nail the essays since your grades and scores are what they are.
@Sportsman88 --IB Math studies is a fantastic class with a broad topic base. It does cover some precal and statistics. D was in it last year and honestly it was a solid class. BUT…she talked to admissions officers at several engineering schools and they all said they wanted to at least see pre-cal on her transcript and ideally, calculus.
The 3.3 is definitely my weakest point, I really hate myself for slacking off sophomore year. I haven’t taken pre-calc, although like @carachel2 said, IB math studies includes some pre-calc but not enough to really serve as a pre-calc course in the eyes of admissions officers. I’ve also applied to Fordham, UF, and Cal Poly. I plan to apply to Lehigh, Rochester, Michigan, and UCF being my safety.
I’m thinking of maybe changing my major to Information Systems or Comp Sci for the more competitive schools; itll definitely give me a batter chance, and down the line I could change majors if my heart is still set on engineering. What do you guys think about that?
@TheLJohnson20 —you have some good schools on your list and some good options. I hope you can find some schools that will look beyond your GPA, see your trend and your passion for your major.
If Purdue is OOS I would not prefer it over UCF or UF (which is in the realm of possibility though may be a reach - though UCF would be fine in and of itself).
@TheLJohnson20 it’s your GPA. Maybe math classes were a component too. Overall, you aren’t actually that strong comoared to the FYE pool. I had a 1520, and a 3.5uw with 5 APs, strong rec letters, multiple state level and local leadership positions, and a late diagnosis with a 3.9+ gpa later on. Important because: I as not a straight B+ student. You’re not a bad student, don’t get me wrong, you’ve got good stats but Purdue is looking for GREAT stats this year.
I would agree with the rest that it was most likely the combination of an engineering major with no pre-calculus taken. What was your ACT breakdown with score on the Math section? GPA also played a role, but I feel like this other issue was much more significant.
@account1298582 Are you suggesting that Purdue is lowering its acceptance rates this year?
@IN4655 no, I think they’re just being more selective from the get go. In previous years, you could slip into more selective majors with below average stats by applying early, and more qualified kids got rejected later. College admissions gets more selective by the year, and I think along with that, Purdue is trying to be more consistent with selectivity throughout the admissions cycle. They’re a top 10 school with an abysmally low graduation rate (and are notorious for ‘weed out’ classes, which screams underqualified kids. Might be naive but I don’t think they’re trying to fail out their freshmen).
So, it makes sense to not give leeway just because people applied early. I know why I didn’t get in, and the OP seems pretty clear too. Some people like @Phoenix16 I have no idea.
Though, something unique, and pretty great about Purdue is, they’ll tell you exactly why. I’d recommend @TheLJohnson20 do that if they really want to know. It’s probably the math though. In previous years they’ve had 100% of FYE kids with AP calc and AP Chem.
I am going to say that it is because of your AP courses(especially you did not take AP Calculus or AP physics&Chemistry), and probably your GPA… Because Your SAT scores are higher than mine(1310, and your ACT is really high), and I got accepted to first-year engineering last Friday…The only thing I believe I have advantage is I took several AP courses…
I’m in the same boat. I applied as a computer science major, and was offered an “alternative major” or a spot on their waitlist. I also had a 31 act and a 1400 sat, in addition to having an unweighted 3.9 gpa (4.7 weighted), 9 ap classes, 5 dual enrollment classes, and a 4.0 in a summer computer science class at NYU. I’m just trying to say that you weren’t the only strong applicant to get denied.
One of my friend is an international and he has similar stats as you do, GPA around 3.9 and SAT over 1400. He contacted Purdue and they need his “7th Semester Transcript”, which is senior first semester transcript to make the decision.