I am currently a high school sophomore and I’m hoping to major in chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon in 2017. I am ranked 11 in my class of around 430 people and my weighted GPA (we use a 100 point scale) is 101.625 (unweighted 96.669). I scored a 188 on my PSATs this school year and I am working hard to improve my score on the PSAT while studying for the SAT.
This year I’m taking:
Honors World Cultures
P.E.
Honors Chemistry
Honors Spanish 3
Algebra II/Trig
Drivers Ed
Mechanical Drafting
Honors English 10
Next year I’m taking:
AP US History
P.E.
AP Chemistry
Honors Spanish 4
Honors Precalculus
Honors Physics
AP Lit and Comp (maybe?)
I’m part of my school’s news crew (I do camera, teleprompter, and I sometimes do interviews and commercials). I’m also part of our Mini-THON committee (an event that helps children with pediatric cancer). By the end of the year, I will have a job and I’m planning on doing a lot of volunteer work over the summer. I’m planning to join my school’s Electric Car Club next school year.
I’m going to visit CMU either at the end of the school year or over the summer. (My mom also told me it is great to send them a “thank you” letter after your visit).
I know it is probably early to tell, but what do you think my current chances are of getting in? I am passionate about chemistry and it really interests me. I also love coming up with new ideas to help people. Getting into a school like this would be a dream come true… What else can I do to stand out?