<p>Gpa: 3.68 weighted
Sat: 2080, 800 ma 610 cr 670 wr
720 Physics
Great diverse ECs
Great essays</p>
<p>Applying RD if I get rejected from my top choices</p>
<p>I want to do aerospace engineering.</p>
<p>What is your unweighted gpa and approx class rank/standing?</p>
<p>weighted gpa is very low, but if your ECs and Essays are really that great then you have a change because your SAT scores are decent.</p>
<p>School doesn’t rank-top 100 in country, #5 in New Jersey </p>
<p>Yes I agree my gpa is extremely low because I slacked as a freshman…so there’s an upward trend. They only give us a weighted but an unweighted would be around ~3.5</p>
<p>Average gpa for Clark School of Engineering for incoming freshman Fall 2012 is 4.2. </p>
<p>Upward trend is helpful but your gpa is still problematic. If you are at an extremely competitive school and that gpa puts you in top 5% - 10%…that’s why I asked for your approx rank/standing. </p>
<p>FYI, it is more likely you will have a better chance at general admission to the university than you will at direct admission to engineering at Maryland. </p>
<p>Overall school ranking (not sure which list you are using, but U.S. News and World Report for 2013 rank is #58 so actually is in top 100) is less relevant than engineering ranking. </p>
<p>Aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland is ranked #9 nationally. </p>
<p>What are your top choices for aerospace engineering? </p>
<p>Not sure what you are referring to when you say #5 in New Jersey…?</p>
<p>My other reaches are Georgia tech, michigan, and Illinois. </p>
<p>I meant my hs is ranked 5th in NJ.</p>
<p>So basically it’s a high reach right? B/c of a low gpa?</p>
<p>Oops, ha ha. Thought you meant UMD ranking…silly me. Gotta learn to read a little more carefully!</p>
<p>So, high reach? Yes and no. I think you will probably be admitted to the University itself, but direct admission to engineering is the tough call. There are three disadvantages that are working against you for engineering direct admission (in addition to your gpa): 1. you didn’t apply priority decision (which is your best shot) 2. you are from NJ (not a personal dig, just geographical reality - a LOT of kids from NJ, NY, and PA go to UMD so it is a little more competitive in the admissions because the school is trying to expand their geographic diversity) and 3. engineering is a LEP (limited enrollment program) which means they are more competitive and have less spots available. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean it’s out of the question for you to be a direct admit, it’s just tougher. Remember, only the school itself can tell you if you will be admitted. So, please just take all “chances” with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>I know a lot of kids that have great stats that got admitted to the school, were even invited to participate in scholars or honors, yet were not admitted directly to engineering. That doesn’t mean you can’t transfer into the engineering department once you are there. It just means you have to take what are called “gateway” courses, “prove yourself” and re-apply to engineering as an “in-school transfer.” These gateway classes are ones you would be taking anyway if you were a direct admit, so it’s not really a big deal and doesn’t put you behind schedule.</p>
<p>Getting back to the geographic issue…that is actually a huge advantage in your favor for admissions to the other schools you applied to and I suspect you will be admitted to most if not all of them. Excellent schools, but even if you do get admitted to them, I would still apply to UMD and give it serious consideration over the others for a few reasons. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an alum (def not an engineer!) and mom of a freshman engineer at UMD that happens to be very happy with the decision to attend UMD. </p>
<p>Reasons for UMD (beyond academic strength in engineering, of course) are primarily like the real estate rule: location, location, location. First off, the proximity to DC/NASA can’t be compared. The campus is less than 10 minutes away from the Goddard Space Flight Center. None of the schools you are considering can boast that kind of convenience for doing internships/research directly with NASA. Also, when you visit the schools, check out the buildings. UMD has unique labs like the neutral buoyancy lab and a teaching model of a nuclear reactor plus a wind tunnel. Another advantage of UMD’s location is the weather - similar to NJ. If you don’t like extreme cold, then GT is your best option of the schools you mentioned. Yea, I know Michigan is beautiful, but there is the lake effect…In addition, the proximity of UMD to your home should not be undervalued. The ability to pop home for a weekend without the huge expense of a plane ride is something you might not have considered seriously. If you need to or want to, you can get home and go back to UMD in a day either by bus or car pretty inexpensively. Due to the large NJ, NY, PA population, the school even charters its own bus during breaks for convenience. No, you shouldn’t worry about going to school with a lot of the same people you went to high school with. Trust me, the school is big enough that you will never see people you don’t want to. </p>
<p>So, don’t wait on decisions from your other schools. Apply to UMD regardless. Keep your options open. Best of luck in the whole college app/decision process!</p>
<p>I’m also applying for aerospace engineering at umd. My gpa is OK with 3.8 weighted, my school doesn’t do UW. My sat Is 1930 composite cr is 630 math is 620 as and w is 680. My GPA isn’t that good and my SATs could be higher. I have as lot of extra curriculars and over 200 volunteer hours. Do I have a chance at AE? I also applied priority</p>
<p>Just an update: deferred from michigan and Illinois, accepted (some how) to ga tech, purdue and WPI</p>
<p>After getting deferred from those top schools and getting into GT I’m confident I’m my chances</p>
<p>@stevelax - From my understanding, admissions to engineering are not based on the engineering discipline you select. In other words, they don’t have 5 slots for aerospace, 5 spots for electrical, etc. So, the relevant question is not whether you will be admitted to aerospace engineering, but to the engineering school itself. Since I’ve posted the average engineering stats in previous posts, let me refer you to this thread…in post #2 I listed the accepted freshman profile for direct admits to engineering</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1429041-chances-out-stater.html#post15180060[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1429041-chances-out-stater.html#post15180060</a></p>
<p>Im from North Jersey, applied to the same schools (ga tech, Illinois urbana, umich and got deferred from all of them and I applied to UMD priority). My schools is ranked 30ish in NJ. i got a 4.01W gpa 34 CR, 32M, 30 eng, 30 comp ACT and I’m applying to Aerospace eng. GA tech was my top choice I wish I got in there so congrats man! </p>
<p>Also Im Indian which probably doesnt help</p>
<p>HI Maryversity, We are from NJ and my son has applied to Clark. I saw your other thread on engg stats. Is it true that NJ residents are not preferred? Do you know why?</p>
<p>@Jerseyshor - it’s not that NJ students are not preferred, but rather the sheer volume of students applying from NJ makes it more competitive for NJ students.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that as a public state university, Maryland has to accept a high percentage of IS students. That’s why OOS admissions are generally more competitive. Traditionally, and currently, there absolutely is a very large number of students from NJ/NY/PA that attend. Understandably, Maryland would like to expand its geographic diversity. Therefore, a student from an underrepresented region (like the Midwest for example) has a higher chance of admission than a student with similar stats from NJ. All things being equal, geography can be the “hook.” </p>
<p>Engineering is even more competitive, even for IS students. There are many strong students that are admitted to the University (both IS and OOS) that are not “directly” admitted to Clark as freshman. Those students are usually placed in “letters and sciences” and have the opportunity take specified “gateway” courses, then reapply to Clark as “in-school transfers.” </p>
<p>@sdesai824 -being Indian is not a disadvantage for Maryland. With your stats, I’m wondering if maybe your essays were not as strong…? Remember, deferrals can turn into admissions, so hang in there!</p>
<p>@yankeesfan - congrats on your acceptances!</p>
<p>Thanks, I don’t know i had my essays read by several people including english/counselors act and they tweaked it up and loved the theme. I just wanted to get into one of my top choices so I dont have to be so worried. Im sure things will work out though</p>
<p>@sdesai824 - Don’t give up hope. All the schools you got deferred have higher gpa and test requirements than UMD according to Naviance. Have you applied to Purdue? It has a higher ranking engineering school than UMD, but much easier to get in especially for Asians.</p>