Engineering chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
1

<p>Hey guys, I was just wondering if I have any shot at getting into UIUC?</p>

<p>I plan on doing civil engineering.</p>

<p>I go to a very competitive private high school in New Jersey. Widowed parent, income around 40k ish, first generation college student.</p>

<p>I guess I'll just list some stuff and you can let me know if you need anything else to tell me my chances.</p>

<p>white male (double damn)</p>

<p>SAT I: 2020 690 CR, 630 Math, 700 Writing
SAT II: Haven't taken any yet but plan on doing Both math 1 (is this acceptable), chemistry, and either lit or us history (does it matter)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8 something UW I did incredibly poor freshmen year and had to work instensely hard to get my grades up. I don't know if they'll see that but the self-improvement was immense</p>

<p>Rank: top 10</p>

<p>Junior year coursework: Honors English, Honors Chem, Honors Alg2/Trig, Ap US History, Honors Spanish 3, Religion (required)</p>

<p>four quarter grades and then year grade</p>

<p>Honors English- 97 97 99 98 98
Alg2 Trig Honors 95 94 96 95 95
AP USH- 99 99 99 99 99
Chemistry Honors 99 99 98 99 98
Spanish 3 Honors 96 97 97 96 95
Religion- 99 99 99 99 99</p>

<p>Senior year: AP Eng, Honors Physics, Ap Art History, Ap US History, Honors Precalc</p>

<p>My school only offers ap classes in English, Art History, US History, and Calc BC, so I'm taking all I am qualified for. I tried starting a US Gov AP and Euro Hist AP but the head of the department turned me down.</p>

<p>Taken 2 courses at a local community college, intro to philosophy (freshmen year- A-), sociology (sophomore year A), looking into another one now.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Academic Team- Captain</p>

<p>Robotics Team-builder and participant when we won the 2005 and 2006 state championships for FIRST (possible hook? Idk..)</p>

<p>New Jersey Regional Science Fair-participant</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society- helped fundraise and tutored students</p>

<p>Model United Nations</p>

<p>NJ American Legion Boys State representative</p>

<p>Intermural Basketball League assistant coach/player</p>

<p>Chess team</p>

<p>Intermural Ultimate Frisbee League- Co-Founder, captain of a team, and player</p>

<p>American Cancer Society Relay for Life-helped organize and set up event, three years</p>

<p>Worked at Afterhours Formalwear</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>· The Elmira College Key Award, 2006
· Excellence in Spanish 2 CP, 2004-2005
· Excellence in English 2 CP, 2004-2005
· Honorable Mention in Eastern Civilization CP, 2004-2005
· Excellence in English 3 Honors, 2005-2006
· Excellence in United History 1 Advanced Placement, 2005-2006
· Honorable Mention in Spanish 3 Honors, 2005-2006
· New Jersey Regional Science Fair Rutgers Student Award, 2005
· National Spanish Examination Certificate of Achievement and Merit¸ 2004-2005 and 2005-2006</p>

<p>BTW I might be able to take ap chemistry next year....there should be enough kids if I want to do it...only thing...my schedule will be absolute hell:</p>

<p>honors physics
ap chemistry
honors precalc
ap english 4
ap art history
ap us history
religion (required)</p>

<p>Think I should try to take ap chem? Would it help my chances at all??</p>

2

<p>SAT II's are pointless -- UIUC does not rely on them for admission. Most important is class rank (not GPA) and test score. Rank is very good, test score is on low end for engineering -- writing section is not used so your SAT for admission is 1320. Course schedule is also very good except for not reaching calculus level (likely a minor point). Whether you take AP chemistry really won't make much difference except that if you are admitted then a good score on the AP test can get you out of freshman chemistry which for many is a "weed-out" course at UIUC for engineering. EC's are fine but those only help a little at UIUC. Write good essays and apply early and you should have a good chance.</p>

<p>On another note, your family income indicates you may need significant financial aid. Be warned, UIUC does not guarantee to meet financial need and seldom does for out-of-state residents (it is in a budget crisis caused by decreased state funding that has gone on for a few years). In other words, don't be shocked that you might be admitted but then not have enough in aid offered to actually attend.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for mentioning all those points. I'll keep them in mind :)</p>

4

<p>other than that I think you've got a good chance. I know of a girl who got in to civil eng. and she's not exactly the brightest start on the block. yet again... I think she was Latino or at least half and that may have helped...</p>

5

<p>Hell yes you'll get in. I got into engineering with much worse stats than you except for SAT's.</p>