My son is a rising senior, OOS from CA and exploring UW engineering. Wondering what his chances are for direct admit into the engineering school.
Stats:
4.0 UW
4.6 Weighted
8 AP so far including Calc BC, AP Physics, AP U.S, AP World, AP Lit & Lang, Psych, Human Geo. - scoring 4’s and 5’s
4 more AP’s next year
32 ACT
Eagle Scout
4 years tennis
NHS
Essays will be strong, but likely not world class
Are there any direct admits out there with that “low” of an ACT? Or does it take a 34/35/36?
Thanks and hope to hear back from some of the class of 2022.
@caliDad2021, your son’s credential looks impressive. I think he has a great chance of admission to UW Engineering. Which engineering field does he want to major in? We’ve heard that certain majors within Engineering may still be competitive to enter even if you are direct admitted to the Engineering college.
Another question, his credential will probably get him admitted to a few UCs and CSUs. Will you pay the OOS tuition to send him to UW?
He’s looking at possibly Industrial & Systems Engineering. As for UC’s his SAT subject scores (which they ask for and were not so good) could keep him out of Berkeley/UCLA/S.D. engineering. Doesn’t really want to go to 2nd tier UC’s. We’re looking at Cal Poly SLO as well as some OOS schools (ASU, U of AZ, Colorado) as more engineering safeties. Also, we might be transferring to the Portland area after his graduation, so would plan to live in SW WA and would only have to pay one year of OOS tuition. That’s why WA kind of popped up on our radar. Was just trying to see if anyone with a 32 received direct admit or is it reserved for those at the 99th/100th percentile…
So, this previous admissions round was the first year of the new direct-to-college engineering admissions system. Watch for new statistics to be put out this fall as to who was accepted.
I think he’s got a decent shot. Even if his essays are not “world class,” don’t let him blow them off. They don’t need to be breathtakingly original, but answers that show a little thought and effort with good spelling and grammar do help.
I appreciate the input. We will keep an eye out for the numbers when they are released.
My son will be an incoming freshman at UW this Fall. Was not admitted into the direct-to-college engineering for mechanical engineering. His ACT score was 34, GPA of 3.85 unweighted, 4.55 weighted with 10 AP courses and a certification in an engineering PLTW curriculum. He is still pursuing engineering at UW and will apply after freshman or sophomore year.
Garuda29, thanks for that information. Wow, that must truly be a difficult program to gain entry to if he has those stats and did not get direct to college. Well, I guess my son will apply, but we certainly be holding our breath. :). Good luck to your son at UW.
@Garuda29 That is not the typical resume of a rejected student. I am guessing that the essays were poor, a deadline was missed, or something else went wrong? Did he try appealing?
Please be aware that there are many fewer slots for kids like him under the new system. They’ve turned it around so that instead of giving direct admit to the top few, they are giving lots of direct admit slots and leaving only a few slots for those who might want to declare engineering later. Make sure your son has a backup major or a backup transfer school in mind.
Thanks. If no direct to college, then he will definitely be headed to a different school.
@CaliDad2021 S, from CA, goes to UW Foster School and he tells me UW’s engineering and computer science schools are super competitive, especially for UW students trying to get into engineering or computer science. It seems like your son has the stats to get directly into the engineering school.
Also, if your term 2nd tier school is referring to UCSB, UCD and UCI, they do have highly ranked engineering schools. UCSB and UCD are higher ranked than ASU, which is tied with UCI. I guess if you are moving to Portland, I am not sure how out of state tuition would apply to your S for UC’s.
My son did appeal, the appeal was rejected. As far as his essay, it seemed to be pretty good and he’s a pretty solid writer. He was accepted at many other schools such as Michigan, CWRU, Northeastern, and Maryland; so I think his essays are decent. But I might be out of touch! 
My thoughts are that he is an out of state student, which most likely made it extremely competitive to begin with for him.
No worries, UW is where he has always wanted to be and he is a pretty determined kid. This won’t stop him from achieving his goals and getting to where he wants to be. Finally, yes he does have some backup plans in place for degrees and what he might study instead.
@Garuda29 , it is pretty surprising that your son didn’t get the direct admit to Engineering. Given his excellent academic record and determination, he should have a good chance of getting into the program that he wants to.
Our OSS daughter was a direct admit to the college of engineering with only a 30 ACT. (Civil) She finished in the top 1 percent of her class with meaningful good and several AP’s. She also received an invite to the Honor’s College. Yes, we were surprised on both counts but her essays were quite good. Did not receive a lot of scholarship $ though. She opted for Cal Poly SLO and loves it. Loves the people. Loves her program. She’s looking forward to being an RA this year.
@mustangmom2o21 , that’s why I think the OP’s son has a great chance of getting into UW Engineering. However, the OOS tuition of UW will never get down to the level of Cal Poly, even with scholarship and financial aid. So, Congrats to your daughter for the Cal Poly SLO admission. Best deal for Californians.
My son was also admitted by both UW CS and Cal Poly SLO CS. Of course, we have the reverse problem – Cal Ploy SLO giving only $1,000 scholarship and is way more expensive than UW for us.
And congratulations to your son! Yes, I agree with you about OP’s son, but we are also OSS, hailing from New Mexico. Our D applied to a few private schools and was awarded large “scholarships” more akin to buying a car. They jack the advertised cost of attendance up so when they come back with the final price, it appears like we’re getting a deal. She also applied to several out-of-state schools with great engineering programs, but even with Cal Poly’s tiny $1000 scholarship, it was by far the best deal, except for our in-state universities which didn’t excite her. Never did visit U of Washington, though. It would have been nice to have seen the campus.
Industrial engineering is offered at CPSLO, CPP, CSUEB, SJSU, and UCB among California publics; UW Seattle is the only Washington public that offers it.