<p>Hi I am an international student looking to apply end of this year for fall 2013. I will be studying engineering and am currently exploring for a list of schools to apply to. </p>
<p>My GPA is 4.4 (out of 5.0), and SAT I 2190, 770 Maths 770 CR 650 W. SAT II Maths II, Chem and physics 800 each. </p>
<p>My ECs are
National youth athlete (Modern Pentathlon, for about a year before I stopped)
House captain for three years (my school is divided into 4 houses)
Represented school in sports such as soccer and cross country
One year work experience in my country's police force. </p>
<p>These are the main ones. </p>
<p>I would like some advice regarding which engineering schools I should apply to, (what would a reach, match, and/or safety). </p>
<p>Right now, I am inclined towards schools with smaller class ratios, nice, natural campus that's relatively near an urban city, and friendly, happy school culture with good campus life. </p>
<p>My dream reach currently is Stanford, but I hope you guys can suggest some schools I may have overlooked. </p>
<p>Thank you in advance! (sorry if it's too long)</p>
<p>Can you afford list price of up to $60,000 per year? Most US universities do not give much or any financial aid to international students. The few that do tend to be highly selective ones.</p>
<p>By GPA of 4.4 out of 5.0, do you mean to say that you have slightly more B grades than A grades?</p>
<p>I have been offered a govt scholarship from my country so cost is not a factor. There’s the caveat that I should be going to a top university though so I might not be able to choose a school with a good program but is not really known overseas. </p>
<p>For my school an A- is 4.5 and a B+ is 4.0. 4.4 would be slightly under an average A- grade then. Those are generally from my humanities modules while my sciences and Maths are of a higher standard. Will universities take into account the relative subject grades when a student is applying for a specific major such as engineering, for example? </p>
<p>My school is considered highly competitive in my country.</p>
<p>You may want to ask the US universities how they would convert the grades on your transcript or otherwise evaluate them. Common methods:</p>
<ul>
<li>A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0; no +/-, or +0.3/-0.3 (except the A+ is still only 4.0)</li>
<li>Same as above, but various weightings for more rigorous courses or whatever (honors, AP, IB).</li>
<li>Rank in class in addition to or instead of grades or GPA.</li>
</ul>
<p>“Top universities” like Stanford, MIT, CMU, Caltech are often reach for everyone. Some of the public ones like Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Purdue, Texas, etc. may not be reach for everyone, but the engineering divisions are often more selective than the overall school. Some other good engineering schools that may be less selective include Virginia Tech and North Carolina State.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon is a pretty good private school that focuses on tech and engineering. Try UC Berkeley and GeorgiaTech for international recognition. Throw in UMichigan too.</p>
<p>All of these are internationally known schools with amazing engineering programs that are taking increasing numbers of international students to make up for budget deficits due to cuts in state funding, so with your stats I’d imagine that getting into at least one would be pretty easy. You could also consider UCLA, which as a decent Engg. program too.</p>
<p>How about Ohio State? The school offers merit scholarship to international students and tOSU is also a top-5 destination amongst international students.</p>
<p>Engineering #13 ranked in the nation via WSJ top recruiters, behind Stanford and Berkeley, but ahead of UCLA & Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>^Obama is going for the youth vote in a big swing state…I’m sure the Ohio State engineering program is great. Engineering is a wonderful major at any school and rigorous everywhere.</p>
<p>What about Cornell? It’s not an urban environment, but it’s a very strong academic program with a large number or majors. Cornell is developing the campus in NYC and there are opportunities for internships in big cities. Give it a look!</p>
<p>What about rice university? I found it while searching for a small (class size) engineering university. Read some positive reviews about campus life there. It’s in Houston, Texas, though and coming from a tropical country I’m more inclined towards somewhere with a more temperate climate. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any thing to share regarding the campus culture on the universities you have suggested? I’ll be studying on campus and would really like to explore non-academic activities while in the US. </p>
<p>I don’t think Rice is known for their engineering program. </p>
<p>If you want a temperate climate, try Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, and maybe even USC. Don’t worry about the schools low acceptance rate, try anyways. </p>
<p>And just a suggestion- go to the school you think is best for you, and dont worry too much about the climate.</p>
<p>I tend to disagree. Rice has a fairly well-know and respected engineering program. Rice’s reputation is particularly strong in the south and specifically more so in Texas. Rice has a
relatively small enrollment and a spacious campus located right in Houston,</p>
<p>Further from the Rice website:</p>
<p>Almost one third of Rice undergraduates are engineering majors and about 40 percent of graduate students are in the School of Engineering.</p>
<p>An engineering degree from any solid university is impressive. You don’t need to go to the “best” one out there, unless you plan to be the “best” undergraduate in engineering. Really, go to the place you can afford and enjoy. There’s more to college than academics. All A’s at a university beat struggling for B’s and C’s at an elite engineering program. Your choices for graduate school, internships, jobs will look at GRADES!!!</p>
<p>GREAT small private engineering schools: Lehigh, Villanova, Vanderbilt, Duke, Bucknell. I’m limited with suggestions by where we live, but they’re all over the country.</p>