<p>Ok. I don't have many EC's, I have a 3.2 GPA (due to poor performance in freshman year math and junior year english). I go to a private school in ruralish Iowa - they don't rank here. I am african-american (parents are immigrants, both professionals, one went to med school) I have plenty of schools on my list, however looking through it I find that I really am not interested in my safeties much at all. I am really not even considering ISU (I have family going there and I hate the town) and Purdue woudn't be horrible but meh. I got 720, 650, 650 on SAT I (math, verbal, cr). Here is my list:</p>
<p>McGill University
Tufts University
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Northeastern University
University of Waterloo (Ontario) - not sure if I should apply
Cal Poly San Luis Ob.
WPI
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Boston University
Purdue University
Iowa State University :( BAH</p>
<p>It is for the most part in order of preference. (there are ties and things could change, but it won't be drastic. It seems that besides Northeastern it would be hard to get into the rest of the top 6 (not sure about BU admissions). Right now I'd give an arm to get into McGill (so much so that I am having a hard time deciding if Tufts ED is a good idea), but I am trying to be responsible and not screw myself over by getting rejected everywhere but BU, Purdue, and ISU. Anyone know any safeties that might fit my profile? I am clearly not bound by location. Urban is not bad as long as crime is not rampant and it is not super dirty. Rural is fine, but it should be clean rural a la Grinnell and not dirty/run down rural (like ISU). Obviously Engineering schools only, as I would like to study Mechanical Engineering. Schools that offer study abroad would be nice, but I suppose I can forgo that for a safety :( If you think I am too picky you are free to comment on that also :) </p>
<p>cliffs: Looking for safety/match schools due to a Reach/Slight Reach-heavy list, 3.2 - 720M SATI aa student. Engineering major.</p>
<p>These are good schools, but Purdue and UIUC are far and away the best Engineering school on the list. For Purdue, as that is the one I have experience with, you may get in, your grades are low, but tests are good. Remember, Purdue has two admission standards, In state and out of state. 2/3 of the students must be from in-state, so it's much easier to get in from in state. This gives deceiving acceptance and retention rates, as the let the kids in, then a huge percentage fail out. They and Illinois will have the most demanding engineering programs listed. </p>
<p>But, also, an engineering degree from these schools will carry much more weight than any others you have listed</p>
<p>Think about Minnesota. Also, as a URM you will get a bigger boost at an LAC, so see if any of the LACs that offer engineering programs offer the type of program you want.</p>
<p>Ok I will look at LAC's. The fact that Purdue is more difficult to get into then I anticipated only makes the need for more safeties greater :(</p>
<p>Thanks for the replys so far. Grinnell has been on and off my list, due to the 3-2 program - perhaps I ought to apply. Maybe i'll stop by myself one day and deliver my app, heh. It is less then 100 miles from here, and it is a nice school. Hardly a backup though :O</p>
<p>I'll go ahead and plug my school, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It's been named the top engineering school that doesn't offer a Ph.D. for six years in a row by USNWR. It's got a great faculty/student ratio, excellent student resources, and its family atmosphere is highlighted by all who attend.</p>
<p>Your GPA might not be quite as high as they'd like, but your SAT scores look fine. Just make sure to apply as early as possible: Rose does rolling admissions, and the earlier you apply the better chance you have of entering.</p>
<p>I'll second Drexel as a safety school, and hey, you might like Philadelphia.</p>
<p>I'll also suggest you look at:
*Case Western, probably would be my top choice
*Rose-Hulman, obviously not a safety, but it is the best undergrad engineering program in your region
*Valparaiso Univeristy (IN), great engineering program
*Baylor University, another good option</p>
<p>Also, look at some more of those joint engineering programs at LACs, Oberlin's 3-2 program with CalTech, Case, & UPenn is great, you might enjoy that.</p>
<p>Also, have you been to a NSBE conference? That would help you out a lot, regardless if you want to go into engineering or not, that is the best college fair that has come to Boston, check and see where the closest one is to you.</p>
<p>I wouldn't bother with cal-poly SLO. Its a fine school, but you'll pay thru the nose with out-of-state tuition and the CA schools are not generous with financial aid for out-of-state students. </p>
<p>Also I would recommend against the 3:2 programs if you really want to be an engineer. The programs are fine and can do exactly what they promise. But in reality I've heard few people <em>actually</em> complete them. Here's the story. You're at a great school and have built up a good network of friends, you know the area, some profs, etc. All the people around you are going to put in one more year and graduate. But in a 3:2 program you have to leave that all behind, move to a brand-new school where you don't know the campus or area, have no friends, and start from scratch learning the "ropes". It can be done, of course, if you're determined to do so. But most everyone decides to do what they're buddies are doing and finish at the LAC.</p>
<p>"I'll also suggest you look at:
*Case Western, probably would be my top choice
*Rose-Hulman, obviously not a safety, but it is the best undergrad engineering program in your region"</p>
<p>I would say Michigan, Purdue, and Illinois are the three best undergrad engineering programs in the region. I would say they would open more doors nationally and internationally.</p>
<p>"I would say Michigan, Purdue, and Illinois are the three best undergrad engineering programs in the region. I would say they would open more doors nationally and internationally."</p>
<p>I'd say that it depends on what you're looking at. As far as I can tell, Rose seems to have the upper hand, generally, when it comes to <em>teaching</em>. The other schools seem to have the upper hand when it comes to research and other areas. You won't get the personal attention at big schools like Michigan and UI that you do at Rose and places like Harvey Mudd. That's what I tend to hear, anyway.</p>
<p>I can see your points on personal attention, but then, I never thought that that was too important in engineering school. I didn't mind the large classes. the profs taught...I learned well...but, I know a lot of people who loved it the other way. So, it depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman has, hands down, the most entertaining viewbook I've seen. It's the only one that made me laugh out loud several times. R-H's viewbook not only separates this school from the pack in a humorous way, but also succinctly tells how their approach to engineering differs from that of other engineering schools. If only I were a few decades younger...</p>
<p>The folks at R-H must have a special talent for writing brochures because their Operation Catapult brochure is also both informative and funny. Who said engineers are dull and can't string two words together in a sentence?</p>
<p>I have visited Rose Hulman and Purdue (same day actually, what a contrast!) and I will be applying to both. I just wish that they had some kind of Business/Finance option. I plan to get my MBA and I wanted to at least minor in something like that - or even switch over if engi didn't work out.</p>
<p>Purdue's Krannert School of Business is a fairly good one. I don't know how things are now, but years ago many Purdue students who dropped the engineering program went into industrial management.</p>
<p>You should know that it's very difficult for engineers to have a dual major, or even a minor. There are simply too many courses in an engineering major to have room in a schedule for courses for another major or minor.</p>