<p>Does applying to a top school like Columbia, Yale, Northwestern's Engineering School make it easier to get in than if I were to apply to its regular Undergraduate program which are among the top 15 in the nation? The Engineering Schools for those aren't ranked that highly as compared to its regular undergrad program. I feel like it's some kind of myth that getting into the Engineering school would be easier because of the fact that it isn't as amazing.</p>
<p>Please tell me if I am right or wrong! Thanks!</p>
<p>the simple answer is yes, people who apply to those engineering schools have lower stats, and the schools have higher acceptance rates</p>
<p>of course, they’re still very hard to get in to…so in a way it is a myth…all three school you mentioned are highly reputable and in the past (esp. yale) they were the best in the nation</p>
<p>With my stats could I possibly get into Northwestern’s Engineering School which is where I am applying ED to?</p>
<p>[ *] SAT: 1860 First time, 2030 Second time, 2090 Super Scored (610 CR, 680 M, 800 W)
I retook the October SAT I so I will have to wait to see how I did on that.
[ *] SAT IIs (if sent): Biology - 770
[ *] Unweighted GPA: 3.85/4.00
[ *] AP’s: AP EURO - 4, AP COMP - 3, AP BIO - 5
[ *] School Does Not RANK
[ *] EC’s: Volleyball (9,10), Track (11,12), Finance Club (12), National Honor Society (11,12), Spanish Honor Society (10,11,12), Hospital Volunteer (9,10 for 100 Hours), Lighthouse International (12, will begin soon)
[ *] Work Experience: Summer Intern at one of the biggest civil engineering companies in the world, 8 Hours a Day/ 5 Days a Week (Over 320 Hours). I Intern for Counterkicks.com a sneaker blog website since this summer.(Impossible to record how much time I have spent since it is a website that I do not contribute for a specific time each day.)
[ *] Teacher and Counselor REC’S are very strong
[ *] I will be receiving a REC from an employee from the company that I interned for.
[ *] My Essays will include my experience working as an intern which will highlight my internship and show my development and growth as a person.
[ *] State or Country: NY
[ *] School Type: Public School, Top 40 School in the Nation
[ *] Ethnicity: Asian
[ *] Gender: Male</p>
<p>the simple answer is yes, people who apply to those engineering schools have lower stats, and the schools have higher acceptance rates</p>
<p>Where are the acceptance rates posted for each school within a university? I am inclined to believe the simple answer is “not really” to the OP’s original question. I cannot believe that a school like Columbia, Yale, or even Brown, as examples, is noticeably easier to get into because their Engineering program is lower ranked. Columbia probably is NOT a good example. They have a very formidable Engineering school (Fu).</p>
<p>I think you have a fair chance at acceptance. Your GPA is solid and so is that summer intern job however you will be competing against many in NU’s applicant pool who will have higher SAT scores and somewhat “meatier” EC’s than yours. It’s not always only about those test scores, however, and that’s why I wouldn’t bet AGAINST you. It’s still a low/mid reach school for you, imo. I know your essay will be really strong and that will certainly help. Good luck.</p>
<p>I really want to get into a Bioengineering program but most importantly I want to get into Northwestern, would my chances be better if I applied to lets say Civil Engineering instead? Northwestern’s Bio program is quite good, in the top 15, and I don’t believe their Civil is in the top 20? I’ll have to look that up for sure. </p>
<p>Plus, my internship was at a Civil based company so I guess it would make sense for me to apply to Civil. Is it possible to transfer from Civil to BioEng?</p>
<p>I would not be overly concerned whether one Engineering concentration is ranked 15th or, say, 20th or 25th. It would not be unusual at all to change concentrations, which then would make these ranking placement differentials irrelevant anyway.</p>
<p>To be honest I would be very surprised if I got accepted because I am very well aware of my less than amazing academic stats, but I think the little things in my application could really intrigue the admissions people into taking me including like the letter of recommendation from an employee at the company that I interned at. The employee is actually a Northwestern alum so he will try to add something “extra” to it to help me out. I almost wish there was an interview opportunity because realistically I think I could honestly impress or at least validate my experience and learning from working.</p>
<p>It depends on whether you apply to a specific program/college within a university, or to the university as a whole. If it’s to the university as a whole, then the relative strength of a given university’s college of engineering doesn’t matter to the initial admit decision. Both of the schools mentioned by the OP are very selective, and I don’t think they’d give much consideration to those with otherwise below average stats simply because their stated intention at the time of admission was to pursue a degree from their non-top ten engineering college.</p>
<p>At Columbia School of Engineering, for example, the Admissions Offfice is separate and distinct from Columbia College’s Admissions Office. And don’t be fooled by statistics. The engineering school’s admissions are quite selective. Toss out that “top ten” nonsense. There’s not a lot of difference among the best 30 or so well-funded engineering departments in the United States.</p>
<p>For research, there’s not but for employment, there is. The difference: you seek out graduate schools but employers seek target colleges.</p>
<p>What do I mean? If you apply to graduate school coming from Fu, no one will think twice about it on your application. However, when an employer has 10 colleges to recruit, they are very unlikely to recruit Fu unless they have a substantial number of Columbia alumni, they are in New York, or they go to Columbia already to recruit other majors. Instead they’ll choose from the very top programs.</p>
<p>This is something a school like Fu knows and embraces - if your end goal is to work in a chemical manufacturing plant, you don’t go to Columbia. The students at Fu know that and the admissions office will tell you that when you apply. Instead, the students there are more focused on research and non-traditional engineering roles (like consulting and banking).</p>
<p>OP,
Actually Northwestern’s civil engineering is in the top-15 and had been ranked as high as 8th before. </p>
<p>That said, the admission criteria is pretty much the same for all engineering disciplines. Students are free to switch from one engineering major to another.</p>
<p>Yes actually Northwestern is pretty damn good in engineering. The writer for my work recommendation letter is a Northwestern alumni hopefully that helps when he adds a little something extra to the letter.</p>
<p>In reply to the OPs question, it is correct that the acceptance rates at top schools (except for science-heavy schools such as MIT or Caltech) are higher for engineers as compared with non-engineers. On the other hand, accepted engineers usually have significantly higher stats than accepted non-engineers. This apparent discrepancy is because engineers are a very self-selected group. A few years ago, when my S was an entering freshman engineer at Cornell, Arts & Sciences acceptance rates were around 25% and Engineerings were 35% or so, yet Engineering students had significantly higher SAT scores. Although the acceptance rates have since gone down, the difference between engineering and non-engineering acceptance rates still exists. </p>
<p>Northwestern is a great school, but you should consider adding a few public universities to your list to give more options. The top engineering programs are in public universities, such as UC Berkeley, Purdue, UIUC, Michigan, UT-A, Georgia Tech, etc., and most of these schools are easier to get into than, say, Northwestern. Tuition is also less (especially if you are in-state), and these programs are also a big draw for recruiters, especially those based nearby. Larger universities have larger engineering programs with better funding, thus providing more research and project-based opportunities. Unlike law, finance or consulting, engineers are less interested in the prestige of the university you came from (as long as it is ABET-accredited), and more interested in your project/work experience, and especially your coursework and GPA. And be warned engineering is not for the faint of heart. No matter the major or the university, it is a very tough field and you will work much harder and socialize less than your liberal arts classmates, possibly even your pre-med classmates.</p>
<p>The stats for Columbia College and Columbia Engineering are fairly similar.
2100-2330 mid 50% 9% acceptance rate
I couldn’t find the breakdown on the website, but earlier the numbers were very similar.</p>
<p>2Bruins, great post. I have thought of applying to public colleges, UIUC and Purdue have been on my list for awhile now. I have U Michigan on my list as well, but I originally planned on just trying to get into the regular undergrad program, LSA. Should I apply for the Engineering School? I would think that I would have a better shot at LSA.</p>
<p>But I still feel very confused. You would think that any school, regardless of its “ranking” would be difficult to be accepted. I started a thread previously on if I had a chance at Purdue Engineering and someone showed me the admitted student’s statistics and they were rather low to the point that I seemed to be a match without question. When I looked on Georgia Tech’s website for their statistics they were much higher to the point that it would definitely be a reach for me. Can anyone explain this to me?</p>
<p>"What are the Average Test Scores and GPA for First Year Engineering Students?</p>
<p>There are a number of factors that the Purdue Office of Admissions considers for acceptance to the First-Year Engineering Program. For Engineering, standardized test scores and grades in math, science, and English are very important criteria. Typically, those admitted to the First-Year Program are A and B students in high school. Students enrolled to the College of Engineering for 2010 had an average SAT in the middle 50% range of 1720-2010. Of the students that enrolled, 50% had a GPA between a 3.4-3.8, and an ACT Composite of 26-31. "</p>