Engineering School selection

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hispanic male, senior in high school
Attends a competitive public high school (Where 2% usually make NM Semifinalist).</p>

<p>Has a 4.0 GPA (weighted), 3.4/ 4.0 (unweighted)
Class rank 25 percentile.</p>

<p>National Merit Semifinalist (likely Finalist),<br>
National Merit Hispanic Scholar. </p>

<p>Junior Year: </p>

<p>B in Pre AP Physics. 1st semester (89%)
A in Pre AP Physics. 2nd semester (92%)
A in AP Computer Science II, 1st semester
A in AP Computer Science II, 2nd semester (No AP Test offered by CB this year)
5 in AP Biology
5 in AP English Language,
5 in AP US History,
4 in AP Chemistry,
B in Pre AP Calculus 1st semester (82%)
B in Pre AP Calculus 2nd semester (87%)</p>

<p>750 Math II SAT Subject Test
219 PSAT </p>

<p>Senior Year:</p>

<p>1st six weeks</p>

<p>A in AP Physics
A in AP Calculus BC
A in AP English Literature.
A in AP Govt./ AP Economics
A in Spanish III (graduation requirement/ took Spanish II in middle school)
A in Physical Ed. (graduation requirement)</p>

<p>President & Founder School Chess Club (School Champion).
Produces Chess Videos and teaches chess online.
Volunteer math tutor at middle school.</p>

<p>No science competions or Summer Programs.</p>

<p>NOTE: </p>

<p>Spent substantial amount of time doing remedial work in freshman and sophomore year due to mismatched middle school. (He graduated with good grades from academically weak elementary/ middle schools. Did not realize it at the time, but they were little more than glorified Day Care centers. He was the top student in the history of his Day Care :) ). No Ds or Fs on high school transcript, but has a couple of Cs in AP and honors courses in freshman year. </p>

<hr>

<p>He is interested in EE.
He is thinking of applying to Northeastern, U of Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UT Austin. </p>

<p>Would you add any other schools to this list? Financing is not a serious issue.</p>

2

<p>National Merit Finalists at Texas A&M get some pretty nice scholarships:
<a href=“https://scholarships.tamu.edu/SCH_Opportunities/tamu_scholarships/freshman/national_merit.aspx[/url]”>https://scholarships.tamu.edu/SCH_Opportunities/tamu_scholarships/freshman/national_merit.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Top 25% rank plus specified SAT or ACT scores is an automatic admit to Texas A&M anyway:
[Academic</a> Admits](<a href=“http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshmen/gettingin/waysAdmitted/academic.aspx]Academic”>http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshmen/gettingin/waysAdmitted/academic.aspx)
But check to see if that applies to the specific division or major as well as the school.</p>

<p>However, UT Austin may be difficult, since it expects to fill 75% of its class with students with top 7% rank.</p>

<p>As far as other schools, what would be desirable characteristics? Northeastern seems to be the more unusual of the list, being a private school with an integral co-op program, although Texas A&M has an optional one.
[Co-op</a> | Texas A&M Career Center](<a href=“http://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/coop/]Co-op”>http://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/coop/)</p>

<p>If Texas A&M does turn out to be a safety, then only schools which may be more desirable than Texas A&M need to be put on the application list.</p>

3

<p>What’s wrong with New Mexico Tech? Small student body. Nearly all of the teachers have PhDs. They produce more PhDs per capita than any other public. It’s CHEAP! Main rub, poor graduation rate. That’s because they take unqualified and under qualified students as part of their mission. This student definately will have the background to be successful.</p>

4

<p>If looking for small cheap engineering focused schools like New Mexico Mines, also note South Dakota Mines.</p>

<p>However, Texas A&M will be very price-competitive to an in-state student (he is a Texas resident, right?). And even more so (and also for an out-of-state student) if NMF.</p>

5

<p>@ucbalumnus,
Yes Texas resident. </p>

<p>His class rank is 25.7. A&M Auto admit is 25.5. Main culprit is a dozen or so advanced middle school courses weighted on a lower 4.0 academic scale in high school. He would be top 15 percent without the middle school courses. So, no auto admit.</p>

<p>So, it is looking like A&M and UT may or may not happen for him.</p>

<p>Northeastern is a full tuition ride. Oklahoma is full ride.</p>

<p>He is interested in schools that will get him into a PhD program.</p>

<p>He would be top 15 percent without these middle school courses.</p>

6

<p>Are you sure that the middle school classes count? That would be very unusual.</p>

7

<p>If Oklahoma is an automatic full ride, then that is presumably the safety, correct?</p>

<p>California publics use an admissions GPA calculated on 10th-11th grade course grades, so the worse grades from earlier will not weigh down the admissions GPA. However, the UCs are over $50,000 per year for out-of-state; the CSUs (including Cal Poly SLO) are a little over $30,000 per year for out-of-state. But the CSUs are less research-intensive than UCs; Cal Poly SLO is very good, but heavily emphasizes pre-professional preparation (like Northeastern).</p>

<p>What are desirable characteristics other than a good EE degree program and undergraduate research opportunities that can help prepare for PhD programs?</p>

8

<p>@sheepster </p>

<p>Yes, I am afraid I am quite sure, i spoke to the registrar.
Basically, he could have had straight As in high school, taken all the honors and AP courses and not broken into the top 8% (needed for admission to UT).</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>That would be #1 and trumps all else. He would prefer the northeast, but not necessary. He has family in Philly and Boston area. Makes it easier for us to visit too. Small school in a remote area is not a deal killer, but not what he would prefer. Small schools in large cities okay. Large schools in suburbs, cities, rural areas okay.</p>

10

<p>Worth exploring for EE and not super-selective (not in any particular order), not sure how much the GPA would be an issue for admission at each:</p>

<p>Iowa State
Minnesota
Purdue
Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
South Carolina
Arizona State
Michigan State
Ohio State
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz</p>

11

<p>ucbalumnus, thanks again for answering. Is that in addition to OU and NU? Do you think Oklahoma or Northeastern would meet his needs? Thank you.</p>

12

<p>Well, a safety is necessary, so if no more desirable safety is determined, then OU and/or NEU needs to stay on the list. NEU’s integrated co-op program does seem to emphasize preparation for the work force; you may need to check how the research and preparation for PhD programs there is – try the school-specific forums to ask about undergraduate EE research (good idea for any school under consideration).</p>

<p>If 10th and 11th grade course grades are good (not including the 9th grade course grades), then perhaps even the more selective UCs (B, LA, SD) may be possibilities. But remember that UCs are expensive for out of state.</p>

13

<p>perazziman: Arizona state loves NMF’s and also National Hispanic scholars so that would get him admitted with a great scholarship. Even if he isn’t an auto admit to TAMU I would expect that being a NMF or Hispanic scholar would get him admitted and a great scholarship. As I understand it with TAMU getting admitted early is key to getting into the engineering program. If he hasn’t applied yet it could be too late to get into the program but I have heard of students who are not auto admits getting into their choice major already so it is possible even without auto admission. You need to track how quickly the EE fills up. TAMU is different from other schools in that it admits students into their choice of major until the major fills up. It is more of a first come first serve thing rather than competitive. That is once you qualify for admission at TAMU. These are two schools that love brag about the number of NM honorees they have and that could be a big advantage for your S. I don’t know about the other schools. I feel your pain with the middle school classes. Our district changed to that policy without telling us and I was really upset about it when it happened. For us it was just a matter of one class so the impact wasn’t as great. I so dislike that policy.</p>

14

<p>Hi Spectrum, Do you think Arizona State will be much better than Northeastern or Oklahoma for getting into a PhD program, if that is what he decides to do? Frankly, we were thinking U of H, OU and Northeastern, if A&M does not pan out. I spoke to the advisor at TAMU for nmfs and she suggested that we send in the application. I explained the situation with the middle school grades. She sounded sympathetic. Son is taking the SAT tomorrow. The application is otherwise complete and ready to go.</p>

15

<p>Perhaps he should send in the Texas A&M application now, so that it will be complete the minute the SAT scores arrive, in order to get it evaluated as early as possible.</p>

16

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</p>

<p>They are good enough to put him in the top 15 percent. Assuming he had a 2200 on the SAT (comparable to a 219 on the PSAT), what kind of gpa would he need to get into these colleges? He had 6 AP, 6 honors courses and 2 required academic electives (web design and Speech/Debate). Thanks.</p>

17

<p>

</p>

<p>We were thinking of sending the app after the SAT. Otherwise, they may evaluate him on more than a year old SAT (M690+V690) of 1380 / SAT Math II of 750. We feel his SAT score will be closer to 1500 now. He was supposed to take the SAT last month, but could not because of the new photo requirement. So, he is taking it today.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>He needs a school where he can do some good research. I don’t recommend Northeastern for pre-PhD. It’s far more pre-professional. Because everyone does co-op, not so many undergraduates do research so it’s not really great PhD preparation. It’s certainly possible, but it’s not the culture. </p>

<p>That 750 math subject test will take him far. What about the SAT. Also might need a physical science subject test. (Chem or Physics). </p>

<p>Case Western
Carnegie Mellon - a bit of a reach
RPI </p>

<p>These are all medium sized universities that treat their undergraduates well and have a strong tech culture are hard but have the support in place to get people through the “hard”. </p>

<p>Purdue and Georgia Tech are probably attainable. They are both a lot easier to get into then to get through. With the SATs that you mention, I’m not sure that I’d rule out Illinois</p>

<p>A&M is pretty good though. I’d ditch Oklahoma and Northeastern and add the ones I’ve mentioned.</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>Thanks ClassicRockerDad. They are both on our radar. CMU has shown some interest in him. They offered him $600 in transportation as well as free boarding and lodging for 3 days with an opportunity to attend classes. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>He retakes them on Dec 1 and expects an 800.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>He is taking the SAT right now today… </p>

<p>We are expecting an SAT above 2200, based on his SAT Math II 750, PSAT Reading 740 and PSAT Writing 760. He has also taken four timed practice SAT tests this year from the Blue book. He scored above 2200 each time. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>He is taking the SAT Physics Subject Test with SAT Math II on Dec 1. </p>

<p>The problems are</p>

<ol>
<li>Extreme variance in performance due to mismatch: </li>
</ol>

<p>Grades, SAT and AP Test scores are quite weak in Freshman year. v. Grades, rigor, AP scores, PSAT and SAT scores are quite strong by Spring semester of junior year / Fall semester of senior year. Sophomore year and Fall semester of junior year are mediocre, but show signs of + transition in rigor and grades.</p>

<ol>
<li>Middle school grades on a lower scale are included in his GPA.</li>
</ol>

20

<p>Re: #16</p>

<p>Probably 3.9 UW (10th-11th academic courses), 4.2 UC-weighted (10th-11th academic courses, +1 for up to 8 semesters’ of AP courses with C or higher grades in 10th-11th) with >700 on each SAT section to be competitive for Berkeley or UCLA engineering. And write a good essay (and they like overcoming adversity stories, so weaving in the “catch up” needed after weak K-6 or K-8 might be something to write about). UCSD is not quite as selective as Berkeley or UCLA.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>However, at least one safety must be retained.</p>

<p>Iowa State might be an admissions safety; calculate this formula: [Admission</a> Requirements | Iowa State University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/freshman/requirements.php]Admission”>First-year Students - Iowa State University)</p>

<p>On the other hand OU full ride makes a good safety if cost is of concern.</p>