Hi, I am a 17 year old junior who wants to study engineering in college. I was looking into Virginia Tech, but my GPA appears to be too low, 3.84 to be exact. I still want to find a decent program, but one where I stand a good shot a getting in to.
Here are my credentials:
3.84 GPA(Weighted)
4 Years Varsity Swim
Club Swim(I get up a 4:30 AM 3 times/wk for practice)
Finishing up my Eagle Scout
NTHS
The classes I signed up for senior year.
AP Calculus AB
AP Physics C
AP Chemistry
English 12 Honors
Government Honors
Engineering Math
Debate
I am taking the SAT in March, so I don’t have my SAT scores. However, my PSAT score was 1280(680 Math 600 English).
Following the discussion. My son is also a JR and looking into engineering with similar GPA. He really liked Florida Institute of Technology but would like some options outside of Florida
Marquette University, Texas Tech University, Ohio University, University of Houston, Louisiana State University U of Alabama (Huntsville) all in the $35k - $45k range
Since you are in Virginia , you could also look at these instate publics that have engineering-GMU, VCU, ODU. ABET accredited programs that are not as tough an admit as Virginia Tech and UVA engineering would be. Good luck!
If you are taking a lot of weighted classes and are doing well this year, you have a good shot at getting your GPA over 4.0, which would help a lot. Have you looked at your high school’s average stats for admission to VA Tech? I agree that it’s tough though. I’m in VA, my son has the exact same weighted GPA and a 34 ACT, and VA Tech is far from a sure thing.
Look at Ohio State and University of Delaware, which have pretty good merit scholarships for OOS students if you get a 1350-1400 on the SAT. NC State, too.
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My Dad told me not to worry about cost when you are just browsing for schools.
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That can be a risky plan. Why browse at schools that will never be affordable?
Ask your dad if he’ll pay $60k per year for college. If he says yes, then super. If he says no, then ask if he’ll pay $30k…and go from there if needed.
Your dad needs to be more specific so you don’t waste time on colleges you can’t afford. Each college has a net price calculator on their website. Work with your dad to run those on schools that are suggested. Unless he has over a quarter of a million dollars set aside for your undergrad education, which is what you’d likely pay for some of the schools being mentioned. Your GPA and test scores are low for schools that meet financial need, so this is an important question.
You are in Virginia and should be able to be admitted to one of the less selective instate schools that have engineering. Or, you could start in community college and take advantage of articulation agreements with instate engineering programs. Agree with @intparent - ask your family what they are willing to pay !
Ask your Dad “do you browse on the Mercedes parking lot” when looking at cars? He likely does not browse there. He examines his own finances and comes up with a rough figure of what he can actually pay for a car and then adjusts his sights accordingly.
It is super wise to do the same with college. Or else you find yourself with a short list in March of senior year and the short list is only Mercedes type schools. And you have a Honda budget.
The reality is a lot of parents are clueless until it is late in the game. College costs are very different from when he was a student, merit is hard to get even in local schools or auto merit schools. Financial aid is very limited. Have your dad get his head in the game now as you are applying this summer. Your PSAT score is in the 90th percentile of that tests’ takers, often decent merit for the real test (ACT or SAT) only starts in the 98/99th percentiles. As above, start looking at the less selective local schools and working out the COA. All these suggestions for OOS schools are pointless until you have a budget.