<p>
I can lend you an Encyclopedia Brittanica for this. It would be much cheaper. What you really want is for others to pay for your education despite your not caring about measurable things like grades.</p>
<p>BTW, if you want a career as an academic, you will have to care about external things like grades, publications, evaluations, etc because those are how your academic dept will decide to hire you.</p>
<p>And if think that universities don’t profit off your knowledge, then you really don’t understand how academia works, esp in STEM fields. One of the first thing a new hire does is sign away his patent and other intellectual rights to the university he works for. (It’s part of the standard hiring contract.)</p>
<p>I talked to my teacher, who has a doctorate in electrical engineering and went through the whole tenuring process, about the whole being a professor thing. He told me that it is a lot of politics; I guess the whole world runs on politics… Apparently, it is really runs on who you know and what you have published and done. Now, personally, I would call this a maturing process, that even something I consider so insignificant can have so much impact in a world run by politics. Perhaps, I am too idealistic. There is not much I can do except get straight A’s next year, even that won’t save me.</p>
<p>You said you wanted to apply to a small, top engineering school in another thread, but let’s be realistic, that’s probably not realistic if you have the stats someone posted earlier in this thread, especially since you’re looking for good financial aid. I’d like to suggest a better match for you if you’re willing to look.</p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, the University of Wisconsin-Madison gives extremely good financial aid to out of state students with very low EFC. An OOS student that is accepted and applies for financial aid is automatically considered for the BANNER program, a need-based program that will guarantee to meet your financial need if you qualify. UW-Madison is a reach for you, but it’s much closer to your range than any of the other schools I’ve seen that meet full financial need, and it has a strong engineering program too. I would highly recommend you apply. I was offered the BANNER Program with an EFC of 600, so I really doubt they wouldn’t offer it to you if you were admitted.</p>
<p>You will need to get your grades and/or test scores up, though not nearly as much as any other school on the list posted earlier. You have 6-8 months to work on that before you have to apply. Make a positive grade trend and jack your ACT score up a few points and you’ll definitely be in the range.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>What were your stats?</p>
<p>It’s very doubtful that with his stats UWisc would accept him. A student can’t increase his GPA that much at this point. </p>
<p>UWisc</p>
<p>53% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
25% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
13% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49</p>
<p>With over 75% of UWis students having a cum GPA of over 3.5, there is no logical reason for that school to accept this student. It’s not like he has a super test score to trump his GPA.</p>
<p>edited to add…</p>
<p>*34 ACT
2.983 GPA with extreme upward curve
*</p>
<p>Your ACT trumped your GPA…plus you had an extreme upward curve. Does that mean that you had low grades frosh year and then a bunch of A’s? Does UWis count frosh grades that much or at all?</p>
<p>Well, we will see my updates SAT score in a few days… Also, I see no reason how I can get rejected from Cal Poly Pomona, it is a state school focused on STEM, cheap, fairly easy to get into and I know people that will go there. The problem is the size and the environment… I’ve seen the area… Its farmland for miles around…</p>
<p>I am not sure if it would be the best environment for me to succeed in though.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>Yes, I’m aware he’s on the low end for admission. That’s why I said he needed to get his grades and test scores up. I wouldn’t give him a realistic chance now, but if he had excellent senior year grades and a 28 or 29, he’d definitely be in the running, and it’s not like either of those things is impossible. It would be hard, but it’s still possible and it’s the best shot I’d say he has at getting really good financial aid. The only other school that comes to mind that offers that kind of financial aid and is at all realistic is Bates, but that’s harder than UW and isn’t really an engineering school.</p>
<p>And yes, I had an extreme upward trend. I was bouncing around from 2.5-3.0 for my first two years, sat around 3.4 my junior year, and then have had 3.8-3.9 my senior year. Getting good grades in hard classes your senior year is the best way to show that, despite your work ethic in high school, you are capable of putting in the effort and doing the work. It doesn’t eliminate the poor grades, but I’d say an upward trend can be worth a lot, especially if it extends into your junior year and hits near the 4.0 your senior year. If OP has a 26 and really wants to study Engineering, he can certainly do better than a 3.1. All he has to do is put in the extra work to create that upper trend. Then do a bunch of practice tests for the ACT and he’s golden there too, since he only needs a couple points.</p>
<p>Granted, if he’s not willing/capable of doing that, then he knows it better than any of us, and he doesn’t have to take my advice. It was just an idea that I believe could benefit him greatly, and I believe a lot of people don’t know about the BANNER program, so I thought I should bring it to his attention.</p>
<p>*Also, I see no reason how I can get rejected from Cal Poly Pomona, it is a state school focused on STEM, cheap, fairly easy to get into and I know people that will go there. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>CPP is not “fairly easy to get into” with a 3.1 GPA. I don’t know why you think that.</p>
<p>Again, the Calif state schools are primarily GPA driven (to prevent the upscale suburb school kids from taking all the spots). </p>
<p>CPP</p>
<p>23% had h.s. GPA of 3.75 and higher
21% had h.s. GPA between 3.5 and 3.74
22% had h.s. GPA between 3.25 and 3.49
19% had h.s. GPA between 3.0 and 3.24</p>
<p>You have a 3.1 GPA…so, it’s safe to estimate that 75% of CPP students have a higher GPA than you do. </p>
<p>That does NOT translate that CPP would easy for you to get accepted to. I’m not saying that you won’t get accepted to CPP, but I’m saying that you cannot have any assurance that you will. </p>
<p>*The problem is the size and the environment… I’ve seen the area… Its farmland for miles around…</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Are you sure that you had your eyes opened when you were there. CPP is not surrounded by farmland for miles. That is just nonsense. It’s in a very developed suburban area with 2 major freeways crossing nearby.</p>
<p>*Yes, I’m aware he’s on the low end for admission. That’s why I said he needed to get his grades and test scores up. I wouldn’t give him a realistic chance now, but if he had excellent senior year grades *</p>
<p>Admittance is not based on senior year grades because students are accepted before the year is over. The app season for Calif state schools is in the fall only. At best, he could send first semester grades as an update, which would only help a tiny bit. Even with straight A’s that first semester, that wouldn’t bring up a 3.1 from the previous years to any measurable amount. UCs and Cal States use their own GPA formulas.</p>
<p>
This part we can all agree on. The OP has just been disinterested in doing that so far.</p>
<p>I am aware of how deep the hole I already dug myself into is. The best I can do by the end of first semester my Senior year is a 3.35. What I am doing just doing my best in all my classes as of right now… And self teaching myself Calculus with the MIT’s OpenCourseware. Like legit studying, taking good 2 pages of notes per lecture and rewinding and watching the parts I don’t quite get 100% and not move on until I am 100% sure. Then during summer, I will start the Physics lectures while also doing calculus. Perhaps I can do the intro to algorithms and the multivariable calculus after that. 3 months is enough time to do all that I suppose. Also while doing all that, I plan on starting my project. Perhaps an active stereoscopic computer vision or finish the 3d Image Generation from IR Rangefinder project from Sophomore year that I never finished… Now, it seems like a handful. Honestly, I find the fact that I can rewind and pause the videos allows me to soak in more info and learn more than a lecture by my teachers, but that is also due to the fact that MIT Professor > Highschool Math Teacher. It is a good thing that I was born a nerd, or I would have spent my day playing video games all day. Apparently, I have symptoms of ADD, but I don’t believe in ADD; it is all mind over matter.</p>
<p>It seems doable:</p>
<p>2-3 hours a day just for lectures, 1.5 hours for working out, the rest of the day for which ever project I am working on. Yep, no social life, totally typical for a nerd like me. I still find it very hard to believe that I am that bad of a student, perhaps it is time management. Look at me: I am here typing this up instead of writing an essay comparing myself to Holden Caulfield… Perhaps we have a lot of traits we share…</p>
<p>Hmmm… I would think it would be pretty easy to pump out an essay comparing you to Holden Caulfield. </p>
<p>Listen, you are bright and have obviously not been willing to march to the drummer. That is good and bad. You are a smart kid, self-motivated and I am sure you are passionate about your ideas-- but school (and jobs) are often very much about how well you work the game. So you may or may not get the results you want-- but, whatever you do, try to get the best grades possible in any college so you leave your doors and options open. I am not telling you to play the game because you suddenly want these people to have a higher opinion of you; I am telling you to play the game so YOU can have the freedom to do what you want.</p>
<p>I am aware of how deep the hole I already dug myself into is. The best I can do by the end of first semester my Senior year is a 3.35.</p>
<p>Is that using the CSU formula for GPA?</p>
<p>Just the overall weighted GPA from Freshman year to first semester of Senior year. CSU GPA is around 3.25 at the best</p>
<p>Also, I have a lot of symptoms of ADD…
I Have all these:
“zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track.
difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple.
tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work.
poor listening skills; hard time remembering conversations and following directions.
poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
tendency to procrastinate
trouble starting and finishing projects
chronic lateness
frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, and deadlines
underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks
frequently interrupt others or talk over them</p>
<p>That explains a lot of things…</p>
<p>Don’t make ADHD be an excuse. It won’t cut it. Plenty of kids cope with ADHD, with and without medication/diagnosis. I know of adults who were diagnosed long AFTER they completed their PhDs. </p>
<p>Medication for ADHD isn’t a cure-all. It may or may not help. Even with medication, you still need to develop a suite of coping skills and stratagies to manage your academics and other life skills. And I say that as both a [former] spec ed teacher and mother of a kid who has ADHD.</p>
<p>*Also, I have a lot of symptoms of ADD…
I Have all these:
“zoning out” without realizing it, even in the middle of a conversation.
extreme distractibility; wandering attention makes it hard to stay on track.
difficulty paying attention or focusing, such as when reading or listening to others.
struggling to complete tasks, even ones that seem simple.
tendency to overlook details, leading to errors or incomplete work.
poor listening skills; hard time remembering conversations and following directions.
poor organizational skills (home, office, desk, or car is extremely messy and cluttered)
tendency to procrastinate
trouble starting and finishing projects
chronic lateness
frequently forgetting appointments, commitments, and deadlines
underestimating the time it will take you to complete tasks
frequently interrupt others or talk over them
*</p>
<p>Then what makes you think that becoming a prof would be good for you?</p>
<p>Why? Because I am the type of guy that would, to the best of my abilities, try to explain every single aspect of the topic when I do explain it. I would often get criticized for going “too deep” into the subject when some one usually expects a quick answer. Honestly, I always get this feeling of self satisfaction when I successfully explained something to someone. I genuinely care if my ideas well understood by others because that often is the hardest part of it all. While it may be true that I go off tangent a lot in any discussions, but those speaking and listening skills are developed over time. Now, if I care enough, I will find a way. That is my mentality; if I do not reach my goal, I just did not care enough to reach it. All limits are self imposed I always say. My coach once told me this: the difference between an A+ and a F is the “titude” after them. </p>
<p>Honestly, what other job would allow me to explore the world and essentially learn to understand the language of God and the whole essence of the world? Honestly, I find the whole “zoning out” as an advantage. I am always thinking, I don’t just zone out and not think; I am always in some kind of deep thought. Honestly, that is how I find inspiration for my projects, just sitting there zoning out from the world and thinking. That is just how I function as a human being. I need my frequent “alone time” in my own mind. </p>
<p>I am a very strange specimen. There are times when I will stay up the whole night working on a project because I just love it. Then proceed for another 22 hours of working on the same project. </p>
<p>Perhaps I am more interested in the research than the teaching. Who knows? I don’t know of any other career that interests me outside of the STEM field. It is all I know and the only field I have had interest in.</p>
<p>Yes, a career as a PhD researcher might suit you well. :)</p>
<p>Just take the next steps now. Don’t overthink the future. Your high school record is what it is. Move on and take the next steps.</p>
<p>You are about to be a senior. Visit some schools, do some research, and write a killer essay for the December 1/January 1 deadlines!</p>
<p>I am reconsidering applying to UCs because of my financial situation. The whole 1 application for all 9 campuses seem very appealing to me. But as previously mentioned, it is heavily GPA based admissions. I am fairly certain that I am eligible for the fee waivers for four schools. Now, how much can my essay help if the grades shows an unmotivated student just tanking through school? How would I compete with students with higher GPAs than me? Sure, I have passion for science and technology. I have already started my essay for the common apps a while ago, just looking back at it: I sound like a snobby, arrogant, rebel who despises the system. Perhaps, there will be a school out there that will sympathize for a kid who thought too much and put in few actions. I already have a list of schools in mind, but according to most people, about a handful schools are way too ambitious for me. </p>
<p>Any advice on the essay? If I talk about my poor performance in school and my reasons why I did so poorly, it would sound like I am some crazy kid with a skewed mind and principles.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t focus on your record in your essay.</p>
<p>I would write about what it is about a project that makes you stay up all night engrossed.</p>
<p>Focus on what is amazing about you.</p>