After constantly researching all junior year and summer, I’ve come up with a very good list of universities and I need some opinions.
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (first choice)
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Iowa State University
University of Iowa
Michigan State University
University of Vermont
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Stanford University
University of Delaware - Newark
Illinois Tech
Michigan Tech
Pennsylvania State University (Main campus)
University of Michigan
Purdue University (Main campus)
Central Michigan University
University of Dayton
University of Kansas
University of Tennessee - Knoxville
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Since I’m already going to apply to the above 18 colleges, I’m not so sure if it’s really worth applying to these:
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UW - Madison
University of Maryland - College Park
University of Washington - Seattle
Ohio State
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My stats (they’re not that good):
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Illinois resident
I attend a very respected high school (Top 3% in the nation and the school district is ranked 16th in the state)
Majors that interest me: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering
GPA: 3.2
ACT: 23 (retaking it this September)
SAT Subject Tests (only 4 of all the colleges I’m applying to require it: IIT, UDelaware, Stanford, and UMichigan):
Math Level 2: 560 (retaking it with physics)
School doesn’t provide class rank
18 is a lot of schools and application fees will be expensive. How are your finances? Can you afford UMICH or PSU as an OOS student with little/no merit aid? If not, the first cuts should be colleges you cannot afford.
Can you afford the tuition at the OOS public universities?
Do you have some compelling hook to mitigate for your unexceptional stats, because your stats are well below the 25th percentile for many schools on your list.
Can you articulate why each one of these schools are on your list?
These schools are better aligned with your stats. Many of them give good FA. http://ctcl.org
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (first choice)
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Iowa State University
University of Iowa
Michigan State University
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Stanford University
Illinois Tech
Pennsylvania State University (Main campus)
University of Michigan
Purdue University (Main campus)
You’ve made SEVEN threads and have only responded to ONE. Stop doing that.
You’ve claimed to have spent a long time researching schools, but your crafted list is a disaster. You have little/no chance at many of those schools.
Plus, many are expensive OOS publics. What are your PARENTS saying about how much they’ll pay each year??
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Like I said, if I do well junior year, my overall GPA will be 3.4, and if I do well in the classes senior year, it'll go up to at least 4.1 or 4.2.
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I’m also confident about the ACT and the SAT math 2
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You wrote the above several months ago. You ended up with a 23 ACT so you need to be realistic. I know that you’re retaking, but likely your score will either remain the same or maybe go up to a 25/26 if you’re lucky.
Your senior grades and final GPA are not relevant because you’ll be accepted/rejected before senior year is done. Likely, schools will be accepting rejecting you before they even see 1st semester grades.
Tell us how much your family will pay and then we’ll help you create a reasonable list.
Since you’re probably going to apply as an engineering major, just about all of those schools are out of reach except maybe Central Michigan d/t your low ACT & mediocre GPA. If engineering is really what you want to do, it would appear to me that community college for 2 years and transferring to an engineering program might be your best route.
Engineering requires stong math skills. From your math subject score and your GPA reasoning, it’s clear that math is not your strength. The average of all your senior year grades would have to top 5.0 for you to bring up your cumulative GPA from 3.4 to 4.1.