<p>I have a question for those that have been accepted into the engineering program. Either those that have been accepted this year and previous years as well. Here's the question: If you don't mind sharing, what was your ACT score?</p>
<p>Here's a little background. My daughter wants to major in engineering at a Big 10 school. Everything is on track for her in terms of grades, class rank, lots of honors, she's now taking AP classes this year, EC's, etc. Further, she has a 4.3+ weighted GPA (a 3.9+ unweighted GPA) and is w/in the top 2% of her class. The problem for her I think is going be the ACT test. She has not taken the real one yet, but on all the practice tests she has taken, she cannot get above a 28. She is taking the practice tests w/a prep class we have signed her up for, and all the practice tests have mimicked real testing conditions in that they are being taken at a testing facility and everything is timed, etc. She is going to prep like crazy before the real test, but I am just trying to get a handle on what type of ACT score she is going to need in order to be accepted into an engineering program at a Big 10 school. IUUC is our instate flagship, and will probably be the most affordable Big 10 school for us.</p>
<p>Right now she is only looking at Big 10 schools, but if she can't get the score she needs on the ACT test, she will have to expand her horizons. We are just taking it one step at a time now, and just want to see what score she needs to aim for based on scores that others have received that ultimately ended up being accepted into the university. She knows that engineering will be tough at a Big 10 school. My husband and I are graduates of a Big 10 school, and my husband earned his engineering degree from Purdue, so she does know what she is up against going into engineering at this type of school. She has everything else going for her, but what she will be able to score on this test is very iffy. I don't know why, but she typically isn't a very good standardized test taker. I know that "everything", including standardized test scores, has to be up to par in order to get into these very competitive engineering programs. I guess I am just trying to give her a practical number to focus on in terms of what she needs to get on her ACT test. Just saying things like 'try to score as high as you can' or 'just try to get a 36 on the ACT test' don't seem to be very motivating or realistic for her, especially in light of what her practice test scores have been.</p>
<p>If you have read through this monster post, I give you my sincere thanks! Also,thanks in advance to anyone that is willing to share their score and a little bit of their story w/me!</p>
<p>First off, i’m really happy that your daughter is so intent on doing engineering. My sister got into UC Berkeley when she was 16 to study biomechanical engineering (immensely proud of her!). Both my parents went to UIUC and my Dad did his grad degree at Purdue. I recently got into UIUC too this year for computer science, but might be going to Berkeley if I make it.</p>
<p>I think too few young women are going down this road. My sister was never the best at math (and I honestly believe that its horrible society that tells women math and science are “guy” things) but shes doing just fine, even though her test scores weren’t perfect. Maybe gender has something to do with acceptance rates to engineering programs. Who knows? Shes holding her own.</p>
<p>Anyway you wanted to know statistics.</p>
<p>Mine: 3.7 GPA, 2220 SAT, 33 ACT, 800 on the Math II subject test. My GPA is a little misleading, i started out with a 3.3 and graduated with a 4.3. Traumatic events happened – I wonder if admissions noticed the upward trend in my grades?</p>
<p>Sister: 4.5 GPA, 28 ACT, 2050 SAT, 780 Math II. (Shes a rockstar!)</p>
<p>I don’t know how much UIUC looks into personal statements but I had pretty unique ones… I wrote about my thoughts on software patent law and my experience starting a software company.</p>
<p>There’s an acceptance thread elsewhere in this forum where you can get more info on the stats of admitted applicants this year. I think your daughter has a great, great chance of attending UIUC and wish her the best. I would recommending looking into the SAT if she is having trouble with the ACT. My sister didn’t even submit her ACT score.</p>
<p>(edit: found some stats from the admission thread)
SAT:
2220
2220
2220
2220
2100
1950</p>
<p>i was accepted into my second choice engineering (electrical), instead of mechanical (sees to be very popular)</p>
<p>34 ACT
3.3 UW GPA
4.06 W GPA
rank: 60/510</p>
<p>basically an all honors/ap schedule, with double accelerated math</p>
<p>i feel that my act helped me out because of my subpar gpa, but if your daughter’s unweighted is so high, it might be ok that she has a 28. 30+ of course would be better to be more certain, but i remember meeting someone in engineering who had a 26 with a good class rank, maybe ~3%</p>
<p>^with those stats I would have expected you to have gotten accepted outright…</p>
<p>also, i have a feeling that the only people who reported their stats in the acceptance thread are those with higher ones… so the true average for engineering might be a lot lower than it seems.</p>
<p>I was accepted into ME with a 36 ACT (I know, this doesn’t help much). But what I would suggest is to have her take a bunch of practice tests. After a few of them, some answers just begin to feel right, especially in the Reading section. Familiarity will help immensely with the test.</p>
<p>Ok so my D is definitely NOT in the engineering program at U of I (she’s admitted for the COM advertising) but I will tell you this before you rely on ACT prep classes I would consider private one-on-one tutoring instead. We did the prep classes with minimal success but my daughter’s biggest gain came after individualized tutoring. Her science score raised by 7 points when she did 2 one hour personal sessions with a tutor ($80 a pop). Funny but when you ask her about it she would claim “the tutor did nothing to help me” whether that’s true or not, I don’t know but I do know her scores went up considerably after the private sessions. If anything the tutor taught her how to slow down, assess, and evaluate what needed to be done in the allotted time. Well-spent money in my opinion.</p>
<p>Also, recognize that your daughter can take the ACT mulitiple times without needing to report scores. You do not need to report any scores ahead of time. Personally I think it is worth it hold out on reporting scores until you get the best one. In other words, why point out that you took the ACT 3-4 times. You don’t need to give them all that information - just give the best one and call it a day. Lastly, it sounds like your D has incredible stats all the way around. I would not get too freaked out about the ACT. In my opinion, U of I does a good job of taking a holistic approach at the applicant (though it’s so competitive in Engineering). A less than stellar ACT score could be explained in her essay portion of the application. Let’s face it, not every kid is a strong standardized test taker. Personally I hate all the emphasis put on those scores!</p>
<p>They only look at the highest SAT/ACT score submitted, so multiple submissions don’t matter. In addition, after admission, they look at all of the tests for subscores that might give them credit for college classes. They don’t superscore either. If anything they weigh GPA more than test scores, so don’t make her paranoid about it. The mid 50% of those admitted to Engineering had a 30-34 on the ACT, and were in the top 8% of their class, or better. Your daughter’s GPA is outstanding, and she’s in the top 2% of her class. 28 is slightly low, but I’d bet she’d get admitted to engineering, if that was what she ended up with. They look at the Math subscore for engineering. Not so much, the science subscore.</p>
<p>My son was accepted in 2010 with a 32 ACT, and a 3.95 UW GPA. He took the ACT 3 times. The first was early in his Junior year (28), then again in April (30) and October (32, and a horrible cold) of his senior year. Be aware that October of your application year is the last test score that will make it to UIUC in time for it to be considered during the priorty admissions period. He now has Junior Standing in Aerospace Engineering, after having AP scores get him credit for some GEN EDs, which has its benefits and drawbacks.</p>
<p>she has good numbers so far, and she’s a girl going into engineering. she should have no problem getting in as long as she doesn’t bomb the act.</p>
<p>i had lousy ap scores…4’s for most
a 2040
gpa of a 3.77 only
pretty good upward trend 3.57 frosh year soph year 3.9 junior year 3.88
14 ap classes
i had lots of EC’s though and i did a lot of engineering related activities and had a lot of state and regionals rankings in sports and engineering stuff. its not impossible for sure. especially since I’m a male</p>
<p>Umm I got in with a 2300 on the SAT which translates to 34-35 on the ACT. I recommend that she goes through the part that needs to be learned for the maths and science sections. That’ll definitely help. As you practice more, you notice certain trends in how questions are asked and how they should be answered. So ask her to keep practicing, but don’t act like it’s the end of the world if se can’t get very high scores.</p>
<p>Being a female with a really high GPA, your daughter’s chances as an engineer at UIUC are looking pretty good.</p>
<p>I got in this year in Electrical Engineering
GPA: 3.88, WGPA: 4.62
SAT: 2180 with 800 on Math II and 760 on Chemistry
ACT: 32</p>
<p>If the ACT isn’t working for her, maybe your daughter should give the SAT a shot. In my opinion, the SAT has harder questions, but is less about rushing and more about accuracy. Whereas the ACT has easier, non-depth questions. But is pressed for time.</p>
<p>Just wanted to come back and update this thread. My daughter got her scores back from her first “real” ACT test on April 14th and got a 30 composite! We are very happy and relieved! She also took it on April 24th through her high school and she thought she did even better on that test than she did on the one on the 14th. The test on the 24th didn’t have the writing portion though because the state of Illinois cut that section of the test to save money. Thankfully, UIUC no longer requires the writing portion of the test, probably because their state no longer pays for their students to take it. She is also planning on taking it again in early June, and she will take that one w/the writing section. She’s hoping to improve her score, but she is so thankful, relieved, and happy that she has a score of 30 under her belt. Thanks so much to everyone that followed and responded to this thread. I really appreciate all the comments and advice!</p>
<p>Jeez, I was getting my hopes up… I have a 3.4 UW, 4.1 W with a 33 ACT… Really doubtful at first, looking around got me hopeful, now all these fantastic grades in this thread are making me doubtful again…</p>
<p>Doubtful about what? What program are you applying for. At UIUC you apply and can be admitted directly to your intended program. No one can tell you whether to be hopeful, or not, without knowing that. In addition, while a 33 ACT is outstanding, a 3.4 UW is a bit low. Of the courses you took, how does their difficulty rate against the most difficult classes your school offers? How do you compare rankwise with other students at your school? Without additional information, any estimates of your chances are going to be unreliable at best.</p>
<p>I’m a fellow future lady engineer, and I was accepted with a 32 composite ACT and super score 2200 SAT. I’m from NJ so I worked harder on my SAT. </p>
<p>My scores were splayed weirdly on both tests; My top SAT math was a 730 but my CR was a 790, and my ACT writing/reading scores were 35s but my math and science were 27s or 28s</p>
<p>Well, I just wanted to update this thread since my daughter has taken her final and last ACT test. Her best composite score is a 31. We submitted 3 ACT scores to UIUC:</p>
<p>Although UIUC does not super score, she wanted to send all 3 scores because she felt like it better represented her ability on the ACT. Hopefully that 31 composite is enough to get her accepted into the engineering program. Her first choice is bioengineering, but she knows that it is one of the most, if not the most, competitive programs at UIUC. She’s not sure what her second choice engineering major is going to be yet, but she better decide quickly since the November 1st application deadline is fast approaching. I am trying to tell her that she is more than just her ACT score. She has a great GPA, class rank, and is taking mostly honors/AP classes this year. She also has really good EC’s. She was just elected Vice President of the NHS at her school and started volunteering at a hospital over the summer. She’s working really hard on her 2 essays and then after that it is out of her hands.</p>
<p>PhysicsPlease ~ If you still check this forum, what is your engineering major and how do you like it at UIUC so far?</p>