Georgia Tech/UF and any other places I should apply?

<p>Okay so before I start I'm a Junior.. I live in Florida and I want to major in Engineering (Computer Engineer) so my goal is to get into Georgia Tech. But if I have to go to in-state school, it'd preferably be UF. Also, I noticed GTech's Hispanic population is 3%. I'm full Hispanic so would that help at all? Only one parent works as well.. so income is below 30k/year. </p>

<p>GPA: 3.85.. should get to 3.9 by the end of Senior Year. Weighted is 4.79 for my school.. not sure about GTech but I know my calculated GPA for UF is like 4.55 right now? </p>

<p>Rank: Not sure but I should be in the top 20 next year, out of 500+. </p>

<p>SATs: 1930..I got a 640 in math which is retarded because my best subject is math. I should be able to get 700+ on math. So my goal for next SAT is around 2000-2100. </p>

<p>Classes: 8 AP classes and 8 Dual Enrollment classes by the end of Senior Year. Rest are honors. Currently passed 1 of 2 AP Exams. Hope to be at least 5 of 8 in the end. I will have a total of 32-34 credits by the end of senior year instead of 24. Also, I took Intro to IT freshman year and will finish off senior year with PC Support 3, so I will be a program completer for that. I am also looking to be CompTIA A+ certified next year too. </p>

<p>ECs: I don't have many ECs.. I didn't do anything sophomore and freshman year. But Junior year I joined 4 clubs. Next year I will get into NHS. And I'll be president of math club and a position in the French Club. I volunteer at a resort for kids with terminal diseases.. hope to have over 100 hours there + other hours from school clubs. So around 150 hours + in the end :.. my ECs suck. I'm also getting a job this summer. Won a few awards here and there. </p>

<p>What kinds of ECs can I do to show that I like computers/engineering?</p>

<p>So Chances for GTech and UF? And any other schools that I should consider applying to.. for Engineering.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Sounds like you are a serious student. Forget about UF-just a big party school. Too big. No student services because of budget crisis in Florida. Many classes are given online. Students do not bother to show up to class. Try Virginia Tech. You will get $$ at any school.</p>

<p>I can tell you that that’s not true^^ And living in FL I’m sure you know that UF is just a huge lottery getting in. But affirmative action should definitely help.</p>

<p>You’re into both bro. Set your sights higher.</p>

<p>Thanks guys. I’m not sure how to multi-quote or even quote on this forum but…</p>

<p>Thanks for the input uvwxyz. </p>

<p>AHN1245, yea I know… UF is really random. My friend got rejected with 2000+ SATs but my other friend got in with 1600 combined on all 3 sections. And I’m guessing affirmative action is my race, income, etc? </p>

<p>Thanks Drought, any advice on which schools I can aim for?</p>

<p>Well, you need a lot of aid, so unfortunately that will limit your options somewhat. I don’t have much experience with cost-restricted college searches, but I hear a lot of good things about the aid that Case Western offers, so maybe look into that. Their engineering is good too. And if you can get that SAT score up to 2200 then you <em>might</em> have a shot at the ivies, which offer great financial aid.</p>

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<p>Not quite. The OP’s GPA is average for GT (average admitted is around 3.92 UW last year), but based on experience, anything about 3.75 is fine. The SAT score is very low, though, for this year’s class. Average admitted student was a 2070 with a math of 700+. At 640, his Math SAT is very low for Tech. If he can get the Math SAT to 700, he should be ok. </p>

<p>But most concerning is the lack of EC’s, which is very problematic for GT. We had someone in the GT forum with a 2350 SAT, 3.95 UWGPA rejected. The only real reason for rejection would have been EC’s (he claimed to have a good essay).</p>

<p>Yea I know my ECs are terrible… any advice on doing stuff to make the ECs category better for me? I know 640 is low, the thing that gets me mad is that I know I can get a 750+. I found out that on both my PSAT and SAT I got 10 wrong on the math sections in total. Over 5 of them, on each, were due to bubbling in/gridding in the incorrect answer when I had the right answer on paper/calculator/head… ***? Lmao, I guess I need to slow down a bit and not be so nervous when taking the test.</p>

<p>I think you have a very good shot at both of these as well! I don’t think your ECs suck - I think they’re average and you’ll be fine, especially if you’ve shown dedication. As an in-stater, I think you’ll get into UF, for starters. I also think you’ll get into GTech, although I agree that admission to colleges is such a crapshoot that you can never be certain. You have two valuable hooks though - URM and low-income - so I think these will also boost your chances.</p>

<p>Have you looked at any other schools? You seem to want a southern school - have you looked into Virginia Tech or Tulane? Tulane might be a low reach but I think you’d also have a good shot.</p>

<p>Thank you reesez :).</p>

<p>Yea, UF is good for me because it’s in-state and it’s really cheap compared to every other school (5k tuition). I don’t mind where I go to school, so long as it is not some country place with farms and stuff. I like suburban/city settings like Orlando, New York, New Jersey, etc. I just want GTech because the Computer Science Program there is really good and it’s the closest to home :). </p>

<p>I have looked at other schools but when I look at OOS schools they are all 20-40k tuition… I just don’t see how I will be able to pay for all of this. How much financial aid do these kinds of schools give?</p>

<p>Yeahh race mainly, and I’m pretty sure you’re full bright futures so you should have a solid shot at UF. But yeah, its a total crap shoot when you’re in-state for UF. Some very deserving people from my school got denied.</p>

<p>Clemson and NC State might be worth a look also. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Tulane is an iffy recommendation because they eliminated all the engineering majors except Chemical and Biomedical. However, they do have a 3+2 program where you spend 3 years at Tulane getting an applied physics degree and then have guaranteed admission to either Vandy or Johns Hopkins to complete an engineering degree in any field Tulane doesn’t offer (electrical, civil, mechanical…). Not bad to have 2 degrees in 5 years from 2 different great schools. Just throwing that out there.</p>

<p>Oh, and the person that said the average unweighted GPA at Georgia Tech was 3.92 cannot be right. That would be a higher GPA than some Ivies and other top schools. Princeton Review has it as 3.81, but I have my doubts about that being unweighted also. From other research and a direct discussion with PR, they ask for UW GPA but some schools provide weighted ones anyway, as evidenced by some of them being > 4.0. PR just publishes exactly what the schools send, even when they know it doesn’t comply with their request. Worse, they then use this wrong number in their calculation of selectivity, making that number worthless when comparing a school that sends in a weighted GPA with one that sends in an unweighted one. It is very hard to tell, although the distribution of the GPA’s given in the GT fact book lead me to believe that they are weighted. But without a clear statement by GT, no way to know. Maybe someone can come up with something more concrete on this issue.</p>

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<p>I already provided concrete information. GT gave an average weighted an unweighted for admitted students last year. I posted the unweighted.</p>

<p>Can you please give a link? I see this: <a href=“Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission”>Blow the Whistle! (404 error: page not found) | Undergraduate Admission; where they state the mid 50% is 3.67-4.04, which is semi-unweighted. They add 0.5 points for AP, IB and college level classes, so it is not a 4.0 scale. This makes it almost impossible that the true unweighted average GPA is 3.92, but I would love to see where you got that from.</p>

<p>From their blog score. They report different numbers for different reasons. The +0.5 for AP, IB, College courses is reported to the Georgia Board of Regents because it is used in the Freshman Index calculation. The unweighted score is released elsewhere, as is the weighted score. On their blog they released the weighted/unweighted statistics of applicants and accepted students.</p>

<p>Can’t you copy the link here? Ah well, I will see if I can find what you are talking about.</p>

<p>Well, I have no idea where this blog might be. I found this [Georgia</a> Tech :: Office of Undergraduate Admissions :: Knowing Changes Everything Blog](<a href=“http://gatechadmissions.blogspot.com/]Georgia”>http://gatechadmissions.blogspot.com/) but I cannot find a posting that relates the information you mention.</p>

<p>Until I see what you are talking about, based on the statistics given above for a 4.0+ point scale, I maintain that an average GPA of 3.92 for a true 4.0 scale is mathematically impossible. Please copy and paste the link.</p>

<p>Yeah. aim higher. Solid stats, all I can do is wish you good luck!</p>

<p>Thank you lebron :).</p>

<p>And about the GPA thing I do think 4.92 is impossible for unweighted. I too checked the freshman profile and mid 50% was 3.75-4.04 weighted so how can the average for unweighted be 3.92? Also, collegeboard lists that only 65% of 1st-year students had a GPA of 3.75 or more, as opposed to some other top colleges that have over 90%. </p>

<p>Can you guys chance me for the top schools for computer science? Not any IVYs of course, but the lower ones like GTech, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, etc.</p>