Hello. Before i ask my question I would like to state that I just created an account here, and this is literally the first thing I am posting on College Confidential, so please forgive me if I have missed some sort of protocol, or my posting this here, and in this fashion is not entirely…decorous. However to the point, my question is about selecting a college. I applied for Engineering Physics (or Applied Physics) at all of the following schools: Georgia Tech, Emory, Purdue, and the University of Illinois at UC. I’ve been accepted at all 4. I have done a lot of research on all the schools, and right now I’m leaning towards GT. I thought before making a decision, I should ask a large pool of people who are familiar with these schools, which school they think would be best in terms quality of teaching, and research. Any thoughts?
Hello, I am a rising senior at Johns Creek high school in GA, and I’m considering applying to GA Tech. Actually that would be an understatement; GA Tech is my dream college and I want to major in Biomedical Engineering at this prestigious institute. But I’m really worried about whether I’m qualified for this college and whether or not I will get in. This is my resume’:
Took AP World, ap chem, ap physics, ap stat, ap lang, and I’m planning to take ap Calculus BC, ap Physics C, AP econ, and AP bio my senior year. My gpa is not so great, as it really dwindled during my junior year due to my rigorous classes, and that too I was only 2 points away from an A in many of my classes. Overall, my unweighted gpa is a 3.6, which is really bad. But here in georgia, you get an additional 7 points added to any honor or AP class. These 7 points are usually not taken into consideration by prestigious universities such as GA tech.
My extracurricular list:
Member of beta club for 1 year, Vice captain of cricket team and played in many tournaments, Vice president of chess club for 4 years and took part in many tournaments, participated in an Indian Cultural event and member of the Indian Cultural Exchange club, member of the Science National Honor’s Society, volunteered for 50 hours at Senior Connections, and Volunteered for 50 hours at an Indian Hospital.
Took the SAT for the second time and I’m currently waiting for my scores, and I’m expecting above a 2100, or even a 2200.
I wanted to see my eligibility for GA tech. Besides that, you got into Tech and Emory, 2 highly selective universities. Would you mind putting up your resume’ and listing your achievements, so I could compare your stats with mine and see where I stand. And also in your opinion what are my chances of getting into GT?
I’ll weigh in with an opinion. Academically all will be superb. Others may have an opinion concerning specifics. Have you visited the campuses? Purdue and UIUC are similar on paper, both in mid sized college towns. Champaign Urbana is normally considered nicer than W. Lafayette, however, our D like Purdue and was not impressed with UIUC. Georgia Tech is urban and I am not familiar with Emory as D never looked into it. I think that the schools are similar enough academically that you can choose based on other factors such as do you want a large or smaller city feel? How do you like the feel of the campus? What part of the country would you like to be in? Cost, etc. good luck in your decision.
lvvcsf thanks a lot for the response. I was beginning to think no one would reply to this thread. I eventually made my decision, which is to attend Emory and major in Applied Physics, and then transfer to GT as part of the Dual Degree Program that the schools have. I’ll study Engineering (likely Nuclear Engineering) at GT. The whole program is 3 years at Emory and 2 at GT. Getting the whole liberal arts background was always important for me, because I love the social sciences as well as the hard sciences. Also, the program will give me both an Applied Physics and a Nuclear Engineering degree which I like, because for a while I struggled to choose between an Engineering degree and a Physics degree. However the problem I now face, is that I’ve heard the Physics department at Emory isn’t that great, and I’m wondering if a degree in Applied Physics from Emory really adds any value, if I plan to get an Engineering degree from Tech anyway.
Hello svudata. I can understand your concern over getting into Tech. However to be honest, your resume looks a lot better than mine!
AP isn’t offered in my school, we do the IB program. I took IB Physics, Chem, and English at Higher Level, and IB History, French, and Math at Standard Level. Taking Higher Level IB courses weights your GPA.
My WEIGHTED GPA was about a 3.6 so you’re in better shape than me there. However the weighting for IB is only for Higher Level courses, so there isn’t that much difference in weighted and unweighted for me.
I took part in a lot of extracurriculars. 3 different Varsity sports, Model United Nations, and I was in the National Honor Society. Also a number of smaller activities here and there. I also won a number of academic awards within my school which I won’t list unless you specifically want me to.
I got a 2180 on my SATs the first time so I didn’t take them again, but I did do poorly on my SAT Subject Tests in Physics and Chem (in the 600s). That, along with my GPA, is probably why I didn’t get into some of my first choices like Columbia and MIT.
All in all, I’d say in terms of your academic resume, it is as impressive, if not more impressive than my own. I would say you have a good chance of getting into Tech, dependent on your essays of course. However remember that admissions can be different from year to year, and from student to student. There’s no set formula. I think you’re in very good shape though.
Please stick around and come back to us in three years when you transfer to GT. Most people who start these 3/2 programs seem to change their plans and never complete the engineering part. Would love to hear about your experience.
I will. I certainly hope my plans don’t change, as if not for this 3/2 program, I definitely would not have chosen Emory over Georgia Tech. Therefore, if I don’t do the 3/2, I’ll end up only doing Applied Physics at Emory, whereas I could have gone straight to GT and done Physics or some Engineering course at college much better suited for STEM pursuits.
Since you’ve already made your decision, I just wanted to chime in and say that I’ll be going to Emory as well 
Just kinda cool to see somebody else who’s going too. Congrats!