Good college matches.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello. I've been browsing these boards for quite some time, and in general I'd like to thank all members for imparting their knowledge of the college admission process to eager young men and women like me. I must admit that thanks to places like this on the internet, I've learned more about colleges than my guidance counselor could ever hope to teach me. Of course, she's new...but she didn't even know SAT II Subject Tests existed until I showed them to her. That's sad. Anyway...</p>

<p>My high school is really small. I have 40 kids in my graduating class. My school offers no A.P. classes. The best class I can get from it is Advanced English, which is supposedly a course offered for "students choosing to attend college" like it's a miracle or something. Still, I will take and have taken the "hardest" courses offered to me even if they are generic classes, so to speak (like Chemistry, Trigonometry, and Spanish III my junior year). </p>

<p>Anyway, here are my college statistics:</p>

<p>-I'm first in my class of 40 with a 4.0 GPA. Sadly, there are no A.P.s or Honors courses.... :'(
-ACT: 32 (11/12 on writing)
-SAT I: 720 CR 720 M 730 W
-SAT II: I'm going to take Math IIC, Chemistry, and U.S. History this fall.</p>

<p>Extra-Curricular Activities:</p>

<p>-Band 9, 10
-Jazz Band 10, 11
-Key Club 10, 11
-Key Club Officer (Secretary) 10
-Yearbook 10, 11
-Prep Bowl 11
-Student Council 11
-Class Officer (Vice President) 10, 11
-Prom Committee 11
-Math Festival 10</p>

<p>Honors:</p>

<p>-I'm an Eagle Scout, and I've done many things in Boy Scouts.
-I was nominated for a leadership scholarship by my teachers, but I lost.
-I'm not sure about many other honors...I got some band ones, if that helps.</p>

<p>Others:</p>

<p>-I work a job during the summer. I also tutor other students on the side, but I don't do it as part of an activity, so I can't really put it on a resume. I'm also spending this summer teaching myself Calculus because my math teacher in Trigonometry was terrible [I did all the problems in the book and became a math god :)], so I guess that takes some heart and might make a good essay topic. I'm not making that up, either; my teachers are pretty bad at times. My Trigonometry teacher didn't even teach the class trigonometric identities...
-Unfortunately, I was involved in a pretty bad situation my sophomore year, and I was suspended for 2 days for vandalism. I broke a stall door in the locker room. I have to bring it up because it does affect admission, as we all know. If I wanted to make it sound even worse, it ruined my perfect attendance that I've had since kindergarten. I'm quite certain that when I graduate, I will have missed only 2 days of school thanks to a school suspension. It didn't affect my GPA, but it certainly killed something that meant a lot to me. :'(</p>

<p>Here are my college preferences:</p>

<p>I want to major in Computer Engineering. I'm a white male with a brother in college and a single mother. She makes very little money, and my father sends no child support, so I won't have a way to pay for much (any) college education out of pocket. I'd like to go to a college in the northeast or around the northeastern Ohio area (where I live, of course). I don't want to go to an engineering-only school; I'd like to keep my options open in case I change my major. I think my best match school is Case Western in Ohio. I'm really looking for a college where most of the kids are computer nerds like me who generally don't drink. I've heard many stories about how "boring" Case is because there are never any parties, and all the kids ever do is play video games. That's quite an attraction in my eyes :). Also, Carnegie Mellon seems like a good fit. Beyond these two, I've found two safety schools in Cleveland State University (my brother goes there for Computer Engineering) and Gannon University (sadly, it has a religious bent, which I'd prefer to avoid). I've looked at schools like MIT, Cornell, and Johns Hopkins, but I doubt I'd have a chance at any of them. Does anyone know of any schools similar to Case with good engineering programs where I'd be a great student? Rochester Institute of Technology and Syracuse University sound good; does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm still not sure what colleges I'd like to apply to beyond those four, but I'd really like to know if schools near the level of MIT are even worth an application. If anyone else has any suggestions of schools like Case and RIT, I'd be very pleased. Thanks for reading my long-winded post! :)</p>

2

<p>I'd look into Gatech as a match/safety</p>

3

<p>But since I'm out of state, tuition will be really high. Don't public schools tend to give out of state students less money anyway? I'm not sure if I'd want to go south, but thanks for the reply.</p>

4

<p>Apply to some larger schools that base their acceptances on gpa and sat scores i.e. Indiana University or your local state universities. As I recall, Indiana doesn't ask for references and will give merit money for grades if you get your application in to them in September. They have rolling admissions and you will know a month + after you turn in your application whether you have acceptance or not. Indiana has something for everyone.</p>

5

<p>you'll have no problem getting into Case, judging from your SAT scores. Case is one of the best schools with the highest acceptance rates in the country. I would avoid out of state public schools, as they are usually overpriced and not generous enough w/ financial aid. Carnegie Mellon sounds like it'd be a good fit as well...I'd definitely look for some reach schools though (like Johns Hopkins!).</p>

6

<p>Thanks for your suggestions. I definitely agree with you, kcirsch; out of state public schools don't seem like a good option. That's why I wouldn't bother applying to great schools like Berkeley just because their tuition is outrageous for non-residents. I've compiled a list of colleges that are near me and have good engineering programs, but most of them are complete reach schools, like MIT, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Northwestern. Would I stand a chance at any of these schools? I definitely want to apply to some reaches, but 5 or more is quite a lot. Also, how good are colleges like University of Rochester, Syracuse, Boston University, Vanderbilt, Northeastern, and Bucknell for computer engineering? Would they also be good matches for me? Thanks a lot for any help.</p>

7

<p>It's usually a good idea to shoot for 3 reach, 3 match, and 3 safety schools. Also make sure you have a financial safety (a school you know you can get in to and afford even if something happens to your money/family).</p>

<p>If you are interested in Berkeley, I'd say look at it...it's one of the few out of state public schools worth the price tag. You are lucky that you live in Ohio and want to live somewhere close to home because the majority of schools are concentrated in the midwest/northeast. As for the other schools you listed, I don't know much about their engineering schools, but I can tell you that Boston University is a big party school. Also - if you go to Northeastern you should plan on paying for 5 years of school because the basis of their program is co-op (internships during the school year). For the little I know, Bucknell is preppy, Vanderbilt is white and conservative, Syracuse is a drinking school, and Rochester is FREEZING. sry i cant be of more help.</p>

<p>btw I'm applying to Boston U for Advertising!</p>

8

<p>I wouldn't really recommend Johns Hopkins for Computer Engineering in Undergraduate, but I heard it's paying more attention to Medical and biology degrees than other engineerings. In general, I'd say John Hopkins is an ideal school for graduate study (even for CE), but you can find better schools with much safer chance. It's my personal opinion, so you should decide about it on your own.</p>

<p>If you think you would fit into a bit nerdy group, I guess your focus would be more on actual computer departments. So..</p>

<p>Match/Safeties
-Georgia Tech
-Carniege Mellon U
-University of Michigan
-University of Illinois
-University of Texas at Austin</p>

<p>I'm sure you won't make any bad choice for academic qualities even if you choose randomly. You will expect high student/faculty in these public safety schools, but they will still give you excellent education.</p>

9

<p>if you are applying for a private university, i wouldn't worry about money at all. The government will hook you up ;) YAY POOR PEOPLE! haha. Some great schools will probabily even offer you some merit scholarships! Also don't forget to apply for outside scholarships. I've never stepped into a Lutheran church before in my life and got a $4K scholarship from a Lutheran Org. because my grandma is Lutheran and I did 'okay' in highschool. Northwestern and U of Chicago are great matches for you. I applied to Case Western and got it but had no clue what I was going to major in so I'm at Baylor...trying to transfer out...maybe to Case... Anyway, on to you!!!</p>

<p>I wouldn't be ashamed of your resume at all. Don't say you wouldn't have a chance at Johns Hopkins, Cornell, or MIT!!! It's a lie! I suggest applying ED to an ivy/ivy-caliber univ. I found this great website at <a href="http://www.studentsreview%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.studentsreview&lt;/a> if you are interested in reading student comments.</p>

10

<p>If it's a lie, then why do JHU, Cornell, and MIT seem to accept better students than me? I'm worried that I would stand absolutely no chance at those schools, even with interviews, good recommendations, and excellent essays. That's why I'd like to find more schools like Case and Carnegie Mellon where I stand a good chance of acceptance. I really want to apply to Cornell and MIT, but I don't think I'd even be waitlisted at the very least. My application seems too weak for them...</p>

<p>I do agree with what you say about JHU, stevefis. It seems like a medical college to me (and I highly dislike doctors/hospitals/medicine and so on). Considering the matches/safeties you gave me, I really don't want to go to an out-of-state public school for engineering because of the higher cost. Some of them are also south, and I generally like cold areas; hence the northeast is my forte. I'm used to Ohio winters. They're fun. Moreover, I don't want to go to a huge college. 15,000 undergraduates is about as high as I'd be willing to go.</p>

<p>So, again...I know this isn't the "Chances?" board, but does anyone think it'd be worthwhile to apply to huge reach colleges like MIT and Cornell? Also, are there any other match colleges out there for me in the northeast that are like Carnegie Mellon and Case? Thanks a bunch for all your suggestions!</p>

11

<p>Hmm... It seems like you'd have high priority on the location of school.
But if you can afford university like carniege mellon and case western, you should try some other public university which I mentioned.. I bet you'll have more than 90% of getting in at least in one of thses schools and they'll well-known for computer engineering. (UIUC, Michigan, Wisconsin)</p>

<p>I think you are pretty competent in cornell and maybe even in northwestern. It would worth the money to apply for those two schools. :) If I were you and I were bit conservative, my list would be.</p>

<p>-Carniege Mellon
-Case Western
-UIUC
-Michigan
-University of Wisconsin -Madison
-Maybe Cornell or Northwestern</p>

12

<p>The only reason I feel I can afford Case and Carnegie Mellon is because I'm hoping they'll both give me a good financial package. I know my EFC on the FAFSA will be really low (because my brother's was), so I'll get money from there too. And I'm willing to take out loans; I just can't pay anything on the spot. Here's an off-topic question; what does it mean when a college says it meets 100% of a student's need? Does that mean I'd get a full ride? That's why I have Gannon and CSU in my list. They'll both give me full tuition. I have to play it safe because if all of these big colleges don't give me much, I'll have quite a hard time paying. That's my fear. For example, University of Michigan's in-state tuition is about $8,000, while its out-of-state tuition is about $26,000. That's a huge difference, and I'm afraid I'll have to owe something near $15,000 a year if I went there. That's quite a lot. Maybe I've been drawn into a popular misnomer, but I'm trying to find good private colleges that would likely accept me and give me an excellent financial package. I'm just afraid that an out-of-state public school would not do this for me. Please correct me if I'm wrong. That's why I mentioned so many top private universities. Again, is this a misconception? Thanks for all of your information.</p>

13

<p>You have great stats dude and I think that you have a great chance at Cornell; although I don't think they'd give you much aid. I think that CMU is a match for you (very techish and geekish?, no offense) and you'd probably get a very nice aid package (my friend got 30k! she's hot!). I recommend applying to U of Rochester, it has a great small town feel with a small drinking scene and a fair amount of video game players (that's how I felt when I visited).They give out nice aid packages to boot too! Also, check out RPI which has a similar reputation to UR's.</p>

<p>I don't think you'd like Michigan much, I'm going this year because of the study hard, party hard environment- they do party hard! They also don't give much in terms of Merit Aid (70 scholarships for 5000 new freshmen?).</p>

<p>Good luck to wherever you apply to, and at least try to aim for some reaches.</p>

<p>Edit: when a school says that they'll mee 100% of a student needs, it means that they'll offer you a package that should cover the cost of college with a combination of Scholarships, grants, workstudy, federal and school loans; you'll probably have to pay the loans back with minimal interest- I am!</p>

<p>Also, CMU and RPI are very good at comp sci.</p>

14

<p>I agree quite a lot with your post, Jimmy. And thanks for the compliments, too! I was already looking into University of Rochester, but I'll take a second look at RPI. Cornell worries me though. To stand a chance of acceptance, I'd have to apply early action, but then I'd be screwed if their financial package for me wasn't that great. What do you think I should do? I'd like to be able to compare offers, but I'm not certain that Cornell would accept me regular decision. Thanks again.</p>

15

<p>I had a very similar SAT score, and I got in RD along with Duke and Northwestern and some other prestigious places. You are fine man. Stop Worrying.</p>

16

<p>Im also looking at Cornell Early Decision definitely, University of Rochester, Syracuse, JHU, Boston U. almost identical to my list, lol</p>

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<p>You guys should def. look into U of R, it is up there with the prestige on ur lists, also they have a really good acceptance for ED and ED 2..so if you get rejected cornell ED, ed 2 is always an option...and if you have solid stats, that will gaurantee your merit aid and acceptance.</p>

18

<p>Given my financial situation, would it be foolish to apply to Northwestern Early Decision? Could they give me a bad financial aid package?</p>

19

<p>im in your shoes too...im risking alot...but im applying ED Cornell with a horribly low income....</p>

20

<p>I don't know if you've ever heard of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, but if in case you haven't, it really offers a pretty strong Computer Engineering Program. You can check it out at <a href="http://www.olin.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.olin.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>