Hello everyone. I am seeking for advice in a desperate situation in my life. I applied for Purdue College of Engineering but was denied admission. I had the option to be wait-listed. I acted on impulse and decided to select being on the wait-list without further considering my other options. Unfortunately that was a bad decision. Because I had already selected being on the wait-list, my other option of guarunteed admission has been negated. I spoke with an admissions counselor and they told me to fill out an Application Change Form. I initallt stated that I wanted to do Chemistry but the admissions counselor told me getting into College of Science is just as hard as Engineering, and that if I got denied from Eng, my chances for Sci were slim. Here are mt stats:
1230 New SAT total (600ENG + 630 MAT)
3.910 of 5.0 GPA
60/555 class rank
4 year varsity swimmer + co-captain
Heavy extracirricular activities
The average SAT score for engineering is 1430, so although I was disappointed I didn’t get in, I’m not surprises. But, I expected more hope for Science rather than “you have a minimal chance.”
All in all, I just need some advice with what I’m going to do with my life. I also would like to post my essay for “why should we reconsider your precious deny decision” but don’t want to be accused for plaigarism. Any help on that would be nice too.
Thanks everyone and looking forward to your responses.
Well, I live in Indiana + I’m a 21st Century Scholar. Purdue is in my best interest when it comes to affordability. I’d also qualify for Purdue Promise which pays off room and board plus other stuff. I’m basically going to college for free if I go to Purdue. I can’t afford to lose that.
Yes, I’ve done my research. Since I didn’t get FYE in ChemE, I thought maybe I could change my major to Chem instead. Both first year courses are very similar. But I was told that Chem wouldn’t be a likely option since it’s just as hard to get into as Chem E. My question is, what do I do now? At this point, I just want to get in Purdue.
Could you get into Purdue under exploratory studies? If so, you can then take the first year chemical engineering course work. But you really need that 3.20 GPA or higher to switch into FYE (though it does not appear to be difficult to get into an engineering major after that if your GPA is that high and the major is not “over critical capacity” – find out if chemical engineering is).
You may want to verify directly with the appropriate parts of Purdue on these paths to various majors, including whether it is difficult to get into the FYE courses while enrolled in exploratory studies.
I see. It’s just that I’m starting to lose my confidence. Being denied Chem E hurt me, but not as bad as being told I might not even get Chem. Now, I’m starting to lose hope that I might not even get Exploratory Studies. I have my essay of why they should reconsider me after my previous decline. If you could read and critique it, I’d greatly appreciate that. Idk how to send it to you though. I don’t want to post on here either because of plaigarism stuff. Let me know a good way of contacting you.
Apply for chemistry and/ or CS at Indiana U. Indiana Promise works there too.
(they’re opening a school of CS and informatics and will try building that school. It’s not at all like chemistry but professionally it’s in demand.)
Purdue is cut throat weed out in the first year, even outside of engineering. 3.2 is a very high bar to clear (think that kids with A’s And act 32 suddenly get grades like 60% on exams. Crawling back from that is hard. They really test your resolve.) If you get in at Purdue but for Exploratory Studies, then get directed to Math or Economics, are you okay with that?
Apply for another type of engineering at IUPUI?
I did apply af IU as a back up. I didn’t really want to go there since it’s kind of overrated, plus a lot of people at my high school go there too. But I’ll look more into it. When I submitted my application, my initial major that I put down was Math, so I suppose that that major will be my safety net. When they say weed out, I understood that some students will likely struggle and drop classes, but I never knew it went so far as to have too students like that hang on a thread also. This may sound silly, but is Exploratory Studies something looked down upon? I mean, I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted to do prior to applying. But I feel like I’ve been told “You’re too dumb. Choose undecided for first year.”
No, but thank you. I have my heart set for Purdue. I’m basically out of options now, except for my last save-me card. I’m just going to place my bets on Exploratory Studies at this point.
My suggestion if you want to be a Chem E would be to apply to any number of other school for which your stats would be just fine. My D is a Chem E at Purdue but co-ops with students from the U. Of Cincinnati and the University of Louisville. The University of Akron is strong in Chem E due to it’s relationship with the rubber industry and polymers. You would be a good candidate at any of them. Purdue is a great school but each of the others will offer similar opportunities. What you do once your in school is more important than where you graduate from. After your first job where you got your UG degree from will not matter too much.
Thanks for the advice Ivvcsf. I’m a 21st Century Scholar, so I can’t afford to have that voided by going to an out of state college. I have my heart set on Purdue. I just don’t understand why I wouldn’t be able to get in College of Science… I found out College of Eng had an average SAT of 1430, so although I was disappointed I didn’t get in, I’m not surprised. But I thought I would have at least more than a “minimal” chance of getting in College of Science.
I applied for Rose actually. But what’s been haunting me in the back of mind is that… if I didn’t get accepted into Purdue College of Engineering, why should Rose accept me?
And I just ran the NPC, I applied EA so Merit Scholarships are a potential possibility. Like I said, I don’t think out of state can be an option for me.
FYI, last year Purdue had 1,728 students accept a slot on the waiting list. They ended admitting 643 off the wait list (info available in the common data set).
Last year, the middle 50% SAT for enrolled students was 1860 to 2070, which maps to a 1320-1440 on the new SAT. Now that you’re on the wait list, can you re-take the SAT? you don’t need a 1430, shoot for 1300+.
Seriously? The freaking admissions counselor told me NOBODY on the Engineering wait-list got accepted. And as for how my SAT goes, I feel as if my luck has ran out. I’ve been stuck at 630MAT for 3 times in a row now. I’ve already submitted my application change form also. I’m honestly starting to just cross my fingers and hope for the best.
Those who were accepted off the waitlist were essentially in Arts/science.
You’re an illustration of why students should not fixate on one dream college, but rather figure out WHY exactly they love a given college - could be Middlebury, USC, Clemson… or Purdue! **Can you list 3-4 aspects of your dream college that make it perfect?
People here will be able to list many
Don’t box yourself into a corner. You sound like “Purdue or nothing”, which is not the way to go - create openings for yourself.
If you like chemistry, why not apply for chem at IU? Although I’d really recommend CS/Informatics, but in any case, call and say you saw the new school opening, want to change major to CS/Informatics OR call and say you want to go from math to chemistry.
OK, so IUPUI is off the table. Rose Hulman is more holistic than Purdue so they may be ok with your SAT math score because of everything else you bring to the table (at a smaller college, it’s not just w GPA X SAT score but they look at what would make you a valuable member of their community.)
Have you applied to Grinnell (definite reach but you never know)? Earlham (good match)?
Retake the SAT or take the ACT: what have you got to lose? It’d be really odd if you got the exact same score in math and in
What’s your budget - what have your parents said? Are you eligible for TE (tuition exchange)?