Help! Advice needed!!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>SAT: CR- 580 Math- 650 Writing- 480</p>

<p>GPA: 94%</p>

<p>Courses: 9th Grade- Honors Geometry, Honors Bio, World History 1, English, Spanish
10th Grade- Honors Alg 2 and Trig, Honors Chem, AP Bio (4 on AP), English, World History 2, Spanish
11th Grade- Honors PreCalc, Honors Physics, Honors English, APUS, Honors Spanish
12th Grade- AP Calc BC, AP Chem, College English, AP Gov, Computer Programming</p>

<p>EC: National Honor Society
Tutor
Conduct Science Fair
Read to Achieve
Lots more</p>

<p>Where should I start looking at schools? What are the top Engineering schools I can get in to with these grades (first time taking SAT with no practice). I am taking the SAT again (with prep this time) on May 5th and expect CR: ~600 Math: ~700 Writing: ~600 and I am definetly interested in Engineering, specifically Civil and Mechanical. Any advice is good advice to me, all input is appreciated!!</p>

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<p>What part of the country do you want to go to school in? With your current SAT scores, especially a 650 in math, the top tier (MIT, Georgia Tech, etc.) is gonna be a challenge. I strongly suggest that you hire a professional tutor and take the ACT. Many kids that take the SAT and perform below their expectations, do far better on the ACT. My kid ended up getting very high scores on the ACT and was mediocre from the engineering admissions perspective on the SAT. His valedictory scholar level GPA and high ACT scores got him into most of the top engineering programs in California. In fact, we did not even bother to send in his SAT scores to the school of his choice. You may also want to take the SAT subject tests as some of the schools that you will apply for may require them. </p>

<p>I am most familiar with the engineering schools in the West. So, I’ll mention a few schools there. With your hoped for scores, I would say that some of the best schools that would serve you well would be:</p>

<p>My kid goes to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo incredible program:</p>

<p>Avg. GPA 3.94; ACT 29; SAT Math & Reading 1299</p>

<p>California State Polytechnic University Pomona:</p>

<p>Engineering – A minimum score of 550 of the math section of the SAT exam or a minimum score of 23 on the enhanced math section of the ACT exam is required for consideration
General Population – Test Scores – 25th / 75th Percentile SAT Critical Reading: 460 / 580; SAT Math: 490 / 630.</p>

<p>University of Arizona:</p>

<p>1232 SAT (Math & Verbal)
26.9 ACT (Composite)
3.7 GPA (Unweighted)</p>

<p>Arizona State University:</p>

<p>Minimum 1140 SAT combined math and verbal or minimum 24 ACT combined score; or 3.00 minimum ABOR GPA; or class ranking in top 25 percent of high school class, and no high school math or science competency deficiencies.</p>

<p>I went to the UofA and loved it. I think the best programs due to their “learn by doing - hands on” teaching methodology are the Cal Poly’s. Both are looking for OSS. I know that that school graduates a large percentage of the engineers working in California. Big network out here and for those with good GPA’s excellent job opportunities. </p>

<p>There are many schools at this level in most states. So there will be plenty of programs to choose from.</p>

<p>Another school in your hoped for range that is very, very good is:</p>

<p>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI); Troy, New York:</p>

<p>1290:1470 SAT 50th Percentile (out of 1600, math and critical reading sections combined); A-/B+ Average High School GPA.</p>

<p>Also, here is a grid of all the Cal State schools with engineering programs that you can most likely get into. [List</a> of engineering programs in the California State University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_engineering_programs_in_the_California_State_University]List”>List of engineering programs in the California State University - Wikipedia)</p>

3

<p>Cost constraints?</p>

<p>Your in-state public universities are likely good choices to put on your application list.</p>

<p>Out of state schools with relatively low list prices include CSUs (including the Cal Polys but not the UCs), SUNYs, NCSU, Virginia Tech, Iowa State, New Mexico Tech, South Dakota State.</p>

<p>The University of Alabama campuses in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville do offer significant merit scholarships based on grades and ACT/SAT scores.</p>

<p>Use [ABET</a> -](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) accreditation listings to find which schools offer your desired engineering major.</p>

4

<p>I live in New York and am looking to stay East Cost-ish lol… also I took Bio SAT II and got a 700. How are the State schools such as UDelaware, Boston U, U Pitt, Maryland etc…</p>

5

<p>Boston University is private (and expensive at list price).</p>

<p>Many out of state publics are expensive at list price, although some are less expensive (see post #3). Financial aid at most out of state publics is not very generous.</p>

6

<p>Money is not a factor</p>

7

<p>Boston University is always a toughest one. If you have money it doesn’t mean that you can enter in there easily. You got to boost your score to get in there.</p>

8

<p>If you want to stay rather local in NY to work, why not check with engineering firms around you to see which schools they hire from? We’re in Southern PA and around here Penn St and Va Tech definitely dominate (Civil Engineering). I think many firms know the fairly local colleges they like and stick with them if they can. Once one has had experience, undergrad probably wouldn’t matter, but for new hires…</p>