Help! Choosing colleges!

<p>Hi, I am a senior this year, and have a rough list of colleges I want to apply to.
Here are my credentials:
-7th in class of 310
-5.02 weighted GPA
-1960 on last SAT, retaking soon.
-Marching Band 4 years, JV and Varsity soccer 3 years
-Numerous honor societies and clubs, with officer positions in many
-White (not really a credential)
-Took 5 AP courses previously; all 4's, one 3. (ap scholar with distinction)
-one of few in a STEM program, (hardest science and math courses and a thesis paper and presentation)</p>

<p>I am looking to major in Mechanical Engineering and came up with a list of colleges I might be applying to:</p>

<p>Reach Schools:
-Stanford
-Harvard</p>

<p>Possible-ish? Schools:
-University of California, San Diego (my brother lives there in Cali, I live in NJ)
-Lehigh
-Rowan University
-Lafayette
-Stevens Institute of technology</p>

<p>Safety-ish? Schools:
-Drexel
-BU
-Case Western (in CO, but i love snowboarding, and i heard its decent for engineering, and free app)</p>

<p>I'm not positive what my chances are like, and if my reach schools are impossible (Harvards engineering programs are drastically less than that of Stanford's but still), if my possible schools are possible, and if I need to shoot even lower for safety schools. But could you guys/girls provide insight as to if these are way too high for my credentials? Thanks.</p>

<p>Why not try somewhere like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, or Florida Tech? They’re usually good engineering schools…</p>

<p>just so you know, Case is in OH, but it’s still good for engineering</p>

<p>yeah lol i know i got it confused with CO school of mines -__-</p>

<p>For Ivy schools, Columbia and Cornell have better programs than Harvard. Did you know that they just created the M.E. major at Harvard? [Mechanical</a> Engineering ? Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences](<a href=“http://www.seas.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate/mechanical-engineering]Mechanical”>http://www.seas.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate/mechanical-engineering)</p>

<p>I think your test scores are too low for Ivy league and Stanford, but it is fine to have a few dreams schools on the list.</p>

<p>What is your unweighted GPA? It is hard to evaluate your odds without knowing what it is on the 4.0 score. What is your MATH + CR SAT score?</p>

<p>I think Rowan is a safety for you?</p>

<p>btw, unweighted i believe is like a 3.65. All my APs really boosted it a lot</p>

<p>Harvard and Stanford are extremely unlikely with a 3.65 and 1960. Have you asked your parents how much they will pay toward college each year? UCSD will cost $50K/year. Have you looked at TCNJ and Rutgers?</p>

<p>Is Rutgers under consideration?</p>

<p>What kind of net price limit are you looking at? If less than the full list price of any of your schools, have you tried the net price calculators at the school web sites to get financial aid estimates?</p>

<p>Some schools with lower (out of state) list prices include:</p>

<p>Cal Poly SLO
Minnesota
New Mexico Mines
North Carolina State
South Dakota Mines
Stony Brook
Virginia Tech</p>

<p>(Note that Colorado Mines is much more expensive than the South Dakota and New Mexico Mines schools.)</p>