I’m currently a junior in a fairly competitive highschool. My school is ranked in the top 10 for all boys highschools and also top 10 for Catholic high schools. Personally I don’t really have a preference in college size or location relative to where I am now. I only hope that the college I end up at has a good student life. ( Easy to make friends ) If possible I would like to attend a well known school (Top 20 or 50), however I’m not sure if my stats will allow it due to my sub-par performance freshman year. However, my sophomore year I believe I displayed a strong upward trend when achieving straight A’s the entire year for the first time in comparison to my three B’s per semester during my freshman year. So far I’ve put together a list of colleges I’m thinking about, but am not sure if they are too easy or too competitive
College List:
University Of Colorado Boulder
Texas A&M
UT Austin
Rice University
USC
Stats:
3.8 Unweighted GPA
4.2 Weighted GPA
School doesn’t rank us
1440 SAT Practice Test ( Will take real one this year with more preparation & algebra II knowledge, goal = 1520+)
29 ACT Practice Test ^^^^^
I didn’t take any APs my freshman year, but took AP Comsci Principles my sophomore year and got a 5 on the exam.
Junior Year AP/AC Courses:
AC Algebra II
AP English Language And Comp
AP Chemistry
AP Macroeconomics
AP U.S Gov and Poltics
Extracurriculars:
NHS
Altar Server since fourth grade
Started playing lacrosse reshman year ( Most improved player freshman year & A team captain of varsity sophomore year)
-Essay may be over this because I improved quickly with hard word, face hardships etc.
-Planning on doing some sort of internship the summer before my senior year (science/medical related)
I plan on majoring in Biology or some form of engineering (Chemical or Aerospace)
I’m also half Asian & half White which shouldn’t matter but it does I guess. Please leave any recommendations below, I would really appreciate feedback that can help me in any way.
Without an actual official ACT or SAT score, it is difficult to assess your chances for these schools–but I’ll do it anyway.
If you earn a 1440 or higher on the SAT, all of your listed schools become reasonable targets with Rice, UT-Austin & USC being in the reach category.
CU-Boulder & Texas A&M are likely to admit you.
In Florida your best options would be UF and UCF. UF has great academics all around and is a top 10 public school nationally and UCF is considered to be a major up-and-comer that is known for its amazing engineering program. Both would set you up for success as UF is well-known and UCF’s reputation keeps going up and the school is in Orlando (many great job and internship opportunities). Both have great social scenes and UCF is said to be one of the friendliest campuses.
I agree with UF and UCF. Both have fantastic engineering programs, large campuses ( I believe UCF is the largest by enrollment in the country) and UF is a top 9 public school. You will also be likely to get a good amount of money from UCF.
If he’s a Florida resident, UF, UCF and USF are obvious choices.
If he’s OOS, UCF and USF make good financial and academic safeties, as both would offer significant merit awards. Based on ACT/SAT scores, FSU may also be a financial/academic option if he earns the OOS tuition waiver (in-state tuition is about $6.3K a year).
UF would be expensive and would be lumped in with the other schools (like UC-Boulder and Texas A&M). At that point, he may also want to look into Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Clemson also has a solid engineering program and offers some OOS aid/scholarships. Higher test scores will improve his chances at merit scholarships.
First things first, @Bigred816 : do you have any financial limitations? A full pay degree at USC will be $280,000+; OOS Texas or Boulder $200K+. Sort that part out before you get too locked into any specific schools. If you will be looking for financial aid, run the NPC for each school; if you are hoping for merit money, check out how your stats (when you have them) compare to admitted students & the typical merit money given (find it for every college at collegedata.com).
Also, you are a full year away from writing essays, so don’t get too focused on that now. The big decision over the next year will be whether you apply for engineering or not.