Hi guys, I just wanted to ask what you think of my list. I was worried that there are not enough “reach” schools and that most of mine would be considered “safety” for me. However, I will need a lot of merit aid, since I don’t qualify for financial aid at most places so maybe its for the best.
Stats:
GPA: 94.6 unweighted 95.7 weighted as of February this year.
ACT: 34 (36 Reading, 35 English, 31 Math, and 35 Science) Probably going to send this.
SAT (New): 1450 (710 Reading + Writing, 740 Math)
SAT II: 770 Chem, 750 World History. Math 2 not out yet, and I will take physics in October.
Senior Year Courseload: AP Calc BC , IB English HL, IB Physics HL, IB Design Tech HL, IB Italian SL, IB 20th Century History HL
IB Diploma candidate so I also take TOK and am doing the EE.
I live in NY State and want to do Mechanial Engineering.
List:
Cornell (reach)
Lehigh (top choice)
Lafayette
Stony Brook
Binghamton
Rutgers
RPI
Stevens
What do you think? Is this a good choice for me? Do you think I can get scholarships at these colleges?
If you think paying for those colleges might be problematic I would suggest also adding U Alabama (if you’re willing to travel that far) and Pittsburgh.
Your stats might get you significant merit aid at those two giving you affordable options while you still try for your others to compare in the spring.
Illinois Institute of Technology may be a good choice for merit. I second Case for merit. Stevens COA is so high, merit may not be enough compared to the expense.
Regarding Stevens comment above, yes low 4 yr grad rate, because they emphasize coops, during which you do not pay tuition, instead get paid. Coops mean you graduate later, with more experience, but not having paid more tuition.
Also engineering schools in general do not have great 4 yr grad rates, both difficulty and relative ease of getting such coops compared to say a liberal arts major.
Stevens gave my S over 20k in merit, slightly lower grades, so you should do well there, but note without having a higher gpa would be tough to get alot more than that. Many schools have a limit to merit and finaid eligibility is required to get more except for the most exceptional applicants. Your ACT puts you in thet range, GPA does not.
RPI can be generous with merit too, my son turned down Stevens for RPI. He also got a smaller merit 10k, from WPI. I would strongly suggest WPI if you can do better on the merit. Great option.
Binghamton has a tiny program, very hard to get in, and IMO, not one of the better choices for ENG. Very old facilities and not the best faculty compared to the others on your list. But it is cheap ! Buffalo and Stonybrook are better for ENG, unless you want a very small program.
Yes Cornell will be tough with your gpa, and many there got 800 on math SAT. And if you do get in, you will pay full cost at 68k/yr now.
@blevine Why is the GPA bad? At the school where I work it would be an A (even unweighted) and there are tough courses listed. To me, that’s a very respectable GPA. What am I missing?
Probably depends on the HS.
Our HS has some kids who end up with 99 and 100 avgs every year. Some colleges do look at you relative to other applicants from the same HS, ranked or not. If nobody graduates with 99 avg in your HS then ur good.
ASEE will provide you with the stats of attending (but not admitted) engineering students for different colleges. You will notice they list the percentage of entering students ranked in the top quarter (25%) of their high schools instead of average GPA.
I assume my weighted grade will increase, that is what they gave me for last year when I only took 2 APs and no IBs. My school also doesn’t do ranks for some reason. I would be considered Magna Cum Laude though (2nd highest) so probably around 30th out of 275. Cornell is a reach and not even my top choice so its ok. I don’t want to travel more than 4 or 5 hours by car and don’t want to fly back and forth either so that is very limiting.