Hi! I’m a senior in high school and am essentially clueless about what would be a good fit for me. For context, my parents are immigrants and my sister is a first-generation USC graduate. I guess you could say that I’m feeling the pressure! I will take any advice, as my counsellors don’t know a lot about the application process. Here are my stats:
UW GPA: 3.63
W GPA: 3.7
Rank: 80/405
SAT: 1130
Ethnicity: Asian
Region: Suburban Idaho
Not too worried about college finances at this point!
Took honors classes (no AP courses at my school)
Current VP of Hospitality in my DECA chapter, worked a P/T job junior year, was involved in a lot of activities prior to COVID
Intended Major: chemical engineering, preferably at a college in an urban area.
I also faced a large dip in my GPA sophomore year pre-pandemic due to mental health and medical reasons.
So far my list is:
UC Berkeley
USC
UCLA
UCSD
U of Washington
Loyola Marymount
Loyola Chicago
ASU
Seattle U
Boston U
UPitt
The New School - Eugene Lang
U San Francisco
Boston College
U of Illinois Chicago
SJSU
SDSU
Hoping to shorten down this list.
Once again, I will take any advice! Some questions I have:
Is there too many reach schools on this list? Is it unreasonable?
You do have a LOT of reach schools on your list. Several are reaches for students with a 4.0/1600 because there are more qualified applicants than available space. Test optional is probably going to be your best bet. You also say you aren’t too worried about finances. You have several OOS publics and expensive private schools. Is your family ok with paying $65-80K per year? Or will you need need-based or merit aid?
There is nothing wrong with applying to several reach schools but you need to find a school that you would be happy to attend and is a safety in terms of both academics and finances.
Based on your numbers & on your class rank, UCal-Berkeley, UCLA, and UC-San Diego are unlikely to admit you. SAT and class rank are too low for these UCs. To be blunt, I think that it would be a waste of time & money to apply to these UCs.
USC & Boston College are reaches.
Engineering majors at the University of Washington at Seattle are also reaches for you.
Definitely apply to Loyola Marymount, Loyola Chicago, ASU, SJSU,SDSU, Seattle University, U San Francisco, Illinois at Chicago, & Pitt.
Do you have a second major if unable to get in to Chem Engineering ?
What is your SAT math score ? This is important for any prospective engineering major.
If you are looking for Urban and open to the east coast, take a look at Manhattan College. Brand new engineering building opened up this year and great access to Internships in NYC.
I think your list is unrealistic. It’s mainly all reaches. It’s good to reach - but not on most everything. What you have going for you is you are from Idaho and schools love geographic diversity.
You will not get into any of the UCs you have listed. Not saying not to apply. But you won’t get in. You can maybe try Riverside. USC, UW, BU, BC - I don’t think you are close. Sorry.
You won’t get into UW. Loyoa Chicago doesn’t have Chemical.
ASU is a possible and pitt possible. Why New School? That’s more liberal arts or am I missing something.
U of Arizona should be added. U of Utah another and U of New Mexico - they are “urban-ish”. UT Knoxville as well. You may also look at Wichita State and Akron (not sure if urban). A UMN is a great school but will be a reach. LSU and and UAH may be others. I looked at Marquette and UAB but didn’t see chemical. You have Pitt - great school, easier entry but maybe not for engineering - not sure.
Your stats will not get you into even near top tier schools. Sorry. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply - but you should reduce the #s you have and then you should add some more realistic like Arizona and New Mexico. You want urban so I tried to stay at least in cities.
You will definitely get into a great school - keep the faith. But engineering is very difficult even for top students. You’re a fine student and I’m sorry you struggled one year - but unfortunately, that’s a hinderance. You can explain it - but it doesn’t disappear.
Also, you said you’re not worried about money at this point - but you should always be worried about money. Budget is the first thing - but since you have a sibling at USC, I guess you have a way - need or savings - to make it work.
I agree with the above comments about the UC’s based on your GPA listed, that anything below a capped weighted GPA of 4.0 will make all the UC’s a tough admit. Since UC’s do not consider 9th grades, you need to calculate your UC GPA’s (3) and see where you stand. Also the Cal states SJSU and SDSU will use the UC capped weighted GPA for their admissions review.
Since you are OOS for the UC’s and CSU’s, only AP/IB and CSU/UC transferable classes will get the extra honors points in the calculation. OOS honors classes do not get the extra weighting and HS course rigor is very important for the CSU’s and UC’s so if AP’s are offered but not taken, then it will make you less competitive. CSU’s and UC’s are test blind so an advantage there.
You will also be full pay for the CSU’s and UC’s so you are looking at around $42K+/year for the CSU’s and $76K+ for the UC’s. Make sure this is affordable since I would not apply and waste application fees if they are not.
I would look into the WUE schools which UC Merced and several other Cal states (not SJSU or SDSU) are a part of that gives discounted tuition for students in the Western states. SDSU would be a Low Reach/High Match since average CSU GPA for overall admits was 4.0 last admission cycle but does not have Chemical Engineering.
How are your Math and Science grades? Since the CSU’s will give preference to applicants that show high Math and Science ability (meaning top grades in these courses).
You can search for schools offering specific majors.
Best of luck.
More admission information for the UC’s and Engineering will have lower admit rates:
Freshman 2020 admit rates based on Capped Weighted UC GPA and Not Major Specific for California students (3.80-4.19):
One not listed which would be a safety is St. Louis University. My friends child is there for eng and loves it. For chemical they have a dual degree (BA and a BS) with Wash U which is highly rated. They would likely give merit money which could decrease costs.
You remind me of me when I was in hs - Asian first gen college, older sister USC grad, hs counselors not knowledgeable, and me researching and educating my parents on applying to colleges.
Gumbymom and others can give you lots of info/tips on the schools you’re interested in, but I want to suggest you also reach out to your sister for advice. She can probably give insights on applying and attending college, especially if she went to the same hs and can share how different/same, how your application fares coming from your hs, etc.
When I was applying, my sister never offered advice, she was out of the house by then and assumed I was a good student and probably knew what I was doing. Only after talking later as adults did I realize I could have gotten lots of good tips from her before and during college (and after too ).
Also, to get more suggestions from others here, share some info on what you’re looking for in a college experience besides intended major and urban area – preferences on school size, class size, Greek life, academic rigor, extracurriculars, etc. Think about what you’d like your everyday life to look like a year from now. Good luck!
The only Cal states that offer Chemical Engineering are SJSU, Cal state Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona. CPP is the only Cal state that is part of the WUE. The other CSU’s will be full pay with no financial aid so looking at $42K+/year. CSU’s are test blind so GPA will be heavily weighted.
I agree that you need to talk with your parents about budget and your sister about her application experience. How does your stats compare to your sister’s which I am assuming were excellent since USC is a top school? There are colleges that would be good fits, but I will be honest that you are Reaching too high and really need to focus on schools where your stats put you at or above the 50th percentile of admits.
Any Engineering major will be competitive and Chemical Engineering will limit your options even more.
I’m sorry you had a tough year but it sounds like you’ve been able to overcome these obstacles which is great. It is also something to consider if you think you might need additional mental health / medical support in college. Most of your schools look far from home, so I’d suggest you look at (1) what kind of supports the schools provide and (2) if it might be better if you are close to home (or sister or other family) if you need family help.
My sister was a National Merit Semi-Finalist in 2013, so she ended up going to USC on a full ride. This being said, my parents moved a large portion of her college tuition fund into my account. My parents have told me to apply to as many schools as possible, Ivys (obviously not reasonable), etc.
I’m working on finding schools that fit my needs, however, there is not a lot of knowledge of colleges out of state where I’m from. If you have any tips, I will gladly take them. Thank you so much!
Cal Poly Pomona
Colorado State University
University of Idaho (in-state for you)
Montana State University, Bozeman
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Mexico
New Mexico State University
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
University of North Dakota
Oregon State University
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Utah Valley University
University of Utah
Washington State University
University of Wyoming
You may want to see if any could be used as your likely or safety colleges.
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