help wanted :)

<p>Well after about a month of researching colleges I have come up with my first list and wanted to hear yalls opinion. My intended major is going to be Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Physics. For background information I am a middle class white male from a suburb of Houston, TX. As for the good stuff here we go. :)</p>

<p>GPA= ~3.6(UW) ~5.15(W)(took the hardest classes but kind of slacked off)
Class rank= 59 of ~500
SATI= 2000(620V/780M/600W/10 essay) retook in June hoping for higher V and W scores
ACT= I'll let you know in a week <em>crosses fingers</em> ;)
Extracurriculars= NHS, NArtHS, Math Club, NEnglishHS, Academic Decathlon, 150ish assorted volunteer hours, HP Code Wars Participant, and I have built computers for various people(it's easy and makes good money).</p>

<p>As for my college list its kind of large as of now.</p>

<p>Cornell University
Case Western Reserve University
Purdue University- West Lafayette
Texas A&M University- College Station
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
Worcester Polytechnic Institute</p>

<p>After my research my favorites so far are Cornell and Case. So are there any colleges I should cut from my list or possibly add to it? Thanks in advance for the help!</p>

<p>You have great chances at all thes Universities!!</p>

<p>Awesome! Even Cornell? I thought for sure that would be a reach. Anyone else have any advise for other schools to possibly look at?</p>

<p>Cornell stands out as the big 'reach' on that list, with Michigan a close 2nd in terms of selectivity (out of state). But I'd say you have as much a chance as anybody for getting in at Cornell. Michigan is kind of random.</p>

<p>I think you will almost for sure get into Case, Purdue, A&M and Worcester. I'm not sure how UTA works; you're not quite top 10%, just a little shy of it. If you can pull your rank up, don't you get into UT automatically? You may want to pursue that...</p>

<p>Yes I know I need Top 10% for UT and hopefully with all A's next year I can get in that Top 10% and be able to take TAMU off my list completely. But getting into the Top 10% doesn't look could because my HS is very competitive for a PS. What exactly are my chances for USC? It is probably 3rd on my list and I have a lot of friends there so who knows. Also does applying early affect your Financial Aid at colleges? Because my EFC is a ridiculous $28K and my dad is saying we might be able to pull it off but I'm more likely to be getting $23Kish from my family. So I am looking for a good package hopefully. Thanks so much for the help so far guys! :)</p>

<p>I dont think you have a chance at Cornell. You're not even in the top 10% of your class, your SAT needs a lot of improvement. Your ECS are good but not amazing at all for admissions officers. The rest of your schools you have a very good shot at. Good luck, and hopefully you can prove me wrong!</p>

<p>you could probably have a chance at Cornell. I think I remember reading somewhere that they accept like 30% of their applicants, it's supposedly the easiet to get into out of the Ivies.</p>

<p>Isnt USC pretty hard to get into too?</p>

<p>no real safety if im correct watching a 60 minutes a couple of yrs back w/ the 'rents its quite hard to get into texas instate if not in the 10% i remember yah</p>

<p>I really don't plan to go to UT anyway unless I don't get into Cornell, Case, USC, UM, or WPI. The funny thing is looking at the stats I <em>should</em> get into at least WPI and Case but will most likely get caped at UT. Where I would have to go to either UTSA or UTA for my freshman year and then transfer into UTA. So as you can see UT, TAMU, and Purdue are my safeties. Although the more I look at Purdue the more I like it and I think it is reasonably safe to consider it a saftey. And TAMU is easy for In-State kids to get into. I know kids with stats 10x worse than mine that got in and UT has the CAP program so...</p>