<p>Okay, so I don't have a very good idea of where I'm at. I know I'm not going to any Ivies, and probably not any top 20 schools, but most of the schools I'm looking at aren't very prestigious and/or just don't seem intellectually challenging enough. Hoping to major in engineering/computer science or something of the sort, but also have a keen interest in writing (probably gonna minor in English).</p>
<p>GPA: 3.73 weighted
ACT: 30
PSAT: 1990 (610 CR, 670 Math, 710 Writing. Haven't taken SAT yet)
Extracurriculars:
-Co-founder/VP of Chess Club
-Football (JV)
-Tutor at local elementary school
-Applying for National Honors Society</p>
<p>Attending a somewhat competetive Catholic school in California. Currently a junior, should be able to get my GPA up to around 3.8 weighted at least and actual SAT should be over 2000 after studying. I don't have access to my unweighted GPA at the moment but probably around a 3.4-3.5. I've taken almost every honors class available and am in two APs with three more scheduled next year. Not sure about class rank, but should be at or near top 10%. As a Catholic school student, I've got quite a bit of mandatory community service under my belt. As much as I regret it, I kind of lazed through freshman and first half of sophomore year, and now it's come back to haunt me GPA-wise. Also I'm a middle class white male who doesn't have much to contribute in the diversity department if that's a factor. Right now some of my top choices are UM Twin Cities, Santa Clara, Case Western, and the Christian schools down in Texas (SMU, Baylor, TCU, etc.) but have no idea where I stand on most of these. All of them except TCU and Baylor have gotten mediocre reviews from what I've read, so I don't know what to expect either. Any help would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Why would you think that, as an example, the University of Minnesota is not prestigious or challenging enough for you, especially in engineering?</p>
<p>U Minn College of Engineering has a median ACT of 30.
Their 25%-75% ACT range Is 29-32. </p>
<p>The median math SAT score is 730.</p>
<p>You are not enough close to being a top student at U Minn for engineering. In fact, you are about as average as they come.</p>
<p>Minnesota is a great school for engineering.</p>
<p>You are halfway through junior year-how far along are you in the math curriculum? You may find that continued progress in math increases your ACT score.</p>
<p>Does your HS use Naviance or a similar system? You will want to see the school profile as well, which would help you to put your GPA in the context of your school (whether rank or GPA deciles).</p>
<p>Thanks all of you for helping. Sorry I was kind of vague with my original post; I understand that schools like Minnesota are very good schools (especially for engineering), and would feel good going there, but most of the people I’ve talked to agree that a degree from a lot of many of them (Case Western, Santa Clara, even Rensselaer) just isn’t that valuable. Some of the more well-known schools, at least from people I’ve talked to, just don’t seem to be as challenging as the ones I’ve mentioned above. I’d like a school on par educationally with Minnesota or Case Western but perhaps more well-known when it comes to getting a job.</p>
<p>SCU’s location in Silicon Valley is favorable for EE and CS recruiting (same goes for SJSU and UCSC). Schools in Texas and other oil areas may be more favorable for petroleum engineering.</p>
<p>Note that SMU, Baylor, and TCU are different denominations (Methodist, Southern Baptist, and Disciples of Christ), and perhaps different levels of religiousness. Depending on your religion and level of religiousness, that may factor into the desirability of those schools (and Catholic schools like SCU) for you.</p>
<p>University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a perfectly respectable school, and relatively low in out of state cost of attendance. Virginia Tech is also relatively low in out of state cost of attendance.</p>
<p>If you plan to work in California, the UCs and Cal Polys are well known enough to be on most California recruiters’ list of visits.</p>
<p>ABET accreditation applies to specific degree programs, not schools. It is a high enough bar that choosing between ABET accredited engineering degree programs at various schools is a choice between good and good, or good and maybe even better, rather than good and bad. For some branches like civil engineering, ABET accreditation is important for Professional Engineer licensing.</p>
<p>ABET also accredits computer science degree programs, but some of the top reputation schools in computer science have not sought ABET accreditation for computer science. However, if a school is not a top reputation school in computer science, ABET accreditation in computer science can be assurance of meeting a minimum quality standard.</p>
<p>You have champagne tastes (national prestige) but a beer budget (grades and test scores probably too low for uber ‘prestige’ schools). Your best bet might be to attend a school that is well known throughout the country (but perhaps not ‘prestigious’) but also offers a world class, solid education AND will accept you. None of the engineering students from these schools have much of a problem getting jobs.</p>
<p>Purdue
Michigan State
Minnesota
Iowa
Ohio State
Penn State
Pitt</p>
<p>Minnesota is a great school in a lot of ways, but having grown up in Minneapolis, and having received my Master’s Degree from U of MN, I will warn you - It’s FREEZING! It will be a big shock for you coming from California. I moved away for 8 or so years, and when I returned to do my Masters, I froze my behind off.
The winters in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and just about everywhere else will be much milder for you, so please keep that in mind. ( Just keeping’ it real for you!)</p>
<p>Just curious, why would the opinion of a bunch of strangers on CC carry more weight than the people you’ve talked to who have said the degrees just aren’t that valuable?</p>
If a school is ABET certified (and the schools listed are) the programs will be comparable.</p>