Hello,
I am interested in chemical engineering.
I was wondering if I am at an advantage over other applicants because in am a girl interested in engineering.
Also would it be a hook in Upenn and duke too?
Many schools seem to make a point of publicly stating how many of their engineering students are female so I am guessing that it is a plus in the admissions process. How much really depends on the applicant pool. I know some female engineers at Princeton and their qualifications were so strong that they would have most likely been admitted, male or female.
@Cantiger
As stated above. Despite what I’ve heard, read, or seen, things such as gender in combination with intended major can give you a leg up. In this case, applying as a woman in engineering should give you a tiny boost.
However, that is not to say that they’ll turn a blind eye to any weaknesses in your stats. You still gotta have the spunk and matter that most of their admitted applicants would have.
how would a woman dentist look to Princeton and Stanford?
I’m not sure what you are asking…are you suggesting you would indicate that dentistry would be a long term goal on your application? Since you cannot apply to dentistry at Princeton, they would probably view it as a good goal but in my opinion it doesn’t carry the same weight as applying to an existing program as an undergrad.
So, if this is such and advantage and you can change your major later if you decide to do so, why wouldn’t every female apply as some sort of engineer?
(@Cantiger, @NotYetEngineer)
There are lots of reasons not to apply to engineering. You may not have a strong enough math/physics background to make you a viable BSE candidate. You may have greater strengths in the humanities. And you may really have no interest in engineering whatsoever. It is not “such an advantage” in my opinion, but for those women who are authentically interested in STEM fields and are well qualified, it could be a positive for their applications.