Hello! I am currently a senior in high school and am looking for advice on applying to UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering for Computer Engineering. Please take a look at some of my information below, as I’m trying to get opinions on whether I should include my SAT score (it is low compared to the middle 50% getting into Grainger) as UIUC is test optional right now.
Major: Computer Engineering
SAT (2nd Attempt): 1370 (700EBVRW/670M) [1450-1540 is the middle 50% for Grainger]
Current Weighted GPA (Out of 5): 4.728
Unweighted GPA: 4.138 [I’m not sure why it’s above 4, but this is the number that the school provides on the transcript]
Top 5% of Class: 95th to 99th Percentile
Courses Outline: 8 Honors Courses (Taking 1 more currently), 4 AP Courses (Taking 2 more currently) [I have A’s and A+'s in every single class I’ve taken in high school. The one A- I have on record was for the second semester of AP Physics 1]
AP Literature and Composition: Currently Taking
AP Calculus BC: Currently Taking
AP Government and Politics: 5
AP Physics 1: 2
AP U.S. History: 4
AP Language and Composition: 5
Community Service: 109.75 Hours
Awards (This is just a super quick list, there is more that I haven’t written down):
1. National Honors Society Member
2. AP Scholar
3. John Philip Sousa Band Award
4. Some type of presidential academic achievement recognition
5. A lot more I just can’t remember right now
Extracurriculars:
4 years of marching band percussion
3 years of winter percussion
1 year as student leader of percussion/drumline
Robotics club and FIRST competition experience for 1 year
4 year member of Christian Students Association (CSA)
CSA prayer leader position for 3 years
1 year of jazz band
Back to the main question though, do you believe I should include my SAT score of 1370 when it is far below the average 50% or will it only hurt my chances of getting into the school?
Disclaimer: I fully understand how hard it is to get into Grainger, I’m just asking for advice in which would give me the best chance.