I’m currently attending a community college in California. I’ll have an estimated GPA of 3.2-3.3 when I apply this Fall for Mechanical Engineering. Where can I realistically get into?
This is my list of schools I want to go to plus a couple of backups. (I’m still narrowing down the list, but I still want to apply to a bunch to just shotgun my application)
I have a some extracurriculars under my belt such as a software engineering internship, being the founder and president of an engineering club at my school, and being a founder and photographer for a semi successful photography page.
I hear essays are a huge help, at least for freshman applicants. Is it worth it to get professional help to make my essays really stand out?
So again, is this list realistic? What are some safeties and other schools I should consider?
For starters, you will not be considered a “freshman applicant”. You are a transfer student. I can’t see your list of schools, but you need to find schools that have a good track record for accepting ME transfer students. I suspect your CC could guide you.
UCLA: 3.82 - 4.00
UCI: 3.45 - 3.77
UCSD : 3.74 - 3.95
UCSB : No info about MAE program (program exists but I can’t find avg. GPA)
UCSC : I think they don’t have MAE program
UCR: 3.19 - 3.53
These are average GPAs of admitted students (Mechanical Engineering). So I recommend you to raise your GPA if possible. If you want to know more use: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
I cannot speak for other schools because I cannot find published data, but I personally know a guy who didn’t get into UChicago, UMich, and Northwestern with 4.0 GPA, so it is pretty hard to get into one of those schools.
Most of those schools have great engineering programs. But some schools on your list do not offer MAE program or Engineering major. You should check whether the school offers the major you want before putting them on the list. Also, I do not recommend to apply to too many schools because, as you said, an essay is a huge deal and you don’t want to write too many essays at the same time.
I am sorry in advance if some of my words make you uncomfortable. Hope you have a great result at the end! Gook luck!
@xraymancs
UCLA
UCI
UCSD
UCSB
UCSC
UCR
Boston University
Boston College
Santa Clara
NYU
Northwestern
Purdue University
Rochester Institute of Technology
University of Chicago
UIUC
UMICH
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
McGill University
University of British Columbia
UW Seattle
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Waterloo
SJSU
Cal Poly SLO
Cal Poly Pomona
Thanks, University of Chicago does not have traditional engineering programs, just “Molecular Engineering” and that is mostly a graduate program. Since you want ME, then don’t even bother applying. Northwestern has a transfer acceptance rate of about 10% and so the competition is quite stiff, particularly with a GPA under 3.6 or so.
Since you are in California, you should be able to talk to your CC counselor to get an idea of which of the UCs are most likely for you. My guess is that UCLA, UCSD and UCSB are the hardest to get into as a previous post mentions. The CSU schools might be a etter fit for you and they have good engineering programs.
UIUC, Purdue, UMich, Georgia Tech, and UW Seattle are all very strong in engineering and the competition is high for transfers. You are also out of state and the cost will be quite high.
NYU (Polytechnic Institute), RPI, and RIT are all private engineering programs which are part of the Association of Independent Technical Universities (AITU), and there are other very good schools among those, some of which offer financial aid to transfer students. Look into this group to see if any one of them fits your interests and would be a good choice for admission.
I can’t tell you much about BU but Boston College does not have any engineering programs so it is not a good choice. Northeastern University (also in Boston) has a good engineering program though.
The Canadian universities are all very good but I cannot tell you much about your chances of being admitted or the total cost.
I think you need to apply to no more than 10 or so and only 3 (at the most) should be those which are highly competitive or financially a stretch. Focus on those that you can afford and that you match their incoming student profile for engineering.