Hey everyone,
I am a African American student currently residing in Iowa, however I studied middle school, freshman, and sophomore year in MidEast. Since I came back junior year, I’ve been working on maintaining my grades at the same level, however, my counselor urged me not to take any AP classes and so my transcript seems a little weak. Anyways, I am in need of a college list to apply to this year. I, so far, have Iowa State and U of Iowa, but I would like to see if I qualify elsewhere, though I realize that I may not be a competitive applicant. Any ideas or recommendations help!
Here are my stats:
9th grade: GPA: 4.0 ( mostly A+)
10th grade: 4.0 (mostly A+)
11th grade: 4.0 (mostly A+) (1 AP class and 2 honors)
ACT: Comp:31 E:30 M:36 R: 28 S:30
SAT: 1450
SAT 2: might take in math & Chem
Extracurriculars ( my weak point):
8 years of soccer ( I couldn’t play for school junior year due to injuries)
Many religious related activities: volunteering, teaching, learning
9&10th grade: school broadcast
9&10th grade: school Vice President & class president
Intended major: Chemical Engineering
Financial aid: yes a lot!!!
Hooks: URM
Race: African American/ black
The University of Alabama
University of Mississippi
Louisiana Tech
Widener University
Ohio University
Seattle University
All have merit up to full tuition. Some, like Bama and Ole Miss will add a small extra on top.
Those are good options, but I was thinking of a more engineering focused school that is still a safety as well. For example, for a well rounded applicant in Illinois, University of Illinois-Urbana is a good safety.
You’ll be accepted to RPI, and while they don’t advertise that they meet full need, they do in some cases (my D among them), so you your final COA could be very low.
You definitely should take SAT2 Math and Chem. You’ll need them to apply to highly selective universities that meet full need. You got 36 on ACT math so you should be able to do well. With 750-800 in both of those you have a shot at top privates that meet full need like Rice and Cornell. Those will obviously be reaches. Also look at Lafayette, Tufts, WashU, Notre Dame, Tulane - they all reportedly meet full need. Also, all reaches except maybe Lafayette and Tulane, but worth a try.
Do you qualify for a Common App application fee waiver? If so, apply to a number of top schools and you might get accepted by one.
One engineering focused school to look at is Franklin Olin College. Olin gives everyone half off tuition and they give good need based aid. They’re not a safety, but you may get in.
Is your family low income? That is where financial aid will help. If you are a middle class bubble family that will probably not work for you and you need to focus on merit aid. And UIUC is not a safety just because someone is from IL (nor is it inexpensive for in-state students).
^ What Erin’s Dad said ^
You are OOS for UIUC. It is a Illinois public university. Not much merit based aid floating around.
The middle 50% ACT range for College of Engineering is 31-34.
The good news is Chem Engineering is in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. So you might get accepted.
Another school in Illinois you might check out is Illinois Institute of Technology. There are only 4 schools in Illinois with an ABET approved chemical engineering program: UIUC, UIC, IIT, & Northwestern.