I’m a Junior and I recently made a list of colleges to apply to and realized that almost all of them have very low admission rates. The Schools I am thinking of applying to are In order of preference:
Harvey Mudd (my dream school)
MIT
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell (I am a legacy)
Caltech
Boston University
Tufts
Vanderbilt
Stanford (also legacy)
University of Washington (my safety, but i don’t want to go)
I feel like I have a solid chance of getting in, I go to a public high school where I currently have a 4.0 unweighted and by the time i finish high school I will have taken 12 AP classes. I am also taking multi variable calculus next year and have taken some auto repair classes at my local community college. My extra curriculars aren’t great; I have been on jv soccer and golf team all of highschool and am on the robotics team. I played bassoon for 5 years and have won a few very small local competitions. In terms of volunteering i have volunteered at the aquarium and at robotics and engineering competitions. I also worked for a car dealership (when i say worked I mean i begged them to let me work for free.) and wrote for a teen magazine. No Sats scores yet, but based on practice tests mid 700’s.
SO based on these stats, what engineering schools that aren’t big public research schools do i have over a 60% chance of getting into? I am a girl which might give me an advantage but I am white and upper class.
Any chance of National Merit (i.e. what were your PSAT scores?) Are you looking for big scholarship money or are finances not a concern?
Right off the bat, I can think of Embry Riddle. They don’t offer graduate degrees and they have 74% acceptance rate, but it is pretty expensive since it a private school. What field of engineering do you want to go into?
Thanks for replying so fast! I am looking into Mechanical engineering because I really want to work for a car company. Unfortunately I didn’t take the PSAT because i was out of the country. My parents will only pay for private school tuition if it is a really good school and since my parents are wealthy i am looking for merit based aid.
I’m going into Aerospace. A “really good school” partly depends on your and your parents idea of what that means. Have you looked at Purdue? That’s a well-respected school for engineering with a 60.4% acceptance rate. Also pretty expensive, though. University of Alabama is one that people talk about a lot on here. I think it has pretty good merit scholarships for out of state students with high stats.
I hadn’t thought of Purdue, it looks like a great safety school. I don’t know about university of Alabama, I know it’s silly, but i am trying to avoid any schools with really hot weather. Do you know if there are any smaller schools with good engineering programs?
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology would be a safety for you, and it would likely award you some merit aid. Generally ranks near the top of non doctorate degree granting engineering programs. However it is in a somewhat isolated area.
Have you considered Colorado School of Mines, since you seem to want a medium sized or smaller engineering school in a suburban/ urban area? Would be a safety for someone with a 4.0 and correspondingly excellent grades.
You might also want to consider the Illinois Institute of Technology if Boston University and Carnegie Mellon appeal to you. Urban school which would likely give you some merit money.
Purdue definitely is a good choice, especially since it is not too far from Detroit (about 300 miles). Look into some of the schools in Michigan, including University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Kettering University (which once was owned by GM). Also take a look at Ohio State and University of Pittsburgh.
By the way, just remember that it is only really hot in Alabama in the summer. So, that should only be a concern if you plan to attend summer sessions. Winter in Alabama is like winter in Seattle, but with less rain. I know because I have lived in both places.
If you are into automotive engineering you should give University of Alabama a hard look. Besides the good chance of getting a full tuition scholarship, UA has a cooperative education program with Mercedes Benz, whose US production plant in Vance, AL is only about 20 miles from the UA campus. It sounds like the kind of program you could really get excited about.
South Dakota Mines is another low cost small engineering focused school like New Mexico Tech.
Eliminating big public research universities eliminates many good choices like Minnesota, Iowa State, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Alabama, etc. that may be lower cost than private but have good engineering and good recruiting.
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has excellent engineering departments and attracts top applicants from the Pacific Northwest and California. Like many (if not most) STEM schools, it has an automotive team/club that builds vehicles for technological competitions among colleges.
Wanted to mention that SDSM&T has 8 student clubs/teams that design/build vehicles; Baja SAE, Formula SAE, Alternative Fueled, Robotic, etc. By the way, university-level engineering study does not require a high school background in auto repairs.
Your parents are grads of Cornell and Stanford? Do they have a high income that will pay for any school? Ask them how much they’ll pay. If they’re divorced, then both families will be expected to provide info and contribute.
What kind of schools do you like?
Some girls don’t like the techie schools because they’re male-heavy. Does that matter to you?
Do you like quiet schools? Rah rah spirited schools? big? small? rural? city?
OP was out of the country and didn’t take the PSAT. What’s wrong with a girl going to a male-heavy techie school? Guys and girls supposed to be equal, right?
If you like the atmosphere of a small school (given that Harvey Mudd is your #1 choice), I would also suggest Embry-Riddle Prescott. They have an excellent engineering department, and the campus community is very tight-knit and friendly. The Arizona high desert/mountain location also provides some beautiful scenery, and is ideal if you love outdoor activities. Lots of local history in the surrounding area too. Definitely worth a look!
You should determine which auto company you want to work for, and then find out which schools they recruit heavily from. Internships are one of the biggest factors when selecting an engineering school.
A “really good school” partly depends on your and your parents idea of what that means. Have you looked at Purdue? That’s a well-respected school for engineering with a 60.4% acceptance rate. Also pretty expensive, though. University of Alabama is one that people talk about a lot on here. I think it has pretty good merit scholarships for out of state students with high stats.