Introduction: Entering senior year with fairly good test scores, fairly poor ECs, decent GPA which will most likely improve senior year.
Demographics: Male, Caucasian, live in Oregon, have French + US citizenship
Intended major(s): Engineering or Chemistry related.
Academics:
ACT: Took once, got 35 Composite (36 Science, 36 Reading, 35 English, 32 Math). Could retake and possibly get a 36, if that makes a big difference. Will take Chemistry, Math 2, and French SAT subject tests, likely 800 in French, not sure about math and chem.
Class rank: 90th percentile or so
UW/W GPA: 3.85/4.2
Coursework: Taking full IB (7 IB classes senior year, 7 IB classes junior year, 5 sophomore year) I got a 6 in IB Chem SL and a 7 in IB Math SL. The rest are tests I’m taking May 2017
Extracurriculars:
Was part of my school's engineering / innovation competition in Sophomore year, our team won.
Did FTC robotics sophomore year, our team did OK, not great.
Volunteered a bit throughout HS at a technology nonprofit working with computer hardware
Interned at an accounting/law firm doing IT, clerical and evidence analysis work.
Schools:
Right now, I’m looking at RPI, Tulane, Case Western, maybe Northeastern as a reach. I’ve got very little to go off of, so any help in finding good schools at which I would get decent merit aid (~180k family income, no chance of need-based aid).
RPI offers some of the country’s strongest engineering programs and correctly belongs at the core of your list. While considering.the area, you could also look into URochester snd Union.
35 is not a fairly good test score. It’s a terrific test score. Northeastern is not a reach for you. I like your list.
You might get some merit at Rochester.
How much can you pay? Are you considering public schools? Canadian schools?
Full tuition schools are often Pittsburgh, Alabama, Kentucky and University of Texas Dallas.
Significant merit is often available at Ohio State which has a nice honors program with priority registration as a huge benefit.
Some examples of full-pay OOS schools with tuition room and board figures (TRB)
Wisconsin: $43K
Minnesota: $33K
Penn State: $44K
University of British Columbia: $32K (42K Canadian $)
Georgia Tech: $44K
Purdue: $39K
NC State: $37K
Second many of the other posters . How much are your parents willing to pay? It might be worth it to pay more for a higher ranked school or better fit. Or it might not be; Northeastern, Case, and RPI particularly are excellent for engineering and I think you have a good shot for merit aid. If you like Chemistry, UO is a fine school; for engineering, OSU is respectable. UW-Seattle is stronger and more respected, but engineering programs are competitive admission and costs are higher; I don’t think you’d have any trouble though. If you want to go to chemistry grad school, the cheapest option should be good enough.
I think you can apply to one or two more selective schools as a reach (depending on finances). Perhaps Duke, Tufts, Wash U, Northwestern, or Cornell.
I agree, @frontpage. Based on OP’s strong academic record, direct freshman admission to an engineering or chemistry major at Washington is possible; otherwise, later admission (early or regular) for this applicant should not be an issue. UW may offer OP a Purple and Gold Scholarship, which takes $5,500 to $8,500 per year ($22,000 to $34,000 over four years) off of UW’s $45K/year tuition, room and board.
My price limit depends on the type of school, but I’d say no more than ~40k with room and board (although that might be a bit ambitious, not sure, the amount I’m willing to pay definitely depends on how good the school is)
I’m also considering McGill in Montreal (I’d get Canadian non-Quebec tuition as a french citizen, which makes a huge difference). I’m looking at UT and UBC, but they don’t really seem worth the int’l student price, especially that they probably don’t give much non-Canadian merit aid.
I’m applying to UO as a safety, and I’ve heard they have a decent honors college there as well. Do any of you have any experience with it?
Finally, would you guys say it’s worthwhile to retake the ACT? I feel confident that I can improve my composite, as well as my writing score (not sure if colleges care about that).
^^ The cost for UBC given above is out of date. $42K CAD will cover tuition and fees for 2016-2017. The cost of attendance for this year is estimated to be $55K CAD ($44K USD). http://you.ubc.ca/financial-planning/cost/ Costs for international students at Canadian universities have been rising about 5-10% per year. So, for 2017 entry, the cost of attendance could be up to $60K CAD ($45K-$48K USD)
@TomSrOfBoston Because the OP has French citizenship, they are eligible for Canadian tuition + fee rates at McGill which cost $9400 CAD ($7300 USD) for engineering in 2016. This exemption does not apply to UBC.
So, instead of UBC, OP may wish to look at McGill which is ranked very highly ranked for engineering and a lot cheaper than US schools.
OP, a composite single-sitting ACT of 35 is an incredible score and there’s no benefit to retake. A 35 will not be the reason for not getting into a school or keep you from a chance at merit aid. It puts you into the top quartile of every highly-competitive school in the country, and for the four schools you listed and the other posters recommend, a 35 or 36 makes no difference. Rather, concentrate on keeping your grades up this semester or prep for the SAT IIs if you need them. Now, if your personal goal is to get a 36 and you have nothing better to do before the next ACT test, go ahead and knock your socks off.
For ACT writing, look at whether the schools you are interested in require a writing score. Many schools have dropped that requirement for the ACT (and SAT), but it depends on what school you are looking at, and whether or not the school requires, “recommends” or considers it optional that you submit a score.
Don’t overlook OSU. We know two brothers who went there and are doing well. One is working at Space Ex and one is getting a Master’s at Purdue. They opted to stay in state to graduate without loans. Both graduated in the past two years.
Good initial list. Northeastern a match, not a reach for you.
You're likely to get some merit aid at RPI. My D is there (chemE) - tough academics, smart student body, very nerdy. A good choice if you pursue engineering.
I would add a few reaches that you have a shot at with your stats: Rice, Duke, Cornell, CMU.
Other matches: Michigan (may be a reach considering you're OOS), GTech