Hello CC, I am currently a High School Junior and I am wondering what my chances are and what I should be doing to get in. I took the Old Sat(October 3rd, 2015) and got a 1930, without studying. Now I’m studying about 1-2 hours a day to improve my score (goal is 2150). I have a 4.4 GPA in all advanced classes, with a focus on the sciences and math.
My class rank is 27/419 (top 6.44%), so I have automatic admission. My biggest concern is getting into my school of choice. I have multiple ECs as well: my sister and I started our own small business(job), I am in almost every single math/science club at my school, I participate in BioForce (biotechonology camp) each summer, and I am planning to intern at Texas A&M University (college where I live), and some other awards from language tests(Latin and Spanish).
SO… what are my chances at getting? And what should I be doing to accomplish this?
You’ll most likely be accepted as a Freshman into general admissions judging from your general description, but I’m not very familiar with direct major admissions so I won’t comment on that. All I know is that they are extremely competitive and that you will most likely need to apply for your major after you’ve gotten some University coursework under your belt.
If you’re talking about the U of Washington-Seattle, then yes, by the end of your sophomore year (general admission to the university and then you satisfy engineering pre-qualifications during the freshman year) you can apply to your target engineering department. Some applicants don’t make it. Some come close. There is a specific GPA threshold.
Keep in mind that the UW is not know for providing significant financial aid/scholarships to non-Washington residents. In fact, they’ve recently increased admission of out-of-state applicants to get more full-pay students.
You might want to consider some direct admit engineering schools such as the U of Utah (see Eyemeh’s posts) or Iowa State University, if you can afford them. If finances are a significant concern, consider schools that provide generous assistance, like U of Alabama-Tuscaloosa or low cost options like South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. In your own state do not overlook Texas Tech (if Lubbock is your cup of tea) and the privates; Rice University and Texas Christian University. Add some other private STEM schools to your list. For example, considering your current stats you will have an very good chance of admission to the following places:
U of Portland
Illinois Institute of Technology
Rose Hulman Institute
Saint Louis University
Washington University in St. Louis
To answer your question, keep doing what you’re doing.
Here is information on admission to various engineering majors at UW:
https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats
About 1/3 of applicants to UW are instate, and they take about 2/3 of the freshman class seats (according to the Seattle Times, instate residents were 66% of the entering class in 2011 and have remained steady at around 67% from 2012 to 2015). About 2/3 of the applicants are OOS and international students, who take the remaining 1/3 of the seats (which explains why the OOS and international admission rates are much lower than the instate admission rate).
UW awards a merit scholarship to about half of admitted domestic OOS students (up to $7,500 per year for 4 years):
https://admit.washington.edu/Paying/PurpleGold
Based on your academic record, you should be in the running for one of those scholarships.
Good luck!
Actually most UW Freshman does not have a major, and your major choice does not influence your admission to UW. So you will have a lot of chances to choose your major after you are admitted.