Match Me- Biomechanical Eng *VTech or OOS B/C Avg no ECC Please help

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics

  • US Domestic
    US citizen
  • State/Location of residency:
    Virginia (Northern Virginia)
  • Type of high school (current college for transfers):
    Public
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity
    Asian

Intended Major(s)
Biomechanical engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Weighted 3.72
SAT 1350
Class Rank: 118/325

Coursework
Mostly Bs and Cs with a few As. Hardworking but not a great test taker.
APs:
Computer Science
World History
US History,
Calculus AB
Calculus BC (Currently enrolled)
Physics (Currently enrolled)
Micro/Macro Economics
Honors:
Research Biology
Research Chemistry
English
Intro to Eng Dsgn
English Dual Enrollment ((Currently enrolled)

Awards
None.

Extracurriculars
Volunteer at local Kitchen and Hospital.
Played golf Mostly local.

Essays/LORs/Other
LOR- Physics and Economics teachers who know him very well.
Essay - Unsure. Still working on it.

Cost Constraints / Budget
Not at the moment.

Schools Still narrowing down:

  • Safety *(certain admission and affordability)
    James Madison University (JMU)
    Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
    George Mason
    UPIT
    Syracuse

  • Match/Likely
    Colorado Boulder
    Wake Forest
    Clemson
    University of Massachusetts

  • Reach
    Vtech
    Purdue University
    USC
    University of Maryland (legacy if still considered)

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In terms of the schools you have listed, I think you’ll need to re-classify some. I think JMU and VCU are safeties and as long as your son would be happy at either (and they are affordable) you are good there. I don’t think Syracuse is a safety for a mainly B/C student (if you post his UW average that would help) - it is more of a match (personally know kids with better stats that were denied). With a 25% acceptance rate Wake Forest would be a definite reach.

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What are your math grades? Will be important to have strong math skills.

To get into engineering, may be better off going to cc and transferring to engineering jr yr, vs being weeded out freshman yr at a reach college.

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Mostly Bs.

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If this is your son’s desired major, then some of the schools on your list seem like poor fits with respect to their engineering options. Wake Forest, for instance, is only ABET-accredited for general engineering. James Madison is ABET-accredited for general engineering, computer information systems, and integrated science and technology. Additionally, I agree with @Thorsmom66 that Wake Forest would be better classified as a reach.

Although looking at Purdue’s general stats might make it appear as though it could be a good reach school, for entry into engineering, the applicant pool is significantly stronger. For Purdue and USC I think those are both extremely high reaches and that focusing attention on other applications might yield better results.

What have the AP scores been like so far?

What’s the unweighted GPA?

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So your son is at a public school and getting mostly Bs and Cs. Engineering will likely be tough for him. I’m basing this on his unweighted has to be 3-3.3.

JMU doesn’t have the major - so I’m not sure why you’d apply.

GMU yes

Pitt - not a safety. A high target

Syracuse - same as Pitt. You would need to ED. Are you full pay - no cost at the moment doesn’t give a budget figure.

Likely - CU Boulder I tend to agree but for engineering, maybe a low match - but I imagine there is an acceptance.

Wake - doesn’t have your major and it’s a huge reach.

Clemson - reach

UMASS - high target, low reach.

Va Tech - reach

Purdue - reach

USC (California) - no chance. U of SC - high target, low reach

UMD - reach

So I worry you have schools that don’t have his major and you way overrate (in my opinion) his chances.

He should look at schools like UAB, Marshall, WVU, Gannon, Widener, U of Memphis that aren’t too far from you.

I went through all 175 ABET accredited in the major - and here’s 49 that you might look at - that should be reasonable.

It’s nationwide.

Good luck.

PS - I don’t want to come off wrongly but depending on the study, 40-60% of engineering majors don’t finish - and if you’re Bs/Cs in high school, that’s likely this student -so I’d find a school with enough academic breadth so the student has majors he’d like to pivot to.

Good luck.

The University of Akron
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Arizona State University
The University of Arizona
University of Arkansas
University of Central Oklahoma
Duquesne University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Institute of Technology
Gannon University
George Mason University
University of Hartford
Hofstra University
University of Idaho
Iowa State University of Science and Technology
Kansas State University
University of Kentucky
Louisiana State University and A&M College
Louisiana Tech University
University of Louisville
University of Maine
Marshall University
The University of Memphis
Miami University
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Mississippi State University
University of Missouri - Columbia
Montana State University - Bozeman
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
University of Nevada, Reno
University of New Hampshire
The College of New Jersey
North Dakota State University
University of North Texas
University of Oklahoma
The University of Rhode Island
Rowan University
South Dakota State University
University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Toledo
Utah State University
Wayne State University
Wentworth Institute of Technology
West Virginia University
Western New England University
Wichita State University
Widener University
Wright State University

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Direct admit to CU Boulder Engineering is much harder than the school’s general admit rates imply. In my son’s experience in the latest admissions cycle, many of his classmates (with higher stats - GPA and test scores - than your son) were admitted to “Exploratory Studies” rather than Engineering. To transfer into Engineering requires satisfaction of Intra University Transfer requirements - including a minimum grade of C (2.00) in prerequisite courses and also a technical GPA of at least 2.70 across those courses. Admission into CU Boulder Engineering after a year in Exploratory Studies is not guaranteed.

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Good catch. When I referred to USC in my previous post, I was thinking of U. of Southern California, not U. of South Carolina.

I think that engineering could be tough for him. But if he chooses the right kind of school, making it through an engineering program successfully is not an impossibility. This thread might be a useful read: Engineering Schools/Program for my B student.

@vadmom, what environment do you think your son would do best in? What do you think has been the cause for his high school grades? Does it relate to executive function issues in terms of forgetting about assignments, or losing them, having perfectionism about them, etc? Is it test anxiety at all levels and that he seems to understand the information and can talk about it appropriately, but then is struggling on the tests? Do his teachers see a mismatch between his knowledge of the subjects and his test scores? Depending on what’s going on, you might also seek out an evaluation to see if something is going on with his brain that might be impacting him (ADHD, a reading disorder, etc).

Of course, it’s entirely possible that there’s nothing that an evaluation might find as being an issue, and OP’s son could still be successful in engineering. But perhaps going to a school where the engineering classes are small and they will try and maximize support so a student can be successful might be a better choice than large schools that have tons of students who are wanting to major in the field. Alternatively, if OP’s son might want the pace slowed down a little, he could think about perhaps doing a general engineering/engineering physics (or just regular physics) degree and then specializing in a particular type of engineering with a Master’s degree. As another option, OP’s son might want to choose schools with both an engineering and an engineering technology pathway (the latter of which is much less math-heavy) and if he finds he doesn’t want engineering, perhaps engineering technology might be of interest.

There are lots of possibilities for OP’s son, but we need more info to be able to provide better suggestions.

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I think he means USC - but I put U of SC in, just in case.

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An undergraduate degree in mechanical or electrical engineering may be a better choice for someone interested in biomedical engineering. This would open up more school choices. York College of PA has majors in both mechanical and electrical engineering and would be a likely admission for your son. Widener (already mentioned), Wilkes, and Shippensburg Universities are some other Pennsylvania schools with less selective engineering programs.

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Thank you so much!!! We’re very realistic about his goals and reach. I truly appreciate the list of school recommendations and time.

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Great school recommendation we haven’t explored outside the typical schools that were suggested.

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@AustenNut Thank you we did have him evaluated for reading disorder. He cleared all the tests but I don’t agree with the results. With COVID everything got side tracked. I love your idea about considering physics rather than jumping into a tough eng program. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your input.

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If you would like additional assistance in getting suggestions for colleges or the college search process, let us know. If you let us know his preferences with respect to size of school, size of classes, learning style, his interest in Greek life, whether he prefers urban/suburban/smaller town/rural, the importance of intercollegiate sports enthusiasm, states that he’d be willing to go to school in (or opposed to going to school in), climate, religion, or anything else that might influence what he wants in a college, that would be great.

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consider Oregon State for strong STEM and easier acceptance into engineering programs. I have colleagues in Biotech in OR, and they love OSU students for their practical training. Also, beautiful area/campus, strong sports programs, etc

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