Match-me for engineering schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am US citizen

  • NY residency:
  • Public high school
  • Asian

**I am interested in pursuing Engineering or applied math

GPS unweighted

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.6/4

  • Weighted HS GPA 5.5 on 6

  • Class Rank: My school doesn’t rank
    *SAT Scores: 1530

Coursework
*(I have taken 5 Ap courses so far 3 of which I Self studied (included Ap calculus) ,( I would’ve taken a total of 10 by then of senior year) I have taken 3 college level courses ( in maths and economics ) during the summer

I have won Several model Un awards, I was selected as HOBY ambassador by my school, I represented my area for boys state legion, Volunteered at vaccination sites during the pandemic ad am part of a post pandemic task force for my town.
I have also been doing a science scholar research project for the last 2.5 years.

I have been wrestling varsity for the last 5 years.

My parents have never gone to college here so Id really appreciate any help in matching me !!!

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability)
  • Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
  • Match
  • Reach
2

What type of engineering? What budget? Location preference? School size? Support for hobbies? Anything that is important to YOUR college experience? There are TONS of schools you’d get into and some you wouldn’t. No one can give useful feedback until you provide more information.

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So you’ve taken 2 AP clases in school? And will have 5 this year?

Are you taking Calc BC or another advanced math class? (Self-study AP scores rarely count for much - it’s taking the class that’s important to admissions officers).

When you say you’ve “taken” three college courses - does this mean you have an official transcript? From what type of school - local community college?

Do you have location preferences? School size/type? What is the financial situation?

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Based on your academic interests and background, look into RPI.

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Im interested in Mechanical engineering. Budget isn’t a issue and Id like a large size uni. Diversity in college is important for me as is the prestige . Thanks for you help!! Im open to all locations in US

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Thanks!

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Yes Ive finished 5 aps so far with 4 or 5 score in them Im self studying Multivariable calculus.
I do have an official transcript from Univ of Colorado Boulder and Urbana ILL.
The financial situations isn’t an issue Im open to large schools on the west coast or east coast.

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thanks Ill look into it!

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Define what you mean by prestige.

If by that you mean highly selective, highly ranked, what most people mean when they use that term, you’re not a great fit with a 3.6.

If you mean you want great career and high earnings potential, there are lots of schools that fit that bill. Few realize it, but the median salary 2 years out from Kettering and University of Michigan-Dearborn are higher than Stanford, Berkeley and MIT.

So which is it?

My son used to say any location was fine as long as the job was awesome…until he worked at Edwards AFB in the Mojave! :rofl: Are you good with Alabama? Florida? South Dakota? Missouri? All have very good options that you’d be competitive for, but are unique environments.

My son’s alma mater Cal Poly is frequently referenced as the whitest CA public. While that might be true as evidenced by the caucasian percentage, the percentage of black and brown students is the same as Berkeley, a school often thought of as diverse. It’s that CP has fewer Asians than the others and the balance is filled by white students. It’s in a largely white and hispanic region of CA, so that sort of makes sense, even though they’ve made a great effort to be more diverse. That may also mean diversity in regards to political beliefs of sexual identity. Is there a particular group you want to see more of at your school when you refer to diversity?

Lastly, budget should be an issue. We’ve discussed this in detail on another thread, but for ME there is minimal correlation to prestige, price, and earnings The money you and/or your family save can be put to another use. It’s important to at least weigh that.

You need to start with a safety. Binghamton and Stony Brook seem like the obvious choices. If you’re willing to consider the Merchant Marines, SUNY Maritime MEs earn more at 2 years than any other grads in the nation, public or private.

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Thanks for you response… When I say prestige I do mean the the top 30 for engineering leaving the top 5 aside … I for sure want asian diversity and you bring a good point with the budget. Location : lets say west coast east coast and the michigan illinois belt… Texas maybe although Ive never been …

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A 3.6 is a good GPA. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. But you have to be realistic due to the increase competition climate the last 3 years.

For Illinois, I would look at UIC, IIT. UIUC might be hard for an OOS. The Sat score will help you.

For Michigan look at Michigan State with possible honors. It’s a great overlooked school for engineering.

Kettering as mentioned. Michigan tech. University of Michigan for engineering would be a hail Mary but if you ace out senior year with rigorous course… It has happened but very rare… So long shot.

As far as top this or that you need to do some research. Look at schools 21-50… Lots of great choices. Before you shutter this idea University of Penn is 22… Your stats might not support that… So… Come up with a list by looking at GPA and scores and programs itself. There are tons of great schools. Yes, pick some in the upper 20 as long shots for just about anyone but I think your realistic choices are below those. Just so you know at most companies you will have people from Michigan, Berkeley,Illinois working side by side with people from UIUC, Kettering, University of Cincinnati all making basically the same income…

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Consider Rutgers New Brunswick, Purdue.

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13

Run the NPC for U of Cincinnati. They have a super engineering and co-op program, and is in a fun city. Would be a match for you.

I’d also put Purdue on your list. It would be a reach with your GPA but they like high test scores. Be sure you are taking AP Physics C if it’s offered at your school.

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Is AP Calculus not offered in your high school? Remember that your transcript will be evaluated in the context of your high school. As mentioned already upthread by @RichInPitt , AP classes taken in your high school matter - a lot. What are the STEM courses you took in junior year and hope to take senior year in high school? Are they at the highest level offered at your high school? This will matter for applications to competitive universities for engineering, which you seem to be aiming for. Have you attended any virtual sessions for the competitive universities for engineering? If you haven’t done so, I would suggest that you do , and watch along with your parents so you all can get an idea of what they look for. My son, also a rising senior interested in Mech Eng, found UMich engineering info sessions and website to be very helpful.

In-state, you have UB, Stony Brook, and Bing. All are respectable universities, and NY in-state tuition is one of the lowest in the country. The matches for OOS would be comparable in reputation to these in state options - at least as far as the academics goes. Of course, there are other considerations such as location, vibe etc.

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I did not say 3.6 is not a good GPA. It certainly it. I am saying what you also know is true…It’s not a good enough GPA to get into prestigious, elite schools, or probably even the next tier down. Defining targets that way is sort of silly anyway. As we’ve thoroughly hashed out in the blue pill/red pill threads, prestige and selectivity have little correlation to earnings at 2 years. The highest earning ME program in the nation, by quite a margin is SUNY Maritime.

Using the state of Michigan as an example, the state publics and Kettering all have similar earnings. Michigan, Michigan Tech, Michigan State, Oakland, Michigan-Dearborn and Kettering all are neck and neck, with the latter 3 the highest. That’s in no way a slight on the Wolverines. Michigan is a great school that probably has broader opportunities on campus and for first jobs. It has a great alumni network too. The point is the others are good enough. Once you land your first job, then it doesn’t really matter.

Also, focusing on rankings leaves off some of the best programs in the nation since they don’t offer PhDs. Harvey Mudd, Cal Poly, Rose, and Olin, all very good programs, don’t show up on the lists.

Of those, I’d recommend Michigan Tech and Kettering, but if big is important, Michigan State. Michigan would be a long reach, but worth a try. The thing about reaches though is that by definition, the odds are very much not in your favor. You need very few reaches. If you were adding another, I’d choose Purdue.

Staying in the Midwest, I’d look at Minnesota, Iowa State (great school with a national lab), Missouri S&T, and Miami of OH. If you’re willing to go smaller, Rose Hulman and Case Western are both solid. Cincinnati has a coop mandatory program like Northeastern.

Transitioning west, I don’t think you’d get into Cal Poly, UCB or UCLA. Given the rest of your options, I don’t think any CA schools are worth the money in the context of all your other options, maybe San Jose State. CA publics are test blind, so that will hurt your chances.

Oregon State has a very good ME program. They place a bunch of grads at Boeing. One of my son’s HS friends stayed in OR for undergrad and is now at MIT for grad school.

If you’ve never been to Texas, I’d probably leave it off. The most competitive programs are off the plate (Texas and Rice) I don’t think I’d choose A&M or Baylor if diversity and inclusion were important. Houston is solid, but you have better public options elsewhere. Plus, having gone to school in Houston, the weather SUCKS. :rofl:

Finally east. As I previously mentioned, Bing and Stony. Love WPI. RPI in your home state is worth a look. Stevens, Lehigh and Rochester are worth a look. Rutgers and Penn State both produce very solid engineers.

I intentionally did not focus on size because I think when filling the funnel, you start with a lot of options and then narrow. I can’t restrict the field for you.

Hope that’s a good starting point. Good luck!

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Having worked in Houston myself a number of years ago, I agree with your comments about the weather – at least from May through September, when you have heat/humidity/hurricane season.

But the Mexican food there is great! :grinning:

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As a follow-up to the suggestion by @momofboiler1 to consider Purdue, you might look at Purdue’s Data Digest, here, https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/, under the link for “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations”. It is interactive, so you can input the parameters that most apply to you (for example, you would be “Non-Resident” under the “Residency” tab). Based on your input, the Data Digest will generate information and create some graphs/charts from which you may be able to make an estimate of your chances. Also, there should be a table at the bottom which gives the admission rates (and yield) for students matriculating in the Fall semesters of the past 13 years.

You can also look at Purdue’s Common Data Set, here, Common Data Set - Institutional Data Analytics + Assessment - Purdue University. Section C7 tells you what admissions factors Purdue considers to be “very important,” “important,” “considered,” and “not considered”; Sections C9-C11 of the CDS give statistical data for the matriculating freshman class of a given academic year.

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I suggest the University of Maryland, College Park, whose Applied Math and Mechanical Engineering are well-regarded, as a match/likely. Perhaps also consider Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey as a likely/safety. Tell us about your science scholar research project?

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I don’t think so. I don’t know how they weight their GPAs, but I would think that for engineering at least the OP’s GPA would be low.

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Thank you!! This helps a lot