Type of high school (current college for transfers): Public
Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Middle Eastern
Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.):
Computer Engineering
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 2.9
Weighted HS GPA 3.2
ACT/SAT Scores: 29 ACT
Coursework (Mostly Honors classes, 2 AP)
Awards
Extracurriculars (Quiz Bowl, Volunteered at concession stand and for local JCC)
Essays/LORs/Other Somewhat strong. Please note that I do have ADHD and an anxiety disorder.
Cost Constraints / Budget (High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Schools
Safety (Akron, Cincinnati, MSU)
Likely (Minnesota, Penn State, Wisconsin)
Match Ohio State, Pittsburgh, UIUC, Purdue, Washington
You haven’t mentioned financials. Even if you could get into your reaches, would you be able to full-pay the OOS cost of these schools? UMich OOS is now exceeding 80K/year for the upper-division years.
If you indeed have a budget that large, it makes it a lot easier to find good options. Some of the toughest situations we see here are kids who need either merit aid or the generous financial aid at the most competitive schools, but don’t have the GPA to access either of those paths. If you can pay, there will be good options for you. (But they won’t be UMich, GT, or UT Austin; I just don’t see those being realistic at all with a sub-3.0 GPA. I don’t even think your “matches” will happen.)
Overall, I think your whole list is categorized too optimistically, especially for engineering. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have good options.
What are your ACT subscores?
Do you like the idea of a co-op school? Cincinnati’s program is excellent. TBH, I think Cincinnati engineering is probably a reach, but worth trying. SUNY Oswego or Drexel might be possible.
Iowa State could be a good safety (or maybe match? See how your metrics add up - link to their formula below). Excellent engineering program, but not tough to get in. (This results in a high attrition rate from engineering, but if you’re up for handling the rigor once there, it could be a great option for access to a highly-regarded program.) First-year Students - Iowa State University
For a very hands-on and high-quality program with low barriers to entry, take a look at South Dakota Mines. Computer Engineering
I agree that you should rethink your list. None of your reach, match, and likely schools are realistic for a 2.9UW/3.2W GPA, except for Penn State’s 2+2 program (2 years at a branch campus, then 2 years at main campus if you meet the entrance to major requirements). Ohio State may have a similar program. Akron is a possibility but I think Cincinnati and MSU are reaches for Computer Engineering. How about adding some of the less selective Ohio public universities (for example, Toledo, Wright State)?
Does your high school have a college guidance counselor? They might be really helpful in refining your list. I think it’s overly optimistic (sorry). For example, two of the schools you list as “likely” actually admitted only 1-2 percent of their class with a GPA of 2.9. For those same two schools your test score is 50th percentile. So that’s good that your test score is on par but it doesn’t necessarily make it “likely”. With average test scores and a GPA very significantly lower than what they typically admit, these schools would probably be reaches not likely. I’m sure you will find some good options and sorry I don’t have any specifically to recommend. I’ll bet your school’s college counselor can help. Good luck to you!
You have a decent chance of admission to branch campuses of most Ohio in-state publics, including branches of OSU. Freshman year at OSU Main Campus is a reach.
2.9 gpa, 2 APs and 29 ACT is going to be tough. Have you spoken to college recruiters at College Fairs, met with your high school guidance counselor, taken in person tours?
Except for Akron, you need new schools on your list.
It’s great that you’re thinking about where you want to attend college next year. Unfortunately, I don’t think the schools on your list are well-categorized. I suspect that all of the schools except for your safeties would be reaches, and most of them such extraordinary reaches that your time would probably be better spent on other applications.
What is your budget (the amount of money your family is willing and able to pay per year without any loans)?
I’ve sorted some of the schools from your list above and also added some additional schools for your consideration according to my GUESSES for your chances of admission. For all of these buckets, this is for overall acceptance to the university. If a school has separate admissions to its engineering program, these “chancing” buckets do not take that into account, but you should DEFINITELY take the time to find that detail out.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
Penn State – Behrend College: About 3200 undergrads, so a smaller environment. This is one of the branch campuses where many students actually spend all 4 years rather than switching to University Park. 43% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 54% have between 20-40, and 3% have more than 50.
U. of Akron (OH): About 11k undergrads (CDS linked). 51.5% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 45.1% have 20-49, and 3.4% have more than 50. This school has amongst the smallest class sizes of any of the public universities on your list.
U. of Toledo (OH): About 12k undergrads (CDS linked). 49.9% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 39.5% have 20-49, and 10.5% have 50 or more. I would give U. of Toledo a really good look, as it seems to have a very robust computer engineering program. It had almost twice as many Comp. Eng. majors as Cincy (which is nearly 3x the size of Toledo) and more than 3x as many as Akron, even though those two are about the same size.
Likely (60-79%)
U. of Cincinnati (OH): About 30k undergrads. Less than 7% had a GPA below a 3.0, per its 21-22 Common Data Set (22-23 not posted yet). This is for admission to the general university, but I suspect that the odds for admission to engineering are lower, but I’m not sure how much lower. 34% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 45% have between 20-49, and 21% have more than 50.
U. of Louisville (KY): About 16k undergrads with a very hands-on focused on engineering program. Also, you would pay the same rate as in-state students as part of its Border Benefit. If your weighted GPA increases to a 3.5, you’d also get an additional $2k/year in scholarship money. According to its Common Data Set, 9.3% of students had below a 3.0 GPA. 42% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 49% have 20-49, and 9% have more than 50.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
Miami (OH): About 17k undergrads and only 3.2% had a GPA lower than a 3.0 per its 22-23 Common Data Set. 35% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 54% have between 20-49, and 11% have more than 50.
U. of Dayton (OH): About 8400 undergrads. 38% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 60% have between 20-49, and 2% have more than 50, so you’d get smaller classes here than at many of the other schools. People who like Notre Dame say that this school has a very similar vibe, but with a much more approachable acceptance rate.
Lower Probability (20-39%)
Michigan State: About 39k undergrads. According to section C11 of its most recent Common Data Set, only 2% of students had a GPA below a 3.0, and my guess is that those may have been athletes. And if you think they were using weighted GPAs, only 3.8% of students had a GPA between 3.00-3.24. Your ACT will help, but this is by no means a sure thing. 22% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 60% have between 20-49, and 18% have more than 50.
Ohio Northern: About 2600 undergrads. This school is completely different from most of the ones on your list. Like the others, it’s ABET-accredited for several engineering disciplines, including computer engineering. But one thing that makes it different is the class sizes: 55.4% have fewer than 20 students, 43.2% have between 20-49, and only 1.4% have more than 50 students. If you have ADHD and an anxiety disorder, a smaller, more intimate school might be a good choice for you. I would certainly investigate it.
Low Probability (less than 20%)
Ohio State-Main Campus: About 46k undergrads. For the most recent class, 68% of students were in the top 10% of their class and 96% of students were in the top 25% of their class and the average ACT was a 30.4 (source). This document provides a greater breakdown of ACT scores by campus. You have a shot at main campus, but it’s definitely a reach. 34% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 50% have between 20-49, and 16% have more than 50.
A few questions to help us help you more efficiently:
Are you currently taking Precalculus, Precalculus Honors, Calculus Honors, or AP Calculus?
Which APs have you taken or are you taking? If you took the tests, what scores did you get?
What’s your school’s average ACT?
UCincinnati Engineering is a reach but worth trying, especially for co-op. They may branch you.
Seconding Iowa State, Penn State Behrend (if you have the budget), uToledo, ULouisville as solid possibilities. UDayton is a superb idea from @Austennut -finding such colleges for Computer Engineering is not an easy task (I immediately thought of Ohio Wesleyan which would be a solid match but they don’t have CE). Youngstown State: you could ask for Honors College (your GPA is a bit low but your ACT may make up for it and explaining what makes you tick intellectually and how their program would fit you would give you a solid shot.) And their college of Engineering is ABET accredited.
I think your list is way off with regards to how you categorize them. Cincinnati and MSU are not safeties for you with a 2.9 Gpa and 29ACT. I believe they are both reaches.
Your listed “likely” schools are also all reaches in my opinion. Your “matches” are all reaches. And your “reaches” are just a wast a time of money to apply.
I like the suggestions of some others on this thread to focus on the Ohio state schools. Other folks have mentioned Toledo and Youngstown State. I would add that you should look at Kent State, Bowling Green and Ohio University. They all have Computer Science programs.
Additionally I would suggest you do a deep dive into each of the schools common data sets. Just google “Kent State common data set” for example. There you can see the 25%-75% ranges for your GPA and ACT score, along with other good information such as acceptance rates, make up of student body, campus life etc. I believe the common data sets will help you better categorize the schools. In my opinion, when make a list of where you want to apply you should consider any school where you GPA is below the 25% and you ACT school below the 25% a reach and probably an impossible reach. Any school where you ACT gets you into the 25-75% range maybe a match. And only schools where your ACT and GPA both fall with in the 25-75% range a likely or match. I think a safety in your situation a safety would only be where your ACT puts you on the high end of the 25-75% or over the 75% ACT score and where you GPA is within the 25-75% GPA range.
You do have the first generation hook which should help. I think you just need to educate yourself a bit more about your stats and how they correlate to the schools you intend to apply to. I believe in CC there is a 3.0 student thread. You should check that out as many folks there might have some good suggestions for you.
As other have mentioned as you make a list you really need to know the budget. It would also be helpful to know how your ACT subscores.