Also I just wanted to put it out there that I’m really grateful for the advice and support I’ve been getting from here 
It’s helped me make a realistic and affordable college list, and I’m starting to really like some of the options I have. I’m much more hopeful for my undergraduate and I really owe the support to this forum. 
so again, thank you everyone so much for all your advice, I’m really grateful for you taking your time out of your day to suggest what might be helpful 
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Congrats on the higher SAT score! @eyemgh and @ColdWombat might be able to share more about U. of Louisville and its engineering program (OP is an international student, but a resident of New York who is no longer as interested in biomedical engineering but leaning towards mechanical or aeronautical, per post #195).
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J. B. Speed, the school of engineering at Louisville, changed their curriculum to be more like Cal Poly. They even appropriated the motto, Learn by Doing. It’s supposed to be a strong program. At the end of the day, success is largely based on curiosity and work ethic no matter where you go. Good luck!
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SUNY Buff is very very competitive for Engineering, perhaps even better than Bing or Stony Brook.
Buffalo STATE would be a safety.
Most scholarships come from the colleges themselves. Outside scholarships tend to be little amounts that can help with books or moving costs.
RPI= no aid
WPI = perhaps, look into it (not sure it’d be affordable, doesn’t meet need but has good scholarships + project based learning reminds me of Olin, sort of, so should be interesting to you)
Stevens = doesn’t meet need, look into it
Bucknell = as hard-partying or more than Lehigh (“work hard/play hard”) - excellent Engineering but look into vibe.
UMass Lowell = with Honors College scholarship, perhaps???
UMass Amherst = unaffordable
VTech = unaffordable
Trinity College = reach; like Bucknell and Lehigh, “work hard/play hard”. May meet need for internationals it admits but those are often athletes AFAIK.
SD Mines is outside your geographical preference but a financial&academic safety that is also quite strong academically.
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Thank you so much for the insight!! What do you think my chances are at SUNY Buff- I looked into their engineering department and it’s really really awesome. They have soo many facilities and labs, and their research seems amazing too. I really like how they have both mechanical and aerospace engineering affiliated on one website I think I will apply EA for this school. I want to visit if possible too. Probably will also apply EA for SBU and Bing too just to gain better chances.
Yeah WPI seems like a collaborative environment and I particularly like their competitions too that they participate in. My FRC team does want to nominate me for the scholarship (either 190,000 or 20,000 award) which should be awesome. I will also look into their other scholarships, WPI just seems like a great fit for me overall (from what I have been reading about it).
Does anyone know more about the vibe of Bucknell/ Lehigh? I am OK with partying schools but I wouldn’t personally get too involved. I think it would be nice to have a little nerd network to integrate myself into, and if there is one, I think I’d be pretty happy
Totally looking into SD Mines and I really like their engineering department : )
Thanks again!!!
Edit: looking at my school’s past admit data, buff is a safety apparently because my school is somewhat of a feeder to all SUNY’s (but I will still consider engineering admissions as a reach right?)
very cool thank you for letting me know!
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Apply EA to all SUNYs. Start with the easiest applications (Buffalo State, NYIT?) to learn the ropes, apply to their Honors programs, and finish all your SUNY applications by late August using the SUNY app system.
Engineering at Buffalo is a reach , yes.
In August, start filling out the basics of your CommonApp, too: your name etc, your parents, school you attend, link to your GC.
(And right around now you should be asking 2-3 teachers for letters of recommendation, one in Math or Physics, one in a Humanities subject. Teachers may not have time to write recommendations for all students so you need to ask early and late April may not be early. Specify you’ll give them a “bragsheet” or “worksheet”. My recommendation for the brag sheet is to include one lesson from the teacher’s class that really struck you and why; one aspect of the class you really liked; why you’re passionate about the subject and how it matters to you personally and/or for college; and one achievement you’re really proud of in that class. These elements, at a minimum, will show the teacher that you take them seriously and appreciate their work&subject.)
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hi! I am planning on working on my college apps during the summer time and especially my essays, so thank you for the timeline!!
I am asking my teachers for LOR’s but I feel like none of my math/physics teachers really know me. Is it okay if I ask a mentor who was my teacher before for a tech class and my research mentor too? I feel like my LOR’s will not be that great if they come from one of my math/physics teachers : (
I will def construct a bragsheet for the teachers to reference : )
Thank you!!!
also- for applying EA. How can I include my senior year grades? I want to wait till atleast one quarter of senior year is finished to show the classes I’m taking then. However I’m concerned that the transcript will not reach the colleges in time 
will this limit my EA application to only include up to junior year grades? I guess I could go RD but that would be worse for my chances, right?
As of right now this is my list I’m looking at
UBuff
Stony Brook
Bing
WPI
NYIT
Cooper Union
lehigh
lafayette
UAkron
SD Mines
Stevens
Union
Clarkson
Does anyone recommend any else? I might want to just full send some application to a high reach and see if I get in 
(very unlikely probably LOL but why not)
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You can’t. EA and ED applications are evaluated using grades through the end of 11th grade.
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I would add a couple more mid-level SUNYs (Polytech? New Paltz? or even SUNY Broome for the path to Bing!) or CCNY (if you have relatives in NYC or can afford to rent + go for Macaulay, you never know!), just in case, since SUNYs are your best bets financially so you really want to get into one or two for sure.
(Perhaps revisit ESF and Alfred Ceramics Engineering but no big deal).
Otherwise the list is excellent, including a good variety of selectivity but all offering your major and meeting your needs/wants.
You make a very good point wrt senior year grades (you will have to enter your projected schedule into the SUNY app as well as the CommonApp, so plan a balanced but ambitious senior schedule as it DOES count.)
When do you get 1st quarter grades? The EA deadline is Nov 15 and if I’m not mistaken that’s cutting it close for those grades, but make sure to apply by Nov 1 and ask your GC to send your updated transcript with 1st quarter grades by then. This way, your application is in, they know a transcript is coming, and there’s always a little bit of leeway for GC’s at that time of year, so if it works they get your senior grades if the grades aren’t there at least you got your application in and they will consider it.
Look at the EA deadlines for the other universities: if Nov 1 ask your GC to send the GC’s “other transcript update” document by Nov 10, if Nov 15 they can just upload the transcript by Nov 21.
Note however that some universities use “SRARs”, ie., self reported transcripts. Plan to submit this several days before whatever deadline, because there are always issues.
Once you’re done with all you SUNY and EA applications, you can just choose one high reach for the heck of it, provided you’re not “applied out”, ie., exhausted, and provided your parents agree to pay the fee (unless it’s free to apply).
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ok! I will def add some more suny’s for safety, thank you!!
1st quarter grades are finalized november 11th. SO I don’t think I can apply by nov 1 but my classes will be so much better next year. but that makes sense I will communicate with my guidance counselor about that, I feel like there’s been other students that have applied EA with their senior year grades for quarter 1. But I will get everything in on my part before nov 1st. I will keep the other transcript update document in mind!
What do you think of university of minnesota and University of Arizona? I cannot quite remember but I heard that a lot of hiring takes place at University of Arizona.
thanks again!!
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YOU apply by Nov 1 (actually, mostly in the summer).
Your GC sends transcripts at their earliest convenience (I think this calendar matches SUNYs!) and is given a short grace period to send an update with 1st quarter grades by Nov 11 or 21(or, if relevant, can indicate the transcript includes senior year/1st quarter).
I think your GPA will hurt you at UMN and UAZ. UMN is well-known for being very, very strong in Engineering in general and Chemical Engineering in particular, as is UDel. So if you want a “hail mary” app, it could be to those. Or pick another “high reach just for the heck of it”. Don’t spend too much time on choosing them till you’re done with the SUNYs and your current list.
Note the deadlines for scholarships and Honors program/college tend to be Nov 1.
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Do all high schools in NY state have quarter grades on the transcript? Where I am…that is not the case.
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Ok! I will def communicate all this with my GC! I’m very glad there’s a grace period for GCs to submit the transcript so hopefully I can squeeze in my senior year grades
I see I was checking out their programs from someone’s recommendations and I was really interested in the research they were putting out. I think any "hail mary"s I pick will just be engineering schools like those instead of any generic school because the strong engineering department matters a lot more for me
As for essays, I’m sort of nervous to get started I’m not sure what to write about- I feel like I have a lot to convey, but I don’t know how is best to convey in my common app essay about my love for engineering. I think I will be alright with the college specific supplementals and optional essays (which I plan on doing for sure) but not sure about the main.
I’ve asked one of my humanities teachers for recommendation letters and he’s said ok, but how many more can I submit? Can I submit any from my research mentors because I think those would be significantly stronger than my humanities recommendation letter.
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There’s a quarter grade report that my GC can possibly send along with the transcript I think?
Don’t “think”. Ask and make sure.
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at the end of every quarter there’s an auto generated report for the grades for just that quarter, I will ask my guidance counselor if it’s possible to send that along with my entire transcript?
edit: actually on the transcript itself it is also auto generated, if in the middle of the quarter it’s in progress and if the quarter is over, the grades show up
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Think of
- a key moment in your life
- a funny moment in your life
- a time when something or someone shocked you
can you write a couple lines about each?
Do they tie in together? (if not, it’s not a problem, it’s just to get you started)
You can check the website “essay hell” (or “escape essay hell”), too.
What matters is telling a story about yourself that shows the person you are is someone colleges can be interested in. Usually, it’ll show you learning something.
(Though the “I didn’t win in a competition and learned to be better” essay is a cliche, so don’t go straight for it. It can be well-written in a unique voice but it shouldn’t be your go-to).
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Before you apply to a school, review its cost of attendance for international students and eligibility for aid/international scholarships. You don’t want to spend time or money on applications that won’t be viable.
You might want to make a spreadsheet and pick out direct (tuition, fees, room, board, health insurance) costs, adding indirect costs (transportation, books, misc) separately.
I’ve seen some schools estimate indirect costs very high or low, so a comparison of direct costs was much more helpful to us. If a school required flights for transportation, we estimated that, but left out transportation for any we thought were in driving range.
You can then add a line for scholarships, so you know exactly what your goal is to bring a school within budget.
https://oir.d.umn.edu/common-data-set
https://international.arizona.edu/international-students/new-student-financial-guarantee-calculator
You can start building your spreadsheet now and add in application deadlines, application status, etc. Recheck all the numbers before you apply. Colleges will be updating their costs and aid policies over the summer.
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You need one from a STEM teacher - if you’re applying for Engineering, you simply can’t get away without one (and it’s the one you’ll prioritize for universities that only want one and do not accept an extra one). Math, chemistry, or Physics from 11th grade would be best. From 12th grade only for the Nov 15, Dec1 or Jan 1 applications
The 3rd one can be from your research mentor indeed.
You’ll need a brag sheet for each (with specific answers to the things about their class).
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