<p>I will be a senior in HS this fall and I am very interested in UCSB's mechanical engineering program. With such a great program, however, comes great competition. My HS GPA is not outstanding, maybe a 3.7/8 unweighted. My UC GPA is actually lower as well.. Probably 3.6. Anyway, do I still have a chance at admission to the ME program if I get like an 800 on the math part of the SAT and the math II SAT? I am also out of state,if that matters. Also, I have been told that colleges look at the rigor of your senior year courses when evaluating you for admission.. Would honors calc and AP stat look better than just AP calc? Thank you!</p>
<p>I’m not even going to guess at the course load, but as a parent I would say AP calculus looks like a harder class than stat. </p>
<p>I don’t know if you will make it or not, because you are right, it is a hard program to get into, given how good it is. However, I encourage you to try. You know you can’t get in if you don’t apply. I haven’t seen admissions stats broken down by major for UCSB, so it is hard to get specific. </p>
<p>@collegevetting I appreciate the reply! On the ME site it says avg GPA is 4.1 and SAT is like 2025. I’ve gone to a private school which is much more rigorous than my local public school (25% of class of 2014 had a 4.0 GPA or higher). Just waiting to see if it’s actually regarded as rigorous to non local colleges. Thanks again!</p>
<p>I think they do care about rigor, from one of my sons who would not have gotten in otherwise (great test scores only decent grades, 3.7 UCGPA but lower unweighted, but about 13 APs by the time he graduated), but that wasn’t engineering. With engineering it is just a matter of do your best, apply, and hope. I did read anecdotal stuff about some kinds of subjects being less important to them than others so that a poorer grade there wouldn’t hurt their view of you as an engineer. I can’t vouch for it, myself, though.</p>
<p>Here are the admissions stats for ME…<a href=“Admissions | Mechanical Engineering - UC Santa Barbara”>Admissions | Mechanical Engineering - UC Santa Barbara;
<p>Yes, it is a very competitive program. Make sure your essay(s) include reasons for wanting to study engineering - specifically an ME. Show how your interest in this field of study has already impacted your selection of EC’s. </p>