Mediocre GPA, Decent SAT, Excellent Athletics

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am an international student. I am a foreigner attending the American International School of Dhaka in Bangladesh. I want to get into a Petroleum Engineering Major. I am doing the full IB diploma and taking very rigorous courses that have been hurting my GPA. </p>

<p>High School GPA:
2.8 (Unweighted on a 4.0 scale and no class rank is available)
My senior courses: </p>

<p>IB Bio HL
IB Econ HL
IB Literature HL
iB Math SL
IB Chem Sl
IB Spanish SL
TOK</p>

<p>My school's SAT average is around 1730 and It is a tough school. </p>

<p>SAT scores:
January:
530 writing, 550 reading, 620 math </p>

<p>June:
510 writing, 600 reading, 700 math </p>

<p>October:
650 writing, 520 reading, 680 math </p>

<p>Best Score: 1850/2400
Superscore: 1950
SAT composite: 1300/1600 </p>

<p>I have tons of activities. (maybe they are killing my grade?) </p>

<p>Varsity Soccer since 9th grade
MUN ( since 9th grade and attended many conferences including an international one)
President of C-Squared (broadcasting club)
Elected into the Athletic Council
Founded a Softball Club
Over 200 hours of community service at the Center for Paralyzed and Drug rehab center
Interned for 3 weeks for an NGO
Visited Bhutan and Cambodia for community service with a few of my classmates </p>

<p>I can afford all colleges since money isn't that much of an issue but getting in to college seems like a nightmare for me :( </p>

<p>Please help me out! I am really stuck and don't know what to do....
I plan on applying to: </p>

<p>LSU
Texas A and M
UT Austin
University of Tulsa
Penn State, University Park
Colorado School of Mines </p>

<p>Too be honest, I don't know and nor am I confident about any of them. Please help me out :(</p>

2

<p>Many of the schools on your list weigh in GPA heavily so a 2.8 is going to hurt you.
if you like Colorado School of Mines, check out University of Missouri Sciences and Technology, or New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
Montana Tech, U Oklahoma are all good choices for you…
As an IB candidate, Westminster-Mesa would be a good safety but they don’t offer your major. Could be a way to bring up your grades before you transfer though.
You could also look into schools that offer soccer at div II or div III level, and see if you can get recruited, so that they’d overlook your GPA.
UT Austin is not going to happen, TAMU, Tulsa and Penn State are reaches (unless you start out at a branch campus for Penn state, but for the cost i’m really not sure it’s worth it.)</p>

3

<p>Why aren’t you applying to the University of Oklahoma if you want to do petroleum engineering? OU is one of the best petroleum engineering schools out there and it offers a variety of other options should realize you can’t hack the curriculum.
Take off UT, A&M, and probably CSM. Sorry, but I don’t see those happening with a sub 3.0. </p>

<p>I second the suggestion of MUST and Montana Tech although I’d take off NMIT. It’s been hit very hard by budget cutbacks and it shows in many of their facilities. </p>

<p>Also consider the University of Wyoming. Its students get plenty of hands on opportunities and the state has recently invested very heavily in its energy engineering facilities. Because it is in Wyoming, a very rural state with few opportunities for advanced coursework at the hs level, classes are much easier than they would be at say, UT Austin.</p>

4

<p>LSU accepts a lot of instate with sub 3.0, but I’m not sure out of state. Can’t be more than a reach though.</p>

5

<p>Thank you guys for your reply. I really really appreciate it. From the responses above, I plan on applying to University of Oklahoma but I am a bit worried about the safety and crime rates in Oklahoma. I was considering New Mexico Tech and still consider it but I think that it is really isolated. I am really hoping that I get into LSU as it sounds like a good option. </p>

<p>I am a bit surprised though that my SAT scores don’t help me with Tulsa and TAMU. I am around 200 points higher than the school average. :(</p>

6

<p>TAMU has automatic admissions for all Texas students in the top 20% of their high school, and they fill their class quickly like this. Getting in from out of state is very, very difficult.
Tulsa takes everything into account, which is why it’s a reach, but your GPA will count against you.</p>

7

<p>OU is a safe campus. I wouldn’t be concerned unless you’re walking through an alley drunk at 3AM.</p>

8

<p>@MYOS1634 it is 10% for TAMU and all other schools in Texas besides UT Austin (7%) and Rice, obviously.</p>

9

<p>Sorry. Thanks for the correction.
Still, to address Op’s question: top 10% automatic admission based on class rank and automatic academic admission to all students who rank in top 25% and 1300 SAT for TAMU, or UT Dallas, top 10% automatic admission based on class rank plus automatic academic admission SAT1200 OR Top 15%, etc… That makes up most students in the class and leaves very little space for out of state and international applicants.</p>

<p>Re:^^ Norman is safe. Even though many people carry weapons, which is very scary outside the US, and there has been one very sad, terrible incident recently, it doesn’t mean the State is dangerous or violent, and certainly not its university campus. In fact, when something violent happens, people are shocked because it’s rather rare. Oklahoma is not LA or North Philly … or even Florida :slight_smile: ;)</p>

10

<p>Btw OP, you might also want to consider schools that offer mining/ geological engineering. Great field if you find geology interesting, and the job prospects of both fields are still pretty stellar, at least in the US.</p>

11

<p>We are in the same boat, almost identical stats. Are you going to play soccer in college? I know that would help. I think you have a chance with every school but Tulsa. Good Luck.</p>

12

<p>I really appreciate all the positive feedback from you guys. Thank you very much again. </p>

<p>When I said athletics as the title I meant ECC activities. I would love to play soccer or even Football but I think primarily, I would rather focus on my classes. I have applied to LSU 2 months ago but am still waiting to hear back from them. For LSU, I heard that they weight your GPA to their standards and see where your at. If I had that perfect GPA, I think they would have told me that I am accepted by now… I wish I could use a time machine so I could go back in time and do better with my grades. I may have a 90th percentile SAT score (M + CR) but that GPA…</p>

<p>I am looking to geology/mining right now and it does sound interesting. Btw, i forgot to write this in but by any chance possible, could it affect my admission chances if my dad were to work for a big Oil Major at a high position, particularly the one that hires a lot of students from TAMU, UT Austin, Colorado School of Mines and a few others? </p>

<p>It sucks to know that I am somewhat relying on my dad for my admissions and not based on my merits :(</p>

13

<p>State universities won’t care. However your father might be able to help you establish contacts in the industry. </p>

<p>Again, if you want a safety consider Wyoming. It’s a more “fun” school than the tech institutes and WILL admit you.</p>

14

<p>He knows the person who is hiring students for the next few years from Universities to work for this Oil Giant. However with that said, I need to do well in college because its based on academic standings. Getting an Internship is not an issue but I need to get into college first. Wyoming sounds like a really cool place. I think I might just apply for it as a safety. However, I am not so sure how their PETE program is doing or the Job placement rates. So far, I have</p>

<p>Super Reach
UT AUSTIN </p>

<p>Reach
Texas A and M
Tulsa
Colorado School of Mines
Penn State University Park </p>

<p>Match
Penn State Kensington Park ( alternate campus for two years)
LSU ( on the upper hand though)
University of Oklahoma
University of Alberta (Canada)
University of Calgary ( Canada) </p>

<p>Safety: </p>

<p>University of Wyoming ( Wyoming sounds like a beautiful place and is the cheapest option. Even with an estimated expense of 5,000 dollars a year, it comes around 30,000. I would spend 120,000 dollars there and use the rest for a Major at TAMU, Austin, Mines) </p>

<p>Maybe Montana Tech</p>

15

<p>Your list looks good although I consider PSU KP to be a safety. However, I don’t see the appeal of a branch campus when you can easily afford to go to a four year, residential school like LSU and OU. Spend the money on other things like a nice dinner with your father and his boss ;)</p>

<p>Anyways, good luck and if you have any questions about Oklahoma, feel free to PM me.</p>