Need advice. Help me choose some colleges/narrow my list.

College Search & Selection
1

I need help deciding on what top schools, if any, I should apply to.

Stats:

Top Public High School
Unweighted GPA - 3.0
Weighted GPA - 3.7

  • Freshman - 3.8, Sophomore - 3.2, Junior - 4.1, Senior (in progress) - 4.9
    Class rank: top 50%
    ACT - 35 (36 STEM)
    9 APs - so far received a 5, a 4, and two 3s
    Only two classes have not been Honors/AP
    My unweighted GPA will be a 3.6 and weighted will be 4.0+ after senior year…I will make sure to send 1st semester of senior grades to colleges which should will a large improvement in my GPA and class rank

Extracurriculars - created/own/run a business, researched/consulted for a small LLC, worked at TJ Maxx and a landscaping company for a year, 3 years of football, few clubs, lots of volunteering, tutor peers/younger students
Awards - AP Scholar with Honor, Student-Athlete Award of Merit x2
Cirmustances - mental health issues and addiction in my family, led to a lower GPA, will explain
Recommendations - good/great
Essays - expect to be great
Ethnicity - Caucasian

Accepted: Alabama (presidential scholarship), South Carolina (in-state tuition scholarship), UTK (in-state)
Applied: UIUC, Tulane
Denied: nowhere (yet)
Will most likely apply: Vanderbilt (EDII), Emory, UChicago
Considering: RPI, USC, Lehigh, CMU, WUSTL, UNC, Washington & Lee

Major(s) Applying to: Undeclared engineering or computer science; pre-med unless I fall in love with something else

I know I have little to no chance of getting in a top school, but I will be applying to some I would love to attend so I don’t wonder “what if.” My parents are willing to pay for a top school or for a school with a merit scholarship but are reluctant about paying 50k+ for a college when I could go to Alabama for so much cheaper. I like all that Alabama offers but am worried about the lack of prestige and “party” environment there. I am wondering about the likelihood of it being a good idea to go to a community college (free in my state) for a year and attempting to transfer to a top university.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice. Also if anyone could suggest some top colleges that may be lenient on GPA/class rank I would greatly appreciate it.

2

To begin, I don’t understand your current UW GPA being 3.0 but will be 3.6 after senior year?? First that’s too big a jump for one year and second you don’t know your senior grades yet so is the assumption straight As senior year? Please clarify so we can give reasonable advice.

I suggest you don’t address the mental health issues yourself. Let your Guidance Counselor do it. From you it may come across as making excuses. (Unless there is a really really compelling story that demonstrates some remarkable quality about you.)

You are mixed bag: great ACT, OK APs, fair GPA, good ECs. My son was similar (he got into CMU and RPI of the colleges you list, but rejected by some I thought would be easier…be prepared for your own mixed results). Yes you need reccs and an essay that hits it out of the park.

I think your list is a good mix of targets and reaches. Probably need more safer schools.

WPI, RIT, and Clarkson are excellent engineering schools that come to mind that may be slightly easier to get into.

good luck.

3

@pickpocket Thank you. I’ll look into those schools.

My current unweighted GPA from years 9-11th is a 3.3, I mistyped. It will be a 3.6 after senior assuming all As, which I have for my 1st semester and plan to do again.

4

What, exactly, other than a perceived prestige boost, are you looking for that the three places where you have been accepted already don’t offer?

For engineering, there is little difference in course content or difficulty from one institution to another provided they all are accredited by ABET. Engineers generally do not need to worry about party atmospheres because they don’t have time for that. They are always studying. Salaries on graduation don’t vary by institution graduated from either. Job placement may vary slightly depending on regional recruiting practices of the potential employers, but U of AL is very well recognized, so getting a job would not be a problem. No real “prestige” issue there.

If your true goal is Med School, then you may not want an engineering major as they are often GPA killers. But you could communicate with @mom2collegekids about it. One of her children graduated from U of AL in engineering and now is in Med School. Med School is very expensive, so a cheap/free undergrad is a good idea. Save the money for Med School.

One year at a CC probably will not raise your profile enough to get into any place you can’t get into right now. It also will make it significantly more difficult to get merit-based aid. If you do go the CC route, complete a full AA or AS degree there, devote a lot of time to PTK (if there is a chapter on campus), complete the transfer requirements for at least one of the formal articulation agreements that your CC participates in, and also apply to a couple other target institutions.

You also haven’t indicated anything about where your own guidance counselor thinks you would be a viable applicant. If you haven’t met with that person, do so. At “Top Public” high schools, the guidance offices maintain years of data on just that topic and usually are very good at helping students identify good places to apply.

5

@happymomof1 thanks for the information!
I am not completely set on engineering, computer science, or even medical school, but I can see myself enjoying those three things. Unlike many of the kids on this forum, I don’t know exactly what I would like to study/prepare for in college (career-wise).

From what I have heard, some top colleges may be a better place to explore this and learn a variety of things, whereas at the schools I have been accepted to, I know many smart kids who went without a firm, preplanned path and they ended up not doing well. I know that the perceived prestige of top schools is overrated, so I am not against going to a state school at all (UA is my #1 choice right now), but I feel that a top college may be a better fit and open more doors for me in the future. Also at my school, the guidance counselors/administration are very subpar compared to the quality of the students and teaching, which is why I came to college confidential. I will definitely talk to my counselor again and inquire about past data of students similar to myself.

6

If you aren’t certain about your major and you would like to explore a bit more, a decent smaller LAC-like institution that just happens to offer engineering (so you can keep that option open) could work well for you. It needen’t be a top institution, just one where you can test out a number of fields of study. Lehigh and Washington & Lee more or less fall into that kind of category. Run a couple morre searches, and see what pops up.

7

you might like the college of william and mary or clemson. although both not ivies, definitely not easy either

8

My son was in a similar boat as you, great ACT but mid-range GPA. He is a sophomore now in TCNJ. I would recommend you use Naviance and see where it lands you. From our school, you would not be able to get in with your GPA to Lehigh. If you are coming from the south, they may want diversity, and it may work out for you. Also, a major will play a factor. If you don’t know what you want to do, better off applying undecided. This give you a chance to get in, and maybe some scholarship. But I agree with our parents, colleges are lot of money, and you need to be able to justify the cost.
My other son is applying now. His stats are 3.75 UW, 3.4 W and SAT 1320. We have applied to RIT ED, still waiting, and we applied to State schools as well.