Need Help Trimming/Choosing Safeties/etc [Long Read]

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey, I am currently a rising senior.</p>

<p>I have a pretty hefty list and I already feel like the majority are reach and I am afraid that I lack safeties. </p>

<p>Ethnicity: Hispanic/Jewish</p>

<p>Low Income</p>

<p>GPA UW: 3.58
GPA W: 3.78
UC GPA: 4.01
CSU GPA: 3.9</p>

<p>Rank: 29/590-660</p>

<p>APs:</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Art History - Did not take exam
(Class was cut halfway into the course because of budget cuts; too unmotivated to self-study to take exam)</p>

<p>Junior Year:
English Lang - 2
Spanish Lang - 2
(^ I don't plan on reporting these)
Calculus BC - 4
Calculus AB subscore - 5</p>

<p>APs planning to take Senior year:
Macroeconomics
Government
Environmental Science
Literature & Composition</p>

<h2>Physics B</h2>

<p>Self studying:
Physics C - Mech
Physics C - E&M</p>

<p>I have not properly studied for SAT I and IIs prior to taking the exam, as I am spending my summer studying trying to raise them... significantly (they are horrendous, I am beyond proud of them)</p>

<p>SAT I (May) 1600
490 Verbal (I'd like to accentuate that I have had terrible reading comprehension problems since childhood)
580 Math
530 Writing</p>

<p>Aiming for:
1900-2100
500-600 Verbal
600-750 Math
600 - 700 Writing</p>

<p>SAT II (June)
630 Math II
630 Spanish
550 Physics (Only took Honors Physics prior) </p>

<p>Aiming for:
750-800 Math II
650-700 Spanish
600-650 Physics</p>

<p>~50-60ish hours of community service, trying to get that up</p>

<p>ECs:
9th Grade
- Track & Field</p>

<p>[Summer]
-CAD Class for ROP</p>

<p>10th Grade
-Cross Country [Medaled - 11th Frosh Soph League Finals]
-Track & Field - Varsity Letterman/Scholastic Letterman
- ACE (Architecture Construction Engineering) Mentoring Program, working with licensed Engineers, Architects, Construction managers, etc. on actual projects
-IED (Intro Engineering Design) Competition
-1st Place Regionals; won iPad; made it to State</p>

<p>11th Grade
-Cross Country - Varsity Letterman/Scholastic Letterman
-Track & Field - Varsity Letterman/Scholastic Letterman
-ACE
-IED Competition
-DeMolay (Freemasonry)
-JSA (Junior Statesman of America; Debate Club at school; will be Assembly Representative Senior Year)</p>

<p>[Summer]
-High School Summer Research Program - UCLA (Selected to participate in research with Professors and Graduate Students in the labs; in my case, I am currently doing research in the Mechanical/Aerospace Department)
-Volunteering at local Library and working on possibly doing it at a Senior Center or local Police Dept.</p>

<p>Plans for Senior Year:
-Cross Country
-Track & Field
-ACE
-DeMolay
-IED Competition
-JSA
-Plans to intern at an Architecture or Engineering firm
-unsure what else</p>

<hr>

<p>Planned areas of undergraduate study:
-Architecture (working on a summer art portfolio for B.Arch programs I am applying to)
-Civil Engineering (Emphasis - Structures)
-Architectural Engineering (Emphasis - Structures)</p>

<p>This is what I have been looking at for colleges thus far:</p>

<p>Bucknell University
Cal Poly SLO<em>
Cal Poly Pomona
Carnegie Mellon
Cooper Union
Cornell University</em>
Illinois Institute of Technology
Lehigh
Penn State - University Park<em>
Pratt Institute
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Syracuse University</em>
Texas A&M University<em>
Tulane University</em>
UC Berkeley<em>
UC Los Angeles
UC San Diego</em>
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
University of Miami<em><a href="Aunt%20works%20here,%20mainly%20interested%20for%206%20year%20BS%20Architectural%20Engineering/M.Arch%20program">/b</a>
**University of Southern California</em>
University of Texas at Austin*</p>

<p>**s* show colleges I am mostly interested in</p>

<p>I am also applying for the Posse Scholarship (Los Angeles), in which Tulane, Berkeley, and Syracuse are on the list for.</p>

<p>I mainly based my choices off of what I want to study, and I am well aware a few on this list are reach; in fact, I am afraid I am mostly reach for most of these. I am emphasizing that I am working on trying to improve my stats.</p>

<p>Advice on what should be omitted, added, considered, etc? Also, which of these do you think I am match, possibly reach with my projected SAT scores, and what other colleges not on this list I should consider?</p>

<p>Thank you very much!</p>

<p>EDIT: Also I need help selecting the right colleges that offer decent financial aid.</p>

2

<p>Once you figure out some safeties which you are certain to be admitted to and you are certain you can afford, you can remove all schools which you would not choose over your safeties.</p>

<p>Also remove all schools which you would not be able to afford (based on net cost after expected non-loan financial aid based on the school’s reputation for financial aid generosity or lack thereof) even if you were admitted.</p>

<p>You may want to call the admissions and architecture departments at both Cal Polys to see what CSU eligibility index was needed for admission into those majors (calculate yours here: [CSUMentor</a> - Plan for College - High School Students - Calculate Your Eligibility Index](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU) ). That can give you an idea of where you stand at those schools.</p>

<p>For UCs, you can look here to get an idea of where you stand:</p>

<p>[University</a> of California - Freshman admission profiles](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/profiles/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/profiles/index.html)
[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu)</p>

3

<p>Cal Poly Pomona Architecture may be the right fit for not a safety unless you raise your SATs just a bit. You’ll need roughly a 3.9 UW GPA and a 1200/1600 SAT. </p>

<p>Stats for a few years ago, I suspect will be higher next year:</p>

<p>[Schools</a> that Excel in Sustainable Design - Education, Research - Architect Magazine](<a href=“http://www.architectmagazine.com/education/sustainable.aspx]Schools”>http://www.architectmagazine.com/education/sustainable.aspx)</p>

<p>Neither Cal Poly will look at your portfolio or ECs since this is not CSU policy. </p>

<p>I would not recommend Sci-arc for undergrad since you will not get the complete college experience. You may also want to look at the University of Oregon.</p>

4

<p>I was thinking the same for Pratt and Cooper Union ^</p>

<p>And that’s a little discouraging to hear that only CPP seems to be a match… I really need to boost my stats.</p>

5

<p>Sorry for a double post, but just wondering if I’m matched for anything else on the list… thanks, I appreciate it.</p>

<p>Or if I should consider anything else.</p>

<p>I need to trim my list.</p>

6

<p>Oh, I just forgot to add Drexel to the list for Architectural Engineering…</p>

<p>…not that it makes much of a difference.</p>

7

<p>Take all those “big-name” out-of-state public schools off your list. They are likely to offer you little or no financial aid, meaning you’d be basically full pay - and if you have a low income, that means they’re unaffordable for you.</p>

<p>You need to look at your in-state schools (Blue and Gold at the UCs is a great deal), at public schools that participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange and at privates that meet full need.</p>

8

<p>@xcoastal,</p>

<p>it sounds like your being a bit too ambitious. You’ve picked all big name schools. I am sure you’re a match for some of those schools depending on the major. Since you seem to be on the west coast (cali?), hispanic, low income, CPP (thought not a match yet with your SAT score) is not a bad school with your profile. You’ll feel right at home compared to some stuffy school on the east coast. There are a ton of easier public schools you’re missing such as U of Oregon, Arizona, ASU, UNLV, Washington State, other UTs, U of Houston. All of these are decent for for architecture. But then again, if you can get into CPP, why pay extra on out of state tuition.</p>

9

<p>Just off the top of my head, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Cooper Union, USC, UIUC, and Berkeley will basically be impossible for you unless you raise scores significantly</p>

10

<p>@mrsleonore
I guess I probably am a little… Even with my projected SATs? Oh, and my GPA should go up a bit by admissions time, probably somewhere between 3.7 and 3.9 if I strive in my 5 APs the beginning of the year.</p>

<p>Off topic: This just came to my attention; but how do my stats (with projected scores and gpa) look for Purdue for Engineering (ignoring finances)?</p>

<p>I probably exaggerated when I said low income, will it change if I say that I’m relatively low income… middle class. Not saying I can pay for college, I just still need some scholarships.</p>

11

<p>Middle-class meaning, what, $60-70,000?</p>

<p>That puts you out of the running for any federal aid beyond Stafford loans, and is still far less than you would need to be full-pay anywhere. The flagship publics you’ve listed are not known for giving any aid to out-of-state students, except for a few extremely competitive merit scholarships… and your stats are not in range for those.</p>

<p>Purdue’s OOS cost of attendance is listed at just shy of $40,000 per year. Texas is around $45,000.</p>

<p>You should look at schools which participate in the [Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu%5DWestern”>http://wue.wiche.edu). I attended the University of Idaho under that program and it was the only way I could afford to go out-of-state.</p>

<p>As for private schools, the ones you’re looking at will have cost of attendance upwards of $50,000 per year, which basically means you can’t afford any school that doesn’t offer you full need-based aid.</p>

12

<p>Actually significantly less… sorry, I guess I am low-income.</p>

13

<p>Middle class is anywhere from about $35-$85,000, depending on how you slice it. I tend to look at the third and fourth income percentiles.</p>

<p>[Household</a> income in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States]Household”>Household income in the United States - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>Anyone who’s in that income range really cannot afford the really-expensive out-of-state flagship public or any private colleges without significant money set aside for college, merit/need-based aid or way-beyond-rational loans.</p>

<p>If you can get eligible for a UC campus, you’d be eligible for the Blue and Gold program, which would cover your entire tuition/fees. Work on your GPA and test scores.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/financial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html[/url]”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/paying-for-uc/financial-aid/grants/blue-gold/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>I think your safest bet is for you to stick to either a UC or a CSU. Not only are many of the schools hard to reach with your GPA and scores, you’ll find that the financial aid they’ll give you is poor and that you definitely won’t qualify for any scholarships. </p>

<p>You might be able to get fee waivers for some schools, so it’s only worth your time to apply to them, but for others, you should probably avoid if it’ll cost you an excessive amount of money.</p>

15

<p>Do you think I’d be able to get into, say, UC Davis with the ELC program that most of the UCs offer?</p>

<p>I don’t remember, but isn’t it top 9% of your high school class for guaranteed admission?</p>

16

<p>Top 9% is guaranteed admission for A UC, I believe. So I think you could get stuck in UC Merced.</p>

17

<p>Exactly what is your objective? You’ve listed some pretty top notch schools, but when it comes down to it they are not that much better than UCs and top CSUs. With budget cuts all over the country, I really don’t see the point in paying so much for pretty much the same education. It may also be too late to get your gpa up. You’ll have to apply for UCs and CSUs during the upcoming fall. Unless you’re taking summer school, I believe you’ll have to apply with your current GPA. You’ll have a chance to update your transcript but only to verify that you’re still under good academic standing and not slacking off. I would suggest applying to all the UCs except maybe Mercer and Riverside and apply to the top CSUs including Cal Poly SLO, Pomona, SDSU and maybe Long Beach. They should all be as good as Purdue. CPP may be the easiest on your original list, but unfortunately, architecture makes it as much a reach as UCI or UCD. Do try though.</p>

18

<p>My average GPA will go up slightly because I received a 4.0 on my last report card, and I just have to patiently wait for my counselor to update my naviance for any increase in rank and average uw/w gpas. Regardless, do you think I may have a chance for Architectural Engineering or the B.Arch program at SLO if I boost my SATs quite a bit?</p>

<p>My most realistic option right now that I could see happening is Davis via ELC</p>

19

<p>UC “eligibility in local context” is described here:</p>

<p>[University</a> of California - Local path](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/california-residents/local-path/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/freshman/california-residents/local-path/index.html)</p>

<p>Note that your actual class rank is not used. It is a comparison of your GPA versus your school’s historic top 9% GPA that is used to determine whether you are eligible in local context.</p>

20

<p>One question. Are you more interested in the college experience or a particular major major? There’s not much in common between architecture and electrical engineering. Even architecture and architectural engineering at SLO will be completely different majors. One is about design, the other is about technical building systems. Maybe deciding on majors will help you narrow down your options. B arch at SLO is quite a reach. Pomona not as much, but still very well respected.</p>