Oh ok, I understand that now-- didn’t realize priority registration was involved. I really appreciate your help, thank you!
I think I am mostly torn about Berkeley, I always thought I would end up at a UC and it seems weird to not even apply. I really love UCSC but unfortunately they don’t have IE. And I know their IE/OR program is very good. I was supposed to start working on the UC application essay questions next week, but maybe I’ll start on the common app essays instead…
http://www.sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/ can give you an idea of what thresholds SJSU has had in the past.
2017: Industrial engineering needed a 2900 on the SJSU-modified-for-engineering EI.
2012-2016: Industrial engineering needed a 2900 EI.
If your UC/CSU-recalculated HS GPA is something like 4.3, then your EI = 4.3 * 800 + 800 + 760 = 5000. Your SJSU-modified-for-engineering EI is 5020. So, unless industrial engineering becomes much more popular than it historically has been at SJSU, it looks very unlikely that you will be rejected there.
You can afford SJSU, right?
Other California publics with industrial engineering (besides CPSLO and SJSU) are CPP, CSUEB, UCB, and UCLA.
The OP probably means Cal Poly Pomona (CPP), not Pomona College (which does not have industrial engineering). CPP does have a low 4-year graduation rate, but the OP with 4.0 unweighted HS GPA and top-end SAT scores is unlikely to have the student-caused reasons for not graduating on time (weak preparation, needing remedial courses, unable to handle the workload of a full schedule, etc.) and can sign up for the four year pledge ( http://www.cpp.edu/~studentsuccess/oss/graduation-pledge/4-year-cpp-pledge-info.shtml ). Other CSUs have similar programs (e.g. http://www.sjsu.edu/californiapromise/ , https://academicprograms.calpoly.edu/california-promise-program-cal-poly , https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/getting_into_the_csu/Pages/the-california-promise-program.aspx ).
Following up @mamaedefamilia’s post #12, Washington’s acceptance rate in 2016 was 38.8% for nonresidents (45.3% overall). Still, in your case, it should not be an issue. Congratulations, and good luck!
I think my Cal Poly GPA is something like a 4.25, but yeah, still. Thanks for the link, I didn’t see that before. Yeah, I can afford SJSU, I’m in CA so I get in state tuition there-- tuition at CSUs is about as cheap as it gets for 4 year colleges for me. I went into a little more detail on financial stuff a few posts ago if you need more details.
Are you sure UCLA offers industrial engineering? I thought they didn’t? I liked UCLA, would definitely be toward the top of my list if they had IE. UC Davis has an operations research program, at least they call it operations research, but when I looked at the courses for the program it was basically math+economics and just didn’t really seem like a real operations research program.
CSUEB looks like another viable option for a safety, I’ll have to keep looking into it.
So if I apply to 2 safeties and 1-3 reach schools, about how many matches should I apply to?
Be aware that some of the schools like Penn State have a system where frosh are admitted to a pre-engineering program and must meet a college GPA (higher than needed to stay in good academic standing) to enter an engineering major (e.g. https://advising.psu.edu/entrance-major-requirements-college-engineering-2017 ).
Washington is changing its system from the previous free-for-all competitive-admission-to-major process (seehttps://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats for how selective the old process was) to one where frosh are admitted to pre-engineering, presumably making it easier for pre-engineering frosh to get into engineering majors, but harder for those admitted outside of pre-engineering ( https://www.engr.washington.edu/admission/directtocollege/faq ).
Also, out-of-state public schools will be expensive with little financial aid, though some may offer merit scholarships.
Thanks @UWfromCA , I’ve been told that CA schools are actually accepting more OOS students than in state (by percentage) because OOS students pay more. So maybe I’m mistaken or that’s just not how it works in other states. It’s good to have that on my radar, thank you.
@ucbalumnus Yeah, that is definitely a concern for me. I know that some schools will accept some students directly into the major when they apply, if it’s pretty uncertain that I’ll be able to get my major that’s going to be a deal breaker for me. So for UW I’d want to get into this program: “Direct to College is a new admission process that assures incoming freshman students who are admitted into the College of Engineering that they can pursue an engineering degree at the UW. The changes take effect for the incoming freshman class of 2018.”
For UW, if I didn’t get into the IE program as a freshman when I applied, that would probably prevent me from attending the school.
@DogsAndMath23, if you can’t get into the industrial and systems engineering major at UW, no one can.
@UWfromCA Thanks, that’s very nice of you to say! I have a lot of math courses but am not as strong in science, freshman and sophomore year I took regular sciences (no honors options), then took honors/IB SL physics last year, and will be taking AP Bio next year. But I know people who will have 3 or 4 AP sciences when they graduate. Still, I’m reasonably optimistic 
I’m actually touring UW soon, any suggestions for things to see/do while I’m there? Think I’d be able to check out the IE/SE department?
I’ll send you a note.
However, Washington does not state that students admitted under Direct-to-College pre-engineering will later be admitted to their first choice engineering major. The wording is such that students admitted this way are only assured of some engineering major. However, under the old free-for-all system, industrial engineering was one of the less selective engineering majors, with average admit college GPA of “only” 3.3 (versus 3.5 to 3.7 for some of the other engineering majors), so it is rather likely that the GPA threshold for industrial engineering under the new system will not be very high for those who start in Direct-to-College pre-engineering. But the standards are likely to be even higher for students who entered outside of Direct-to-College pre-engineering.
What are your cost constraints, and have you run the net price calculator on all of the schools on your list?
For UW, it looks like there’s a separate program for freshmen to be directly admitted to the major, not just as a general engineering major. Although as you said, industrial engineering is relatively unknown and probably not one of the more competitive majors.
Budget is an interesting one, actually… I am extremely fortunate to have parents who have been saving for a long time, and my grandpa has also put away some money for me. So I am able to attend a more expensive school, and my parents are encouraging me not to worry about money. They don’t think we’ll qualify for aid. They’re letting me decide where to go but if my mom could choose, she’d probably choose University of San Diego, which is private. She doesn’t want me to lose out on the networking that private schools have but Cal Poly seems to be great for recruiting and getting jobs.
But I’m just not the type of person who can just “not worry” lol, and I just couldn’t go to an expensive private school if it’s not at least on the same level as MIT. Although I may still apply to some and see how much they offer me in scholarships. Even if I get into MIT, I’m going to have a hard time deciding between MIT and Cal Poly.
Admittedly, I’m not really sure if I would choose a full ride at a school I feel just ok about over Cal Poly. Cal Poly is comparatively cheap since I’m in-state but I guess that does add up over 4 years, especially if the scholarship also covers room and board.
I haven’t run net price calculators on the colleges’ individual websites or anything but there’s a tool on this college planning website I use that I believe is a net price calculator?
Make sure that they know what the prices are – some parents assume that they can pay list prices, but then are surprised that they are higher than they thought.
Not sure why they would think that USD is necessarily better for networking just because it is private.
The best ones are on each college’s web site, since each college may have its own financial aid formula, although if your parents are high income/wealth, the most likely answers will be list prices.
I’ll second the recommendation of Arizona State as a backup. If you apply early in the fall, you’ll get in by November (definitely) and will probably get automatic merit where you’d have to pay something like $28,000. You’d have to also do the Barrett Honors application, but it’s very likely you’d get into that program by mid-December as well.
I think you’re going to eventually have several options you like better, but it would be nice to have a reasonably low-cost option like that in hand by mid-December.
ASU fall application actually opened July 1st. You won’t have honors acceptance early, but you can get general acceptance pretty quickly.
So I oversimplified the money stuff, here’s the full story: I don’t think we’re too high income for aid, they’ve just been saving a lot for a long time, and my grandpa has put away money too. Does that factor into determining need? Only my dad works and I don’t know how much he makes, but I think it’s under 75k, maybe 55? I could be completely off though, he does some freelance work too. He isn’t a doctor/lawyer/engineer or any other profession known for being highly paid. I don’t know how much money they put away but I think my parents have 100k+ saved. Also, for determining need, do they look at debt or anything? Because I think we owe and/or spend a decent amount of money on medical bills (over 10k a year after insurance).
They’ve had to dip into my college fund to pay the bills but they don’t know that I know. I know it was wrong but I did some snooping, otherwise I wouldn’t know half of what I do. They don’t tell me anything about money, they always just tell me not to worry about it. But I just feel more worried about it, this sounds bad but I don’t really trust them completely when it comes to finances, so then I feel like I have to try to control what I can.
I think they know what the sticker prices are, my mom also likes the private schools because the 4 year grad rate is higher, but based on the sticker price it’s cheaper to spend 5 at a state school than 4 at a private school. She went to school at her local CSU and didn’t really have a choice about it, she wishes she knew what her options were and went somewhere better. She feels like she got passed over for jobs in favor of people with degrees from more prestigious schools.
I will definitely take a thorough look at ASU, thank you! I really appreciate the help from all of you!
Forgot to say, as far as super safe safeties go, my grandpa is a college professor at an OOS school that accepts roughly 75% of applicants but has a good honors program. That’s also where my dad went to school. So I have some connections there.
Re: #35
It really looks like your parents need to do some accounting work on their household finances to determine what they really can afford. Then, you and they need to sit down together and run the net price calculator on every school in your list to get an idea of what net price each is likely to offer. Remember that the amount you can borrow is limited, and additional loans would be parent loans or parent-cosigned loans, which are typically not a good idea.
Need-based financial aid for students not considered independent* is normally based on parental and student income and assets. If need-based financial aid is not sufficient at a given college, you need to check on whether the college offers sufficient merit scholarships that you can get (and reach/match/safety must be assessed on the scholarships in this case).
*Independent for college financial aid purposes typically means age >= 24, married, military veteran, or other situation that does not apply to most students going to college immediately or soon after graduating from high school.
You should definitely do a lot of research on how financial aid works. If your parents make (let’s say) $70,000 a year, h and have $125,000 in assets (not including retirement accounts or what they own of your home), then you are definitely eligible for some need-based aid at many schools. Maybe not at in-state schools that cost $20,000 a year total, or at those out-of-state public schools that don’t give need-based aid to students from out of state. But you would be eligible for something at many other schools.
One thing to look into is what kinds of assets your parents and grandfather have. Are any of them in your name? The type of asset will make a difference. And if your grandfather just has money set aside that is not in your name, you should look into how he can help you out without hurting your eligibility for need-based aid too much, if it turns out you need that kind of aid for where you’re going. (If you don’t need any need-based aid, he could just give you enough to supplement what your parents can.)
"They don’t tell me anything about money, they always just tell me not to worry about it. "
You are very wise to listen to your gut. Do NOT let your parents continue to engage in this kind of “magical thinking” any longer, because there is no “money fairy” that will suddenly appear in April and make it all right, and to continue down this path, blind, will only lead to anger and bitter disappointment- all of which are TOTALLY avoidable if you have a realistic list of colleges to apply to.
Every year on CC in April we read desperate pleas for help from students whose parents said “dont worry about the money”, but when the FA package arrives with the acceptance letter, suddenly the parents are in shock, and pull the rug out from under their kid.
DONT LET THAT HAPPEN TO YOU.
Sit down and have the money talk with them asap. Make them show you their IRS tax record for last year so you can see how much they did make . The colleges will REQUIRE parents to use IRS filings when they are calculating financial aid.
Run through some NPC’s with income, savings, extra costs for medical expenses, etc so you have a starting point. Colleges that use the Profile [ which are primarily private colleges] ask for different financial info than those that rely on your FAFSA filing
Good luck, and in the future you may want to post $$ questions on the CC Financial aid forum[ see link below], as there are parents there with REALLY deep knowledge of the ins and outs of financial aid calculations.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/