<p>Hello! I am currently a high school senior in New York researching schools that I am interested in applying to in the fall. I am interested in studying mechanical engineering or possibly entering pre-med. Is engineering an impacted major? If so, should I even bother applying with my stats? (listed below). One of my strengths is my extra-curricular involvement. I heard that Clemson and Rutgers place little value in extra-curriculars when it comes to admissions and that UCLA is extremely holistic in their approach. How does the environment and campus life at Rutgers compare with Clemson or UCLA? How do these campuses differ? If you were offered admission at all 3, which would you choose? Do you think my chances of going to a top-tier graduate/med school would increase if I chose one campus over the other?</p>
<p>The reason I am asking now is because I am trying to narrow down the schools I am applying to. As of now, I will be applying to all 3 of these schools as they are so different and appeal to different aspects of my personality. Moreover, I can only afford to visit one of these campuses in August. I am highly leaning towards visiting Clemson as I feel like my chances of being admitted to UCLA are slim as it is. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I also posted this in the Clemson and UCLA forums too see how current students feel about their investment in college and how their school has given back to them. </p>
<p>--My Stats as of 06/2010--
GPA: 4.33
SAT: 2080 (working to improve!) ACT: 32 (with writing) IB Diploma Candidate Very Strong E.C.'s</p>
<p>You’ll get into the program of your choice at Rutgers with those stats.</p>
<p>Is Rutgers particularly strong in engineering? Even in a certain discipline of it?</p>
<p>UCLA; unless you’re interested in a PharmD/PhD program.</p>
<p>IMO, UCLA>Rutgers>Clemson for engineering</p>
<p>Rutgers has a strong engineering program with high placement. All the kids I know who went in the last few years had jobs or were accepted into great graduate programs.</p>
<p>If your scores are what they say they are, they will automatically admit you - a person doesn’t look at the application if the scores are high enough (a friend of mine worked on the computer program that did this.)</p>
<p>By the way, pre-med is not a major at any school. You need to take certain course to get into med school (basically: bio, chem, organic chemistry) but you can major in anything- but it will be tough to be in mechanical engineering and fulfill the required courses. Engineering has very little flexibility in the course you take. If you think you might want to go to med school but want engineering, think about biomedical engineering or even biochemical engineering.</p>
<p>Here are links to those two departments- you can see the required course in the links</p>
<p><a href=“http://sol.rutgers.edu/[/url]”>http://sol.rutgers.edu/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://biomedical.rutgers.edu/[/url]”>http://biomedical.rutgers.edu/</a></p>
<p>I understand that “pre-med” is not a major. I was referring to the majors such as biology, neurology, or physiology. At many schools, these majors are often labeled “pre-med”.</p>
<p>Concerning my scores, those are my scores as of June. I’m not familiar with how Rutgers examines applications. If my scores and GPA will really get me in…awesome.</p>
<p>Thanks for the links!</p>