Please chance me for engineering?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>Hey, just wondering like everyone else... I'm applying RD. Panicking because of essays, and rehearsing rejection in my head, lol. Applying to college is hard stuff :(</p>

<p>Major: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering</p>

<p>State: CA
School Type: Public charter (this is our 6th year, best school in okay area)
Race: Latina (Brazil)
Gender: F
Income: $90k
Hooks: minority, female in engineering, school is in low income neighborhood, 2nd generation American, 2nd generation college</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.47 W
Rank: 3 of 134
SAT: 2120 - 680 M, 730 CR, 710 W (Jan. 2014)
SAT II: Took Math II and Physics, expecting 550-650 for both :( - hoping that the fact that I took physics in 9th and that I was one of 2 people to ever take the physics SAT II at my school (virtually teaching myself everything over summer) helps a little bit
ACT: 35 - 35 E, 34 M, 35 R, 36 S, 10 essay (Jun. 2014)
APs, etc.: School doesn't offer, instead offers dual enrollment with local community college and 2 universities</p>

<p>Transcript: All As, took all the most challenging classes offered; electives include: Mock Trial, Speech & Debate, Tech Team, Robotics, Yearbook</p>

<p>Senior course load:
Calculus (dual enroll)
Political Science/Economics (dual enroll)
Anatomy, Physiology, & Disease
English Literature (dual enroll)
College Writing
Engineering Design and Development (dual enroll)
Electives: American Popular Culture, Flight School</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:<a href="virtually%20every%20club%20at%20my%20school">/b</a>
- FIRST Robotics Competition (10-12) Head of Strategy (11), Safety Captain (11), Team Captain (12): 300+ hours/year
- Mock Trial (10-12) Founding Member, Defendant and Arresting Officer (10), Opening & Closing Attorney (11-12) 100 hours/year
- Interact Club (10-12): ~100 hours of community service
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (11-12) Founding Member, President (11-12): 30 hours/year
- Society of Women Engineers (10-12) Founding Member: monthly 30-minute meetings + 20 hours activities/service
- CrossFit (June 2014-present): 3 hours/week
- Yearbook (10-11) Assistant Editor (10), Chief Editor (11): 200 hours/year
- VEX Robotics (11) Founding Member: 50 hours
- Ambassador Team (11-12): about 20 hours total
- Church Audio & Visual Technician (7-12): 50 hours/year
**Honor clubs: California Scholarship Federation, National Honor Society
Awards: FIRST Dean's List Award Semifinalist, National Merit Commended, National Hispanic Recognition
Work Experience: Boeing Internship June-August 2014; did lots of cool engineering stuff</p>

<p>Essays are okay, I'm having trouble "finding myself" and being genuine, but the writing is alright. Letters of rec will likely be amazing, 11/10.</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Make sure your essay is stellar and you stand a decent chance. Your test scores, especially your ACT score is outstanding and will impress any admission officer. Your ECs are pretty generic but are still good. Also, consider applying to Cornell University as well. Cornell is also an ivy but it’s easier to get into and has a better engineering program. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Don’t send your SAT I score and retake the SAT II’s (or don’t send if Princeton allows you to send just an ACT score). 550 - 650 is low for engineering. </p>

<p>Otherwise, you appear to be a competitive applicant. Wishing you the best!</p>

4

<p>For engineering the scores you listed for both math and physics are low. I would send your ACT and re-take SAT II’s again in Jan if you are able. We had a number of e-mail exchanges with the Dean of Engineering a few years back and their focus is on strong math and physics preparation. </p>

<p>You also listed yourself as Latina (Brazil). Do you speak Portuguese? If so, I would definitely include that information in your application as Princeton is really big on their students (even BSE students) speaking a second language. The adcoms know that even if students are accepted into BSE they may (and frequently do) switch to AB and second language proficiency is required for graduation for all AB students. </p>