Research and transfer/international student application

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>Hi there. I wanted to hear what people have to say about this. I plan on studying Electrical Engineering; probably double major or minor with physics. My main interest is research and E.E is the closest engineering major to physics and a major that can warrant me a scholarship and a job were I live; I want to get my masters, PhD and hopefully a nobel prize ( yeah, you've heard/read it) but I need a job to start funding anything and live? </p>

<p>I completed one year in college. I got there by mistake as I intended to attend a honors/prep program then apply abroad as a freshman. I didn't do well on the first semester but here are my records:</p>

<p>First semester:
Completed Physics honors, got a D because I didn't study for finals; I enjoyed physics and did well at first.</p>

<p>Failed precalculus, despite completing calculus and doing well at high school; I even did well at integration and the shapes that you use integration to get. It was my fault for not taking things seriously and not adapting to college.</p>

<p>Dropped a programming/engineering course, ENGR112, C++ and matlab.</p>

<p>Failed English course.</p>

<p>Second semester:</p>

<p>Got an A in university level English/writing research papers.</p>

<p>Got a B- in ENGR112 ( c++ and matlab); I could have gotten an A but I did a 3 weeks team project on my own and neglected finals.</p>

<p>Failed precalculus; guess what? It was perfect until mid-term when someone "individual" wanted to prevent students from using calculators and I ignored the whole course and focused on the matlab project.</p>

<p>My current GPA: 3.35
TOEFL: IBT 97/120.
SAT: I will take the exam in October and subject test in November.
ACT: None.
AP: Didn't know about that until last month; wish that I knew about it during highschool.
Race/ethnicity: Not Asian ( no offense). </p>

<p>I plan on joining math club, debate club and semi-conductor research. I also want to start a physics club since none exists here. I am going to take chemistry this semester but I want to add engineering design and English II; calculus I is next semester and physics I has a CI as prerequisites.</p>

<p>Feedback from instructors: Lab instructor said that I have good skills as an engineer, and I even attended a quantum cryptography lecture that many professors and students attended; I like the subject of quantum computing. </p>

<p>I am applying to Northeastern university and I am self-studying some subjects and higher level physics, as my main interest is research. I always wanted to join professors at doing research. I studying for SAT currently, and I plan on doing a project. I wanted to experiment with fusion/plasma reactors but I am will try another project with a different thesis/goal. </p>

<p>I want to hear opinions on this and what should I do.</p>

2

<p>When you say ‘college’ do you mean it like in British English = a school you attend before you apply to college?
If so you do need to take the sat but your grades will weigh heavily against you. Even if you’re full pay I don’t know if sat scores and a better 1st semester Gpa would be enough.
If you need financial aid forget it no school will invest no you based on these grades.
IF in your country they’re very common your counsetmp will need to provide context to explain. Have you taken national examinations like A levels ?
What other schools cred you applying to?</p>

3

<p>*Do you mean college = a school before you apply to a university …
Because pre calc is a pre engineering class like 11th or12th grade not a 1st year engineering class.</p>

4

<p>I am a full-time enrolled student and I completed 8 credit hours. The precalc is part of a honors program that is not included in my GPA. I cannot take calculus I without precalc.</p>

<p>As for financial aid, I am not planing on applying for that. I can apply to scholarship abroad that fully pay for tuition and expenses. Even if I applied for financial aid, my parents’ income is too high. </p>

<p>I can improve my GPA but that is not going to appear on my application this year…</p>

<p>That precalculus class is really ****ing me off. I studied that during summer and I am moving on to calculus I, which I am familiar with. I plan to self-study and understand calculus I,II,III and deferential equations before next fall. I can take CI during spring. </p>

<p>I completed ENGL111 ( writing) and ENGR112( engineering course/programming). I will take chemistry I with lab this semester and I will somehow talk to my advisor to add two more courses; ENGL112 (technical writing related to major and I already know how to cite and use APA style of referencing) and Engineering design ENGR111.</p>

5

<p>I posted this on the wrong board. I meant Northeastern university.</p>

6

<p>The problem is that in the US you can’t disregard a class you took. if you took it and were expected to get credit them it is looked at.
You said you took calc in high school so why can’t you take calc II now?
Even for Northeastern and being full pay, grades of D or C are going to be counted against you. What are your secondary grades.Have you taken the sat?</p>

7

<p>Well, I knew that things would be bad but not this bad. The only two courses that I took and completed were ENGR112 ( dropped then got B- next semester) and ENGL111 ( F then A next semester). </p>

<p>The other courses were preparatory courses for calculus and physics and they do not count toward my GPA and credit hours. </p>

<p>So, A, F, B-. I will take chemistry this semester and calculus I the next semester. As for why I am taking precalculus again, there were some changes in the syllabus of high school mathematics and the university decided that I need precalc to prepare for calc I, despite taking it during high school. </p>

<p>It looks like my undergraduate studies are ruined. The only university that didn’t ask for a lot of prerequisites and certain credit hours was northeastern university. </p>

<p>I mean northwestern’s admission rate is 13% and I posted this on the wrong board as I confused the two universities. </p>

<p>As for SAT, no, but I registered for SAT on the 5th of October and subject test in November. I am self-studying the SAT and my main weakness is reading and writing, but I am preparing for the exam by reading SAT books. </p>

<p>Should I get my bachelors here and start research during the following years to prepare for graduate studies? It looks like my chances of transferring are slim.</p>

<p>Edit: I need 4 more A grades to raise my GPA to 3.23, if I counted that F. I will take chemistry, ENGR111, ENGL112 and calculus I.
Yeah right.</p>

8

<p>When you say the grades don’t count in the Gpa do you mean they don’t appear on your transcript at all ?
How many hours/classes were you taking -were you full time ? in any case your odds of transferring were always slim. Your odds may be greater if you are full pay - meaning you have 60,000 dollars for each year of study.You can certainly apply to Northeastern but make plans to stay in your country for a BA which you’d get with at least a 3.5 and research experience.</p>

9

<p>They will obviously appear on my transcript but not overall GPA, because the A replaced the F. I can explain how that grade changed to the universities that I am applying to. </p>

<p>Yes I am a full time student. 12 credit hours for each semester, as I dropped ENGR on the first one due to bad schedule and adapting to the university. However, two courses were not counted because they were part of a prep program. </p>

<p>Not sure about staying here though. I will certainly apply to another university here as a safe option. I will apply this year and next year if I got rejected; I have better chances to increase my GPA, ECs and complete some prerequisites to transfer if I applied next fall.</p>

<p>As for full payment, yes, a scholarship here where I live is going to fully pay for my tuition. As a side note, I talked to my adviser about making a physics club and I was told to talk to professors about; I did before, as I wanted to build a cyclotron/particle accelerator. </p>

<p>I recently subscribed to APS and I discovered later that my institution has a subscription that grants me an access to everything there. </p>

<p>I plan on registering for their march meeting. I also plan on making a project and publishing a research paper. That will be a good start in my personal research and great ECs for applying.</p>