Reverse Chance an Engineering Student with bad grades and good test scores

Chance Me / Match Me!
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1

Demographics:

  • US Citizen
  • State/Location of residency: New Jersey
  • Type of high school: Public High School
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Indian Male
  • Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.):

Intended Major(s)
Engineering or Economics
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: School does not report (I think it is around a 3.1)
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 3.52
  • College GPA (for transfers):
  • Class Rank: School does not report
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1540

Coursework
Freshman Year: All honors 2cp
Sophomore Year: AP CSA(4) and AP Physics 1(4)
Junior Year: AP Economics, AP Statistics, AP Calc BC, AP Physics C-Mechanics,

Awards

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
3 Years of Robotics (Build Captain)
Fencing Team (Varsity since Freshman year, captain)
Eagle Scout
Debate for 3 years
Tutored underprivileged children over the summer for 120 hours
Correspondent for the Red Cross
Started a program which allows for libraries to donate books no longer in circulation to those in need
Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Economics Teacher: 10/10 Knew me really well and I did well in his class
Physics Teacher: 7/10 Had him for 3 years and did well in his class, but he is not the best writer
Guidance Counselor: 10/10 I’ve only had her for 1 year, but we have a good relationship. She will be writing about my circumstances for bad grades
Essays should be good, I am a pretty good writer
Cost Constraints / Budget
N/A
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability)
    Rutgers
    Penn State
  • Match
    I do not really know because my GPA and SAT diverge massively
  • Reach
    I do not really know because my GPA and SAT diverge massively
2

Is Rutgers really a safety for engineering with a 3.1 unweighted GPA? I would not completely count on getting accepted there unless I am missing something.

If you get accepted to Rutgers, then it is a really good choice. It is ABET accredited. It would be a relative bargain with your being in-state. If you get accepted to Rutgers as an engineering student, then you are going to want to work quite a bit harder than you did in high school.

How do your grades in math and science compare with your other grades?

Is there any uptrend in your grades? I would suggest that you start working harder this coming year in high school. This will help you get ready for university, and also will be helpful if any schools ask for mid year grades (which I have seen in a few cases such as yours where the GPA and SAT do not tell the same story).

3

Rutgers New Brunswick is probably a reach, given the HS GPAs listed at https://admissions.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/media/Documents/2020_AdmissionsProfile.pdf . Unfortunately, Rutgers recalculates HS GPAs using some weighting, but does not specify what the weighting is, so there is some uncertainty unless you know that your high school uses the same weighting as Rutgers.

Your HS GPA also makes Penn State University Park a reach: Admission Statistics - Undergraduate Admissions

4

There is a significant uptrend in my grades. I had a 3.0 then a 3.2 then a 4.2 in freshman sophomore and junior years respectively. I counted both Rutgers and Penn State as safeties because in general people with my stats normally get in rather easily from my school.

5

Have you considered NJIT? It might be a high target though.

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6

Rowan? Maybe a high match match/low reach. What’s your budget? UMaine would be a safety and has the flagship match tuition program. Clarkson would be a match and would give great merit for that SAT score. Stevens for a reach.

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7

I can’t imagine you get into Rutgers. Maybe Rowan. Maybe. I think you need to focus on solid programs but not as difficult to get into - Alabama, Mississippi State, Missour S&T, Mizzou. If you want to be in the Northeast, a UNH, URI, RIT, or U Hartford, etc.

PS - and plenty of kids doing very well from these schools.

Good luck.

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8

My nephew had a big uptrend similar to yours, also from NJ. He didn’t get into Engineering at Rutgers or at Rowan. However, he was admitted to Engineering at UNH, Iowa State, Penn State’s 2/2 program where he’d start at the Erie campus, UUtah, and a bunch of other schools.

Rowan and Rutgers may be likely but I would not consider them safeties.

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9

You might scope out some Canadian schools. They do not consider freshman grades, which would make your cumulative look much better, and they may also weight standardized tests more heavily.

The thing that makes this tough is that you’ve basically only had one really strong year, grades-wise. You carried a heavy caseload this year and did really well, so that shows your potential, but it will be hard to compete with people who have shown more consistency over multiple years. If there’s a clear reason why the first two years didn’t go as well, and your counselor vouches for that, then it’ll be a judgment call on the part of the AO’s. But their opinion on a very high-scoring student who has under-performed relative to the ability the standardized tests suggest can go either way. So, it’s hard to predict perceptions and results.

The good news is that there are excellent engineering programs that aren’t hard to get into. Iowa State is one that’s particularly known for relatively open admissions, but a rigorous and well-regarded program. (The obvious outcome is that there’s relatively high attrition within the engineering programs there and at similar schools, but if you do well, your degree will be just as well-respected as those from many schools that are harder to get into.) U of Dayton is another strong engineering school (particularly in materials engineering if that appeals) that would be a safety, in addition to others already mentioned up-thread.

Are you recruitable for fencing? That could give you a boost at schools where you’d otherwise be borderline. For example, Stevens has been mentioned as a reach; they have a DivIII fencing team, and a coach endorsement could definitely make the difference. (And if you’re recruitable for DivI, NJIT, Penn State, and tOSU all have men’s teams.)

Have you thought about Industrial Engineering as a major? This is where engineering and econ intersect, so it could be a great fit for your strengths and interests. Here’s an example from WPI, where an ABET-accredited Industrial Engineering BS is offered through the School of Business. At other schools like UMass Amherst, IE lives in the MechE department Mechanical and Industrial Engineering : College of Engineering : UMass Amherst Clarkson calls it “Engineering & Management” Engineering and Management | Clarkson University U of Toronto has a cool-sounding co-op program and a choice of tracks within the major Industrial Engineering - Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

I don’t know whether ISE at Rutgers (and/or Penn State) is an easier major to get into than other engineering majors you might be considering, but it can be a less steep admit at some schools than other engineering majors like MechE, EECS, etc.

10

I would second the suggestion to add NJIT, although it too has gotten more competitive recently. Rutgers asks you to input all your classes and grades. You check off if they are honors,ap etc. Then they somehow figure out their version of the GPA. It is not a safety for engineering.

You’re going to want to add more universities that are likelies. It seems you gave spent more time in ECs than your classwork. Perhaps you can spend more time with schoolwork and improve your grades in senior year.

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11

Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY has very good engineering and should work for you.

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