Hi!
I was looking through schools that might be a good fit for me, and I was able to narrow my choices down to RIT or Syracuse. I am planning on applying Early Decision to one of these schools but can’t seem to figure out which one I would have a higher chance getting into…
I currently have a 3.6 unweighted GPA and am in the IB Diploma.
Thanks!
Both are very good schools, Syracuse a national university, RIT a science/engineering school. Hard to say about chances. They are probably somewhat similar in terms of admission stats but would be looking at students with slightly different strengths and interests. Have you researched Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)? They are fairly similar to RIT, if that’s appealing to you. Anyway, you have a lot of time to decide, and your interests may change over time. Enjoy high school–its not pre-college–and trust you will be able to make a good decision when the time comes. Good luck.
Thanks @TTG! I was just confused because RIT has a higher acceptance rate and average gpa (3.7) than Syracuse, which has an average gpa of a 3.6.
You’re welcome. Numbers are important but don’t put too much stock in small differences, like between a 3.6 and a 3.7. School systems use very different grading scales. Universities usually translate them to their own scale. But it’s hard to know how they translate them and what the input is anyway. For example, RIT might use a slightly different method that tweaks up the GPA a little higher than RIT (I don’t know, just a possibility).
I was interested this year in CC posts for ED/EA acceptances at two very competitive schools. With respect to stats, the results were all over the place at both schools. Multiple students had been rejected OOS with 34 ACTs and others accepted with 29-32s.
You can probably imagine being and admissions officer and being inspired by one candidate with a 3.6 and less impressed with a 3.7 candidate, depending on the whole picture, for example what they chose to say in their essays or what was said in the recommendations. So much goes into an admission decision both in terms of what the complete application and what the school might be looking for that year, or that day. Find schools that seem like a good fit and are likely to be affordable, being reasonable about chances but understanding that the outcomes can be unpredictable. Good luck.
What do you think your major might be? Do their reputations differ at that level? While the overall stats of the school may be as you noted, there may be different results depending upon your major.
Have you visited both? I’d imagine that the schools have pretty different vibes.
These are two very different schools. How are they your best choices? What do you wish to study? What is your budget?
I have visited both schools, and I must say, Syracuse is probably closer to how my current high school is, however I am equally satisfied with RIT because of their technology program. As you can probably tell, I am planning on going into computer science/engineering. My parents are willing to pay for what ever school i get into-as long as it is prestigious- but I have two other siblings who also need to go to college. I have read that RIT has a better comp.sci program… @chardo @happy1 @Googie21
Closer to how your current high school is? Is that a pro or con?
Your parents would spend over $50k more for Syracuse than RIT, with no more prestige for computer science. Syracuse is well renowned for communications, rather ordinary for everything else. Also, at RIT you would do co-op, graduating with a year of experience (and salary) and near certain job offers.