Should I even go to college???

Currently I’m a senior in high school and one of my first choice schools is Columbia University, but I know how unlikely this is I’ve applied to rutgers and working on Boston, NYU, and Stevens just to name a few. Of the 5 I would really love to get into Stevens. As you might expect I would like to attend as an engineering major. I feel like I have a good roaster as far as classes are concerned (Apush, AP CALC, Ap Bio, etc). And I have extracurriculars like NJOTC, Peer leadership program, national honor society, as well as society of Hispanic profession engineers. My GPA stand firm at 4.311 out of 5 and i’m number 6/823 in my school. I go to a high needs urban school. On my sat scores I scored a 1340 ( 700 in math and 640 in reading/writing). Do I have good chance at getting into I can get into some of these colleges? Or should I not even go to college and just learn a trade like coding? Thank You

I’m not really sure about your chances for each school but please do go to college if you can afford it. I think that you would regret not going.

I think a lot of kids are getting worn down at this point in the application cycle, but keep going. You sound like you’re college ready to me.

I’m a bit worried about your list in terms of financing though. NYU is notorious for lousy financial aid. Have you run the net price calculators for all your schools?

Also, remember that your state public university will have a higher-than-average acceptance rate for in-state students and will likely be cheaper as well. With this resume, especially taking into consideration your class rank, you have a pretty good chance at Stevens and a solid chance at SUNY.

So it’s top 5 or nothing?

And coding is a “trade”?

I encourage you to look around at your options, too. Those are all very competitive and no one is for certain. You’re very qualified. I’d continue shopping around a bit just in case.

If you are feeling burnt out, perhaps you can take a gap year from school and learn to code during then before you head on to university.

There’s more to life than getting into a top college, though.

College is to have fun, make friends and to learn the ability to learn. You are ready - Go to college.

You should definitely go to college! Your stats look great and you’ll find people who are also interested in engineering. Also, look into Colorado School of Mines- it’s quite selective but is known for its engineering program.

I’m not sure why you think you shouldn’t be going to college.
However you need to build a good list. Are you in NYS or NJ?
If NJ, apply to Rowan.
If NYS, apply to SUNY Buffalo and Stony Brook.