<p>Applying for electrical engineering to:
Northwestern
RPI
MIT
Carnegie Mellon
U of Illinois
U of Maryland
Princeton
Cornell
Columbia (3rd gen legacy)</p>
<p>White male from maryland, home schooled. (Did not teach to the test)</p>
<p>SAT IIs:
Physics: 710
Chemistry: 710
Math 2: 680 (bombed one sitting, it was a 580, but they really super score... riiight?)
Bio-M: 640</p>
<p>SAT-I: (Retaking january, I'm sure this will go way up)
CR: 690
M: 650
W: 570</p>
<p>Curriculum:
Highly challenging, did very well.
Four years of math, currently doing calc, three years of electrical engineering specific "classes".
Four years of english
Four years social studies
Four years of various lab sciences
Four years of various arts
Two years german</p>
<p>ECs:
Enrolled for past nine years in special science program, done high level research for past two years.
President, electric club.
Winner of over a dozen 4H special awards in HS, including leadership award.
Library volunteer for five years.
Starting pitcher, baseball team.
Distance running for a hobby, I've run three races.
Excelled at electronics and chemistry for a hobby, I'm active in the high voltage hobby community.</p>
<p>So I know my scores are EH, my academics and ecs are ok. Am I totally screwed given where I'm applying?</p>
<p>Might being 3rd gen squeek me into columbia engineering?</p>
<p>Your scores, although excellent, are not good enough for the elite schools that you are applying to. However, if you can show that you have done something worthwhile in your research, you might be able to gain admission to a few of the universities.</p>
<p>How far off am I? I know I surpassed the 25th percentile on ACTs at most of them, however I know I sure don't have any 36s or 2400s :D</p>
<p>My research has been in linear electric accelerators and this year nuclear physics. I havn't done anything very groundbreaking, but I have made discoveries, and I would call my work advanced...</p>
<p>What about Us of IL and MD, and RPI? They sure can't be as hard to get into as lets say MIT.</p>
<p>Maybe I should tack Georgia Tech on as a safety? (still got a few days)</p>
<p>I think MIT and the Ivies are extreme reaches for you, given your scores. Even the 680 in Math 2 isn't great, given the percentiles on that test. You need to have some even safer schools on your list, just in case your SAT doesn't go up very much.</p>
<p>I would say your test scores put you out of the running for most of those schools, though the legacy at Columbia might get you in. Most of the the people applying to top engineering schools would consider your 680 on MathII a 'bombed sitting'. Being home schooled, you'd be expected to do EXTRA well on standardized tests, which may seem ridiculous at first, but you have to remember that since you don't have a normal school system to prove yourself in these numbers are all they have to go by. Did you take any AP tests?</p>
<p>Here are the SAT score ranges for the middle 50% at the University of Maryland: CR 570 - 680 Math 500 - 710
So it looks like you are in good shape for Maryland. But you need to look up similar info for other colleges to see just how you measure up.</p>
<p>Get rid of Cornell, Princeton, and Carnegie Mellon. They are double reaches for you. I think you should spend the time to improve the quality of your applications. A legacy is important but it can only go so far. You would have definitely gotten in if you had better SATs, SAT IIs, etc. Unless you have a parent in Columbia's Board of Trustees or your parents decide to donate a building. Good luck!</p>
<p>As I said I'm fairly confident I can at least make some inrodes on the SAT-I math section on my final sitting. I got the 650 with nothing but a four function calculator, this time I'm using a TI-89 titanium and I have half a year of calulus under my belt.</p>
<p>Despite my cr@ppy SAT-I writing, I have strong application essays and general presentation.</p>
<p>Taking my ACT (not just SAT-I) into account, how am I looking for Northwestern and University of Illinois?</p>
<p>i dont know that having a different calculator would make a SIGNIFICANT difference...its more about the practice! i have 2 experiences that help prove this
1. i took the ACTs WITHOUT a calculator (hehe...left it at home and didnt realize until i got to the test center...) x] and got a 34, while i took it again the next month with a calculator and got a 35 (i admit, having 1 does help....i think i remember doing something like 1938*25 by hand or something xD).
2. in the SATs, i actually did BETTER with only a scientific, compared to having a TI84 (those darn games on the graphing calc really distract me)</p>
<p>also, in case you havent noticed, there is no calculus on the SATs or ACTs. </p>
<p>im going to say its a reach for both NU and UI. those are tough schools to get in with, and for an engineering student with sub-700 math scores, it's going to be incredibly tough.</p>
<p>Northwestern-50/50...that 680 on MathII for an engineering kid is a bomb
RPI-In
MIT-No
Carnegie Mellon-No
U of Illinois-50/50..again the math
U of Maryland-In
Princeton-i'd say 40/60
Cornell-no
Columbia (3rd gen legacy)-In</p>
<p>I know university of Illinois does not use subject tests for admission, I have been contemplating ONLY sending them my ACT of 30 (or higher on dec, we'll see in two days). Does that improve my chances?</p>
<p>I had talked to admissions at NWU about the subject tests, and they said high 600s to low 700s is ok for engineering. Hopefully I can get in, NWU is my top choice...</p>
<p>MIT and Carnegie Mellon are extremely competitive for engineers.</p>
<p>However, if you improve, apply to the following schools.
Northwestern
RPI
U of Illinois
U of Maryland
Princeton
Cornell
Columbia
These schools are amazing and you have a good chance of getting in because they are not as competitive for an engineer major.
Good luck!</p>