My son is in junior year high school at competitive large highschool in Chicago(IL) suburbs
Race :Asian, Male.
GPA(until sophomore) : 3.8-3.9(UW) 4.8-4.9(W)
AP Courses : AP World History(4), AP US History(4), AP CS Principles(4)
Junior year : AP CS A, AP Physics I&II, AP Lang, AP Gov, AP Calc BC
SAT : 1500 - 750(M) 750®. Planning to retake to improve it further.
SAT II Bio – 700
SAT II Chem – 700
ACT – didn’t take it yet.
EC:
Debate team all 3 years. State finalist in freshman year.
Scholastic Bowl : Sophomore, Junior year.
BPA : Sophomore, Junior year
Lots of volunteer hours in local church, food banks, math centers …
Tennis in freshman year
Attended hackathon during sophomore year.
Worked as assistant at sylvan center during sophomore year.
He is more interested in engineering program – at the moment pursuing chemical engineering, aerospace. Now open to CS as well. More likely aiming for T20-T50 schools. We just starting to think about college admission process and visited few colleges local in IL. In talking to school counsellor he thinks his stats look good for top 10 public colleges(UIUC except for CS, MSU, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, OSU …). Need to fill gap if we aim for higher(Univ of Mich,Ann arbor …).
- What colleges we can realistically aim for the given stats? From what we gathered so far Purdue has excellent aerospace and CS programs, but not sure his chances of getting in though.
- More importantly what can we do to improve in the remaining time(next year or so)?
o What summer activities we can plan? Counsellor suggested taking summer program to get on hand exposure we well as help narrow down his options regarding major. Any recommendations on summer programs for his profile and intended major?
o how do we plan the remaining time to improve his profile for intended major(s)?
o What gaps do you see to further improve his profile?
- UIUC is competitive for direct CS but does it improve chances if he applies for CS+ majors(such as chemical engineering with CS …)?
Any scholarships(merit or need based) are welcome but I am prepared to pay for his 4 year program.
Purdue has a great summer program for rising seniors interested in engineering called STEP. The application opens this week: https://engineering.purdue.edu/Honors/future-students/STEP
My D is a chem e at Purdue in honors college. She was a participant at STEP when she was in HS, and then interned with the program last year. Happy to answer any questions you might have about Purdue or STEP.
UW Madison has a solid program in engineering since your son seems to be gravitating towards the big flagships.
IMO, he’s right on track.
Wisconsin has a summer program that has an engineering class. https://wcaty.wisc.edu/classes/engineering-fundamentals-alp/
As far as summer programs go, it isn’t too expensive. Madison is great in the summer.
@momofsenior1 - thanks for the kind words. How competitive is Purdue for CS and aeronautics? I heard all freshman students have common curriculum(FYE) and majors are allocated during sophomore. Is there common admission criteria for all undergrad engineering students?
@momofsenior1 & @Eeyore123 I will look into Wisconsin summer programs. Where do you think these 2 colleges fit in for the current profile - safety or match or reach?
For Wisconsin Engineering, it is important to understand the progression requirements.
For an OOS applicant I would say both would be high match/low reaches for engineering.
If your son is interested in straight CS and not CSEE, that is a different college at Purdue and is more competitive than the college of engineering.
Purdue does have a common FYE program for all students in the college of engineering and then a transition to major process at the end of freshmen year. All students take an engineering design course, physics, math, communications, and an elective related to your intended major. Honors college combines design and physics together.
Competitive majors like CSEE and aero require a 3.2 GPA in core engineering courses (eng design, math, science) to be guaranteed a spot in the major.
There are some posters here that feel that the transition to major process is an unnecessary hurdle but I’m in the camp that if you can’t get hit that 3.2 benchmark in intro courses, it’s going to be a challenge to graduate at all with an engineering degree. Better to know that early in the process than later.
As far as a common admission criteria for all of engineering, they do ask for intended major on the application. Here’s what the FYE program says: https://www.purdue.edu/futureengineers/What%20To%20Know/Common%20Questions/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions.html. (Note the stats are from two cycles ago).
With engineering and CS being limited enrollment programs, and your child being in a competitive demographic, think about adding the following midwest flagships and state universities, all strong in STEM areas: UMN, Univ. of KS, KSU, Univ of Iowa, Iowa State.