<p>Should I go to the most prestigious school possible? I have a 4.03 gpa and I hope to get an ACT of 30. I currently have a 23 ACT. If I go to stanford or MIT for material engineering (my intended major), I think I could pass it, but I would be always studying and I would hate it there. Am I wrong? I work hard in high school that is college prep. I need help.</p>
<p>That is something to consider for sure, what kind of pace you want in college. I think it is smart to think about being happy and getting your useful degree. A lot of students, even good students wash out of engineering from being miserable. Super selective colleges can be stressful even if you are fully prepared. Engineering programs are always a lot of work, though. What is your UW gpa? It isn’t usually to go from ACT 23 to 30, and even 30 is too low for those colleges, so it isn’t likely that you will get in.</p>
<p>How about you take a different approach. Start from the bottom up. Identify what would be your safety school, one or two is even better, that have qualities that you like, can afford and would be happy to go to. Then you can look at what qualities you would really like in a reach school, one that you will really feel is right for you as well as have some prestige appeal. But for materials science you really only have to think about a good program. There are many colleges where your degree will be well respected in the industry, that doesn’t have prestige to the man on the street, good state schools and such. </p>
<p>A few comments in no particular order 1) it is very unlikely to go from a 23 to a 30 in the ACT (but good luck) 2) Even a 30 on the ACT is low for MIT/Stanford 3) you haven’t identified what you can afford to pay for college 4) There are many schools other than MIT and Stanford which have strong engineering programs that are accredited - start researching different options through the internet, guide books (ex. Fiske, Princeton Review to name but two), and looking at the USNWR list of engineering schools as starting points 5) If your ACT doesn’t go up a lot, you may want to consider test optional colleges.<a href=“ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest”>http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional</a></p>
<p>Engineering coursework, labs, and projects are challenging whether the college is MIT or your State’s flagship. Make sure that you are pursuing the right major even before you decide to which colleges to apply.</p>
<p>My UW gpa is around a 3.7</p>
<p>Like they said, it’s incredibly unlikely that your ACT score will go up that much and even if it did, it would still be too low. You should probably consider a regular state school for your undergraduate degree. You can always go to a more prestigious school for your master’s. Plus, if you think you would hate it at a school like MIT, why would you even want to go there? College is supposed to be the best years of your life, so go to a school where you’ll really be happy.</p>
<p>MIT or Stanford is highly unlikely, you need to be more realistic. </p>
<p>What is your ACT math score? What math have you taken in HS and what were your grades? And what math do you expect to take in senior year of HS? Same for all your science courses.</p>
<p>Also, what is your state of residence? (Please don’t say international, please don’t say international…)</p>
<p>Typically, students increase their ACT score by 1 to 2 points. Let us imagine that you beat the odds and achieve the incredible feat of adding 4 pts, reaching a 27: you’re still not in the ballpark for MIT or the Ivy League. (At these schools, a 32 ACT places you in the BOTTOM quarter of the admitted class. AND you need to have achieved a national or international title/award in something.)
So, forget about these schools and look for the many excellent schools that you have a good chance at. 
You don’t mention financial need, so I’ll make a first list for schools with excellent need-based aid, and a second list with excellent merit-based aid (1st = if your family makes under 80-100k or has a low EFC; 2nd: if your family can’t afford its EFC and/or won’t get need-based aid.)</p>
<p>1.
RPI
Case Western Reserve
Rose Hulman</p>
<p>2.
Alfred
ASU
Iowa State
Michigan State
UA Birmingham
U Utah</p>
<p>My act math score is a 28 and I am taking AP calculus and AP physics mechanics next year. I’m from Illinois.</p>
<p>UIUC is one of the best engineering schools in the country - you should start aiming there and then work up. Good math score, especially for a prospective engineer, but that means the rest of your ACT subscores need considerable work. Get those up or even UIUC won’t take you, and that’s a great opportunity you may be missing.</p>
<p>I visited UIUC. I didn’t like the campus that much. It was very boring. But it seems to have everything I want and its inexpensive. Also, my English was a 26, my reading was a 21 and my science was a 16</p>
<p>As they say on Mythbusters, “There’s your problem!”. Getting your reading and science scores in line with your other scores will raise you 3 composite points, which would be fine for UIUC. It’s not a matter of studying, I suspect it’s a matter of some flawed test strategy. It’s not uncommon, but is often difficult to self-diagnose. This is where a good tutor would come in handy, ask around at your HS or among friends parents to find a good one. Those same strategies might also bring up you other scores a few points, which would put you in the 27-28 range, which would give you some options.</p>
<p>As for the look of UIUC, most state flagships are rather utilitarian looking. Unfortunately, they’re not the Ivy-covered New England ideal. Those are rare and usually LACs, not universities. Every Big 10 state school tends to look like that. Fortunately, it’s the least important aspect of the school - many here write how unimportant the look becomes about two weeks into the 1st semester, whether it’s good or bad. It’s what goes on inside the walls that really counts.</p>
<p>Not all big flagships have “utilitarian” campuses. UNC Chapel Hill, UAlabama, USC, UCB, U Maryland College Park or Penn State have very nice campuses. UMN is more urban, with streets in the middle. Rutgers is an interesting combination. UDel too.
Campus looks can matter - but only after you’ve been admitted to several schools and must choose among them.
(Going to school surrounded by aesthetically pleasing buildings was important to me, but not to the point I’d have picked the nice college campus over the nice scholarship. I also made sure I had a couple schools that had both a nice campus and nice scholarships. :p)
What exactly didn’t you like about UIUC?
You really should apply there as well as other schools since it’s a great school for engineering. Now it may not be the school you’ll choose but it’s one of the top public engineering programs in the country.
What’s your parents"budget?</p>
<p>The buildings were so bland to look at. I am planning to apply there. </p>
<p>Check this list and these pictures out:
<a href=“http://www.thebestcolleges.org/most-beautiful-campuses/”>http://www.thebestcolleges.org/most-beautiful-campuses/</a>
You can compare to
<a href=“25 Most Beautiful College Campuses in the U.S.”>http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses</a></p>
<p>As others have mentioned, the buildings themselves are not as important as the people, professors, and incredible opportunities that exist there. I have been to several college campuses during my years 15+ to be exact, and I have to say, don’t just the buildings by its outside. Some have amazing interiors and some even more incredible opportunities in the field. Take a college tour, talk to some current students, which will give you a much better feel for the school. Obviously still consider other schools, but raising those ACT scores and setting realistic expectations should be important at the moment.</p>
<p>UIUC isnt really cheap for instate. How much will your parents pay?</p>
<p>You may not get accepted to UIUC engineering since your scores are lowish. Is English your second language?</p>
<p>You are unlikely going to raise your score that much.</p>
<p>D raised hers 4 points from soph to junior year with minimal prep (a couple of timed practice tests). Anecdotal, but there it is.</p>
<p>My parents budget is around $40000 </p>
<p>Is english your second language?</p>
<p>you need some engg matches and safeties. Colleges that admit by major may not accept you unless all of your sections increase.</p>