<p>We toured CA Maratime Academy briefly. It is definitely someplace worth visiting if the student is interested, as its different from any other campus. Their grads do get employed but there is a narrower range of offerings there than larger traditional Us.</p>
<p>I believe their admissions are increasingly competitive.</p>
<p>Two years ago, I applied to CMA’s most competitive program (marine transport) with a lower CSU Index and easily got in. For an applicant with a 3.2 UC GPA, and a 2100 SAT I suspect CMA is almost a safety.</p>
<p>As a URM have you looked at the HBCUs? I am a huge fan of NCA&T here in NC. As an ABET School of Engineering and a brand new school of nanoengineering and nanoscience. OOS state tuition is not cost-prohibitive and they do offer merit awards. The campus is in Greensboro, is a little over 4000 students and has the best cafeteria food, seriously. Feels like an LAC but with the opportunities of the UNC system.</p>
<p>It is part of the bigger UNC system but has retained its uniqueness, storied tradition and school spirit and very nurturing culture. Most engineering classes are never over 20-25 students, some even smaller. They offer many different engineering degrees, some offered at only a few schools. They have numerous paid internships and some fantastic group projects. Major employers recruit directly on-campus and grads have jobs waiting for them. Some go on to grad school with fantastic funding.</p>
<p>[Home</a> - North Carolina A&T State University](<a href=“http://www.ncat.edu/]Home”>http://www.ncat.edu/)</p>
<p>[College</a> of Engineering - North Carolina A&T State University](<a href=“http://www.ncat.edu/academics/schools-colleges1/coe/index.html]College”>http://www.ncat.edu/academics/schools-colleges1/coe/index.html)</p>
<p>“The university offers 117 undergraduate degree programs, more than 58 master’s degree programs, and Ph.D. programs in mechanical, electrical and industrial engineering; energy and environmental systems; and leadership studies.”</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Kat (an NCAT mom, son graduated with a degree in mech e!)</p>
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<p>And once this happens, the family has to live with the outcome. This happened to the son of a friend of mine. They didn’t get any FA, and now they are paying $60K-plus a year for a university the student himself says is offering him only a mediocre education. But they feel sort of “stuck” in their situation and seem to have too much pride to pull the plug.</p>
<p>The student has a good shot at a couple UC’s as safeties, which should be affordable.
However, if you’re aiming high, definitely look at schools that are both prestigious and achievable.
– in particular, LACs that will provide a great education overall& in CS, and great financial aid, such as Grinnell. Bucknell would be another good choice - and they have engineering.
Be aware that many schools will see the 2.5/2100 disconnect as a sign that your son is smart but lazy, not taking advantage of the opportunities available to him, and/or uninterested in learning. This profile is NOT endearing to many top colleges. That’s why you’ll need to make sure the freshman year GPA is explained, including what you had to do to “make up” these grades.
Your son is obviously a very smart late bloomer.
With this score, he’s a shoo-in at Morehouse. I second NCAT ^and it would be a safety (not sure how financially possible though)
Another tack to take is to look at Top 40 LACs that have a low percentage of African American or Latino students: you can bet they’re trying to increase that percentage. Make a list including % students from your minority group, 25-75 SATs, 25-75 GPA.
Have your son email the admission counselor for California at each school from that list, asking whether they have an experience the campus/diversity program for high scoring minority kids. Some campuses will even fly your son in and interview him there (this type of programs tends to be selective and with deadlines though so you need to inquire right now to have a shot. I know the deadline for Colby’s has passed, for example. :s)
This is where your son has the best chance of getting in, with excellent financial aid, and of graduating in 4 years.
Then have your son do the same for all private -and I do mean all- universities in the top 25. Ask frankly something like "due to economic and family problems that prevented me from studying and/or going to school freshman year, my overall GPA is very low -2.5-, but the upward trend indicates that when placed in “normal” conditions -normal for LAUSD- I do very well - junior/senior year GPA is … and SAT score is 2100. We can’t afford applying to schools out of vanity, so can you tell me whether I’d even be considered among your applicants or whether I should use my fee waiver at a school where it won’t go to waste? I don’t mind your being harsh, I can’t afford not to be realistic about my chances. Sincerely, "</p>
<p>(Have you read <em>A Hope in the Unseen</em>? It’s an awesome nonfiction book that follows an African American kid who’s gifted at math and attending one of the worst public schools in the nation, from his junior year to his sophomore year in the Ivy league. There’s also <em>And still we rise</em>, which deals with gifted and talented kids from inner-city LA, but you must have read that one already.)</p>
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<p>Facilities engineering technology
<a href=“Majors and Minors - CSUM”>Majors and Minors - CSUM;
<p>Apologize if I missed this, but have you found many schools that don’t consider freshman GPA? If his bad year was as a freshman, the GPA may end up much higher without that year included. For instance, Carnegie Mellon, doesn’t use the freshman year to calculate the GPA (as least they didn’t use to).</p>
<p>Good point…
OP - what is the GPA w/o freshman year? (sorry if it was posted earlier and I missed it).</p>
<p>katwkittens-my D is planning to apply to NCAT, and we’ll be doing a southeast tour this summer to look at it and other HBCU’s. Bennett is her first choice though. What do you know of it? She’s planning to teach. We’ve met several NCAT grads or parents and they can’t say enough about it. And yes, they gush about the food.</p>
<p>As far as I know Princeton doesn’t consider freshman year grades. They’re also holistic.</p>
<p>Lots of schools don’t. These are the OP’s reaches:</p>
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<p>One of my kids had a very similar profile (African-American male, 30ACT, 3.0 unweighted gpa/ 3.6 weighted, needed substantial aid) but had significant talent which I think helped quite a bit and I think Cornell, Rice, Notre Dame and USC are too high. How about SUNY-Buffalo, U Cincinnati, Syracuse, Temple, Florida State, Iowa State, NCAT&T and Alfred? For reaches, if it were my kid, I might keep Case Western and Penn State and consider adding Lehigh. By the way, a lot of the schools I’m mentioning do not meet need for out-of-state residents but we found that my kid either got the money we needed from out-of-state schools or, at some privates that are not need-blind, was just waitlisted. The unexpected aid may have had a lot to do with his talent, however. </p>
<p>I think if you have some good instate safeties, a lot of the schools I mentioned are realistic possibilities for out-of-state options where the money might work out. Good luck and please let us know how the admissions results turn out.</p>
<p>FYI, these top schools all meet 100% financial need:
[100%</a> Meet Need Colleges | CollegeGreenlight](<a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students)</p>
<p>I would look at Grinnell and St. Olaf, as they do holistic reviews of applications and meet 100% of financial need. Each school also has acceptance rates greater than 40%. Most LACs have a 3+2 engineering program with a ranked university.</p>
<p>[3-2</a> Engineering Programs - Physics | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://retro.grinnell.edu/academic/physics/engprog]3-2”>http://retro.grinnell.edu/academic/physics/engprog)</p>
<p>[St</a>. Olaf College | Academic Catalog 2013-14](<a href=“http://www.stolaf.edu/catalog/1314/preprofessionalprep/pre-prof-prog.html]St”>St. Olaf College | Academic Catalog 2013-14)</p>
<p>2 schools in the WUE that Rugg’s recommends for engineering are University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University. </p>
<p>The COA at each would be less than 20K.</p>
<p>Morehouse doesn’t have engineering. They do have a 3+2.</p>
<p>I think it is very possible that with his test scores, Louisiana Tech would give him their scholarship that would waive its out of state tuition fee and charge him only in state tuition. If so, it would be as much or more of a financial safety as the South Dakota schools, and the weather would be a lot warmer. :)</p>
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<p>OP mentioned a UC weighted GPA of 3.2. This includes 10th-11th grade course grades in a-g (academic) subjects, with +1 for up to 8 semesters’ worth of honors or AP courses completed with C or higher grades. Unweighted 10th-11th grade GPA in academic subjects should be between 2.9 and 3.2, depending on how many (from 0 to 8/more) semesters’ worth of honors or AP courses the student has completed with C or higher grades in that time.</p>
<p>No reason to “go big” or “go home”. There is a lot in between regardless how you define the two ends. Once you have a couple of schools you know will take your student and that you can afford, you can buy all of the lottery tickets you want.</p>
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<p>AND that your kid would want to attend – that is the hardest part for a lot of students.</p>
<p>Case Western has a very diverse student body now- so much so that I’m not at all sure that would even influence admissions at this point.
One important thing to keep in mind is transportation to and from whatever school the OP’s son attends. Air fare can be expensive, so unless the boy is planning on leaving in August and not returning home until May (and even then, that’s a round trip fare), you need to factor in that expense.</p>