I was trying to see if I would be a competitive applicant at Washington St. Louis. I
have a 4.3 weighted gpa which is probably close to a 3.7 unweighted. I have a 32 on my act, and have started the mechanical engineering club at my school.
I have also won some computer science awards (machine learning projects), have about 400 hours of community service (i believe this is a lot), work part time as a machinist, and I’m currently working on starting my own charity. I would be looking to either apply for computer science or mechanical engineering.I think my application is a little heavy on the extracurricular which can make this a very unscientific process.
Low reach right now. GPA is in range but take another ACT and get a 34+.
Any AP classes taken so far?
All AP courses except for my french which is also the only course i didn’t get an A or A- in…C. Crazy what it takes in terms of standardized tests these days. Any other recommendations. So far I have (Ohio native, Canadian dual citizen) OSU, Waterloo University (canada), and Lafayette.
You have a good list of match/safety schools. Perhaps add UIUC, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and UW-Madison to your list.
If you look at the WashU threads on CC, a 32 ACT did get people in. There have been a couple of cases where even Asians with what are considered mediocre SAT scores (barely over 1400) were accepted. There were lower scores for students who got in but they were either legacy/URM.
I would still try to take 1 more ACT to make the application stand out. Your ECs/interests do align with your potential major so that’s good.
Thanks for the tips, would those two be considered safety as i will need financial aid to go to college out of state.
If you need financial aid, the OOS public schools would be a match/low match.
If WashU is your first choice, go ahead and apply ED. They do want you to show interest, so attend any events for your region and visit/sign up for an interview. WashU is need aware so you should think carefully and check the NPC to see if it’s affordable.
OOS publics are likely not affordable. What about Miami of Ohio as another safety? You could get some merit $ there, but your chances go up with your scores. University of Cincinnati has a very good co-op program for engineering. Can you sit for the ACT again? Have you looked at McGill or University of Toronto?
I’m familiar with the Canadian schools living in Toronto is unrealistic for me but McGill and Waterloo could be interchangeable as my first choice. I will likely apply to University of Cincinnati as a safety, I can pay in state tuition at OSU so it is a good option if i can get in there. Miami doesn’t really have what I’m looking for, great school though. How are my chances at OSU. I can afford about 20-25 maybe 30 if the school is good enough. I won’t receive much need based aid. Any other suggestions?
In at OSU. Would you consider Penn State?
Alabama will give you money, and they used to give extra for engineering students, not sure if they still do.
UA Scholar
A student with a 30-32 ACT or 1390-1480 SAT score and at least a 3.5 GPA, he or she will be named a UA Scholar and will receive $76,000 over four years ($19,000 per year).
Presidential Scholar
A student with a 33-36 ACT or 1490-1600 SAT score and at least a 3.5 GPA will be selected as a Presidential Scholar and will receive $100,000 over four years ($25,000 per year). Students graduating with remaining scholarship semester(s) may use these monies toward graduate school and/or law school study at UA.
Good to know thanks for the help guys!
You never know unless you get in. Colleges tend to look deeply at each applicant’s strengths. They would much prefer a regional or national specialist than a jack of all trades; that is, it would be better for you to be a master at one thing than be ok at multiple things. Nonetheless, colleges are unpredictable so until the day you get the letter you will never know. Best of luck though 