West Coast Engineering options, 3.5 GPA (uw)

Parents Forum
61

LMAO!! That’s the final answer.

62

Hi, OP here, wanted to follow up. S22 submitted his first batch of apps (EA). You guys really helped construct the list! Thank you.
To review:

  • 3.5uw GPA (incl. a poor spring 2021 during online school)
  • 1410 GPA (750 Math)
  • Major: Engineering

Applied EA

  • Santa Clara University (reach)
  • Loyola Marymount (low reach)
  • Colo School of Mines (low reach, fingers crossed)
  • CU Boulder (target for Exploratory Studies, unlikely Engineering direct)
  • University of Utah (incl Honors app)
  • ASU (likely)
  • ASU Barrett (have to apply RD due so some issues getting his official 9th grade UK transcript - ASU still hasn’t reviewed his app for admission to the university… They won’t even consider the transfer transcript that his GC got directly from the UK)

Scattergrams show very high admission rates for LMU, CSM and USD (not yet applied), literally just a few rejections since 2015, and reasonably high rates for SCU, though definitely many more rejections than the other 3.

Questions:

  • USD (U of San Diego) Deadline is Dec 1. San Diego is such a great city. USD is test blind though, and his SAT is an asset. And USD seems more religious than SCU or LMU, is that true? Any thoughts on this? May still apply.
    *UCs - skipping all
    *CSU - not sure. Maybe CPP? SDSU? CSULB? If S22 is going to be in Cali, he wants to be near the ocean.
    Notes:
  • Gonzaga - skipped it in the end. Prefer the Cali privates
  • Washington State - will apply if necessary
  • Oregon State - will apply if necessary

S22 really likes CSM, LMU and SCU… I can tell he is starting to imagine himself at one of these… My fav is Colo School of Mines. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for all of the input. We never even thought of Utah or LMU, and now the early apps are in!

7 Likes
63

Congrats on getting the early apps in!! He should have good options from that list, and anything you add going forward will be gravy.

Re: USD, I’ve definitely known kids who don’t fit the school’s faith affiliation (Jewish, non-religious, etc.) and have still been happy there. But I do think it’s a bit more religious, and perhaps more significantly, it’s not Jesuit, unlike all of the other Catholic U’s you’ve considered. The Jesuit schools tend to be a bit more liberal and inclusive. But it’s very much a “YMMV” thing whether the level of religious “vibe” at USD would be an issue or not.

The CSU app is easy enough, if you think he might want a few of those options. CPP isn’t far from the ocean as the crow flies, but in practice the slog to the coast in a car isn’t super fun. Good engineering programs though! San Diego and Long Beach have potential.

Annoying about ASU and the transcript. However, Tempe seems pretty dubious in terms of his environmental criteria, anyway.

Look forward to hearing how this plays out! :crossed_fingers:

1 Like
64

I think USD attracts more kids from catholic high schools, so more students are catholic, and thus a more religious vibe (although all those kids aren’t devoted). I don’t think it would be an issue if the student doesn’t want it to be. My niece attended, from a catholic high school, and she was a little on the religious side. Most of her friends were form catholic high school.

A daughter of a friend also went there at the same time. From a public high school and I don’t think the religious side was ever a big deal to her. She did her thing, with her friends.

1 Like
65

How exciting!!! Good luck and I hope and wish that he loves where he ends up! Keep us updated!

1 Like
66

I attended USD as an undergrad and SDSU as a grad.
I had friends that were non-Catholic and they didn’t really seem to have issues at USD. It’s SoCal, so everyone is pretty easy-going.
Both are great schools.

SDSU is about 25 minutes by car to the beaches. USD has great views of the coast. Assume 10-15 minutes by car. Travel is dependent on traffic to the coast.
(oh, FYI, the locals don’t like the term “Cali”. They know you are from out of town if you use that term.)
Cost is expensive for USD. If you are OOS for the California publics, assume no aid for SDSU so full costs of $42K+ is assumed.

I agree with @aquapt, the drive from CP Pomona to the coast will be a bear. We used to drive through Pomona on our way to Caltech in Pasadena. Even from Pasadena, getting to the coast was an awful, long drive.

Good luck with decisions!

4 Likes
67

OP here. S22 accepted at Colorado School of Mines with merit. We are all pretty happy with the news!

20 Likes
68

Any more acceptances?

69

Yes!
Colo Mines - Accepted
LMU - Accepted
SCU- Deferred
Utah - Accepted
Still waiting on the rest

14 Likes
70

Any top choices?