What are my chances for getting into WPI?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<h2>Hi, i also posted this inside of the WPI forum, but it doesnt seem to get as much traffic as this one, so I'll just repost. Sorry if I'm taking up space.</h2>

<p>I am current a senior and am very nervous about my college applications.
Here are my numbers:</p>

<p>Weighted GPA of around 3.2 (its very low, I know, the reason it is so low was because of foreign language courses, in case that makes a difference)
(I go to an exam-public school)
I am not very sure of my class-rank, because i have not been given that specifically yet, but to ball park it, i would have to say around top 30%</p>

<p>SAT: 2040 (Crit Reading 640, Math 740, Writing 660)</p>

<p>SATII: Physics 710, Math Level 1 740, Math Level 2 730</p>

<p>AP's: Computer Science A (5), US History (4), Physics B (4), and am taking Calculus AB this year</p>

<p>Community Service:
~60 hours in sophomore year, ~10 in junior year and ~30 in senior year</p>

<p>Work Experience:
1. Summer job at BRYE (2005), a summer program where i help teach kids etc
2. Summer internship at IBM (2006)</p>

<p>Activities:
asian culture club
table tennis club
this robotics engineering competition at BU
red cross club (i am their webmaster)</p>

<p>Interests:
I want to go into the computer science major to eventually become a software engineer</p>

<p>Programming/Web-Designing knowledge:
I currently am quite good at Java, PHP, HTML, and CSS, and i know some of Perl, C++, JavaScript, VBScript, JSP, and I am going to try to learn C# soon</p>

<p>Other:
I am fluent with English (of course) and Vietnamese
I took 3 years of Spanish and 4 years of Latin
Other than my 4 AP's, I've also taken (or am taking) 5 honors classes</p>

<hr>

<p>Thanks in advanced for any response that you can give.
(If you can name some other colleges that I can also apply to for Computer Science, that are in Massachusetts or close to there and are within my reach, I would also be very grateful)</p>

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<p>i think your chances are pretty good to get into WPI. you have the extracurriculars and the SAT. Your GPA is low but if u show a rising trend you chances are that much better. I am applying to WPI too but i don't have the SAT scores you have. Good Luck!</p>

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<p>thanks, I kind of have a rising trend....well.....almost a rising trend :-P
My freshman gpa was around....2.8
Then Sophomore year actually dropped to like 2.7 or something like that
But then in Junior year i had around 3.9-4.0
(yes i know, its really strange, I was pretty much a slacker until I realized that i was ****ing up my future and decided to work hard)</p>

4

<p>You have a very good chance of getting into WPI.
Other school you can try is UMass Boston. You should get in there without any problems.</p>

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<p>well i am studying my ass off now to become a Sun Certified Java Programmer (exam 310-055)
if i do make it, do you think that will have a significant effect on my application to wpi, as well as other schools? (i am going after a computer science major)</p>

<p>one more question would be, would i look better if i had a "porfolio" of like independent projects; and if i would, should i include that into the application or should i just mention it in the interview?</p>

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<p>We just came back from a WPI presentation. They'll like your SATs. They said they look for a weighted GPA around 3.7 but they are much more interested in your science and math grades. </p>

<p>They seemed to be saying that interviews are not that important, so if you have supplemental materials, send them as a portfolio. </p>

<p>They said they don't require SAT IIs at all and they only require math up to pre-calc. The more you've taken beyond that, the better off you are. They like to see ongoing academic effort, no slacking off in senior year. </p>

<p>Overally, they seemed like they were looking for reasons to accept people, not for reasons to reject them. Be sure to say how much you like their project-based approach in your essays! Good luck!</p>

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<p>"They said they look for a weighted GPA around 3.7 but they are much more interested in your science and math grades. "
thats good to know, since i dont think i have ever recieved anything below a B+ in math or science and all of my math courses have been either honors or ap
(3 of my 4 aps are relevant: calculus, physics, and comp science, and all of my math courses from algebra to pre-calc have been honors)
and for the portfolio, how would i send it to them if i am applying online (probably common app) and most of my "supplemental works" are like...either webpages (mainly php) or programs (mainly java)...</p>

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<p>


</p>

<p>I agree with your observations.<br>
I also visited WPI. Their curriculum seems well-balanced, would love to go there but for the cost. Colleges like WPI are generally in a difficult position as they cannot be attractive to a majority of HS kids. Most kids are either undecided about their major or uninterested in Engineering, plain and simple. Even though WPI has a high acceptance rate, the applicants are a self-selective group whose members are like OP, limited in number. So the selectivity numbers don't have much meaning here.</p>

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<p>and for the portfolio, how would i send it to them if i am applying online (probably common app) and most of my "supplemental works" are like...either webpages (mainly php) or programs (mainly java)...</p>

<hr>

<p>Why not just call them and ask what format they would like to see? You live so close to WPI, maybe they'll just invite you over to show them your materials.</p>

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<p>thanks for the info guys, i have an interview on tuesday so ill find out most of my questions then :)</p>

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<p>Good luck! I'm sure they'll be impressed.</p>

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<p>Thanks, I'll try my best (even though WPI doesn't seem to care about interviews too much anyways :P).</p>

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<p>So how did your interview go? Did you like the campus? My DD will probably apply there next year, trying to get an idea what they're looking for.</p>

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<p>I haven't had my interview yet, it is on Tuesday. </p>

<p>Ohh and I was wondering, how important are SATII's to wpi? I know they dont require them, but would my relatively high SATII's have a strong positive effect on my application? (I had Math I = 740, Math II = 730, Physics = 710)</p>

<p>Also, at the moment, I don't have a REAL job, but there are people who are hiring me to make webpages for them. Should I mention that in my application/interview?</p>

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<p>On a side note, I just realized that I left out the personal information:
I am male, Vietnamese (South-East Asia for any of you who weren't sure), and am from a low-income family. I am not the first in family to go to college though. Would any of these stats have any effect on my application?</p>

<p>By the way, I do not need to take the TOEFL right? I was born in Vietnam, and came to America when I was like 3. By looking at my SAT's, my Critical Reading and Writing sections don't seem low enough for it to require me to take the TOEFL, but I just want to make sure.</p>

<p>One last note, is anyone going to the October 9 Open House? It seems quite interesting especially because it's long enough to be worth going all the way there (8:30AM - 3:00PM).</p>

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<p>With your SAT score you don't need TOEFL.
All the factors you listed should give a boost to your application.</p>

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<p>thanks for the info</p>

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<p>hrm now that im thinking, what do you guys think my chances are for RPI, school of science?</p>

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<p>eeep, sorry for the tripple post, i just want to say, if you have any responses to be about wpi, then post here, but if its about rpi, then post in the new thread i just made for that</p>

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<p>You guys should definitely go to the open house. It would give a better perspective of how WPI is like than the numbers you see online. As for huanlai I believe you have a good chance in getting in and previous job hiring wont matter. And to bring your hopes up, admitted rate for early action and it is 94% and regular acceptance rate is 85%. I am a sophmore at WPI so you guys can ask me about how WPI is like. Bust of luck to you all!</p>