What are my chances for UMich - Ann Arbor, Georgia Tech, UTexas - Austin. Could I get into better?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m not actually sure where I stand in terms of college placement. Would the schools mentioned above be reach, target, or safety?

GPA: 3.4 unweighted
Always been on high school honor roll
ACT: 34 (English 36, Reading 35, Math 34, Science 31) will retake for 35 hopefully
PSAT: 1400 or 210 NMSC Index
Subject Tests: Math 2 750, will take Physics soon and might retake Math 2
3 AP’s so far (AB Calc, Physics 1, Language and Composition) but will probably take Stats, BC, and Physics 2 next year
Honors level courses throughout Freshman and Sophomore year
Indian with Middle Eastern last name (still counts as asian right?)
Prestigious Connecticut private school
Middle class family
Mother and Father got degrees in India, BS and Masters, respectively

EC’s:

  • 4 years of JV Squash (our school has one of the best squash teams in the country) and 4 years of Baseball (Captain)
  • Grade-elected Senator
  • Student Ambassador to prospective applicants to my high school
  • President of local charity club starting next year, member of a club that donates 3D-printed limbs to children (donated 3 this year)
  • 4 years of Model UN,
  • 4 years of volunteering every summer (2 months) at an Art Camp for Youth
  • 2nd Honors Connecticut Science Fair
  • Interning (unpaid) at Providence Health Services and eBay over the summer. Interned at a waste/water engineering firm last summer
  • ~100 hours of Community Service

I really enjoy electronics in general, and am self-studying how to code and build drones

I am interested in Engineering or Business. I know that Engineering will be tougher to get in
Thanks in advance!

2

Your GPA is very low, but your test scores are high. May I ask why your GPA is so comparatively low? Otherwise, you look like a good applicant, but Georgia Tech is very hard for engineering. I’m unsure of how you’d do simply because your GPA is low and you haven’t taken many AP courses. Did you take as many APs as your school offered?

3

My GPA has been low usually due to one or two classes bringing be down with a B+/B averages, mainly Physics and History. Next year I don’t have to take History, which will help my Senior GPA.

In terms of AP course load, The school offers pretty much all of the AP’s, but I have taken those I am interested as soon as they were available. I believe I have taken a good amount

4

Have you looked at the threads where accepted students have listed their stats and whether or not they were accepted, waitlisted, or rejected? It can be an eye-opener and somewhat of a better indicator than having others guess what your chances are.

Also, each school places an emphasis on different aspects of your application. For instance, GA Tech looks at course rigor as very important while UT looks at class rank as very important (among many other things for both of those particular schools). You might do a little research on what the school places the most importance on and get a better idea for you personally.

5

The only school I applied to on your list was UT Austin’s Engineering program. I’m Chinese (parents immigrated after studying in Hong Kong) in Upstate New York, so we’re kinda similar?

I got accepted as an Electrical Engineering intended major, and I can give you my stats if you want:

GPA: 3.95 unweighted
ACT: 35 (English 34, Math 34, Reading 35, Science 36)
SAT (you should take it, in case you need it): 2260 (Reading 720, Math 800, Writing 740)
You should probably take the SAT
PSAT (since you gave yours): 1470 or Index 227 National Merit Semifinalist (you will know about this by next year)
Four AP’s by end of Junior year: Computer science, chemistry, world history, us history (all 5’s)
Senior year contained 4 AP’s: Calc BC, French, Physics 1, Physics C, as well as dual enrollment in economics, English and law classes are regular regents-level

Quite wealthy suburban public school
Middle class parents (Mom has Master’s and Dad has PhD, both degrees from the U.S.)

EC’s:
-Treasurer of a club sport
-Vice president of Asian cultural club
-Treasurer of Robotics Club (made the bulk of my essays to UT Austin, included small awards in First competitions and MIT ZeroRobotics, also a service project constructing automated lockers for disabled students at my school)
-150+ hours volunteering at the local library (children’s programs and selling refreshments)

This is just a reference, though. I have no clue how high I placed on the admissions scale at UT Austin. You probably need more than just me, @bahiablue above has the right idea.

But I feel like I need to tell you I decided not to go to UT Austin, mainly because of cost. I don’t know how much income your “middle class” contains, but mine could not afford the lack of financial aid given to me. My application was good enough to be accepted at Cornell (and it costs a lot less), so that’s where I’ve decided to go.

This is all I have to say at the moment, feel free to ask me further questions. Sorry I can’t help you on your other applications.