What are my chances of getting into Georgia Tech or UCSD (other colleges mentioned in the post)?

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hello everyone, I am a high school junior who needs some help with college admissions. I am a US citizen living around Anaheim, and I plan to major in mechanical engineering. Probably I’ll do something in the automotive or aerospace fields.

My school is grades 7-12, so I am halfway through my fifth year.

I just finished first semester of junior year with straight A(-)'s. Classes:

  • AP Physics 1 (91.9)
  • Strength/Conditioning, it’s an optional weightlifting class (95.4)
  • Orchestra, this is my fifth year (94.8)
  • TA, need to build a relationship with my teacher
  • AP Calc BC (91.5)
  • Engineering, this is my third year (93.6)
  • AP Lang (96.9)
  • APUSH (92.4)

I took the SAT in August and got 1500 (730 English/770 Math) but if I superscore I’ll get a 1530 since the first time I took it I got 1560 in English.

Extracurriculars:

  • Speech and Debate, this is my 4th year and I am the captain of the Parliamentary team
  • SkillsUSA, this is my first year and competitions haven’t started yet
  • As a sophomore I was captain of our school’s FTC team but I left this year (how do I explain this on my college apps? I left because I got angry with another member but that doesn’t look good)
  • Boy Scouts (5 years), I expect to reach Eagle before the end of the school year
  • This is my fifth year playing the violin, I also play in our school’s jazz band
  • I have taken 7 dual enrollment classes throughout high school
  • I have three certifications in Solidworks CAD, which I have been using for four years
  • MIRE Internship at UCI
  • I won 1st, 2nd, and 3rd at our school’s Maker Faire, which is kind of like a science fair
  • I have interned for Michelle Steel’s campaign, going door-to-door and making calls to voters

Some of my hobbies are weightlifting, 3D printing, and speedcubing.

I’ll most likely apply to the UCs except Merced/Santa Cruz/Riverside and CSUF. I’ll also apply to MIT, Stanford, and Georgia Tech; hopefully I’ll get in through blind luck : /

Open to suggestions for summer programs/internships, classes I should take, and anything else that might help.

Thanks : D

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We sent my son to Purdue STEP. It was a one week intro into engineering - sort of a validation of interest.

For automotive, etc. You can check out schools that have Formula SAE Teams or ECO Car which my son takes part in.

Do you have cost constraints? I’d say your three reaches are unlikely. As you know, UCs are test blind. So you’ll have to factor your UC GPA others have posted charts on here to give you an idea. Also, they don’t factor 9th grade in their calculation.

If you want to stay out West, an Oregon State or Arizona/Arizona State would be alternates. A Nevada Reno as well… I can’t chance you on the UCs but if they’re all reaches - then you would want to add safeties for sure.

Engineering is one of those where - the place you go - matters less as long as it is ABET accredited. Schools like Arizona and Alabama would be dirt cheap for you. UAH would be dirt cheap and great for aerospace. Schools like Embry Riddle and Florida Tech would be solid for aerospace.

If you like the UCs, then great. But you can follow the money (and go for less) - and be closer to the car industry (the South…or a school like Purdue which will be more attainable than your reaches - and well connected).

To give you an example of “pedigree” in auto and aerospace - my son worked at the same major auto OEM the last two summers. The first he roomed with two Ga Tech kids and he was invited back while they weren’t.

He just went through the full-time hiring process and had five offers - at salaries above (for last year - can’t say this year at those schools as we don’t know yet) top 20 engineering schools. His school - Alabama. He’ll be starting with an aero company in June.

The point here is simply - and I don’t know if finances are a factor -but if they are - you can find lots of programs with your qualifications that will get you to a great place. And if you have auto interest, heading to the midwest or south might be helpful. Your list is great - but the pedigree is a bit less important.

Best of luck.

Edit - this is from @ucbalumnus but it can give you insight into your UC GPA and determination as to your possible admission although an impacted major may even lessen these results.

Recalculate your HS GPA with GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub . Use the weighted capped version for the table below.

Fall 2021 admission rates by campus and HS GPA range from Freshman fall admissions summary | University of California :

Campus 4.20+ 3.80-4.19 3.40-3.79 3.00-3.39
Berkeley 30% 11% 2% 1%
Davis 85% 55% 23% 10%
Irvine 60% 31% 14% 1%
Los Angeles 29% 6% 1% 0%
Merced 97% 98% 96% 89%
Riverside 97% 92% 62% 23%
San Diego 75% 35% 5% 1%
Santa Barbara 73% 28% 4% 1%
Santa Cruz 91% 81% 46% 9%

Seminar for Top Engineering Prospects (STEP) - The College of Engineering Honors Program - Purdue University

DOE Announces 15 Universities Selected for EcoCAR Electric Vehicle Challenge | Department of Energy

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I am going to address only the California UC’s. First of all congratulations on being a competitive applicant so far with your HS record.

The UC’s will only use 10-11th grades in their GPA calculation so you need to complete Junior year before determining your 3 UC GPA’s: Unweighted, Capped Weighted and Fully Weighted. They do review 9th grades for a-g course completion and 12th grade courses for a-g completion and HS course rigor.
In the calculation you get extra honors points for UC approved Honors courses (CA HS students only see link for approved HS courses), AP/IB or DE UC transferable courses. University of California A-G Course List

The UC’s consider 13 areas of criteria for their application review and are test blind for admissions and scholarships.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-freshman/how-applications-are-reviewed.html

Engineering is competitive at all the UC’s and you should formulate your list from the bottom up so I would find at least Very Likely/Safety schools which may include UC Merced (If ELC eligible), Riverside or your local Cal State.

UCSD admits into the University first and then into the major. ME is Capped/Impacted major so you will need to select a non-capped major as an alternate if applying or you could get into UCSD as Undeclared and not able to switch majors. This is true for UCI also. For the majority for the UC’s, ME needs to be a direct admit since changing majors later is not guaranteed.

With your competitive SAT scores, @tsbna44 has given you other school options to consider and knowing your college budget can help other posters with suggestions. Keep doing what you are doing.

For a summer program, you might want to consider Cal Poly SLO EPIC https://epic.calpoly.edu/

Or the UC COSMOS program found at UCI/UCD/UCSD and UCSC: Campuses and Clusters - COSMOS Platform

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Why isn’t Cal Poly on your list? Your previous activities sure seem like it would be a fit. You can’t beat the price if you’re instate.

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How do your grades in math, science, and engineering compare with others from your high school? Are you close to being the strongest student in your high school in math, sciences and engineering?

Looking at a 91.9 in physics and a 91.5 in calculus makes me think that you are quite a strong student and should do well in engineering, but it also makes me think that MIT and Stanford are high reaches. There are plenty of students who apply to these two schools (and probably also Georgia Tech) who remember the one time they only got an “A” in a math class in high school, because there were used to getting high A+'s in math classes.

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Just to be clear to OP, this question is referencing Cal Poly SLO. There are two other Cal Polys as well - Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt.

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Indeed.

With three now, many simply refer to it as SLO.

California Polytechnic State University doesn’t carry a location as part of its official designation though. It was and still is referred to as Cal Poly.

Pomona, and now Humboldt have always used their city in the official name.

I think it’s safe to presume that it is SLO if no location identifier is used. I’ll try to be better about adding it though. :+1:

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It is listed with the city name in College Navigator.

A more subtle naming difference is the order of “Polytechnic” and “State” in the long names.

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