Hey guys, I’m a prospective student who is thinking of applying ED to mostly T20 schools like WashU, Northwestern, Rice, Cornell
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Residence: South Korea ( supposedly “elite” private high school)
Ethnicity: Asain, Korean
Sex: Male
GPA: IB predicted grade of 38/42 (Excluding ToK, Sophomore year). Our school does this thing where they convert it into a GPA and according to them, I’m a UW 4.11 and W 4.83. Not sure how accurate this is.
SAT: 1510 (RW 730, M 780)
SAT subject Tests: Physics 800, Math II (waiting on results but I think it should be around 750~780)
Extra Curriculars:
- School theater tech team (9th grade onwards, leadership position from 11th grade)
- Jazz band (9th grade onwards, co-leader now)
- Student Peer counselors (10th grade, leadership position from 11th grade)
- Varsity Tennis 2nd doubles (10th grade onwards)
- Business Competition semifinalist 2 years in a row
Service:
- Music teaching service
- Medical service trip (10th grade~11th grade during the summer)
Awards/certificates:
- KIMEA Small Ensemble platinum and gold (2017,2019)
- KIMEA large ensemble old (2017)
- Most improved player of the year award (tennis)
Work experience:
Lab assistant, working towards publishing an article on enzymes and protein denaturation
Hooks(?): Not much? I’m an Asian male applying for Engineering…
My father was accepted to Cornell but didn’t attend and I have two close family members who are alumni of WashU. Not sure if this helps with legacy.
My interests are scattered all over the place but the two largest components of my application will be music and theater tech. Concerned because I don’t have too many activities relating to my major. Hoping to take the SAT one more time in October!
Edit* 38/42 junior year, not sophomore year sorry!
For most top 20’s, international is a handicap not a plus because the spots for internationals are limited with many highly qualified students applying. There may be a few where it could be a plus if you are full pay. You need to dig into each school’s info on international students.
Parent accepted but not an alumni, not a legacy. Grandparent alums considered as legacy in many schools; uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings, usually not, but you need to check by school. Even when non-parents are considered, it is “weaker” than parent alum.
You have the credentials to apply to elite US schools, but if your primary goal is to study in the US, it may be easier to get into some excellent state universities if you are full pay. On top of that, the engineering programs at these state schools are often top rated and better than the generic T20 school which may not have that strong of an engineering program.
I have an Amerian citizenship, does this help or change anything?
All the schools listed will be a reach for ED, engineering is generally more competitive than the school’s overall stats. You don’t have legacy status at Cornell. At WashU, generally legacy is limited to parents and grandparents.
Do you have any financial constraints? What can your family pay each year for college?
As your ED schools are reaches, make sure you have a balanced college list including 4-6 matches and 1-2 highly likely schools that you would be happy to attend that are also affordable. Spend relatively more time choosing your match and highly likely schools, as it’s most likely you will attend one of those.
Also, apply to one or more schools with rolling admissions or EA, so that you have an early acceptance–this will inform your EDII/RD application strategy and decrease pressure should you not get in to your ED school. Good luck.
Even if you do not qualify for “official” legacy status at WashU, you still might be able to mention in your essay that your interest in the school was inspired by the positive experience of [non-parental] family members who attended.
WashU values expressions of genuine interest in its applicants, so you would be well served by making clear that your interest in the school is sincere, well founded, and of long standing.
Yes, you can describe the familiarity with the college because relatives attend/ed. How it tips or not depends on the rest of your app. (It would not be a complete Why Us.)
That 4.11 is out of what total? Top adcoms are going to look at the transcript, see your courses and the grades.
Theater tech is a great example of how stem kids can expand. Jazz band and other ensembles are nice, shows you use this talent with others. Etc. Together, these hint you’re grounded, open to new things, etc.
But for mech engineering, other than that lab experience, outside school, where are the math-science ECs? Tippy tops will look for that. In particular, collaborative experiences, as engineering, as a discipline and career, is highly collaborative. What can you do now? Or did you omit something here?
In general, a medical service trip is nice, but not the same as concerted, ongoing service in your own community. This bullet, you can pick up right now.
Thanks for the replies, everyone!
@lookingforward I’m assuming its 4.11 out of 4 points total. Our school is an IB school and this is the first year where they offered grade conversions so I’m not sure how accurate they are. A+ = 4.33, and A= 4.0. Unfortunately, I don’t have any math/science related EC’s aside from currently being in the process of writing an academic paper as I mentioned in the post.
@Mwfan1921 I’m told that WashU provides 100% need-based aid so I’m hoping some financial help can come from there. My parents have funds allocated to pay for full tuition, but I’m hoping to be able to receive some sort of financial aid because I have a younger brother who will be going through the same processes as me in just a few years.
Could you clarify what you mentioned about EA? Are we allowed to apply for EA even if we apply for ED?
Also, I haven’t quite thought about target/match schools yet. Could you recommend me some schools that are reasonably in my range?
Usually 4.0 is the max, when converting to a four point scale, unless they’re adding for + or - grades. You have those? But adcoms will see the grades for themselves.
The issue is: if you still want a tippy top, how can you add collaborative math-sci activities? Writing a paper is generally solo. Even with a mentor or team mate, not the sort of broader engagement.
WashU is one of the schools I consider highly unpredictable.
Re:EA. Part of educating yourself to the various wants and situations is looking for the info schools do provide. Most will tell you if they have EA or ED and what that means for “early” apps to other colleges.
https://mitadmissions.org/apply/firstyear/early-vs-regular/
You’ve got to read what the various colleges say and show.
Someone is sure to say math-sci ECs don’t matter, that they know someone who… But you want to cover your bases, CYA, whenever applying to these nutty single digit admit rate colleges, in a pool of fiercely competitive applicants, who have breadth *and depth, various stretchy experiences, and more. And it does mean activating: learning what matters and going for it. Think about it.
Demonstrate interest at Rice early and often!
Applying as an American citizen who has been living abroad, as in your case, is a plus. Your grades and test scores are strong; your ECs are significant, and they are not “scattered all over the place”. However, you are concerned that your ECs are not related to math and sciences. You do not need more or different ECs, but you need to write good essays to showcase your aspirations in engineering and your interests in music and theater tech. Has the technical knowledge your gained as a theater technician, in say, monitoring sound and lighting, provoked your thoughts on the physics of sound and light? Did they strengthen your ambition in other fields of engineering or sciences? Have your strong interest in music inspired you to appreciate the connection between music and math? The apparent non-alignment of your ECs and your intended major, might help you to demonstrate the breadth of your knowledge and interest to the AOs, whom you need to convince that you are much more than (just another) Asian male with great GPAs and test scores.
There are thousands of American students living abroad whom you would be compared to, I wouldn’t consider it really a plus, given the numbers of students like you applying to the schools. You could highlight something like your experiences from your US experiences and S. Korea in an essay.
Also, If your parents can afford to pay for your education, then I doubt you’ll receive financial aid. They don’t give financial aid to help your parents with the future cost of your younger brother’s future education.
Your admission case will be reviewed according to your stats, EC’s and essays and if you FIT their campus.
“I’m a UW 4.11”
so as lookingforward mentioned, you can’t have an uw gpa above 4.0, so one thing you could do is just remove the + and - from your grades and see what gpa you have after that, it should be 4.0 or below.
Also not sure I’d take the SAT again, 1510, it’s a tough call, but that’s right in the middle of the applicants in the schools you mentioned, you should probably focus on stem-related EC in the summer if you can, and the application in general. good luck!
@theloniusmonk love your username hahaha (I’m assuming your username is referring the piano artist). I looked into my school’s reporting system more, and it looks like our schools ‘unweighted’ GPA comes if we consider A+s and our ‘weighted’ GPA comes in if we factor the rigor of the IB curriculum. Taking out the +s, I think I’m currently standing at an unweighted 4.0. Our school doesn’t usually convert our grades to a GPA and this year was the first time they did it so I’m not 100% sure how accurate this is. Thanks with the advice on the SAT! I’m still on the border on whether I should take it or not and I’m currently spending more time than I should be on these forums looking for advice than I should be ahahah
@“aunt bea” Thanks for the insight! However, the only reason why I am able to currently attend a private high school is that one of my parents is a faculty member of the school, which reduced my tuition fees to basically $0. Living in a financially well off neighborhood with high living costs and rent have, at times, burdened our family. I know I’m not underprivileged by any means, but hoping that I will be able to explain this so the adcoms don’t assume that my family is just as affluent as most other families at my school.
@lookingforward I’m sure seeing you frequently around this platform hahaha! Thanks for the great advice again. I did some more snooping around and it looks like our school calculates unweighed GPA with A+s considered. It looks like the “unweighed” GPA I got from my school of 4.11 would be a 4.00 on a regular 4.00 scale. Could you expand more on your comment on WashU being unpredictable? Though I’m still relatively new to the college application processes and have limited knowledge on characteristics of certain schools, Its the first I’ve heard of this about WashU.
That’s not how this works. Financial aid (vs merit aid) is based on the college’s evaluation of your families financial circumstances. They will want to see tax returns, bank statements, property ownership, etc, and crunch those numbers to come up with your EFC (Expected Financial Contribution), which is how much they expect you to pay.
Current CoA at Wash U is $72K/year. If your parents have $250K in “funds allocated” for your college tuition there will be no financial aid.
The only way for you to pay less there is to get merit money. Last year WUSTL gave non-need merit money to 68 first year students, with an average of $11K. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that money is used to incentivize students that they really want to come.
Parent assets are tagged at roughly 6%.
OP, when adcoms see your parent is faculty. they won’t assume your family is wealthy. They understand this. But yes, FA depends on how a college views your FA application.
WashU, Rice, and a few more don’t seem to follow usual conventions in whom they admit it reject. You can be top stats with a great app, Why Us, LoRs, etc, and not get in. While that’s true of most top colleges, I believe you can get a decent read on what even other tippy tops look for.
At this point, imo, I believe your gpa is fine. It’s some other issues that you might work on. Try to get a Fiske Guide to Colleges, to help you get some background and ideas for various college choices.
You sound bright and aware. 
@lookingforward Thanks for the advice, as always! Just checked out my school library’s catalog and they seem to have the 2016 edition. Will read it as soon as school opens up again in August!
@collegemom3717 Thanks for the clarification! What I meant by having funds allocated for full tuition was that paying for full tuition is technically possible, but it would mean selling most of our household assets to pay for it (though I’m sure many family families do this as well, I would like to avoid having to do this to my parents if possible). Hope I’m not sounding like one of those people who expect to be able to go to college for free ahahaha