I know there are quite a few threads on this subject but due to my personal circumstances, I decided to start my own.
so…my guess is that my chances of getting into an ivy league school are pretty low given that my current GPA is 3.4.
I am not trying to make excuses as to why my gpa is low but I will share this: I came to the US about 2 and half years ago from Africa and started high school (in the US) as a senior. After I graduated from high school, I went to a community college and now I am in the middle of my sophomore year and it is time for me to apply to Universities as a transfer student. I am hoping to transfer as Engineering major. As far as extracurricular activities are concerned, I participate in about five programs/clubs including Phi Theta Kappa.
I am contemplating whether or not I should apply so some Ivy league schools. Any ideas/suggestions?
Your GPA is low. Admissions at all schools seek students who will be happy in their programs. A low GPA is an indication about your abilities. Too low and they may think you can’t keep up with the work, and may not be happy there. Higher GPAs are an indicator that you can keep up with the work and might be happy there.
You could. That’s an option. There are also a few schools in between Ivies and good publics with engineering. You may want to consider those as well.
You have a lot to offer. Many schools will want you as part of their class.
What is your home state?
Are you male or female? (That can make a difference sometimes as some schools are all women and some have too many women and need men.)
You may want to look at Union College in Schenectady NY. They have engineering in a small liberal arts setting. Your GPA is on target for Union and they provide 100% of determined need (that doesn’t mean you will go to school for free but usually it means that it will cost you what you can afford. Sometimes that means it’s cheaper than a state school) http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=157
Before I try to list other schools, it’s probably good to know what your home state is and what region you might want to attend school in.
You may want to look at Cornell CALS majors because there might be something there that you like. for CALS you need to apply directly to the major. Cornell is also amenable to CC students transferring in. https://admissions.cals.cornell.edu/academics/majors
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. My home state is MN and I am a male student. Speaking of Cornell, that was actually the school I was looking at. I was also looking at Johns Hopkins but again, I might not be a good candidate for admission.
That being said, I will go to any school that is a good fit for me. I am not really concerned about location.
The only thing about Union College in NY is that it doesn’t have ChE major.
You might want to consider the University of Minnesota. It has a strong chemical engineering department, it’s in your state so tuition will be pretty affordable, and you stand a quite good chance of admission.
You’re right. But admission to the Chemical Engineering department at the U of M (at least GPA wise) is about as competitive as ivy league schools. I am still applying to it, though.