I’m having trouble deciding what colleges would be a good fit for me. There some schools that interest me, but the likelihood that I would get into schools such as MIT, Stanford, etc , are very slim. I’m trying to have more realistic goals, but not sure what I should be aiming for. I don’t know if I want to stay in-state or not and the size of the school doesn’t really matter to me either.
My ultimate career goal would probably be to work at place like NASA or SpaceX. I will most likely major in something like aerospace engineering or Electrical engineering. The obvious school for those interested in engineering in my area is Purdue. (I don’t have anything against Purdue, but I want to explore my options)
Some info about me:
I am a female in 11th grade at a rural school in Indiana. I am the top 5% of my class and have taken or will take 6 of the 8 or 9 AP classes my school offers. I am an officer in my school’s Technology Student Association and won an award for coaching younger students on my school’s marksmanship team, among other things. An sat practice test I took a while ago had my score around 1410.
Honestly, being instate for Purdue is a huge gift and it’s going to be hard to beat.
Without an SAT or ACT score it’s going to be hard for people to make suggestions. A 1410 is too low for schools like MIT.
Have you visited any instate schools yet? I’m thinking comparing and contrasting Purdue vs Rose Hulman might give you a better sense of what size program you prefer.
My D didn’t have any strong preferences until she started visiting schools and touring facilities and then it was a no brainer. She’s at Purdue from out of state and loving every minute.
Congratulations for working hard and doing very well in high school!
The first thing we would need to know before offering options: What can/will your parent pay? Have you had a serious talk about finances? Many families make too much money for massive need-based aid, but not enough to cover college expenses.
Many student and parents assume they will be able to work it out to pay for any school and are shocked that college costs have soared since they were young. There have been many instances here on CC where students applied for a range of dream schools and couldn’t go to any because, in the end, their parents couldn’t or wouldn’t pay the 70,000+ PER YEAR sticker price that these private or out-of-state State schools cost. Or worse, some people take on massive private bank loans that will take most of their lifetimes to pay off. DON’T do that!
Have you visited any college campus yet? It’s a good idea to visit a few (small, large, super-large, rural, urban, small-town) even if those aren’t the ones you’ll apply to to get a sense of what type you prefer. You say you don’t have a preference, but maybe you’ll find you do prefer the feel of one over the other. Do you think you can learn best in large lecture-hall classes or in smaller ones?
Also, give us a little more info about your personality and interests outside of school (not just formal ECs). That might help people think about schools that would be the best fit for you.
One option that popped in my head immediately is
the University of Alabama/Huntville. Strong and well-regarded engineering program with great ties to the aerospace industry. (I grew up in Hunstville, where my dad worked in the space-race in the 60s!) There are major automatic scholarships for full-rides/full tuition in this school…not sure what the cut-offs are but it would be easy to find out.
Make sure you apply EA to Purdue. You are lucky to have a great instate option.
Have a conversation with your parents about how much money they can spend each year. That’s where you need to start. Then you can run the NPCs (Net Price Calculators) to see if schools will be affordable for you. Ask your parents if you can go visit shools.
Check out Aerospace Engineering and the Planetary Sciences major at Arizona State University. For a much smaller school look at the Colorado School of Mines.
You’ll have a much better feel for your ceiling once you take the SAT/ACT.
Study really efficiently and take them soon.
While Rose Hulman is fantastic, I don’t believe they offer Aerospace and neither does the other great non-doctoral engineering program at Harvey Mudd.
Electrical and Aerospace elite tend to be the same names Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Michigan, Purdue, Virginia Tech, UC Berkeley, Illinois, etc… See how you do on the test and keep working on rounding out your application/ECs.
Hopkins evaluates its applicants holistically, but I think it relies more on test scores and gpa. Your location in rural Indian might give you a very very slight advantage.
Keep up your good work, aim high. If you have not signed up for the December 2019 standardized tests, then start them as soon as you can, as in January 2020.
I would have a 21st century scholarship that covers tuition for any public in-state school and partial tuition at some private schools, which is absolutely amazing. It will be up to me to pay for college, so tuition will mostly likely be a factor in my decision. My family doesn’t make a whole lot, so financial aid will have an impact as well.
I’ve been to Purdue’s campus a few times now for engineering related competitions and want to visit Rose Hulman eventually.
As for interests outside of school, I’ve always been interested in learning about space, which is what led me to engineering and Purdue in the first place, as Purdue is known as the cradle of astronauts.
@UltraUndecided, I read your earlier threads and (though you didn’t go into detail) it sounds as if you didn’t have the easiest of childhoods. I just want to say, kudos to you for persisting and keeping your goals/dreams and for working hard through it all! You’re the kind of student that we on CC love to “take under our wings” and encourage, so I hope you’ll keep updating on your process.
I know NASA heavily recruits for manned spaceflight at Purdue, University of Alabama Huntsville, Texas, Texas A&M, Rice, Embry Riddle, Texas Tech, Stanford, Iowa State, Ohio State, and most of the other big universities but we have people from all over with degrees in Aero, EE, ME and Biomed Eng. Space X will go more for the top schools (Stanford and MIT) or grab people with a couple years at another aerospace firm. Unmanned will go for big state, top and east or west coast schools they know. From wherever you go getting into an intern program is the best way to get a job!
BTW, are you taking advantage of Khan Academy’s free online SAT tutorials?
If not, you should! Try to do a little practice each day that you can…it adds up. Twenty minutes per day most days of the week can make a huge difference for some students. Also, doing as many practice tests as possible helps you, not only with substance, but with test-taking strategies and learning to recognize the patterns SAT uses. Raising your test scores can make a huge difference.
UltraUndecided,
Purdue is an excellent choice; however, if you would like to explore, then you might want to take advantage of the free fly-in programs offered by universities across the country, such as, Amherst; Williams; UPenn; Columbia; Harvey Mudd, to recruit students from low SES, URMs, first generation cohorts. These universities might not (now) be on your list, but it would not hurt to broaden one’s horizon and gather relevant information ahead of time, at no additional costs to you. Applications to such fly-in programs are usually due in the summer at the end of junior year, and standardized test scores are (usually) required.
On the note of finance, I understand that being able to pay is a big factor for you (as for 99% of us), I would like to point out that for high stat students with low SES (such as yourself), the cost of attendance at some of the so-called ‘top tier’ schools which also offer very generous grants, might be less than or about the same as that at a public state university. Keep them in mind as well.
Chances are good that you are well aware already of what I just said. I commend you for thinking and planning ahead. Keep up the good work.
How open-minded are you? Don’t forget to take a look at the Air Force Academy or any of the various ROTC variations out there. They love the women in STEM majors, costs are addressed and you’ll be lined up pretty well for a post-service career.
I’ve actually looked into service academies (specifically USAFA) and that’s definitely something that I will look at more as it gets closer to applying.
