<p>I'll admit it. I never really gave it my all in high school, and gave a really halfhearted effort overall, and pulled off a 3.3 (4.0 scale). I'm much more capable than this, as I'm in 2 AP's at the moment, and throughout high school, I have had basically had B's of every kind in most of my classes, with the occasional C+, along with the occasional A.</p>
<p>However, my SAT scores during my sophomore year were a 2040. If I can improve anywhere from 100 to 300 points on that score, what colleges do I have a chance of getting into?</p>
<p>I'm not too worried about my applications and interviews, as I can handle those when the need arises.
I'll take whatever suggestions I can get, though I would somewhat prefer colleges that are centered around the Northeastern area/Eastern seaboard. For majors, I would like to look into Mechanical Engineering. What would be a reach or a safe choice for me? I'm obviously not expecting to be getting into many Ivy leagues though.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time and advice :)</p>
<p>I have a 3.26 but a 2330 (started out with a 2200) and I am also majoring in engineering (materials). </p>
<p>As far as college suggestions go, getting into those really good schools that I’m sure you’re looking at hinges on how well you write your essays and how your ec’s look provided that you do get the 300 point increase. Make sure you ace this year. It also depends a lot on the kind of budget you’re working with.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, University of Rochester, Rensselaer, Case, and WPI all meet your criteria (except Case, which is in Cleveland) but are very expensive. I tried to arrange them in order of how hard they are to get into.</p>
<p>Penn State, Rutgers, Pitt, Drexel, Northeastern, and Stevens are all good schools as well, but they’re all very different and you should put the time in to research all of them. If you’re interested in co-op learning, the last three schools in that list are good options.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to broaden your horizons a little bit and look outside the northeast. I always figured I’d end up at CMU, Rochester, or RPI, but now I’m headed to Alabama of all places. Spend a lot of time doing research not only about the school, but about the major.</p>
<p>Good luck with everything.</p>
<p>I assume you are a junior now. So you are still in high school, and certainly COULD give it your all going forward. Colleges really like to see an upward trend in grades if you can’t show them a good GPA all the way through. If you really just “didn’t try”, now would be the time to start. You have essentially two semesters (spring and fall) to show what you can do in the classroom. </p>
<p>Thermal’s list is good. But your odds will go up a LOT (and you might have a shot at some merit money some places) if you decide to actually do the work to pull up your grades.</p>
<p>Do you have a cost limit? If so, you need to consider your financial aid situation and state of residency.</p>
<p>Alabama - Huntsville appears to be a safety, since your stats appear to be in the Charger Achievement Scholarship zone: [UAHuntsville</a> - Financial Aid - Entering Freshmen - Non-Residents Merit Awards](<a href=“http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/non-residents-merit-awards]UAHuntsville”>http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/non-residents-merit-awards)</p>
<p>Alabama - Birmingham also, since your stats appear to qualify for the Blazer Pride Scholarship: <a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found;
<p>Howard looks like Legacy or maybe Capstone for you: [Grants</a>, Scholarships & Fellowships - Howard University](<a href=“http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm#Freshman]Grants”>http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm#Freshman)</p>
<p>Non-safeties to consider include Virginia Tech, NCSU, Stony Brook, Cal Poly SLO, and Minnesota. Also, South Dakota Mines and New Mexico Mining if you want a small engineering-focused school.</p>
<p>Remember that engineering is rigorous everywhere, so be prepared to work harder in college than you apparently have been working in high school.</p>