Hey, I’m interested in a few Engineering schools (at least I think I am).
I’m not entirely sure about what I want to do with my life and I need some advice regarding college admissions.
GPA - 4.0 UW 4.62 W (I’m the presumptive valedictorian of my class)
Scores (Please note that I plan on retaking these. These were my first attempts without studying)
ACT - 31, 32 E 34 M 27 R, 30 S (Studied for a week using the Red book and scored a 34 on my last practice test)
SAT - 1430, 650 R 780 M (Still haven’t started studying for this one)
APs -
Sophomore year - AP Human Geo and AP World (I can’t remember what I got)
Junior year -
AP Calculus AB - 5
AP Chemistry - 5
AP Lang - 5
AP Psych - 5
APUSH - 4
AP Spanish - 3 (I don’t come from a Spanish speaking household)
I got the AP Scholar With Distinction award btw
Senior year (which just started) - AP Physics 1, AP Statistics, AP Literature, AP US Gov, AP Macroecon, AP Calc BC, AP Computer Science, AP Bio
ECs -
National Honor Society Vice President
Student Government Association Public Relations Officer
Science club president
Head tutor for the AVID program at my school
Worked a part-time job all 4 years at my parents’ store
Spanish Honor Society
Academic Team (which I got a varsity letter for lmao)
Soccer club for two years and Ultimate Frisbee for one
Founded the Debate Club at my school
Once again, I plan on retaking both the SAT and ACT and taking the SAT II subject tests in Math II and Chemistry.
If I got my ACT/SAT scores up, would I stand a shot at schools like UC Berkeley/Cornell/Columbia etc?
If not, PLEASE tell me what I should focus on senior year!!
Also, is it even worth it to go to an elite school? Will I really be THAT much greater of an engineer if I go to a school that costs a ridiculous amount of money?
Thanks.
So many questions. Are you from a high income family? If not then Cornell and Columbia may not be expensive since they meet full need. Are you in-state for CA? If not then that’s expensive. If you are in-state and low income then your Cal Grant will pay the majority of the cost. As far as engineering, if you want to be an engineer then your school needs to be ABET accredited (google it). Companies don’t pay more for an engineer from Cornell than they do from Alabama (for instance).
Why are you retaking both the SAT and ACT? Choose one, and really focus on it.
I would also say overall everything is very strong. My opinion on the selective tippy top colleges is that, while the name recognition can be very helpful what matters more is what you do with the educational opportunities you have at the college you attend, and how hard you work. As @Erin’s Dad said, an engineer from Cornell is not better than an engineer from Alabama.
I’d say I come from a high income family. We aren’t exactly rich but then again we’ve never really struggled financially. I have absolutely no legacy with any of these schools whatsoever. My dad went to Furman, but my Mom and 2/3 of my siblings never went to college.
I’m not obsessed with the Ivy League title at all. I just want to go the school that will make me the best engineer I can be. If it’s true that I can get the same level of education from UF, then I don’t see the point in applying to Cornell/Columbia etc. I just read online that these schools have some of the best Engineering programs in the country so I figured that they’re worth the money
I figured that retaking both exams would increase my chances of receiving a desirable score. The exams seem similar (other than the ACT science) so I thought that studying for one would effectively prepare me for the other.
Some engineering schools are better than others, in that they offer more options, better academics, and are better recruited.
For example, a mechanical engineer from the University of Alabama can be just as successful as an ME from Georgia Tech (similar career and pay). However, Tech would offer more academic options (such as engineering majors that are not offered at UA), better faculty, much more opportunity to get involved in research, and its better recruited (far more engineering firms come to Tech to recruit that UA).
So yes, GT would be a better choice than UA, as well as MIT being a better choice than UF. However, you have to take into account other issues. First, what schools do your grades, test scores and EC’s make you a fit? The ACT middle 50% of admitted students to MIT is 33 to 35, while at UF it’s 27 to 31. Next, you may have to consider cost. At Georgia Tech, out of state tuition and fees is over $32,000 a year. At UA, with a 32 on your ACT, you would earn the Presidential scholarship, which pays all tuition cost. Finally, you should consider other factors that matter to you.
You have a lot of factors to consider. By all means start by looking at the different college and engineering rankings. But then start narrowing down your list. Keep in mind that a lot of “elite” schools are long shots, even if you have the test scores and grades (admissions rates of 20% or less). Follow the standard advise of applying to at least one safety and a few matches before applying to “reaches”.
Good Luck!
Thanks so much! That’s some great advice. I was definitely considering UF, especially if I could get into the Honors program
If you plan on applying to a school that requires all scores (Stanford for example) then you might want to retake the SAT as a 650 reading score is not at the same caliber as the rest of your application will be. It’s too late now but I would have recommended that you not take 8 AP courses senior year. That is a crushing workload even for the strongest of students and you would have been fine with 4 or so. The best engineering schools in many cases are not the best colleges overall
Yeah, I agree that 8 APs was a bit too much. I just really want to try as hard as possible this year. And yes, I definitely plan on retaking the SAT. I know for a fact that I can drastically improve my reading, but I’m not too sure about my math. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that I have the potential to get an 800, but it’s so easy to make a dumb mistake. All you have to do is type a 4 instead of a 5 in your calculator and your perfect score is ruined 