You could make the cost of college (for your parents) a lot less by taking co-ops and working while in college. There are also government programs that provide scholarships for work. There is ROTC. There is joining the military and going to school on the GI bill.
I think being from SD will be of more help to your admissions than your minority status. Georgia has plenty of minorities. Being a female would help.
You asked what you could do to get instate tuition, and we’ve told you - have parents move to GA, join the military, get married. Unlikely any of those will work, so make your decision on whether to go to GaTech assuming you will pay OOS tuition for 4 years. Unlikely you will graduate in 3.
“Hahahahahahahaha. What are you looking at? Physics I? Or heat transfer? Thermo? Fluid mechanics? Circuits?”
@bodangles Thumbs up on that. My D graduated from HS with a 5 on Physics C and CALC B/C and Chem. Got credit for all (42 credit hours in all). She is currently taking 3 academic courses for 10 hours and a 4 hour research course. Those courses are Physical Chemistry (essentially a survey in quantum mechanics), Bio Chemistry (this is her elective) and Fluid Mechanics. Those courses are giving her all she can handle at the moment. She was 12 in class of 732 in HS in a high performing suburban school for perspective. It is a FULL schedule regardless of the number of hours.
This whole discussion seems rather moot, since the OP hasn’t been admitted to Tech, many scholarship deadlines have passed. and we don’t know what other GA school is under consideration.
OP, My s’s are both engineers. One spent a summer at Tech (after having taken all premed courses at his home school and deciding to pursue engineering instead). Both of my s’s have had many friends who attended/graduated from Tech. I know several as well. NO ONE with an engineering degree, even with many AP credits upon entering, graduated in 3 years. You can count the semesters any way you want, but none completed them in what would have been consider 3 years. Apologies for being blunt, but you are not so special as to be treated as such, and Tech is a HARD school. Courses are HARD. even for vals of their HS’s. IF you want to earn $ to offset college costs, get summer internships and do a co-op.
How do you know what medical schools (if you astick with that plan) will accept (not except) HS APs? Most colleges premed advising will insist you take the college level premed prereqs as part of their advising policy. The link to Tech’s policy on this is unfortunately broken. You can call them.
So go look for minority scholarships if there are any that are still open, or look at instates schools or others that are closer to your budget goals. There isn’t much more to add.
I went and looked at the chance me post you referenced. Unlike other posters, I do believe it is possible for some kids to graduate in 3 yrs, but it is the unusual student who has accomplished high levels academics in high school (my oldest ds graduated with his chemE degree in 4 yrs, but that included 12 months of co-oping and 1 summer session taking a couple of humanities courses.)
Looking at what you have posted above, however, I wonder if you are viewing academics through your local academic filter vs understanding just how academically strong other applicants are and just how much you need to accomplish in order to graduate in 3 yrs.
Do you have any science AP credit (specifically chemistry or physics C)? Is your AP math AB or BC? (That will influence just how strong your math background is going into Tech and your placement. ) If you don’t have credit for chemistry or cal-based physics, I don’t see how it is “easy” to graduate in 3 yrs bc prerequisites drive the 4 yr plan. https://www.bme.gatech.edu/bme/4-year-plan
Fwiw,I have another son who was accepted into GA Tech and offered zero scholarship $$. He is not URM or obviously female. I don’t know how competitive the provost applicants are, but as a point of reference, he took cal BC and AP chem in10th grade. He graduated from high school with college credit for 5 semesters of university Cal up physics and 3 math courses beyond cal 2.
And even if it was physics C and BC, what if it turns out this hs didn’t teach to a rigorous level or didn’t complete all the material? And/or, as we sometimes see, it was easier to get an A than at other hs?
@Mom2aphysicsgeek First off I never said it was going to be “easy” don’t misquote me. And second off Those were the classes I am currently enrolled in, by the end of the year I intend to have AP physics C (both), AP Chem (done) AP Biology, (done) AP Calc, AP Physics 1 (done) APUSH AP Lit AP pysch and AP Econ (done). Which is 11 but It appears as though (from practice tests) that I will do well. My school doesn’t have too many AP’s part of the reason why I left, another reason I am leaving early is because I already have taken/taking all the AP’s that could/would apply to my degree. My high school isn’t the toughest but quite high ranked in the state (#2) so I believe I am capable whether or not I graduate in 3 years is for the future but if I do I’ll make sure to come back to this post. Maybe I’m very ignorant maybe I’m arrogant, maybe its both, either way only time will tell. Theoretically I could graduate in 3 years, so that’s what I am going to try and do.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Actually the averages have gone up to 11 classes and an ACT average of 33 (i’ll have 11/12 by the time I graduate). I am fully aware of this. Also on one point of reference I am not a average (not saying I am special), who parties/drinks I don’t do/intend on doing drugs of any sort I’ll treat college like a job of sorts.
Mom2aphysicsgeek, I think I left that a bit vague. I was thinking, what if, despite the course and grade, the student isn’t truly prepared for a rigorous college level class, is running to catch up? And then hits a stumble. It can change the whole dynamic.
Are you taking both physics C courses at a school? If not, have you already scheduled to take the exam somewhere bc C is one exam that is not offered at many schools and is often difficult to find a seat for.
Are you taking AP Calc AB or BC. I remember my D taking AP Calc AB & BC, scoring a 5 on both, going to college and the professor having reviewed the whole course in the first 3 weeks.
Being a URM for ND/SD is not a hook in a state that has a large URM population. In addition GT has a number of joint degree programs with historically black schools; Morehouse, Spelman, Clark Atlanta, which are all in Georgia.
Remember the goal of a public institution is to provide an affordable education for their taxpayer base. If they accept OP, who unfortunately is not at the tippy top of the applicant pool for a Provost scholarship, they may toss him a token amount of $$, but he will most likely still be close to full pay as an OOS.
I see, but I assume (from what I can tell from anecdote experience) that the ACT averages and GPA averages that they except for AA’s are a bit quite lower I’ve only ever seen/heard about one AA being denied and he was out of country (international student) who had an ACT above a 29. Either way I shouldn’t be too confident. I’ve always been astonished by the boost some colleges give URM’s but that is for another forum.