<p>I am a sophmore in highschool. I want to go to Carnagie Mellon but I know this is almost impossible. Therefore, I am shooting for a more realistic school- NC State. I want to be a mechanical engineer. </p>
<p>I have very few extra curricular activities. My unweighted GPA is a 3.7. Here are my extra curriculars:
-Marching band (09-11) (the two bands have had a rather negative effect on me, and I plan to drop them)
-Concert band (09-11)
-JETS club (10-?)
-Envirothon (09-?)
-iPhone Application Developer (10-?)
-Started Model UN</p>
<p>That's about it. I have a few small clubs but they dont really matter. </p>
<p>Is what I have good enough?</p>
<p>What else should i do so that I can get into either of the aforementioned universities?</p>
<p>Sorry for my atrocious grammar :(</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. </p>
<p>If I can figure this out, I will probably be a lot less stressed.</p>
<p>-Take AP physics, chemistry, and math classes. Do as well as you can. </p>
<p>-Either do summer engineering program, take university level classes between Junior/Senior year and do well, or land some sort of gopher job related to engineering (probably a stretch). </p>
<p>-Drop the marching band. It won’t help you. </p>
<p>-Have tangible experience to show you have an interest in engineering. I-phone developer=good. </p>
<p>-If the odds are slim at your stretch schools, then apply into the weakest
programs. If CMU has an english program, then apply into that. Then after your first year switch out to Engineering. </p>
<p>-Also, not many people will say this but your first year of college is effectively a reset button. If you don’t get into CMU, go to a local state school and make stellar grades. It’s easier to transfer in as a sophmore than to apply as a freshman.</p>
<p>-The drop-off between CMU and NC State is pretty huge. I’m sure there are other top-tier engineering programs you are competitive for.</p>
<p>The best thing you said was drop marching band!</p>
<p>Also, I plan on taking AP chem, AP English, and AP Calculus, as those are pretty much the only ones offered at my school.</p>
<p>Should I pick up a sport or something like that? I really don’t want to because I like making iPhone apps more, or I would rather be in a math/science club. </p>
<p>This summer I may apply for an internship at an engineering firm. Will this boost my chances?</p>
<p>I will be honest with you. My experience is more with interviewing job applicants, not incoming freshman. So take it with a grain of salt. </p>
<p>If I were looking for a successful engineer, I would look for someone who is passionate about the subject, capable of thinking outside the box, shows initiative, intellectually capable, and not a social oddball. </p>
<p>For example, suppose a highschool student didn’t have access to any good extracurriculars at his own school, so he asked to sit in on a robotics club meetings at a local university. That would impress me much more than typical highschool student fluffer material. It shows initiative and thinking outside of the box. In that regard, doing the I-phone app programming is good. </p>
<p>Model UN is dumb. It’s for pre-law nerds. </p>
<p>Some things that would be good to see:
tutoring under-privileged kids. Even better if you start a club for tutoring kids.
some sort of summer technical job, even if it means you get paid nothing and do drudge work. A paid intership will be a stretch.
some college level coursework if you don’t have a lot of AP offerings (again, show initiative)
maybe a team sport
do some pro-bono or open-source coding.
doing something entrepreneurial</p>
<p>Those are off the top of my head. Focus on showing initiative, maturity, and intellectual capability. Ask yourself how you can demonstrate these things, as opposed to padding your resume. </p>
<p>But what I have done so far is a good start? To be honest, I really suck at sports. I don’t like playing them either. I do like to ride my bike and skateboard, but those aren’t sports at my school or anything like that. </p>
<p>Model UN is really fun though?</p>
<p>My iPhone app development counts as something entrepreneurial, as I essentially started my own business. </p>
<p>I will definitely do as many things as I can on the list you gave me. If you have anything else, please let me know. This information is very beneficial – I don’t feel bad about quitting band anymore. </p>