At graduation i will have taken these AP/dual enrollment classes: CHS (college in high school) statistics, AP Calc AB, CHS Anatomy and Physiology 1-2, APUSH, AP Chemistry, AP Calc BC, AP Biology, CHS Physics E&M.
SAT 1: M740, CR710, W700-9, may retake this fall to try to break 2200
SAT 2: Math 2-800, Chemistry-800
EC’s: golf team (not competitively good), Gifted (many competitions), chess competition, Academic league, Relay for life (cancer event), march for parks (park fundraising event), non formal tutoring of piers in STEM classes, NHS.
Could you com up with some schools in the mid atlantic or northeast that would be matches, safeties, and reaches for me. I live in pittsburgh btw.
@Chardo
For size, anything where there are more than 4000 undergrads
Spirit, doesn’t matter to me as long as people love the school, sports do not matter.
Location, I would want urban-ish unless its a huge college like PSU
Activites…Hmm, like some intramurals I won’t be nervous to join in, parties that aren’t hard to find.
*I do not want to go to a college where it is really hot all the time.
@BrownParent I have been recommended WPI, RIT, RPI and a couple others in that area since I have posted several “chance me?” threads recently. My question is whether or not they are significantly better for engineering than PSU, Lehigh, and Case Western, which are all much closer to home, and as far as I know are just as competitive in the field of engineering? If I have to travel hundreds of miles for a slightly better school than what is close, I would just stay close; it has to be good for me to want to venture out from my state.
Carnegie Mellon is right in your backyard, would be a match, and is as good as it gets for engineering. Pitt is also a solid local choice. Some others to consider, not factoring budget (which you still haven’t mentioned):
Frankly, for engineering, none are significantly better for engineering than PSU, Lehigh, and Case Western. Those are each very good engineering schools.
@Chardo I think CMU may be my dream school despite being expensive as heck. Do you think a degree from CMU would be more attractive to prospective employers and/or medical school admissions than one from PSU or those others mentioned?
A degree from CMU is very attractive to employers, but so is one from PSU, Lehigh, etc. You never mentioned med school. That changes things. Med school is all about GPA, MCAT, and recommendation letters, not about the name of your undergrad school. If med school is a serious thought, save your money (you’ll need it) and go to Pitt or PSU, or wherever you can get huge merit money.
Pitt is an obvious, affordable Match/Safe (let’s call it a “low-match”) for you; Temple is a safety, and you’d probably qualify for a good scholarship package there. I’d add Stevens as a low-Match, also. Case Western, Purdue, U of Rochester, Clemson, Northeastern, RPI, WPI, RIT, PSU, Drexel, American, BU, Tulane, Georgia Tech, U of Miami, UCF, USF, et al, are all solid prospects for you. A college like Washington U would be a big reach, but possibly worth a try with your scores and upward grade trend. If finances aren’t a big worry, and you want to travel, U of Washington (Seattle) might be within reach, although it’s become increasingly selective for STEM majors. I don’t think your chances would be very good at Berkeley or UCLA, but you could try UCSD, Davis, or UCSB. UCSC and San Jose State are both strong in Engineering. A lot of people here on College Confidential are big Alabama boosters, if you are at all inclined toward a southern college.
Lots of great engineering schools in the midwest too within a 1 day drive. I’d add Purdue, UMich, UW-Madison , OSU and UIUC to your list. Umich, and UIUC are top 10 schools that are a match for your stats, Purdue is a top 10 that is a safety, UW Madison a safety. In addition, I’d add Cornell (top 10) as a reach.
Georgia Tech is another top 10 match, but it is a little warm. Mid-town Atlanta, lots to do and see, fantastic airport access. Recruitment at GT is pretty amazing.
In terms of value, Purdue & GT have the lowest costs and highest ratings for OOS. Alabama is not as highly rated but your could get a full tuition scholarship and save the money for grad school (which matters a lot more), plus golf year round!
CMU is a match for you. Strong chance of admission based on your stats, but you never know. Can you afford it? Once again, you have not mentioned your budget. No sense falling in love with schools you can’t afford. More importantly, you need to find academic and financial safeties that you actually like, and go from there.
CMU tuition ~= cost of medical school. It is one of the most expensive schools in the country. What is the likelyhood you will change your mind about medical school? I would hate to start out with $250-300K in debt, which will limit your medical specialization to certain well compensated specialties. Of course, you can take other routes like rural or military medical service and come out debt free and still have options.
Anyway, I would apply there as well as others and see where you are admitted, then you can make a decision. I would pay close attention to each colleges medical school admission rate for undergrad.