Hello, I’m going to be a senior this upcoming year. I’m beginning to become increasingly worried about college admissions so I was hoping for some help. Basically, I was wondering what schools would I likely get accepted to for aerospace or mechanical engineering. It’s competitive, I know, so I’ve been starting to worry.
SAT: 1st time 2060 (650 R + 740 M + 670 W) and 2nd time 2020 (590 R + 720 M + 710 W) so superscore 2100
SAT II: 720 on Bio E and 780 on Math II
ACT: 34 (33 E + 33 M + 32 R + 36 S and 11 on the Essay)
10-12 GPA: 3.79/4.21
Rank: 26/560
AP’s: World (4), Calc AB (5), USH (5), Lang (4), Bio (4)
Comp Sci, Calc BC, Gov/Econ, Lit, Physics C: Mech next year
Extra-Curriculars: I’ve been playing trumpet in band since 4th grade. I’ve also been working on fixing a car and have built some computers. I’ve tried volunteer work but I didn’t really enjoy it. I think I need the most work here.
Basically, I’m wondering what are the best colleges for aerospace or mechanical engineering that I have a good shot of getting into. It would be nice if this college had a good study abroad program (love travelling) and good internship opportunities so I can make connections for future jobs. It would also be nice if they had a decent music program, but that is not at all a necessity. I’m in California, but I would be willing to go most anywhere in the US, though it is much cheaper at home. I could probably afford up to 20,000, but I believe I qualify for a few financial aid programs. Any places where I could end up? Could I make it to UC San Diego, CSU Long Beach, Cal Poly SLO, or San Jose State? And how likely would a place like UCLA or even a Berkeley or USC accept me? And would any merit scholarships help for OOS options (I think UA Huntsville, and Oklahoma seems to have a decent affordable program too).
CSULB and SJSU would be good safety schools. Is 4.21 your UC GPA? If so, you have a good chance at UCSD/SLO/UCLA/USC and even UCB. You could be eligible for Regents at the UC’s, so the award could be anywhere from $2500 to $10,000.
Cannot give you an recommendations for OOS other than University of Alabama where you would get great merit aid.
How can you help but worry when there is so much at stake? With your top 1% 34 ACT, top 5% of your class, and 720/780 SAT IIs, plus your excellent APs and rigourous courses, you are certainly competitive for all of the UCs; even for impacted engineering. Those scores make you competitive to apply anywhere in the country. Your essays and ECs will then be important. Don’t sell yourself short; it strikes fear into the other 99% who do NOT have the 34 ACT, etc.
Congratulations on your strong academics and good luck wherever your future leads you!
Thanks for the help guys. I was just worried that my stats may have disadvantaged me for aero/mech engineering. How important are extra-curriculars? Many say that they aren’t as important as academics, save for the top schools, but I still see many others say that they are just as important, if not more. I feel like I am lacking in this area.
Is it worth taking the ACT again to try for a 35 or even a 36? Do schools “super-score” the ACT?
Again, thanks for helping. I was worried, but I feel a bit more confident now.
No, it is not worth re-taking the ACT to try for a 35 or 36. The 99th percentile starts at 33 http://www.actstudent.org/scores/norms1.html There are a few very specific cases - like trying to get into Vanderbilt, or to an eight-year medical education program - where a 35 or 36 could make a difference, but not for what you’re interested in.
I don’t have hard data to cite, but it’s my impression that superscoring that ACT is less common that superscoring the SAT. But it doesn’t matter; your 34 is great.
The time you would have spent in test prep would be better spent in researching schools and writing essays.
@jackrabbit14 Good question! I don’t recall this from my daughter’s info session, but I’ve heard a number of reports that school representatives have encouraged applicants to keep testing and retesting to get already extremely high scores even higher. I’ve never heard that about any other school.
It’s not worth trying to get the ACT up. Most schools do NOT superscore it. You already know about some of the good safety options with scholarships (OU, UAH, UA), and with your stats you’re assured of at least one UC.
I’ve been forced to drop AP Physics C due to scheduling conflicts, so will this affect my college admissions at all? I don’t think it will, but one school required a physics course in high school to be accepted for engineering. I’m still in regular physics at least and I think I’m going to self study AP Physics. Do colleges need to know that I am studying it myself? How could I tell them?