<p>My D got all 36s on ACT except in math (33). Same story on SAT (800 CR, 720 M, 790 W). Not good enough for a top 10 engineering program? FYI, 5s on Calc AB and Eng Lit, 4 on Bio. Her uGPA is good but not stellar (3.75), entirely due to some poor grades in 9th grade. 3.95s in both 10th and 11th.</p>
<p>All of her stats are fantastic, really. Good enough for a top 10 engineering program, though you also have to take into account ECs. But SATs and ACTs are not proven to be able to measure college success and high schools differ so widely that it’s hard to say how GPAs compare.</p>
<p>Seems like she’s a hard worker, probably good work ethic, which I think is the best indicator of success. Does she deal well with challenges? Can she think critically and solve abstract problems? Does she like engineering first and foremost?</p>
<p>They’re both unreliable , but I’d say GPA. Class rank is a pretty good one to use.</p>
<p>Good students tend to stay good students, with many exceptions.</p>
<p>Deals well with challenges and definitely a critical thinker. Not sure about how much she loves engineering. She’s never really been eager to get her hands dirty, but she’d sit and watch “How It’s Made” all day if she had the time.</p>
<p>Honestly, having a good work ethic is much more important than “loving” engineering. No one loves to work hard enough to understand the material taught in engineering classes - those that “love” it are almost always poor students who never really worked hard enough to see when the field gets annoying.</p>
<p>We have been looking at correlations between test scores and grades for engineering at IIT recently. There is clearly a threshold for success and being at a 33 is good enough. However, I always look for students who are willing to work hard in classes and have good work habits. There will reach a point (not necessarily in college…) when a really bright student can’t get by on their raw intelligence alone. If they have good work habits and desire, they can get past it. If they don’t, a 36 ACT won’t help them.</p>
<p>Unless a student has role models who are engineers and has seen the inside of this profession, it is really hard to know if engineering is the right road. however, many engineering disciplines have common first year curricula and these are also common to physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science. This means that she can make a choice when she understands the different fields better. Some schools even have a General Engineering major where students can start and then choose where to go later.</p>
<p>USAMO = engineer</p>
<p>Although math may appear to be her “weakest” subject on SAT and ACT, her score there is still quite high, and well above the threshold where one would be concerned about her ability to handle a math-intensive major with respect to the math needed.</p>
<p>Note that some universities (Harvard, UCs) have found that high school grades and AP scores are better predictors of college performance than SAT and ACT scores, although this was not specific to engineering.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the sky is the limit for applying to engineering schools. </p>
<p>Don’t go negative on her. She’s earned a positive attitude from you.</p>
<p>Thank you all. Very helpful.</p>
<p>My S had a higher GPA (3.97ish - unweighted, around 4.3 weighted) - is the 3.75 a weighted or unweighted GPA?, if unweighted, it’s still a very strong GPA. But my S’s test scores were a bit lower ACT 31, SAT - 700M, 640V and our main focus was on top 10 schools. (And he was admitted to more than half of those he applied to.)</p>
<p>There are many STRONG engineering programs she can get into with her stats - Purdue, Georgia Tech, UIUC. Can she get into MIT, Stanford, or Cal Tech? Well my S applied to MIT and got deferred EA, but then rejected during regular admissions, she’s certainly qualified to apply.</p>
<p>But in post #4 you mention “Not sure about how much she loves engineering.” Is it a field she wants to go into? No matter how qualified for it or what her aptitude is, if she isn’t interested in the field that will have a negative impact on her performance.</p>
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<p>I had a couple of classes where I thought doing the problem sets was fun. But only a couple, out of dozens.</p>
<p>As a female, she’ll have a major advantage. The acceptance rate at MIT for example is about three times higher for women than men.</p>
<p>My son had similar test scores in addition to 750 Math II and 5/5 on Calc BC but did not apply to mathy schools such as Caltech, MIT, Harvery Mudd, CMU and Olin. Also stayed away from Princeton, Stanford, Cornell and Berkeley. He will be attending engineering at A&M.</p>
<p>Gpa based on some poor grades in 9th isn’t telling. The details about her rigor would be. Ime, we get plenty of kids who claim to want engineering based on watching Discovery Channel or playing with Legos as a kid. It’s a nice history, but also not telling. We look for some experience with the sorts of challenges and ways of thinking- is your D involved in math-sci activities/competitions in hs? Does she have any relevant outside experiences? Does she even have a family member involved in the field? Anything that says she gets what the problem solving and teamwork is about?</p>
<p>She’s on her school math team, but that’s about it. However, lots of engineers in the family.</p>
<p>I think they are fine stats. Her GPA is very good too. If the AP courses are rigorous (most are I think are), then that is good prep for college level work. </p>
<p>The engineering students that I saw struggle the most were the ones that skated through on brains (not effort) and/or lacked hs rigor.</p>
<p>SAT scores mean nothing as does gpa. I got a 1700 SAT and i rocked a 4.0 in chemical engineering last semester. it really comes down to her math skills and time management more than anything else</p>