Woandering's Wanders through the College Journey

Applying to College Admission Stories
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PUN INTENDED

Anyway, this thread’s purpose will be to document my journey, which I hope will provide help to future applicants. At the same time, I will be asking for help with decision-making and general thoughts when I go up against obstacles. Thanks to all commentors in advance!

I am currently a Junior, from the Class of 2016. My summer schedule is pretty much set: I will be attending a 3 week social studies program at Carleton College. The rest of the time will be spent starting on application essays, preparing for SATII Chemistry, preparing for AP Literature, attempting to skip Japanese 4 into AP Japanese, and finishing all my summer homework. Wish me luck!

Below, I have my current profile as it stands. Feel free to skip this for now. At the end, I also have a current college list, which may change. Thank you in advance for reading and following along. It’s nice to talk to knowledgeable people along such a stressful time.

Current UW GPA: About 3.8
SAT: 2310 (800M 760CR 750W)
SAT Subject: MathIIc: 800. Will be taking Chem.
AP: Macroeconomics (5), Microeconomics (5), Statistics, Physics C Mechanics, Calculus BC, Chinese, English Literature, Chemistry, (hopefully) Japanese.

ECs:
Music Volunteer Club (Founder, President, 4 years)
MUN (2x Secretary, 3 years)
Yearbook (Section Editor, Editor in Chief, 3 years)
Regional Orchestra (4 years)
Economics (Competitive) Team (Founder, President, 2 years)
School Ensemble (3 years, award)
Various other clubs.
Internship at a nonprofit (1 maybe 2 years)
Tennis (4 years)

Summers:
FEE Seminar
HOBY Seminar
Tour with Regional Orchestra
Internship at a Financial Corporation
SQRI at Carleton

Current College List:
Claremont McKenna College (1st Choice)
Harvard University
Stanford University
Cornell University (CALS Dyson School AEM Major)
Duke University (need to check some rumors first)

Bucknell University
Colgate University
University of Rochester

Various International Universities, which I won’t mention much here because most of you are Americans.

Let me know what you think of my plans. Thank you all.

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You don’t have any safety on your list - are you applying to your state’s honors college (or another state’s?)
What’s your budget? Have you talked with your parents and run a few NPCs to make sure you can afford the cost of attendance?
Are you an American citizen or international?
Good luck to you, I look forward to reading this thread!

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UPDATE:
I recently discovered the “Industrial Engineering” major. I am now revising my list to include some schools with that major. My first choice remains Claremont McKenna, though, despite not having that major. I am still happy to get an Econ and CS double major at a top school. I am doing more research into the Industrial Engineering major and the financial industry and its careers.

New College list:
CMC
Cornell
Northwestern
MIT or Harvard
Stanford

U of Virginia
Emory U
Colgate U
Bucknell U

U of Rochester

Finally, I am unlikely to take AP Japanese next year due to scheduling conflicts. I will take Japanese 4 Honors instead.

@MYOS1634 My counselor and I consider U of R a safety, for now. I will definitely apply PR, so I have some time to work out another safety if need be. The problem is, I cannot find another safety that I am definitely happy to go to. If you crossed out every college from my list except U of R, I would happily attend. I don’t feel the same way about any other school yet. I am doing some more college research this summer now that I have time.

My parents assure me they can pay full price for any college, including, more specifically, Harvard and Claremont McKenna. Truthfully, I am more worried than my parents about price, not because we may not be able to afford the tuition (we definitely can), but because I would prefer not to pay 60,000+ for a school that may be academically inferior to some international schools that are much cheaper, even including price of travel. They would prefer I stay in the US, but if I am rejected from my reach school and instead get into a good school in the UK, I think I might choose the UK school.

I am currently an international. We are doing our best to get a green card; the process is underway. Unfortunately, it takes a while. I may or may not apply as a resident depending on that outcome.

Thank you for reading, and as always, I would appreciate any advice.

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Supposedly, Georgia Tech has an amazing Industrial Engineering program (many say it’s the best), so perhaps you might want to look into that…

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Yes, GTech’s Industrial Engineering program is supposed to be the best in the country. However, you need to apply in October (I think before Oct.15) to have any shot at a merit scholarship.

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@MegaBeaker @MYOS1634 For GTech, do you apply directly to the program (meaning a different acceptance rate from overall) or just to the university (the same 41.1% acceptance rate)?

Thanks for the tip, and I’ll definitely look into it. What turned me off originally was the huge male to female ratio.

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Applicants to Georgia Tech apply to the school as a whole, not to a specific major per se. Also, the admission rate this past year was 31% (not 41.1%), with women representing 40% of the admitted students. Your best bet is to apply early action, both because the admission rate is a bit less competitive and also so you can be considered for merit aid and the honors program.

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@MegaBeaker I will definitely be applying early action, to both make life easier and for the merit aid.

The US News really needs to update their info faster. I knew they were off, but I didn’t imagine they would ever be off by about 10%.

Would you consider GTech a safety for me, if I make sure to apply early, so that I can choose another safety if I am rejected or deferred early?

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No, it can’t be a safety. You should consider any college below 40% admissions a safety, with 30-40% being matches for you. 31% is close to making is an automatic reach no matter your stats. So, for you, GTech would merely be a match, at best (ie., if you apply EA).

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Wow. I see a lot of me in you. Claremont McKenna was my first choice as well and I moved from the field of Economics to the field of Industrial Engineering.

Check this out: http://catalog.claremontmckenna.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=3&poid=227

You should consider applying to UMichigan. Their FA is improving and their industrial engineering program is one of the best in the nation.

I applied to similar colleges to you and I have some suggestions. Check out Princeton (you might as well apply there if you’re applying to Stanford and Harvard), Northwestern, and Pomona (if you want FA).

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.

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@Hawkace Wow, what a coincidence.

I found out about Industrial Engineering through Princeton’s ORFE, but their grade deflation turned me off. I also have some minor criteria, and Princeton just wasn’t as good as my other choices. My guidance counselor won’t let me apply to Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton, so I chose Harvard and Stanford over Princeton.

Northwestern is currently on my list, and I love it. I am reluctant to have Pomona because 1) I have too many reaches to choose from 2) I don’t want to be next to CMC for 4 years, knowing I couldn’t get in. Not exactly admirable reasons, but keeping a shortlist of reaches is already hard enough.

I’ll definitely check out U Michigan. What worries me at large universities is that the community is too big. Some on my list, like UVa and Northwestern, have residential colleges that I will definitely be signing up for. They allow me to live with a small community with the ability to broaden out if I needed to (reminiscent of CMC). I’m slightly introverted, and it is something I want to change. I think starting in a small community would be best.

I’ll do some more research into the possibilities at U Michigan, though. Do you think it would be a match for me? (I also have quite a few matches, so I will need to take something off in order to put UMichigan on).

Are you looking to go into Investment Banking, and is that why you chose Industrial Engineering? (And actually, do you mind if I ask where you are going to college?) I’m now considering consulting because the lifestyle and work seems to suite me a bit more. Therefore, industrial engineering isn’t as important to me as it was, but it’s a program I would enjoy, so I’m still considering Industrial Engineering majors and schools.

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I see a bit of myself in you…I always worried about cost more than my parents did, despite turning down scholarship and grant offers from other schools to attend UNCW.

May I suggest Clemson University as another safety? Great engineering school and are renowned nationwide.

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@LBad96 Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve had a look at it, and while I like it so far, it doesn’t stand out as something I want to put on my list right away because it fulfills only some of my criteria.

Could you, and anyone else here, please suggest some safety schools that have rolling admissions, either industrial engineering or very good economics, and is fairly well known.

EDIT: I am currently looking at Penn State – top ranked Industrial Engineering program, rolling admissions, just need to check it out a bit more now.

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So I just learned about “priority deadline” which most top rolling admissions colleges have. For anyone who doesn’t know, this basically means there is a normal admissions deadline, with results in Jan/Feb, but after the priority deadline, there is rolling admissions.

I’m not sure I want to apply to another safety early on. I will be doing some more research, but I may fall back on my original plan to apply to U of R in Priority Review, then apply to a more definite safety if that is rejected or deferred.

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I’m actually interested in consulting with an Industrial Engineering degree, and I’m going to UMichigan which is 2nd in the nation for that field. Michigan has a lot of learning communities, plus the Engineering community is often rivaled with the Ivies, which says something about the caliber of UMichigan.

I know what you mean by Pomona. I only applied there because I wanted another chance at the Claremont Consortium, but I have no idea how I was rejected by CMC with a 35 ACT, 3.85 UW GPA, and stellar leadership positions. It’s just one of those things that I still ponder over, but I love where I’m going next year.

Also, investment banking and industrial engineering are two different fields. Industrial Engineering is primarily used to increase the efficiency of systems and is a “big picture” job. Investment Banking is used to create new capital (according to Google) and is more of a detailed job. I always like to dream big and have big ideas whenever I have projects, so Industrial Engineering suited me a lot more. I think that you should do a little more research on what you want to do and who you are as a person. I first went into the college admissions process wanting to do mechanical engineering, but I knew that I can never get my hands dirty or have the same passion as other mechanical engineers, so I switched the summer before I start college (which is now).

As for your current college list, Emory is the only one that stands out, because it’s primarily a business school. I didn’t apply there because it didn’t have engineering at all.

Good luck! And again feel free to ask me questions!

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@Hawkace Actually I’m interested in consulting too. Originally I wanted to do investment banking because of all the glamour, but then I did some more research.

Industrial engineering typically involves a lot of math and some financial engineering, which was why I thought it would be good for IB. You’re also right though, since as a whole industrial engineering almost fits the job description of consulting.

I’m also having doubts about Emory. I’m fine with a business degree if I can also learn some computer science. I’ll need to look into it more.

The more we converse, the more alike we seem to be. Pretty big coincidence

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@Woandering Haha. It’s weird like that. Also, do some research on where you want to study. Bucknell and University of Rochester seems different than the other colleges that you put down. Of the schools that I wished applied to, Duke and Colgate were on there, so definitely check them out.

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@Hawkace How is Bucknell different? I realize U of R might be, but I like it in its unique way.

I’m removing Duke because 1) to make room for Northwestern, which I like more and 2) my GC said only athletes from our school have been accepted, so it’s incredibly hard for us.

Colgate’s staying though.

Thanks for all your advice so far, and keep them coming :slight_smile:

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Bucknell is different because it’s in the middle of nowhere. The academics are great there though.

I had the same situation. A couple of my classmates were recruited to Duke, and I thought that I had no shot. Two other people who were not recruited got in, and I kinda regret not applying because I knew that I could get in. Follow your heart, not the world around you. Why not apply to Northwestern and Duke?

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@Hawkace Too many reaches, too many essays/applications, and I don’t want to piss off my GC. I will probably be butting heads with her a bit, so I’ll give where I can. In any case, I do like Northwestern and my other reaches more than Duke, so I am satisfied.