<p>I know applying to only one college is always a risky business. But I've never seriously considered attending another school because UIUC is one of the best for electrical engineering and I'm in-state (and not rich). I have a 35 ACT score, 22/485 rank, and 4.0 uw gpa. Since the engineering college is mostly concerned with numbers, I have a good chance. But admissions are never sure thing so I want to know: What are my chances of getting rejected and for what reasons? When would I get the decision if I have everything in by September 10? And should I apply to a less popular major (within the engineering college) and switch to EE later?</p>
<p>it's foolish to apply to only one school, no matter who you are. keep your options open, apply to other schools, no matter how pointless you think it will be. if for some reason you didnt get in you've really screwed yourself if you havn't applied anywhere else. </p>
<p>if you know it's risky i dont see why you're asking. what have you got to lose, the $35 application fee's at other schools? it's your future.</p>
<p>I dunno..his numbers are pretty good. The way I see it, yes apply early as in the first day. Wait for the response in like about 2 weeks and see what happens. Most other schools have a very late admissions deadline so he should be probably know his status by their deadline.</p>
<p>I should've calrified: I meant applying only to UIUC for NOW (as in September and October). Of course if UIUC rejected me or did not make a decision by November, I would immediately begin applying to other schools. I'm not quite as stupid as you think. I figured I could save a lot of time and money ($40-50 application fee + sending scores to several universities gets expensive fast for us not-so-rich folk) if I could get accepted to UIUC and be done with the college applications process fast. This is why I asked specific questions regarding what else might effect my chances and how soon I would get a decision.</p>
<p>your numbers are indeed very solid, but submitting a priority application to UIUC and then waiting to hear back on that one before submitting to other schools means you might not make some of the other priority deadlines. Regardless of your numbers it seems wise to apply to schools when the chance of admission and early notification is highest. i doubt a year from now you'll regret that extra 50-100 bucks you spent to keep your options open during the entire application process, i guess it all depends what price you put on peace of mind.</p>
<p>Your chances of being rejected seem slim, especially if you apply early. In fact, your numbers are so solid that the essays are really all that could stand in your way. I'm confident that somone with a 35 ACT can write a few paragraphs to differentiate themselves from the rest of the applicant pool though.</p>
<p>Forgive me, my intention was not to insult your intelligence. Good luck, i'm sure you'll do fine no matter what you decide.</p>
<p>wow! weird how similar our situations are- im gonna turn in my app asap and hope to get a response soon and forget other apps- I mean what other realistic choices are there for a computer engineer major if ur instate (illinois) and uiuc is one of the best?
(i hav 2200SAT, 4/188 rank)
ive considered trying for mit or carnegie mellon or rice - but that means taking the satII's... hmm
plus are any of those even worth the money over uiuc?</p>
<p>[plus are any of those even worth the money over uiuc?]</p>
<p>MIT's financial aid is need based only, so if you are poor, yes.</p>
<p>I live(d) in Chambana and it was actually cheaper for me to attend either of the two need based schools I applied to than UIUC.</p>
<p>not poor enough to be considered poor but 50k is a big chunk for a fam of 4 with 1 already in college and income of ~110k</p>
<p>Apply early - I did and got into both Engineering and Business schools. I heard from UIUC within 2 weeks of them receiving my app. </p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Your family has an income of 110k and you consider yourself somewhat poor.......I hope I read that wrong...</p>
<p>"Your family has an income of 110k and you consider yourself somewhat poor.......I hope I read that wrong..."</p>
<p>Lol ya, I was thinking the same thing. Even if one kid is in college, you are not poor bro, so dont even try to say that. </p>
<p>Anyways, whoever is the OP, I'm pretty sure (like 98%) that you will get in. You have stellar credentials (though please say you have some kind of ECs and such lol) and UIUC doesnt really start declining till they have filled a big chunk of their quota. </p>
<p>I know some kids from my high school that should not be in engineering and yet they made it into UIUC...you should be fine. But still, try some other schools. They dont have to be top notch. Just get a decent engineering school at the same price as instate UIUC. :)</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack the thread, but this is on a similar topic...</p>
<p>Would getting my app in during september be considered "early" in the application process, or is it the first week or two after apps open?</p>
<p>when i said 4 i meant 4 kids- meaning 6 in family (sry shoulda reread) but mit=50k, u of dayton (sister)= 35k cath high school(sister)=5k cath grade school(bro) 1k all adds up to 90k per year just in tuition now tell me a family of 6 can live on 20k a year...not looking for sympathy jus making things clear- i also didnt say i was poor i jus said we were out of the range to get aid</p>
<p>"i also didnt say i was poor i jus said we were out of the range to get aid"</p>
<p>Umm no. You are a perfect match for financial need. Your family pays 41K in schooling already. Have you submitted your Fafsa yet. Dude if you dont qualify for need-based financial aid at a univeristy, **** THAT UNIVERISTY. There are tons of colleges that will help you out. FInd them.</p>
<p>My suggestion whould be that apply to uiuc early ........ at the same time complete the applications for other universities (by writing their essays and all the other requirements)........ if you dont enter uiuc then u atleast have finished with the applications of the others and just have to send them ......... this will save u a lot of time and tension b4 the deadlines</p>
<p>bja1288, a family with 4 kids and a household income of ~$110k should not be paying $35k for U of Dayton, so I'd imagine that's only because they didn't offer enough financial aid. It would be a reach with your class rank, but if you got accepted to a place like MIT, Caltech, or Stanford, they would most likely offer you significant financial aid in the range of $30k, because having two college kids divides each EFC by 2. As an aside, an income of $110k is indeed "poor" compared to the median ~$200k income at top private schools, so that's why you'd be entitled to financial aid.</p>