ptsunami2911

Hello all . I would like to know how much score to expect in the SAT for a good institute like MIT or Stanford or UCB. I am one of the top students in my class(I am an international student , btw) and am very much into debating , singing and MUN's . I am good in science and maths and have good english skills.I am going to take the SAT but from the practice test , have a score of around 2250(without any practice).What are my chances?

On a side note , what are the best universities to aim for chemical engineering?

Zonlicht

I assume you are Indian.

SAT alone won't get you into Stanford, MIT, or UCB. A very strong 2300+ SAT makes you a competitive international applicant. You need solid extracurricular for Stanford and MIT, but less so for UCB.

Best Chemical Engineering Programs | Top Engineering Schools | US News Best Graduate Schools

ptsunami2911

Yeah , I am Indian. As for my extracurricular , I play tennis , soccer , I sing , debate , go to Model United Nations , have won an international award in scrabble and was the captain of school cricket team. I do not intend to do more unless I find an option that is quite nice to pursue.Are these enough or should I hope for a slightly lower institute?I would not like to do more than I am doing now.

UCBChemEGrad

Undergrad list...though not too different from grad list posted previously:
Chemical | Rankings | US News

Others I would add in addition to those listed:

Michigan - Ann Arbor
Cornell
Rice
Texas A&M
UC Santa Barbara (can be added easily if applying to Berkeley)

mom2collegekids

With high stats, high GPA, and as a full-pay student, your chances for admittance into a top UC would be good. The UCs want more full pay students.

How much will your parents pay each year?

For ChemE, also consider UMinn.

However, if you need financial aid, then none of the recommended public univ will work. They don't give aid to int'ls.

ptsunami2911

I think my stats and extra curricular should be good enough.

For SAT prep , I have a few books from TPR(SAT and subject SATs ) and am working through collegeboard online course. Is that enough?

The colleges I thinking of are UCB , Texas A&M(one of my friends told me its good for chemE) , MIT(cant help it , its just got a huuuuuuge reputation) , Stanford(ditto) , Michigan Ann Arbor and Princeton(subject to change).I am also searching for a few safety colleges , just in case I dont make the cut here and a few suggestions there would be nice.

But then , I will have to consider other factors , like the fact that I am a vegetarian and not toooooo cold climate . Financial aid is not a problem for me.

UCBChemEGrad

UCSB and Texas A&M can be good backups if competitive for admission to schools like Stanford, Princeton and MIT.

mom2collegekids

Being a vegetarian shouldn't be much of an issue. I think half the females on any campus are vegetarians, plus a number of males.

The "not too cold climate" will be an issue at many of the "top schools". Many of these schools are in very cold regions with low temp winters. What is your cold tolerance? Are you looking for a school that might only have a couple of snow days, and mostly sunny skies and usually just the need for a light jacket in the winter? Are you wanting to avoid the schools that would require heavy coats, scarves, gloves, hats, and other outerwear for low temps?

ptsunami2911

UCBChemEGrad .... thanks for the feedback ... and yeah , I think I am competent enough for those but it depends on how well I do on the october SAT ( expecting 2250+ ).

mom2collegekids ... I would like pleasant to hot climate preferrably .... if the winters are not longer than 3 - 4 months , I am fine ... but yearlong cold weather would be a bit of a question ... also , min temperature should preferrably not be below 2 - 3 degrees celsius.

I live in the arabian peninsula(Qatar) where average temp in summer is around 45 - 50 degrees celsius . The winter is short but may go down to low temperatures like 5 - 6 degrees celsius. So you can see where I am coming from.

ucbalumnus

Consider University of Minnesota Twin Cities if you can stand the weather (but you have Michigan, Princeton, and MIT on your list). It is generally considered very good for chemical engineering, but is somewhat less difficult to get into and significantly less expensive than some of your other choices.

North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech may also be worth a look if you want to add more less selective and less expensive schools to your list.

ptsunami2911

I forgot to mention ... I visited San Francisco , NYC , Chicago , Orlando , A small town in New Jersey , Baltimore ,Philadelphia, Washington DC around august last year and I only found San Francisco really cold(the ocean) as well as the Niagara regions.

Might this be a consideration?

rjkofnovi

Summer and winter are like day and night in the midwest and northeast. If you thought San Francisco was "really cold" in August and didn't care for it, then you better think long and hard about attending school in either of the two regions mentioned above. Winters are much colder in those parts of the country than anything you could have experienced in August during your visit to California.

ptsunami2911

Oh ... I felt San Francisco cold because of the wind .... I think I forgot to mention that.Chicago was also windy , but not cold wind like Frisco . The wind was like one second not there and then the next second all in my face. But if the climate is like this in the above regions ..... I must think again.

rjkofnovi

"I think I forgot to mention that.Chicago was also windy , but not cold wind like Frisco."

Now try to imagine that same wind in -10 degree C weather, or worse. That's Chicago in the winter. It is even colder in Minnesota in winter than Chicago. The northeast is a bit milder, but not that much milder that you won't feel the cold.

ptsunami2911

Point taken .... I wont be imagining that for a while to come yet .... so then how about a university in Texas?