boundpetro

This is my very first post on CC. Thanks for welcoming

My school doesn't officially rank, but I figured that right now, grade-wise, I am somewhere in the bottom third ...in my Freshman year I got a low 3.07 GPA.

This year I am motivated to do better in school.

My goal, by the time I apply to colleges, is to become a competitive applicant for the top ENG schools that (preferably) have Petroleum Engineering major. I'd like to get accepted to ENG programs at schools like University of Texas, Texas A&M, .., and my state UIUC.

I have a general idea to work on EC's in the area of intended study, to take AP classes, and to study for SAT/ACT. (My practice SAT score on dry was 1500 in 10th grade, Math portion 640)

Now, however, I learned that my GPA must be 4.0, and "class rank" - TOP 2-10%... but even if I make 4.0 my Sophomore and Junior years, the cumulative GPA would still be ~3.7. I researched that the top school's ENG programs want GPA 4.0, or 3.9 the worst.

So my question to CC, what else should I do now - I still have two years ahead of me! - to strengthen my chances of reaching my goal? Is it possible *at all* to get accepted to my dream schools with such a low GPA (3.7)?

PoppinBottlesMGT

Seems like as a sophomore you should still have plenty of time, especially with a >B average in your freshman but I haven't gone through any sort of application/admission process, so I can't help.

I will say that if you don't get into a university right out of HS, which again I suspect won't be a big deal if you really want to, the community college transfer route is always an option. It's what I'm doing anyway.

Also, and maybe I'm projecting, but don't get too locked into the idea of a major so early. Especially since most people interested in Pet seem to be drawn mostly to the starting salary (and a lot of people speculate that it won't necessarily be there by the time we graduate). There are a lot of interesting options out there that can satisfy a lot of interests and desired lifestyles, in and out of engineering, and if you are anything like a lot of people, you might spend the next 6 years kaleidoscopicing through them.

But I am barely a freshman at community college, so I don't know much.

Good luck.

Magnetron

I know a kid, now a ChemE, who was fairly average in HS but buckled down at a community college, got a 4.0, then transferred to Cornell where he also got a 4.0. Your fair to middling results frosh year do not make it too late to graduate from a great school.

You have to be a little flexible with the path you take. Do your best this year and next, study for the SAT, and get back to us the beginning of senior year. A lot will change between now and then.