Average Asian hopefully does well? [NC resident, 4.0 GPA, top 10% rank, 1550 SAT, mechanical or aerospace engineering]

Chance Me / Match Me
41

I can prob do 60k per year max,

42

MIT, Duke, UCB, Cornell, and UMich will probably all be unaffordable unless you get NROTC or the NPC comes back with an affordable price.

Georgia Tech and Purdue should still be within budget, and UT would probably be at the very tippy top of the budget.

Please make sure to discuss the budget with your family to confirm that they are willing and able to do $60k, excluding any loans.

Below are some other schools that you might want to consider, sorted by my guesses as to what your chances for admission might be. They are all very strong in your areas of interest.

Extremey Likely (80-99+%)

  • U. at Buffalo (NY)
  • U. of Alabama - Huntsville

Likely (60-79%)

  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY)
  • U. of Central Florida
  • Worcester Polytechnic (MA)

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • U. of Maryland

Lower Probability (20-39%)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

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43

I think if I got into any of the top reaches I would just take out loans if I needed to, but I appreciate these suggestions. Helps me ground myself for my chances

44

I would suggest you continue only activities that you like. Soā€¦if X country is something you likeā€¦do that and ditch the other two.

Donā€™t start something new NOW (like tutoring). Please choose the handful of activities you truly like and do well enough from the ones you already haveā€¦and do those.

Trying to pad your resume for college adcoms is folly.

@AustenNut has provided you with some additional good options.

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45

Federal loans are limited to $5500 your first year, $6500 your second year, and $7500 for years three and four. Most people consider it inadvisable to take out more in loans than this, barring very particular circumstances.

For MIT/Duke/Cornell, you might be gapped $30-40k/year between the budget and the cost of the school. If presented with the choice of coming out of college with $120-160k+ in debt vs. coming out debt-free from NC State, Purdue, or Georgia Tech for mech/aero engineering, Iā€™d venture to say that most would consider it to be a no-brainer to choose one of the excellent public colleges that is within budget (and NC State should be a highly likely admit for you).

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46

Yea NC state is always a great backup, but if I got into MIT I think i would have to find a way to make it work

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47

so should i just remove tutoring, i feel like that would fit better than some of my other ECs

48

St. Louis University.

As others have noted, you need to talk to your parents about budget. You are asking your parents to pay 1/3 or more of their income a year for your college. Do not assume. You need to fall in love with at least one school with 70% or more acceptance rate that you can afford.

49

would auburn be a surefire safety for me?

50

If you are already tutoring and you enjoy it, continue it.

I wouldnā€™t ADD it if you arenā€™t already doing it.

@blossom

51

If you really want to major in Aerospace Eng, you should focus on Aero Eng ABET accredited schools (less than 100) which also offering merit, such as ASU, Arizona, Alabamaā€¦ FYI S24 had worse stats than you, he got $14.5K/year merit offer from Ohio State for Pre-Aerospace Eng major. Total COA came down to about $45K per year, well within your budget. No point to get into over $100K debt when companies only care about ABET accreditation. Good Luck.

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52

i think for me worse case scenrio I would go to NC state

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53

Not all schools have a NROTC detachment.

ROTC students on scholarship are expected to lead. It can be time consuming.

ROTC scholarship decisions are typically late so they wonā€™t have any impact on admissions.

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54

I think most of the colleges I want have NROTC but I wouldnt mind doing ROTC either

55

You should read the applying sideways blog on the MIT admissions web site. As I understand it, it recommends that you do what is right for you; whatever you do, do it well; and treat people well (or at least fairly). Be yourself. Be genuine. This is pretty much what my family has done, and it has worked at other very good universities as well (not just MIT). However, what each of us did was very different ā€“ we each just did what was right for us.

This does sound like what you are already doing. You have some unique ECs, which to me sounds like the right thing to do.

56

A bit of a confusing thread - yes you need a non ROTC option you can afford.

If youā€™re ā€™averageā€™ with what you listed, the rest of us are abject failures.

UNC doesnā€™t have your major - so why is it on your list ?

NC State and Purdue are both likely or likely NC State and low target Purdue.

If you are NMSF, given I donā€™t understand your finances - you might look at full ride Tulsa and if NMF, Alabama and some others depending on your actual budget once you figure it out.

Good luck.

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57

Try to mention this (and your commute if itā€™s long) somewhere on your application

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58

I think UNC would be worse since they donā€™t even have your major.

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59

Thanks for the blog, itā€™s really helpful

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60

I would do math at UNC and get graduate degree engineering cuz it would be cheaper