Chance/Match current senior for Fall 2025 - GA resident, 4.0UW, 1240 SAT, Engineering, Southeast schools

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
Male, US citizen, GA resident, Good Private School

Cost Constraints / Budget
No budget constraints

Intended Major(s)
Engineering - considering industrial, mechanical, undecided? w/ minor in business

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
4.0 UW (out of 4.0)
4.3 W (out of 5.0; +1 for AP, +.05 for Honors)
School doesn’t rank
SAT 1240 (math 610)
ACT 26 (math 28)

List your HS coursework
9th: 1 AP, 1 Honors
10th: 1 AP, 1 Honors
11th: 2 AP, 1 Honors
12th (currently enrolled): 3 AP
Highest math - He’s currently enrolled in AP Calc AB; On level science courses including physics
School offered one engineering course, which he took junior year.

Awards
No academic awards currently.

Extracurriculars
Model UN junior and senior years
Varsity sports all 4 years, 2 per year
Several social clubs
Volunteers once per month at local church and occasionally at school functions when he’s available.
Works a part time job for 2 years so far

Schools
Auburn - EA
Clemson - EA
University of Tennessee Knoxville - EA
University of Kentucky - EA
University of South Carolina - EA

He has only visited a few schools on the list. Loved the size and feel of Auburn and Clemson. Wants to stay in the SE region: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky. No idea of chances since some of these schools have gotten more popular in the last 2 years.
*Edited to add - He will graduate May 2025 and applying for Fall 2025 start.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely: Georgia Southern (?EA - think it’s rolling)
  • Likely:
  • Toss-up:
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability: University of Florida, Florida State
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Are you planning on applying now and taking a gap year?

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Already applied for Fall 2025

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I changed the title to reflect 2025 hs graduation.

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Below are my guesses as to your son’s chances to the schools on this list. This is for general admissions. If the schools have separate admission standards for engineering, then these guesses are likely off (engineering tends to be one of the more competitive majors/colleges for admission).

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • U. of Kentucky

Likely (60-79%)

  • U. of South Carolina

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Auburn

  • Clemson

  • U. of Tennessee – Knoxville

Lower Probability (20-39%)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Florida State

  • U. of Florida

A few schools that I didn’t see mentioned that your son may want to consider include:

  • Mississippi State: I’ve heard that many people who like Auburn also end up liking this school. I’d consider this a likely admit.

  • U. of Alabama: I’d call this one a likely admit, and it’s a surprising omission considering the rest of the list

  • U. of Louisville (KY): I’d call this one an extremely likely admit. I’ve heard excellent things about its engineering school (Speed). It’s very hands-on focused and was modeled after Cal Poly.

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Thank you so much! We also think Auburn, Clemson and Univ. of Tennessee are toss-ups. We’ve watched admissions change there so much in the past few years. He visited U. of Alabama and said it wasn’t for him. I’ll have him look at Mississippi State and U of Louisville.

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Would West Virginia University be a possibility?

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How come FSU is super low? I think just GPA wise FSU is a great safety for this child? Is there another reason?

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For the FSU class for fall of 2023, it was a 25% admit rate with the 50th percentile at a 1310 SAT. OP’s son has a 1240 which was the 25th percentile for that entering class (source). Since it’s a Florida public school, one might assume that the university might prefer its out-of-state students to have a higher test score than its in-state students.

But then we look at what it was for the most recent incoming class, Fall of 2024. College Navigator doesn’t have this data set yet, but per FSU (source), the 25th percentile this past year for fall entry was 1360. For students accepted in the summer, the 25th percentile was 1280. Although I haven’t seen what the acceptance rate was for fall 2024, I can’t help but suspect that it’s lower than it was for fall 2023.

So yes, OP’s son has a great GPA, but FSU is not test optional. And since OP’s son’s test score is below the 25th percentile, his odds would be lower than the odds for admission to the university generally speaking, hence why I placed it in the low probability category, which is also where OP classified it.

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I see, I guess I’m a little rose-tinted because FSU is considered a safety for us Floridians.

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Have you spoken to the college counselor at your private school? They really should be able to give you a pretty good idea of where your student stands.

I am also in Georgia and my kids attended private school. My children have friends with similar academic profiles to your son who are currently engineering students at UTK, Kentucky and and U of SC. Your son’s test scores are on the low end for Auburn and Clemson. The test scores for the engineering schools at both of these tend to be higher than those for the university as a whole. I agree with @AustenNut that those schools are toss ups.

If your son is looking to stay in state, maybe consider Kennesaw State as a safety. If he is ok with a smaller private school, Mercer is about 5000 undergrads and is ABET accredited in engineering. It would probably be a safety or low match for your student. I would also throw in an application to UGA as a reach.

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I don’t think any school with an admit average of 1390 on the SAT is a safety for anyone.

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Yes, he’s spoken with his college counselor and she says similar to what has been shared here. She said Clemson is a reach, and put Auburn and UTK as both possible, but toss ups. I’m not sure why he picked the two Florida schools. He knows they’re both big reaches!

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Just speaking from testimony from current Florida + Florida State students, it’s a great place to go to college! Lots of fun, great campuses (especially FSU), and beach trips nearly weekly.

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I think you only get in Kentucky as assured.

If you like Auburn, add Mississippi State. A bit out if your range geographically but a similar feel and strong program.

Edit I see @AustenNut already recommended.

Oh and this thread popped up. Didn’t realize a month old.

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Note that FSU shares its engineering division with FAMU. This can present an arbitrage opportunity for both admission and scholarships, if the applicant is admitted to one but not the other, or receives a better net price after scholarships at one versus the other.

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Well, skip the drive and just live at the beach! Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech aren’t huge but aren’t tiny either. And they are at the beach. Both have lots of activities for engineers like jet car, concrete canoe, building moon vehicles. Not big time sports but they do have D2 sports and lots of club sports. I just got an email this week about the ice hockey club team that plays against club teams from several D1 schools like UF and FSU.

Another option for engineering at FSU is to go to Florida A&M. They share the engineering classes with FSU, give a lot of scholarships, and students can do activities at both schools.

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