Chance me! but also unsure about where to REA/ED [Electrical or Biomedical Engineering, Applied Math, 3.97 UW GPA, 1570 SAT, MD resident]

Chance Me / Match Me
, , , ,
1

:double_exclamation_mark: unsure about REA Yale and EDII JHU or just EDI JHU :frowning: :double_exclamation_mark:

-I’m worried that if I don’t get in EDII JHU, then I won’t get into any of the schools that I’d like to go to, but I’d pick Yale over JHU if I got in, but I doubt that would happen

Guidelines

  • Please check back to answer questions.
  • Please do not share identifying information.
  • Please do not include your race.

Demographics

  • US domestic: US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Maryland
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): big public high school, but in a small rigorous STEM program within it
  • Other special factors: N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
N/A

Intended Major(s)

Electrical Engineering / Applied Math / Biomedical Engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.97
  • Weighted HS GPA: out of 5, 4.92
  • Class Rank: N/A
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1570 SAT

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: honors 9, 10; AP Lang; AP Lit
  • Math: magnet precalc, magnet analysis, applied stat, multivar & diffeq, logic math (took ap stat test & calc bc)
  • Science: magnet physics, magnet chemistry, magnet earth and space systems, intro to physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, quantum physics, cellular physiology, intro to genetics, magnet biology, ap e&m, ap psychology, magnet computer science, algorithm data, analysis of algorithms, modeling simulation, neuroscience, digital electronics, intro to ai
  • History and social studies: ap us history, ap us gov, ap world history
  • Language other than English: hon spanish 3, hon spanish 4
  • Visual or performing arts: ceramics
  • Other academic courses:

Awards

-AIME qualifier (top 5% on amc 12), MPFG qualifier (top 250 female amc scorers)

-BBO gold certificate (top 5% globally)
-2x schoolastic writing honorable mention (top 10% regional entries)

-1st place HOSA states, top 30 internationally; respiratory therapy

-2nd place states, national qualifier FBLA; banking & financial systems

Extracurriculars
-mathnasium instructor (10, 11, 12)
-FBLA school chapter vp
-Math Team co-leader (raised 13k from sponsors to host annual math comp) (11, 12)
-unpaid research internship about genomic data science (11, 12)

-HOSA vp

-school news paper writer

-varisty golf, captain

-2 club founders (just like fun hobby stuff tho)

Essays/LORs/Other
-main essay about community fostering / overall kindness type of vibe

-pretty good recc letters from ap lang & applied stat teacher

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): UMD, Penn State
  • Extremely Likely: UVA, UWash
  • Likely: Georgia Tech, Purdue, UMich, USC, JHU (ED), UIUC
  • Toss-up: Rice, Cornell, CMU
  • Lower Probability: Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, UPenn, Yale
  • Low Probability: Princeton, Stanford, MIT
  • -apply to all the ones that offer EA as EA
2

I wouldn’t apply ED anywhere with your stats. If Yale is your top choice, then apply REA there. Yale, Stanford, & MIT will request that you self-report all AP scores. What are your AP scores if you don’t mind sharing them?

What are your SAT section scores?

This will matter. I don’t believe your application would get screened out during a first reading at any of the 20 schools you are targeting.

3

800 math, 770 reading

my ap scores aren’t the best :sweat_smile:
stat 5
calc bc 5
world 5
chem 4
csa 4
lang 5
psych 5
gov 5
apush 4
bio 5

all of the science ones were partially self-studied because our courses don’t really align with AP, but generally everyone in my program gets 5’s anyway

4

You are a strong candidate, but I think many of your assessments are too optimistic. Could you get in to JHU or Michigan or UVA? Yes. Are they likelies as I would define them? No. Any time the acceptance rate is below ~20%, you should probably consider the school to be a reach. Note, too, that if you’re talking about University of Washington, Seattle, and you’re applying for engineering, the out of state acceptance rate is in the low single digits. Your odds there are much better if you’re applying for applied math.

6 Likes
5

You shouldn’t apply to JHU ED1 if you want to go to Yale. Why would that make sense? It wouldn’t.

If you don’t get into Yale REA and JHU ED2, oh well. Their loss.

There’s a ton of schools that would want you.

So you have no cost concerns - i.e. your family can pay $100K a year (or you qualify for need aid)?

Why do you say UMD and Penn State are assured? Have you already gotten in? No. Is there something that assures them? Not that I’m aware of.

Let’s make them extremely likely.

U Wash is LIkely. It’s hard to call UVA likely.

Your likelies are at best targets - but I’ll call Purdue and UIUC likely.

You have a great record. You’ll get into great schools but you are picking very tough majors job and income wise (if you go biological).

At some, like Purdue, as an example, they have first year engineering so there’s no assurance you’ll get your choice of major.

I’d feel good if I was you - but if Yale was my #1 and Johns Hopkins was my #2, then I’d go REA and ED2 if needed.

There’s no point in EDing anotoher school and getting in and it’s not your top.

Don’t assume ED gives a lift. When you see the #s, they include athletes, Questbridget and more.

Engineering is not rank sensitive anyway, and your list is loaded with good names and you’ll have some choices.

Good luck.

2 Likes
6

U Wash is 37%. OP is likely.

You are thinking of computer science/engineering but not EE or BIomedical. They have a BSEE and BS in bio engineering, unless I’m misreading. They have ECE too but I’m assuming the EE is part of the 37% although OP can call and ask.

btw - UW is highly unlikely to use your SAT. They only use in borderline cases.

First-year students by the numbers – Office of Admissions

4 Likes
7

we have a history of like a 95% acceptance to umd so i just assumed but ye you’re right

my family can pay 100k a year

2 Likes
8

These are great scores: a maximum 800 on SAT math & 770 on reading/writing with 800 within SEM range (statistically, it could have been an 800 on the perfect testing day).

Your AP scores are a good mix of excellent & very good. You don’t need all AP scores of “5” to get admitted, including Yale. AP Physics C is a good science subject to take - you’ll likely score a “4” or “5” on this exam next May.

You may want to drop some of these from your list (not Johns Hopkins which should be classified as a “reach”) but ones like USC, UMich, UIUC, UWash, & Purdue.

1 Like
9

Yale is the same level of difficulty as mit, princeton. At northwestern, you are late if you are not early.

1 Like
10

Let me ask you this - would you still want Yale or JHU vs. UMD with the Banneker Key ?

“The full Banneker/Key provides full tuition, room, board, and a book allowance.”

11

I guess the question is - would you go to these over UMD or PSU (PSU is super strong in engineering). If the answer is yes, you might cut some. If not, maybe not.

Seems like OP is looking at larger schools - but wondering if he checked out #1 (for non PhD) Rose Hulman - as a safety. It has both majors and it would give you an intense engineering focus and they have strong career outcomes.

It is much smaller - but near singularly focused.

2 Likes
12

That’s a good option for peelyorange to consider.

I would also take a look at Caltech as a potential additional “reach”.

1 Like
13

hmm i think so but i’d have to consider it

14

wait why umich, uiuc, & purdue? i thought they were really good at engineering

1 Like
15

I agree with you that they are but as an OOS applicant, many of these schools are also “reaches” even though they are also public state schools like U.Md & U.Va. You’d likely opt for University of Maryland anyway for the in-state tuition savings, assuming you don’t get into any schools like Yale, MIT, & John Hopkins, which is very unlikely.

1 Like
16

As long as the answer is yes, you’re good to go.

But if you wanted to see if UMD would give to you and it’s unlikely although why not you - but if you wanted to see, then ED to Hopkins wouldn’t be wise.

Is Hopkins worth $400K more - but again, it’s unlikely you get Banneker Key but you’re pretty impressive so why not. I like that your ECs including writing, etc.

Note that if 835 enrolled ED, that means 543 enrolled RD.

Seem like - you can’t get in RD - right?

Guess again - they had to let in more than 4 kids to get one to enroll RD - so they let in near 3x as many kids RD as they did ED.

Stick with your ED - it’s ok. But I’m not sure your odds are much worse in RD, if at all. They are scraping for kids to join and I suppose at near $100K, many will choose an alternative, often cheaper, hence the low yield.

You’re going to be fine - and ED to JHU is fine.

I just want to ensure you think of all possibilities. Too many times families/students come back after ED and say, we wish we could have shopped more.

That may not be you, but it’s worth asking you the question, just in case.

I’m sure you’ll do great.

1 Like
17

Engineering, short of a few schools, is very non rank sensitive.

Here’s some example:

Purdue reports EE grads earn $83,182 and BME $74,905. Purdue is great value, btw - it’s OOS costs are comparatively low - less than half of a JHU.

UCONN - good solid school but not in any ranking - shows EE at $79,285 biomedical at $76,933 - so EE a bit lower than Purdue and Biomedical higher.

Just as an example - my son’s school - Alabama - shows EE salaries at $82,657 - so similar to Purdue. They don’t have bio engienering but they have a good career dashboard. Why do people choose it? Because for you, it’s $25K a year. You shoudln’t choose it but my son did over Purdue but why? Because he got his own dorm room and shared a bathroom with one other in the Honors College. So different people have different priorities.

U Mich - $78.8K for biomedical so below UCONN and $86,076 for EE.

Honestly, I don’t think most think UVA given the out of state cost for engineering - but they show $77,549 for BME and not enough data for EE - so either not enough grads or they’re not good at collecting data.

Ga Tech shows $80K for BME - great until you see only 60.9% of people who wanted a job (they are nice enough to measure this way) found a job. They don’t say when the snapshot is but NACE uses 6 months after graduation. For EE, they are higher $91.5K, with 77.4% reporting having found a job (that wants one).

With career outcomes, you don’t know what you’re seeing. For example, Bama has a 90%-ish knowledge rate but not everyone gives a salary. Ga Tech is about 35% - so they are not connecting with their alums to find outcomes but they don’t break that # by major.

But it gives you a directional look.

So one may have to decide - is U MIch at $80K+ worth it and it goes up $4K or so in year 3/4 vs. UMD at whatever the worst case in state cost is? UMD is showing $89,591 for biomedical and $89,346 for EE.

Based on the #s - heck no - UMD is a bargain but UMD also says they mainly place in the DC area - which is high cost of living. U MIch probably places a lot in the lower cost of living mid west.

So - most companies pay by the job and location - my son interned with Ga Tech kids but also Tennessee Tech, UTK, Miss State, and more. They all earned the same. There was an Ole Miss Co Op too. At his job, they also make the same - his company hires 150 a year between supply chain, engineers and ergonomic people. Whether from Akron, W Michigan or Michigan, they all made the same. The only difference was where you live. He was in a rotational program so moved 4 times over 2 years. When he was moved to California, th e salary went up $700 a month. Interestingly, in Utah, he was at trivia night and found out from a Columbia grad at a neighboring company, he had a higher salary.

So engineering is one of those - if you’re at an ABET accredited school, there’s a lot of parity. Now, are there a few - the MIT, Yale, maybe a JHU that are a level above - absolutely - but moreso because they might move into other areas (non engineering) that are high paying rather than take engineering jobs. In fact, engineering majors have a very high - never working as engineer rates. So the degree comes with a lot of optionality, moreso from premier schools.

On a ROI basis, only you could decide if a U Mich or UVA type are worth the extra several hundred thousand vs. UMD. But the #s on paper would say - not a chance. But that’s just on paper.

Ultimately it’s your families decision - but don’t go by a rank - presumably US News. Read their methodology. They have academics rate colleges on a 1-5 scale. It’s a popularity contest. As my son told me when he broke my heart and turned down Purdue, companies don’t care. So far from what I’ve seen, he’s right.

Dig deeper but if Yale and JHU are undoubtedly and with no question one and two, I think REA and ED2 does make sense for you. Of course, with ED2, you’ll still need to file other apps because you won’t know in time - and at some, like USC, they have an earlier deadline for merit.

Good luck.

1 Like
18

Georgia Tech OOS Acceptance rate for Engineering last cycle.

32,114 applied, 2,384 accepted for a 7.4% acceptance rate.

Georgia Tech OOS Overall Acceptance rate all majors:

54,535 OOS Applications, 4,851 Accepted for a 8.9% Acceptance rate

1 Like
19

You’re a strong candidate, but as others have mentioned, your categorization is too optimistic. Here’s how I’d categorize your schools:

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely: UMD, Penn State
  • Likely: Purdue, UWash
  • Toss-up: UVA
  • Lower Probability: Georgia Tech, USC, JHU, Rice, Yale (if REA)
  • Low Probability: Cornell, Columbia, Duke, Northwestern, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, MIT

They are. I would not drop them.

Most schools on your list have acceptance rates in the teens or single digits, making admission highly unpredictable for unhooked applicants like you. But you definitely have a shot, and I’m hopeful you’ll get into one of these schools.

The good news is that UMD, where you’re highly likely to be admitted, is also a top-20 engineering school that’s highly respected by employers.

Good luck!

4 Likes
20

They are all excellent schools, particularly for engineering. In many circles, better than Johns Hopkins and Yale. I also would not drop them from your list.

5 Likes