Chance me ED 2 Boston College, US[+Canada] citizen from small Canadian town weak ECs[4.0 UW, Test optional]

Chance Me / Match Me
312

Others can better speak to it - but historically, as I was growing up, UCI was much more a suitcase / locals or not far away (San Diego, Orange County - school). The kids I went to HS with that went there came home a lot. I suspect it’s not entirely different today.

Frankly, for engineering, I’m not sure there’s a difference from Arizona / ASU to the UCs - and certainly if you’re at least looking at the ranking which I know you do - none compare to UMN.

btw- you initially were jonesing for BC who doesn’t even have this engineering major - and it’s pretty clear you want engineering - so I think you’re winning big time in this race!!

1 Like
313

Update: Waitlisted by UW Seattle, Waitlisted by U Miami. Rejected by UCSD and UCLA (no surprise) thoughts??

5 Likes
314

Celebrate your acceptances.

12 Likes
315

Rejected by Bates and Middlebury. Accepted by Holy Cross. Always an option if I want a liberal arts education, I guess.

4 Likes
316

Holy Cross matches what you said you wanted with BC (a top tier Catholic college). So now you have excellent choices that are very different from each other. :slight_smile:

9 Likes
317

You can only go to one school and if you truly want Chemical Engineering which is what you’ve been posting about, none of those schools worked anyway. And yes, a Chem engineer from U of Arizona or UMN is going to make more money (most likely) then a Chem major from any school you are looking at that just rejected or WL you.

I don’t think money should drive the decision but clearly based on your list and tone to reactions, rank and not what you want to study did drive your application list.

If you truly want to be an engineer, you are in a great position. And that’s where your application focus should have been.

If you can afford to go to Holy Cross and you decide to go there, it’s a wonderful opportunity. but unless you go to the rare 5 year (3/2 with Columbia) which will cost you a year of earning (say $80K+ today) and another year of tuition, there’s no reason to go to Holy Cross.

Now, if you pivot and you say - I don’t want to do engineering - then that’s different.

Think about what you want to do - and UMN for example is one of the top ChemEs in the country.

What I’m trying to say is you’re way too hard on yourself - and in reality, you applied to schools you shouldn’t have or you didn’t for the right reason (assuming ChemE is the goal which is what you’ve stated) as recently as a WL at UCI for engineering 8 days ago.

So - while people take what I’m about to say the wrong way - I’m glad you’re not getting into schools that wouldn’t be right for you. No one should attend a school that doesn’t offer their academic interest - especially something as “focused” as engineering.

We’re not talking about finance vs. Econ or English vs. Journalism.

Other than maybe physics or physics/math, there’s really not a sub for engineering.

So focus on - not the rank - but on who can give you the education and lead you to the high initial paying career outcome - that will happen as a ChemE - that doesn’t necessarily happen at these other schools in the liberal arts.

If you said, I want to major in Chem, I get it - but you’ve been clear in your public apps, you want ChemE - so go forth!!!

And again, you’ve got so many positives - affordable and at great schools - be proud instead of worrying about decisions from schools that likely don’t fit anyway.

318

If you want ChemE, it’s hard to beat UMN. And if you want flexibility to explore or double major+Jesuit education, Holy Cross is one of the top national LACs. Only good choices.

4 Likes
319

Yes, I would only attend Holy Cross for the 3+2. I guess I was also influenced by the fact the partner school is Columbia since both my grandparents went to Columbia, and they thought it was a good idea. UMN is probably my top choice, so don’t worry; I’m not forgetting about it.

2 Likes
320

I am not sure we have talked about the 3+2 programs on this thread. These 3+2 programs require 5 years of college/paying for college/giving up a year of income (assuming you would have started working when you graduated from 4 yr program), and when you come out of this program the type of jobs you can get are the same that you would have been interviewing for with the 4 year degree. For these reasons (and others…like leaving your campus and friends for senior year) are why they aren’t all that popular.

Is there anything else you like about Holy Cross? Did they give you a financial aid package yet?

3 Likes
321

@Mwfan1921 and others. There are a number of colleges that offer these 3-2 programs for those interested in engineering…and some have done so for a while.

There must be enough folks who do these, otherwise why would the colleges continue to offer them?

I will add, I personally think the Jesuits have higher education well thought out. Their colleges really are quite good.

322

I haven’t seen data on the participation rate of 3+2 programs, I do know my D’s NESCAC school said they maybe have 1 or 2 students do it every couple of years. I don’t think these are programs that need a certain level of participation for schools to continue to offer them…I mean the sender school really doesn’t do anything (besides having an advisor who can advise on the program.)

Columbia (one of the frequent +2 partners) at least meets full need for the +2 students now. For a long time they didn’t (although their current aid formula is often less generous than some of the partners’ aid…so can be an unwelcome surprise).

2 Likes
323

Good for marketing too.

Holy Cross linked with Columbia. Others with lesser name recognition or pedigree linked with schools like WUSTL, Case Western, Duke and more.

Only time that Drew U will be mentioned with Columbia, etc. or Wooster with WUSTL or Case Western.

1 Like
324

Yes, I like Holy cross for more reasons than the 3+2. I like the location, the class sizes, no frats, D1 sports, Jesuit education (usually pretty good quality). Basically for similar reasons I liked Boston college. They gave me a 20,000 a year scholarship for achievement. Also I found their faculty to be very nice and passionate people so they were already on my good side. I met their vice president of enrolment management at a college fair in my town.

6 Likes
325

Good marketing and it is likely a wonderful school.

But what do you want to do in life?

That’s question #1.

Many schools have nice and supportive people - and some do pre-attendance marketing better than others.

326

So, does anyone know about how 3+2 programs work? I know it’s not guaranteed admissions, but is there a GPA cutoff? Or is it like transferring, but you’re only competing against other 3+2 transfers? I’m a bit confused about how the transfer happens or how you can secure it.

327

I would talk to Holy Cross and Columbia.

They are likely rare - and at a great expense.

  1. You leave your comfort zone - and join other kids who are already Juniors

  2. You pay another year of tuition

  3. You lose a year of salary - and when you come out, you’re likely earning a similar amount as you would have graduating somewhere in four years.

If it were me, I’d ask them if there’s a student at Columbia (who is part of the program from HC - and you can discuss with them. Or perhaps a student at Columbia in their program from another school - to see - the positives and otherwise.

I would also find out about aid as a transfer.

To answer your last question - who are you competing against? Likely all the students trying to do what you are at Columbia - transfers of all sorts. I put a list of all affiliates below - so whoever from those schools (some big name, some easy admits for undergrad) and they say you can also apply from a non-affiliate (they say about non affiiates: You are permitted to apply, and your materials will be reviewed by the Combined Plan Admissions Committee in a competitive review process). So likely anyone at a college that doesn’t have engineering is a potential applicant - but and you can ask Columbia for stats, how many applicants do they even get in a year and how many get admitted. I’m guessing it’s few in both counts. But you can do the research to be sure.

Here’s the HC contact and some further info:

And there is risk for kids starting in 2019 and later - so you might ask the HC advisor.
Tom Narita, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
Phone: 508-793-2503
Email: tnarita@holycross.edu

Students apply for admission to the Combined Plan Program at Columbia University during their third year at Holy Cross.

Students who entered Holy Cross in Fall of 2018 and earlier can qualify for guaranteed admission if they complete the prerequisite science and mathematics courses with a grade of B or better and maintain a grade point average higher than 3.3 overall and in their prerequisite courses.

Please note that for students entering Holy Cross in fall of 2019 and later, admission to Columbia will no longer be guaranteed. Columbia will review all applicants on their prerequisite course grades and overall academic preparation, and they will make all final decisions about admission to the Combined Plan Program.

Additional descriptions and admissions requirements for the Columbia Combined Plan Program are available on the Columbia website.

2023-2024 Combined Plan Affiliates for WEB.pdf (columbia.edu)

Combined Plan Applicants | Columbia Undergraduate Admissions

Are 3-2 Engineering Programs Worth It? (road2college.com)

3 Likes
328

In terms of personal attention, a college where the student:faculty is 10:1 is going to feel very different from a very large public university with its D1 athletics and large lecture halls. All in all the vibe couldn’t be more different.

The 3+2 is not guaranteed. It used to be that all Holy Cross Chem, Physics, Math, or CS majors with Bs in their pre-reqs were admitted but Columbia now reserves the right to select based on grades achieved. You apply during your 3rd year, with a certain number of pre-reqs completed. You can also apply during your 4th year. An advantage is financial aid for that Columbia degree, which if you qualify os huge, and flexibility while at HC v. How strict Engineering is with almost no time for electives; a disadvantage is that if you can pay for a Master, you could get one after your HC degree instead of a 2nd Bachelor’s, albeit ABET-accredited and from Columbia. (Of course, if you decide to spend 4 years at HC and get your degree before you enroll at Columbia, you can get admitted to the 3+2 at Columbia then just forfeit Engineering and find a job with your HC degree, which I suspect most students end up doing.) In short, why Engineering- because you love Math&Physics or because you want a degree that guarantees a job?

2 Likes
329

I just got my SAT score back. I got a 1470 (730 E, 740 M) I think this should be good for scholarship considerations.

9 Likes
330

Congrats - your hard work paid off with an exceptional score, no matter what happens. It’s a lot better to go through life saying you got a 1470 then a 1070 like me :slight_smile:

Let us know how everything turns out and great job!!

1 Like
331

Is it really considered an exceptional score, though? I always see almost everyone online, even those applying to good but not elite schools, with scores of 1530+. I sort of feel like it’s below average compared to most people. I mean, looking at the middle 50 percentile ranges at all these schools, you hardly see a bottom 25% lower than 1500 these days.