Chance me/ Match me Georgia Tech for civil engineering [FL resident, 4.00 UW GPA, top 9%, 1520 SAT, <$40k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • Florida
  • Public High School (IB Magnet School)
  • Not first Generation but I live in a rural town
  • Income range: $150,000-175,000
  • No family issues or extenuating circumstances

Intended Major(s)

Civil Engineering and Urban Planning

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.00 (All As haven’t gotten a single B)
  • Weighted HS GPA: (5.0 scale) 4.62
  • Class Rank: 127/1549 (would be higher but advanced middle school classes messed with gpa)
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1520 (not super scored) 780 Math 740 R&W. No ACT

List your HS Classwork

  • English: IB HL English lit A
  • Math: IB HL AA Math
  • Science: IB HL Physics
  • History and social studies: IB SL History
  • Language other than English: IB SL History
  • Visual or performing arts: IB SL Visual Arts
  • I’m taking the highest math/science courses offered at our school.

APUSH- 5

AP Calc BC- 3 (will likely not be including this on my app since I took this while in IB AA math)

AP Lang - 5

AP Euro - 5

Awards

Not too much but I have Rural Town award from college board. Won districts for FBLA digital Video Production. NHS. This is probably my weakest section of my app.

Extracurriculars

  • President and founder of my schools FTC (First tech challenge) robotics club/team; We have over 30 members and this will be our first year competing.
  • Research with a professor of sustainability at USF (only high school student); worked alongside college graduates to innovate sustainable solutions for at risk communities
  • Worked with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful for 4 years and recorded videos for them
  • ACE mentorship program
  • SAT schoolhouse world tutor
  • FBLA Digital Video production for 3 years, got to states all 3 times.
  • IB Ambassador for my school (3 years)
  • National Honor Society (2 years)
  • Geocaching with 300+ finds

Essays/LORs/Other
Strong personal statement talking about urban planning

LOR from guidance counselor, Physics teacher (worked alongside him for the robotics club) and English teacher.

Schools
ALL EA (with Georgia tech being EA2)

  1. Safety: USF (only safety thanks to its distance)
  2. Likely: UF (in-state)
  3. Likely: Purdue
  4. Toss up: U Michigan
  5. Low probability: Georgia tech
  6. Low probability: MIT

I would really like to get admitted to Georgia Tech but I know that is much harder for out of state. I am hoping that my research with a professor of sustainability at USF combined with me starting a FTC robotics club is enough to make up for it. I plan on majoring in Civil Engineering for all the colleges but I might major in urban planning for Georgia Tech if that makes it easier to get into.

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I think you hit the nail on the head. You’re a great candidate and it’s possible but out of state makes it more difficult.

I like your list.

You can certainly add safeties if you don’t want USF - you’d be $22K at Alabama, for example, and there are countless schools if money is no issue - that are ABET accredited.

Do you have a budget or cost issues? Do you have bright futures? There’s other Florida schools too.

I might move UF to target but yes I think you get in.

But if you don’t want USF, find another safety.

Where ever you get a Civ Eng degree, you’ll be fine.

In fact, there was a thread the other day and people were saying - go where it’s cheapest.

Take a look at this one for some guidance.

Chance Me: Civil Engineering for T20s [NY resident, 96.33/100 GPA, 1530 SAT] - Chance Me / Match Me - College Confidential Forums

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I need more clarity on this. Do the advanced middle school classes count for high school credit, or is it that you didn’t take the classes, negatively affecting class rank?

Any plan to take the corresponding IB Mathematics HL exam for a score of “6” or “7”? Good idea not submitting the AP score if you don’t have to.

I would add a couple more schools.

MIT & Georgia Tech are your two hardest ones to get into. I do recommend that you apply to both given your competitive profile. You may want to drop Ann Arbor since most merit awards are rare for OOS applicants. Even if you were to get admitted, it is unlikely your parents would be willing to pay for it.

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I have bright futures for Florida for being in the IB program so any Florida college will be tuition free (only housing but that’s not a problem if I go to USF). Our budget is 40 K but I plan on getting scholarships in addition to Fasfa. This isn’t a set number tho.

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If you want to work in civil engineering, major in civil engineering.

Georgia Tech allows one unrestricted major change before 60 credits (frosh/soph in college), except to a small number of majors not including civil engineering: https://www.success.gatech.edu/change-of-major/ . That suggests that civil engineering is not an overloaded major there, so it is unlikely to significantly more selective when applying for frosh admission.

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Georgia Tech is $55-59k out-of-state. Getting merit scholarships is obviously more difficult than admission.

Have you checked the net price calculator for each college?

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Am assuming you are a senior. Have you taken any of GT’s Distance math courses?

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It was advanced Spanish classes that were graded on a 4.0 scale. These were then carried over to my hs transcript which is on a 5.0 (at least with IB) which is basically the equivalent of getting 3-4 Bs. This doesn’t affect my unweighted gpa ofc but it lowers my class rank and my weighted gpa.

Our school doesn’t do predicted scores but hopefully I get a 6.

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FAFSA means little. If you go to expensive schools, you can get loans

For $40k you’re not going to Tech so take it off the list. U Michigan is more than double. So don’t waste your time. Purdue can get close. If you want a UM sub you can try UMN or Ohio State. They ‘may’ get there.

Schools like Bama, Ole Miss, Miss State, KU, WVU will be well within budget and maybe U of SC and UGA (another maybe) will hit too. There’s more.

MIT will depend if you qualify for need aid. Have your family fill out the NPC. I put below. If you do, run it for U Miami too. Or even Florida Tech which will throw merit at you.

With bright futures, and a light budget, you are better to stay in state or go to a near freebie (tuition) like Bama.

Net Price Calculator

Here’s some career data -

Ga Tech has a 35% knowledge rate of the school, not majors but if they know on info of 1/3 of 25 grads, and I don’t know the last snapshot but 82% of kids that wanted a job found one at a median of $76K. So 18% didn’t - but again, this isn’t everyone.

Bama knows where 96% ended up - much higher - with only 2% still seeking - again don’t know the timeframe - and they use an average, not median - of $74,648 - reported by 32 kids vs. Tech of 42 kids.

Frankly, you can’t afford Tech - so stay in state. If you want to leave, then find a school under $40K. And as you can see, short of a few and Ga Tech isn’t one of them, where you go likely doesn’t matter anyway.

UMich is more than double your budget and gets pricier the last two years. And starting salaries are $76,100.

When you have a budget, you build a list that way - and you can see, you don’t need higher rank for a better outcome.

These are all accredited in Florida, some private, but I believe your Bright Futures will work at all.
’
University of Central Florida
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Florida A&M University - Florida State University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida International University
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of North Florida
University of South Florida

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Yes I’m a senior and I’ve never taken those courses

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MIT is tuition-free for families making <$200K. The median net price is around $20K for families making between $100K & $200K.

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Ok thanks for your advice!

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The finances work for MIT but I’m just worried my awards (or lack thereof) might look bad on my apps. Ik there’s people that won prestigious science awards while I don’t have anything.

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I added more to my earlier post. Sorry. I put career data for you that you might find of interest - hint, it likely matters little where you go - which the other thread I posted states.

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Why I gave the NPC - but don’t forget, it’s not just salary. I had one of those income things and we qualified - and got $0. It’s assets too.

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The class rank & percentile should only be a concern if you need to meet a certain percentile for an in-state school. You currently rank in the top 10%.

Aim for a “7”! Focus on qualifying for the IB Diploma.

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Your graduating (Sr) class has over 1500 students?? Is that correct? Your school would be huge if this is accurate. Can you clarify?

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Yes, because we are an IB magnet high school, class rank is not determined by my high school’s class size but rather everyone in the IB program in our district.

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Don’t worry about awards. Few have true awards. It’s what you accomplish that matters. If you walk dogs at the shelter or bring shopping carts in from the parking lot, you don’t get an award - but you have great ECs. It’s what you bring, not what you get recognized for. Most list fluff awards I’m sure - AP Scholar, etc.

There’s never a reason to worry about colleges, especially an under 5% one.

You take your best shot - but the most important college on your list is the affordable safety - and I feel like you failed here or at least could do better.

You picked USF - because it’s closest to home. There doesn’t seem to be passion behind your choice.

But find a school, under $40K, that’s assured - that’s not USF - because you could very well end up at the safety, especially since #3 Purdue - #5 Michigan aren’t affordable (Purdue can get decently close) and #6 is unlikely for all (MIT).

So I’d swap out 4 and 5. You can check the UVA net price calculator - they do meet need whereas Michigan doesn’t.

UMN has merit - but the “lesser” names like Bama and the other SEC buy kids like you in - it’s why they have so many smart/top kids. So that’s your outside of Florida safety net.

But work on that “safety” - the rest of your list was easy. But even UF isn’t assured so you need to find one that is, in case - that you could love!!!

Also, if the MIT NPC looks good, you might check nearby BU, Northeastern and even Cornell. Plus Case Western. Each school has a NPC and you will get a different result. None are safeties.

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If you are interested in going to MIT, then you should apply if you believe it is a solid fit for you. Just make sure that MIT offers what you are seeking.

You are interested in civil engineering & urban planning. Prior to 2012, three major options were offered by Course 1, 1A - Engineering (not ABET accredited), 1C - Civil Engineering (ABET), & 1E - Environmental Engineering (ABET).

The new 1-ENG program was started in 2014, a more flexible program allowing the student to blend civil & environmental engineering leading to a B.S. degree in General Engineering. The 1-ENG program is ABET accredited. Minor programs in Civil Engineering and Civil & Environmental Systems are also offered.

Undergraduate Enrollment in ABET-accredited programs at MIT

Bachelor’s degrees awarded in ABET-accredited programs at MIT

MIT also offers a major program in Planning, a major in Urban Science & Planning with Computer Science, and a minor in Urban Studies & Planning under Course 11.

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