Chance Me/Match me: Good engineering schools like Purdue and Virginia tech (3.89/4.36 GPA, US citizen) [AZ resident]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Budget: high middle class, probably I will not need financial aid for much
US citizen, Asian, American born, Sophomore
UW Gpa: 3.9, W: 4.36 No class rank
2 APs this year, 5 in junior year; focused on math and sciences
competitive Jesuit high school in Arizona, 1300 people
PSAT(1400), hoping to get at least a 1460 junior year for National merit scholarship
Hope to get good SAT and/or ACT.
NHS
ECs:
Robotics(FTC): Design/mechanical

  • next year, will do FRC and be FTC leadership by senior year
    Chess varsity/club:
  • next year = captain of chess varsity and president of club
  • this year, our team got 7th in state
    Tennis:
  • Varsity tennis
    Volunteering(I def need more impact)/NHS
  • 20 hrs in freshman year going down to kindergarten to help them with HW, play etc
  • 40 hrs sophomore: going 3hrs a few days a week for after school help at a elementary
  • 40 more in junior( i need ideas)
    Rocketry( Just a member, I will launch a rocket next year tho)
    Immersion trip/service to Costa rica(IDK if this counts for anything, since it was a paid thing)
  • 30 hrs taking eye tests on kids, helping in an elderly home
  • all in spanish
    Future plans:
  • maybe work somewhere like at fast food or etc(I need ideas)
    Colleges: tech schools good for MECHA engineering, not CS
  • Purdue
  • virginia tech
  • UW
    Any others?
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Couple of thoughts

Do not sacrifice core courses for more math/science. Be sure you have 4 years of English, math, science, history and foreign language. Purdue will prefer seeing both AP calc and AP physics C if it’s offered at your school.

Prepare well for your standardized tests.

My Purdue engineer also really liked RPI. Smaller but similar vibe and they give merit so cost was the same, but RPI is an easier admit. Lehigh was also on her list for a more likely school.

Pittsburgh is a great school to possibly use as a safety as they have rolling admission so if you submit when the common app opens you can have a decision by late September/early October (unless they move away from that model since you are still early for list creation). Also a similar vibe to Purdue, albeit in an urban environment.

Look in your home state for true safeties.

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What things are important to you?

Weather, size, budget, clubs,etc.

Are you sure you want a tech school ? Have you visited ASU and UA? Any other larger state schools or LAC type schools?

Tech schools to explore that aren’t super reachy would be Rose Hullman, WPI, RPI, Michigan Tech, RIT, Colorado School of Mines, Clarkson

If you think you are interested in RPI, ask your college counselor to nominate you for the RPI Medal your junior year. It comes with a great scholarship.

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So basically it is just too early to do a really nuanced chance me/match me. In particular, your actual SAT/ACT and National Merit status will be potentially important.

The good news is there are actually many very good undergraduate engineering programs in the US. Most states make it a priority to have at least one, and often there are several, and then a bunch of privates have them as well. With your grades and PSAT, you are already on track to be a desired student by many of those, and indeed will likely qualify for merit from some.

So you can continue on with your current track, and maybe also start thinking about what you really want in an overall college experience. Big public university? Maybe a midsize or smaller private? Special STEM focus? General interest but with strong STEM?

And, of course, you should talk with your parents seriously about budget, and check the Net Price Calculators at colleges of interest. What can your family comfortably afford? What would various options cost, including with automatic merit, or attainable discretionary merit? Sometimes people identify some interesting options they did not realize they could consider.

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My advice - you are a sophomore. Slow down. There hundreds of ‘good’ engineering schools including two fantastic ones in your state. Most will give you great outcomes, similar outcomes. My son, as an example, turned down Purdue for a no name. Works with Purdue, Michigan, Va Texh but also Akron, W Michigan, Buffalo. They all make the same - coming in.

Focus on school. Get a great test score as you likely will.

There will be GREAT opportunities for you all over - from large schools like you listed to mid size like RPI and Lehigh, to tiny ones like Rose Hulman.

Have your folks take you to schools of various sizes and environments - rural, suburban, urban. Warm and cold weather and more. This way you find out what you like which in engineering will matter more than the name.

That you want to get NMF has benefits at schools that pay for them - most notably Alabama and Tulsa, UTD, U Houston, some Florida schools and more - but not the ones you are mentioning.

You are a bit early and that’s good. What you want is a nice math base - and ABET accreditation. Many schools won’t even look at your ECs etc.

With your stats, your parents will need to decide do they want to pay $20k-ish a year - if it were today, $100k-ish or something in between and if it was in between - what would that # be? Purdue costs less than UW, Va Tech by a substantial amount.

Alabama, UAH, Ms State and more will be less than half of Purdue.

Your outcomes won’t necessarily be different but the U.S. News rank will.

And if you get NMF, you can go for free - but again at schools you might deem lesser but in the real world they are not necessarily.

Good luck. Keep up the great work.

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In regards to Purdue, you might look at the Purdue Data Digest, here: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/; and especially the links to “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile”. You can plug in your stats to some of the interactive links on these sites, and perhaps get an idea where you might fall relative to recently admitted OOS applicants to Purdue.

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OP – should you achieve NMSF/NMF status, you might want to look at the University of Oklahoma, as it awards some good NMSF/NMF money, here: National Merit Finalist Scholarship.

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NM Tech and SD Mines also.

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I’ve been interested in medium- large colleges, in urban/suburban areas. Also, ASU seems to be higher rated than a lot of the places yall have suggested. IDK if ASU is selective enough tho.

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Initial selectivity has zero to do with making it through engineering and outcomes.

Ratings/rankings are near irrelevant for most engineering majors - ABET accredidation is what matters.

Look at how U.S. News measures. The criteria is useless.

Your first step is to discuss budget with your parents. You can siekd $20-100k or free if you get NMF or even SF.

Ps I’m an ASU alum but I’d prefer U of A. Just a better campus/environment.

Those who succeed in engineering will be plenty smart / academically accomplished, no matter the where.

Kids go - local or where they can afford - not just who US News decides who is ranked high. Many get similar jobs no matter the where.

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General admission to ASU is described at First-year admission requirements | Admission | ASU

The pages for engineering majors describe any additional requirements for the majors: https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major-list/interest-area/08

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Purdue looks at a lot more than grades and test scores for admissions. A ton of applicants this year with straight As and 1500+ SAT scores got denied.

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I am aware that Purdue “looks at a lot more than grades and test scores for admissions.” If you look at Section C7 of Purdue’s Common Data Set, you will learn that Purdue considers academic GPA, rigor of the secondary school record, and the application essay as “very important” admissions factors; and standardized test scores, recommendations, extracurricular activities, character, and first generation status as “important” admissions factors. So obviously Purdue considers more than just grades and test scores in making admissions decisions.

The Purdue Data Digest useful because it can give a potential applicant an idea where he/she might fall relative to recently admitted applicants. In no way did I suggest that someone who falls within the parameters set forth in the Data Digest for admitted and/or matriculated students is going to be guaranteed admission; the Data Digest is simply a tool that a person can use to compare themselves, based on measurable criteria, to those same criteria of admitted/matriculated Purdue students. To that extent, it can be used to get a general idea of a person’s chances of admission; in some ways it’s really no different than what Naviance, for example, can tell you.

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Lots of state schools will fit these criteria. Now think about distance, weather, price, sports, Greek life, etc.

Ohio State
Colorado State
University of Colorado
University of Wisconson
University of Minnesota
University of New Hampshire
University of Vermont
University of Iowa
(if you don’t want cold weather, dismiss all of these)

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And all /most are basically substitutional to ASU and U of A.