Chances for Penn State, UC Davis, UConn please I have no idea where I stand

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics: Male, Chinese-Korean (could pass for filipino if that helps based on family name + history), California, top 100 public school, parents immigrants

Intended major(s): Mechanical Engineering or Business Data Analytics

ACT: None

SAT: 2290, 800CR 750M 740WR;

SAT II: Math: 690 (planning on retaking in October), World History: 760, US History: 750,
planning on taking Physics in October

Class rank: N/A

UW/W GPA: ~3.3 UW, lots of AP

Coursework:

AP/Honors Classes taken: Chinese, US History, Physics, Calculus

AP Classes scheduled for Senior Year: Government, Economics, Computer Science, Statistics

AP Tests:

Chinese - 3

US History - 4

Physics - 3

World History - 4 (self studied)

Extracurriculars:

Officer in Model United Nations

  • Member for all 4 years, have won awards

Officer in Architecture-Construction-Engineering club

  • 1st Place in Regional ACE competition
  • Admitted to Summer Program
    • Our project won first place within that program if it matters

Volunteering:

  • Local Library - 36 hours
  • Outdoor Science Camp - 60 hours
  • FASCA (Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors) - 24 hours
  • WCEO Cultural Camp TA - 60 hours

Job:
Employed at Tutoring Agency, taught in a classroom environment

Comments: Grandpa has severe Emphysema and is immobilized, have to care for him (feed, bathroom, brush, wash, etc.). affected studies

Aside from the unis in the title what else would you guys recommend be a realistic target?

2

You have a pretty good shot at Penn State. For UC Davis however even with your weighted GPA being high Davis only accepts the UC GPA meaning they only take 8 semesters worth of honors and AP courses. Honestly Davis is prefers a higher GPA rather than a higher SAT score so Davis seems more like a reach. As for UConn I am not so sure since I am from California myself.

Try San Jose State you might have a shot there :slight_smile:

3

Definitely high match for Penn State, even with your OOS status. They have a decent engineering program, I believe. For the UC’s, UC San Diego has a good engineering program. I think UCLA may have better engineering than UC Davis, not exactly certain, but calculate your UC GPA and see if you are in the range.

Your SAT score is great, but your GPA will probably hurt you. Course load really depends on your school; you don’t have that many AP’s, especially since you go to a top high school, but in the scheme of things, that doesn’t matter too much.

If you are into Engineering, check out Northeastern too…also rensselear, georgia tech, worchester tech, stevens it…not really sure what else you want in a school, but I think your “match” schools would be around 30-40% acceptance rate, but again, it really depends on the school and what they want. Reach would be like UC Davis, UCLA…

4

Thanks for the reply! Do you think UCSD+Rennselaer+Georgia Tech engineering are realistic given my statistics?

5

Thanks for the reply!

6

Well, by “realistic” I assume you mean the regular stuff, such as test scores and GPA.

For UCSD, since you are in-state, it is a lot easier than OOS. Average UC GPA is 4.13; again, you’ll have to calculate this yourself with their system, your SAT is way above “average”, which is a plus. If you are considering engineering, apply here as a match. It’s probably a low match since your GPA looks low and UC’s tend to be “number-based”; well more number-based than LACs or something.

Renneseler may have a fairly high acceptance, but the program is well-known and very good. They value numbers a lot too (said so themselves on website); your GPA is very low for them (they have avg 3.81), but your SAT is way above 50% for them. Your GPA is the only thing holding you back from higher tier schools! Definitely work on improving it during senior year (what you can), but I think you need to make up for it. Your SAT may be high, but I think colleges would just think you are lazy…which is not good.

Georgia Tech is similar…your SAT is above average, but your GPA is way too low. It is renowned for engineering and related fields, but is easier to get into.

Maybe also try Virginia Tech, Stevens Institute of Tech…there’s really a ton of great engineering programs if you look for them and they are the right fit. I’ve been looking into engineering (bio-engineering) so I know this stuff…but obviously since geography is a huge factor for me I don’t just look anywhere…

(I have no idea about the business major so I can’t say any good schools)

7

Calculate UC GPA: http://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
UCD is a Reach due to GPA. If interested in UC’s, consider UCI/UCSC and UCR. Great essays may bump up your chances a bit, but since the average UC GPA all the UC’s except UCR/UCM/UCSC is 4.0+ it will be tough even with your outstanding test scores. Good Luck.

8

Oops; I just realized I wrote “low match” for UCSD when I meant high match-reach. RPI and Georgia tech are match/high match due to your GPA. I’d say Virginia Tech may be just a match.

9

Thanks! These are really helpful I’m getting a better idea of where I stand. I’ve also been looking at UIUC, U of Texas at Austin, and Lehigh are you familiar with those?

10

I am familiar with Lehigh; great engineering school. I think it would be a high match/reach, but UIUC and UT Austin are slightly easier (admitting lower stats); UIUC has an average of just 3.51. I think you would be accepted here, but the engineering program is more competitive than some other programs. I think it is definitely worth a shot if you like the environment. Keep in mind that UIUC and UT Austin aren’t small schools. UT Austin has auto-admits too, so it is really variable each year how many OOS, while in-state it is not at all if you have the right scores.

If you like bigger state schools, then UIUC, UT Austin, Virginia Tech, Penn State, UConn, the UC’s (compiled list of what you liked) are similar.

GTech and RPI are smaller. Northeastern is a private school with a larger student body; kinda in the middle.

11

Sounds good! I’m a fan of larger schools/more people so those to apply to. Thanks a lot for taking the time do you mind if I message you with more questions in the future?

12

Well, of course! But I’m not that knowledgeable compared to other people…I’m just in the college choosing process myself so I have done a ton of research. But if you have any questions about engineering schools I do know a bunch of them…