College List/DoD SMART Scholarship

College Search & Lists
1

Hi Guys,

I’m currently a junior in high school in California. My counselor and some senior friends told me that I should start looking at potential schools to apply for. I’m primarily interested in a major in Mechanical Engineering, but am also considering Aerospace Engineering. I’m also looking to minor in Business. What are some schools I should apply to (reach, match, and safety)?

I’ve also been looking at the DoD SMART Scholarship for tuition. What’s my chance of getting this scholarship?

Here are my “stats.” My GPA was predicted by my counselor based on my previous performance. My SAT/ACT score is the average of all of my last 8 practice test scores (they are all within 50 points of each other for SAT or 1 point of each other for ACT).

Unweighted GPA (out of state): 3.70
Weighted GPA (out of state): 4.04
Unweighted GPA (in state): 3.85
Weighted GPA (in state): 4.23
SAT Score: 1450
ACT Score: 32
Extracurriculars/Stuff:

  • Marching Band (member for 4 years, leadership for 1 year)
  • Engineering Club (member for 4 years, officer for 1 year)
  • Robotics Club (member for 4 years, officer for 2 years)
  • LaunchX Entrepreneurship Club (founder, member and officer for 2 years)
  • RoboSub Team (founder, member and officer for 3 years),
  • Computer Science Club (member for 4 years, officer for 2 years)
  • Non-Profit (co-founder, dealing with Recycling)
  • Company (co-founder, dealing with Smart Lights and Warning Systems)
  • Boy Scouts (member for 9 years, Eagle Scout at 16, leadership for 6 years)
  • International Tamil Academy Graduate (attended for 10 years)
  • City Police Academy Graduate (attended for 6 weeks)
  • PLTW Student (for 3 years)

Thanks,
–tp3208

2

Purdue in Indiana offers very strong mechanical and Aerospace engineering, as well as business, and also has good connections to the DOD SMART scholarship. You can apply for that after you get to college if you do not win it as a high school senior.
You may want to list your math and science classes completed, math ACT score and math SAT score, as that matters for getting into engineering colleges, also your math and science grades matter a lot.

If you have Bs in math Purdue becomes a stretch, they are picky about math grades, and math curriculum,
which you do not list.

Other options are Case Western, GaTech both probably stretch, but depends on your math and science curriculum and grades.

UW Seattle

See which U of Cal campuses you qualify for, with your GPA, there is a calculator on line to determine which campuses might work for you. UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz may work out, if I remember their GPA cutoff. Both offer strong engineering programs.

3

@Coloradomama Would Purdue and UW Seattle be a reach, match, or safety? Yeah, my parents really don’t want me to take out student loans, so I’ve been looking at scholarships such SMART. I’m trying to stay away from ROTC, but I might do the Navy ROTC if I don’t get into the DoD SMART Scholarship.

Here are my STEM classes with grades:

FRESHMAN
Biology §: B/B-
Honors Algebra II §: C+/B

SOPHOMORE
AP Chemistry (HP): B-/B-
Honors Principles of Engineering (PLTW)(HP): A+/A+
Pre-Calculus §: A-/A-

JUNIOR (predicted)
AP Calculus AB (HP): A-/A
Honors Aerospace Engineering (PLTW)(HP): A+/A+
Physics §: A-/A

SENIOR (predicted)
AP Statistics (HP): A/A
Honors Digital Electronics (PLTW)(HP): A+/A+
AP Physics (HP): B-/B-

Here are my test scores:
SAT Math: 780
ACT Math (predicted): 35
ACT Science (predicted): 34
SAT Subject Math II: 780
SAT Subject Chemistry: 770
SAT Subject Physics (predicted): 760

4

Can find a calculus class at a community college to take in your 12th grade year?
It will be difficult to perform well at schools like Purdue if you take AP stats as a 12th grader, but I understand
you may have run out of math classes. Engineering freshman math will be somewhat more difficult if you do not have calculus fresh in your mind, but Purdue will test your math skills and may ask you to start at the very beginning of calculus, depending on your score on their math placement test.

If your school will allow it, take BC Calculus as a 12th grader, that will help you more in college. Fully half of BC calculus will be review, from your 11th grade AB Calc class, but the second half of the class will be new material.

Another option you have is to review calculus on your own, using Khan Academy or another on line program.
Its really important to review calculus in 12th grade, as you plan to study engineering, and have to pass Calc 1, 2 and 3.
Will you sit for the AB Calculus AP exam? That will help you gauge how you are doing.

Wait and see what your actual ACT score is, but your math SAT score may be high enough for many strong engineering programs.

I don’t think you can decide where to apply until you have your 11th grade grades.

Your SAT math scores are solid, but if thats a practice score, I would not pick schools until you get an actual score in actual test conditions.

Cal Poly, San Jose State both are better prices for CA in state than the U of California campuses. San Jose State is very strong in mechanical engineering, and should be a safety for you, as you are way above the average test scores there. I really like San Jose State for its teaching staff and job connections, and the price is really good.

Cal Poly SLO I think is a match school, but your math score is higher than their average math score.
Some majors will be much more difficult than others, though, so you need to look at that carefully, as its hard to change majors without losing quarters of time, at Cal Poly.

I think if you get the scores you predict, Purdue is a match, but I would try to take another calculus class in 12th grade.

UC Davis is a match for you, if you get the grades and scores you predict.
UCSD also look at it carefully, its got really good math, engineering, and sciences too it will be a reachy school, maybe, but may also be a match depending on your exact grades and scores.

There is a formula for U of California, GPA/scores, your counselor can give you the campuses that are likely for you, but look over the various locations, including Santa Cruz, Davis and San Diego. San Diego is the hardest for admission, I think Santa Cruz and Davis are close, as I remember.

I am not certain if 9th grade grades count against you in California, for the formula, so check that. Ask in the U of California thread.

5

If you need the scholarship to make the school affordable, then they are a reach to high reach.

6

@Eeyore123 Its kinda weird for me. My parents have saved 60K for me to use for whatever (they prefer college). I have to pay for the rest of the tuition through scholarships or jobs. If I can get into the DoD SMART Scholarship, then I can save/invest that money and use it if/when I need it in the future. After completing the Better Money Habits course from Bank of America, I kinda learned that it’s always better than have a safety net/emergency fund for a financial crisis.

7

@Coloradomama At our school, the AP Physics C teacher makes you review calculus throughout the entire school year because he knows that the STEAM kids who don’t keep it in their head will forget it for college. Since I’m taking AP Physics C during my senior year, I think that covers my bases. Also, I will not be able to take AP Calculus BC, because to take that class after AP Calculus AB, you need a teacher recommendation (and my teacher already said to me that she knows I can do well in BC, but she thinks it’s a waste of my time, so she “refuses” to recommend me for that class).

As for the SAT math score, I took the August SAT and scored a 1400. I got 780 on math and a 620 english. Since my english score was really bad and I didn’t really study for math last time, I’m studying really hard for the March SAT. The ACT math and science scores were my average practice test score (always scored between 35-36). I’m thinking of taking the ACT in April after I finish up the SAT before I have AP exams (US History and Calculus AB).

Thanks for the advice. I’m just trying to get a head start on a college list, so it becomes easier once the year ends, because all I have to do is refine it (if my predictions are wrong). Since I have some extra time now, I thought it would be a good idea.

8

How would you categorize these schools? Sorry there are so many, but I got these from our school’s college search engine. It doesn’t rank them by your chance of making it in, so it’s kinda bad. Should I even consider some of these schools?

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
Michigan State University
Harvey Mudd College
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Texas A&M University
The University of Texas at Austin
Virginia Tech
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Pennsylvania State University–University Park
Ohio State University
University of Maryland, College Park
Rice University
Arizona State University

9

The issue is going to be cost. For example, Wisconsin is going to cost you $53k per year. You have a budget around $25k per year. At a lot of the other state schools you will have the same issue.

10

Insist on taking both BC Calculus and Physics C. Your teacher is making a very big mistake
to say that you do not need BC Calculus in senior year. You need it, if you want to have a fighting chance
at a school like Purdue, because every other student already has that math background. It may hurt
your chances for admission to top engineering programs, if you fail to take BC Calculus and its offered
at your high school.

BC Calculus is twice the material that you are learning this year. Did you have the option of taking BC Calculus as an 11th grader?

Texas A&M offers large merit based scholarships , look at it carefully.
I believe Virginia Tech also may have merit based awards, and Arizona State, you can look up
your merit award as soon as you have actual test scores. Arizona State IS affordable for out of state students
if they have your high scores and GPA. There is an on line calculator for the price of Arizona State. Its ALWAYS less expensive than CU Boulder, and probably your top options in California. It is ranked lower than Berkeley as well.

Do not give up looking for a scholarship, and for certain try for the DOD SMART. I don’t know any high school kids trying for that, you may win it.

I disagree with other posters, separate out the costs from the admissions, and work on each problem separately.

If you have to say no to Berkeley for costs, say no, but find schools that are stretches academically in case you
do win the DOD SMART. I think most posters do not understand what a lucrative scholarship that is, and it comes with internships too! Good luck.

11

Most of the schools you list above, are excellent choices. You must look up the SAT/ACT scores at each one yourself. No one can do this for you, you can do it for yourself, and just compare your scores to the average score. But wait until you take the actual SAT or ACT exam. You are getting ahead of yourself, because you really need to have your actual score, not one that you make up based on practice tests. Your actual score could be much lower or higher than your practice tests. This is the beauty of standardized testing, you can figure out a college match all by yourself. Go do that.

12

@tp3208 If you can bring your ACT score up to a 33 and raise your uw GPA, you would open yourself up to quite a few full-tuition scholarships. With full-tuition and the $$ your parents are giving you, you sould be able to cover all expenses without loans and without the obligation to work for the govt for 4 or more yrs. That would give your more freedom in deciding what you want to pursue career-wise in the future or if you might want to pursue grad school.

Right now you qualify for full-tuition at UAH. https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships UAH has a close working relationship with NASA and other industries in Cummings Research Park. https://www.uah.edu/eng/departments/mae

If you can pull up your scores and GPA up, that list would grow.

13

@tp3208 FYI - “*Undergraduate applicants must be currently enrolled in a regionally accredited U.S. college or university and have a high school diploma/GED. Current high school students are not eligible to apply.”

https://smartscholarshipprod.service-now.com/smart?id=kb_article&sys_id=33b85cb7db754300b67330ca7c961911

14

Ok cool. Thanks for the help @Coloradomama and @Mom2aphysicsgeek for the advice.

@Tw1ssT, I’m planning on applying for it once I get admitted into a school. If I understand the process correctly here are the steps:

  1. Get accepted into “a regionally accredited U.S. college or university.”
  2. Submit your DoD SMART application.
  3. If you get accepted… yeah. If not, then you can reapply the following year.
15

@tp3208 Have you confirmed your understanding? Our ds looked into the SMART scholarship when he was a sr, but I discouraged him from pursuing it bc I knew he wanted to attend grad school and do research. I didn’t want him to have to revolve his career goals around the DoD commitment. In hindsight, it was definitely the right call for him. He attended on full scholarship with no string attached and is now attending the grad school he wanted to attend and is engaged. He is doing his own thing. I’m not sure how he and his fiancée would have handled things if he had had an obligation to work for the DoD.

Anyway, the wording of the scholarship does not say accepted. It states enrolled, not just accepted, and have 1st semester grades of a 3.0.

We didn’t investigate it well enough to have clarity over what that actually means, but I suspect you are going to have to pay for your first semester out of pocket before you even apply. Some of the schools you have listed are expensive. CMU’s COA is $73,000/yr. You need to understand when the scholarships starts paying and exactly how much it will cover.

I would also make sure you understand your obligation post graduation. Is working for the DoD a goal? If that is what you actually want, then it might be an excellent option. If not, you do not have to go to the schools you have listed to have an excellent career in ME or aerospace.

16

@Mom2aphysicsgeek Sorry for the long wait. Thanks for the advice in general. I emailed the SMART DoD a couple questions... Here are the Q's and A's:

Questions:
1a. Since the academic year starts in September for most colleges and the scholarship is only awarded in April at the earliest, will students have to pay for the first year of school by themselves?
1b. If students have to pay for their freshman year by themselves, once the scholarship is awarded, will they reimbursed for the cost of tuition and/or paid the stipend?
1c. If students have to pay for their freshman year by themselves and graduated at the normal pace (4 years), would the required post-graduation employment be 3 years or 4 years?

  1. After my required post-graduation employment is complete, am I able to take a break for 2 years while I pursue my MBA and then return to DoD?

3a. Would I be paid during my post-graduation employment?
3b. Is there a starting pay for mechanical engineers?

Answers:
1a. Yes.
1b. No. The SMART Scholarship does not fund tuition for prior semesters.
1c. The employment obligation to the DoD civilian Science and Technology (S&T) workforce upon graduation is a one-to-one commitment. For each academic year of a scholar’s award, he/she is required to commit to one year (12 months) of civilian employment with the DoD.

  1. Yes.

3a. Yes.

3b. This is dependent on a few factors: sponsoring facility, degree level, location, and position. This can be discussed with your sponsoring facility upon hire.

@Eeyore123 I’ve asked them the acceptance rate for undergraduate students in my reply (along with the thank you :). If it seems highly likely that I will get accepted (similar stats of students and/or very high acceptance rate (80%+)), then only the cost of attendance of one school year should be accounted for, correct? Obviously this doesn’t mean don’t plan for a rejection (and waste the money), but… yeah.