<p>I just finished applying for college adn the whole process. I’ve spent numerous hours on this site learning all I can and asking more questions than I probably should have. There are many days I check this site multiple times. I consider myself fairly knowledgable. Since I have been accepted to multiple top colleges and recieved two full rides using what I have learned. So I think the advice I’m gonna try to give is pretty accurate and sound.</p>
<p>A little background so you know where I’m comin from: I applied to U of Michigan, U of illinois, Purdue, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Commonwealth University and got accepted to all but georgia tech. The full rides came from Virginia Tech and VCU… both in-state. The overall goal is to get into nuclear engineering but I am going to complete mechanical in undergrad and then go nuclear in grad school.</p>
<p>MIDDLE SCHOOL
-I don’t know how schools are around the country but here in central VA many schools have “specialty” programs. You apply just as you would college and they accept/decline you. I attended a pre-engineering program. But if you can apply to any kind of special high school possible. A Governor’s school is an excellent option for example.
FRESHMAN YEAR
-Take honors/advanced classes that are set out in your advanced diploma. Challenge yourself and be sure to do well in them. Get on Honor Roll as much as you can. Your transcripts begin with this year so take it seriously. don’t put it off and say college is still 4 years away. Your college aspirations start NOW. If you don’t feel you can handle advanced classes then that is fine too. Just make sure that you do well. Cs are frowned upon by admission offices.
-Try and figure out a major you would like to do. Talk with friends/family/teachers about your talents. Take those free online tests/quizes that predict what kind of major you “match”. Anything to get you thinking about your major.
-Get involved. Find extra curricular activities that you love and devote yourself to it. Whether its sports or academic clubs it doesn’t mater. Just find something that shows your dillengence and passion. I read on here somewhere that some good extracurriculars are Eagle Scout, Varsity Sport Captain, National science competition, Honor Societies, and President of anything. Things that show leadership are key. Maybe this thread was it: [College</a> Admissions - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/]College”>Applying to College - College Confidential Forums)
SOPHMORE YEAR
-Continue doing well in advanced classes. This is critical.<br>
-Continue pursuing solid extracurriculars.<br>
-Begin looking into colleges that are ABET approved for your major and get a general feel for what your getting into. There is no need to go over specifics yet but do try and get comfortable with everything. Use this: [Accredited</a> Programs Search](<a href=“http://www.abet.org/AccredProgramSearch/AccreditationSearch.aspx]Accredited”>http://www.abet.org/AccredProgramSearch/AccreditationSearch.aspx)
-If you havent already try and do something productive during the summer. Whether its a program offered by a local college it doesn’t matter. Just something productive.
JUNIOR YEAR
-Continue with a high GPA. Preferably you want an unweighted GPA above 3.5 but as long as you stay above 3.0 you should be fine. Note that I said unweighted. Many coleges don’t add “weight” from your advanced courses when they calculate your GPA(colleges use their own system for GPA. NOT your schools system). It seems not fair but to them taking harder clases is just another plus to your application. If you are to falter in a class keep in mind that colleges view core classes more so than electives. So focus on core classes in particular. If you can, take AP courses. They are hard and prepare you for college greatly.<br>
-Continue your extracurriculars.
-You should be taking PSATs. This make you eligible for national merit consideration. If you can be national merit then a good college is pretty much assured. Start Taking SATs/ACTs as well. This and your GPA are crucial! If you don’t “have the numbers” then getting into college for engineering became MUCH harder. It is still possible to get in with crappy numbers but you really have to wow them in every other category to have a chance. Do anything you can to up your scores. Buy books, attend courses, anything. Crush these.
-Now you start looking into details. Educate yourself on the college process so your prepared senior year. Senior year can be tough with AP courses loaded up, so learning it now will help greatly.<br>
-Narrow your list of colleges down to about 20-30. Things to look at for narrowing yor list: prestige, atmosphere, sports, study abroad opportunites, intern opportunites, activities, and clubs. Then narrow it down to a final list. In the end I would reccomend you have 1-2 safeties, 3-4 matches, and 3-4 reaches(these aren’t exact rules. Everybody is differant and may apply differantly. I had 1 safety, 3 matches, and the rest reaches). Make sure 2-4 of those colleges are in-state too becasue OOS tuition is outrageous and hard to come up with. Things to look at for considering what a match can be: total cost of attendence, SAT scores, GPA. I reccomend looking at a school’s common data sheet for finding their SAT ranges and GPA range(they tell a lot more than that though). Use google. I would strive to be in the upper half of these ranges because these sets of data contain liberal art major as well as engineering majors. So engineers will typically be in the upper portion of those scores.</p>
<p>These links may help</p>
<p>Engineering rankings: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/769210-complete-usnews-2010-undergrad-engineering-rankings-phd-granting-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/769210-complete-usnews-2010-undergrad-engineering-rankings-phd-granting-schools.html</a></p>
<p>College life/atmosphere (you may need to make an account): [College</a> Rankings](<a href=“http://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx]College”>Best Colleges 2024 | College Ranking List | The Princeton Review)</p>
<p>Study abroad: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/774263-anybody-have-any-rankings-study-abroad-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/study-abroad/774263-anybody-have-any-rankings-study-abroad-programs.html</a></p>
<p>Intern: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/774255-anybody-have-some-rankings-intern-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/774255-anybody-have-some-rankings-intern-programs.html</a></p>
<p>SENIOR YEAR
-Continue GPA and extracurricular excellence
-Apply to your list of colleges and good luck. Dont Slack off either</p>