I know I want to major in engineering but I do not know where I want to go. I will be a senior at a rigorous private school in Texas. I would
like some suggestions on good engineering
schools that are realistic for me.
Academics-
GPA 92.97/100
ACT 30
SAT 1330/1600
Majority of my classes have been honors/AP especially in math and science
Extracurricular-
Football-4 years
Basketball-2 years
Soccer-2 years
Lacrosse-2 years
Student ambassador-4 years
Honor council rep-1 year
Student council-1 year
Volunteering 125+ hours at many
organizations
Altar server and confirmation leader at local
church
Organized freshman orientation this year and a summer indoor soccer team
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy NY. I said reach because of their high middle range SAT scores (1290-1488), but also simply to be cautious since you didn’t post your math SAT, or your SAT 2 scores if applicable.
There are over a hundred engineering schools that would be good for you. Let’s narrow it down. What else are you looking for besides division 1 sports? Size, location, vibe, etc.? And most of all, budget?
I know more than one student whom was admitted to RPI whose academic profile didn’t quite match yours. So no, RPI is not a reach for you, based on your statistical profile. Not a guarantee of admission, but probably likely, if all other aspects of your application are positive AND PROMISING.
RPI is not a Division 1 or FBS college. Only your large public universities would meet that criteria (in addition to privates such as Notre Dame, Syracuse, Northwestern and Vanderbilt). The Ivy League is a step below the FBS football level, as is Lafayette, Lehigh and Bucknell. Of the private schools I mentioned, Syracuse is the least known for the traditional engineering disciplines.
Forgot two other fine privates of which I am sure you have heard of in Texas; Rice University and Texas Christian University. Both engage in Division 1 (FBS) sports. Both are very good engineering universities, depending upon the discipline.
I’m not sure what constitutes a Division 1 school then. RPI plays D1 hockey, for example. However, I recommended RPI before post #2, so I might have withheld the recommendation on that basis anyway, considering my own uncertainty.
I disagree; with the exception of Northwestern and the Ivies.
Yes, admission at Notre Dame would be very competitive. And it is likely that he/she will have some high caliber homegrown competition for admission to Rice. But the northeastern engineering departments are within reach for this student, depending on other circumstances. For example, Columbia engineering will closely scrutinize his marks in the STEM courses. Therefore, an overall “satisfactory” GPA might be given a boost if the applicant is otherwise very strong in his overall STEM record. I know a student from years back whom was rejected from Columbia engineering, despite a very good overall GPA. My contacts hinted that there was concern about one or two particular grades in the applicant’s high school STEM courses. Fortunately, the student was accepted to one of the top public engineering
schools in the U.S. And I do mean TOP!
Notre Dame’s middle 50% in the ACT is 32 - 34. Rice and Columbia are 31 - 34. Being in the bottom 25% means the applicant’s chance of acceptance is a fraction of the average, which in these cases is very low to begin with. Schools like Lehigh are in this student’s range.
It has been said before and needs to be repeated again; if elite colleges wanted to fill their incoming classes with no one but 4.0GPA and near 4.0GPA applicants, they could do it; but they don’t. Clearly there are additional considerations with which they use to fill their freshman classes.
@Ginjaninjajr - Are you looking to play D1 football or spectate? If spectate, have you thought about whether or not you would be good enough to play in D3 and use that as a “hook” ?
