US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student: Domestic
State/Location of residency: Virginia
Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Public
Other special factors: N/A
Cost Constraints / Budget N/a
Intended Major(s)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.79 / 4.3
Weighted HS GPA: 4.24 / 4.3
College GPA: N/a
Class Rank: top 20%
ACT/SAT Scores: 1410
Major: Mechanical engineering with a focus in Robotics.
List your HS coursework
(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
English: Eng 9H, Eng 10H, Eng 11H, Ap Lit - in progress
Math: Alg 1, Geo, Alg 2/Trig H, Math Analysis H, AP Calc BC, DE Multi Vari Calc - in progress
Science: Research Bio H, Ap Bio DE, Research Chem H, Ap Chem, Physics DE, Ap Physics - in progress, De ISR - in progress
History and social studies: Intro APWH (H), Ap World history, DE USH, AP US and Ap Comp - in progress
Language other than English: German 1, German 2, German 3
Visual or performing arts:
Other academic courses: PLTW Intro Eng Dsgn H, PLTW Principles Eng H, Ap Comp Sci principles, AeroSpace Sci 2, PLTW Eng Dsgn and Dev H - in progress
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants) (Include college courses taken while in high school if not included above.)
General education course work:
Major preparation course work:
Awards
Outstanding Technology and Engineering Student
Academic bars (3x)
Daughters of the American Revolution Citizenship Award
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
President of Stem Mentors - A club in which I teach 3rd-5th graders about STEM topics, like Aerospace Coding, Environmental Effects, Bouyancy, as well as brainstorming and creating interactive lesson plans.
Loudoun County Animal Shelter Volunteer - Volunteer at my local animal shelter
President of TSA (Technology Student Association) Chapter
Vice president of Community services in our NHS chapter
President of National Computer Honors Society
Jv Varsity football player (1 year)
I work as a Robotics Instructor for a competitive robotics team, I instruct two teams, in which I lead them, help them brainstorm, design solutions, and script pseudocode.
Schools
If a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below; also, for colleges that admit by major or division, consider that in chance estimate.
Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
Extremely Likely: Worcester Polytechnie Institute
Likely: Virginia Tech, University of Maryland, Purdue University
Toss-up: University of Michigan
Lower Probability: Georgia Tech ( what I want to go to)
WPI yes - you say no constraints but triple check with your folks.
Your three likely are toss ups. You could go 0 for 3 or 3 for 3. But Va Tech most likely, then UMD, then Purdue. All three turn down kids with superior stats to these.
None safe but you have great rigor and maybe that helps.
Michigan is a high reach. You might go TO. While the test is between the 25th/50th percentile, I’d think engineering skews higher.
CMU - highly unlikely.
The last two will be $340-400k - make sure your parents have that.
Have you been to WPI ? Do you love it and the very short terms?
I would add a safety. Meche is about ABET, not rank or name. So pick another sure thing, of which there’s loads.
I don’t know about the others, but as @tsbna44 said, you’ll get into WPI. As long as it’s affordable, it’s a great school for Mech E and Robotics
Are you looking for some other “likelies” for your list? We could give suggestions if you’re interested.
I note that WPI is very, very different from most of your list. If you’re fine with going there, no worries, I think you’ll be in for WPI for sure and possibly Va Tech.
On that scale, I’d categorize Georgia Tech as a high reach as well. Their out-of-state acceptance rate is around 10% (and likely lower this cycle, though they haven’t published updated data yet). The OP is from a state with many Georgia Tech applicants, is applying to a competitive major, and has an SAT score on the lower end of their admitted range (and score submission is mandatory).
Since Purdue is on your list, 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.
Agree with your points regarding GT admission for OOS students, both in terms of admit rate and typical stats. Some info can be found on their admission snapshot page, here is the data shown for VA:
Assuming you are applying this cycle, have you already applied to UMD and verified in the portal that materials have been received? Everything including test scores, LORs, and official transcripts must be received by 11/1 to be considered for EA.
Are you looking for any other EA school suggestions? Deadlines are just around the corner.
I do not know the answer to that question, but it is possible that data for the more detailed sections (county, etc) might only be complete for GA. We are in CA, and I can see that the CA county info isn’t complete, probably because CA students lack county info in the data set.
For OOS, I would just go off the state-level data, and also keep in mind it’s an average over all the years 2019-2024. It’s not perfect, but it can give you an idea of how GT has a much higher bar for OOS admissions.
That’s over years. From 2019 to Fall 2025. Those numbers are trending lower now and were last cycle. Definitely single digits OOS. https://news.em.gatech.edu/2025/03/31/final-decision-release-fall-2025-first-year/ To OP, definitely apply to all these schools, you have a chance at every school you submit an application to. Good luck!
Given your proficiency in German, and some of the terrific MechE opportunities in Germany (esp. the auto industry), would you have any interest in one of the International Engineering dual-degree programs? These are five-year programs where the fourth year is spent abroad, doing a semester of academic classes at a German university, and a semester in an international internship (which can lead to great career opportunities). The schools offering this kind of program are U of Rhode Island, UConn, U of Tulsa, and U of Arkansas. All would be “safe” admits for you, I think (maybe UConn is more a match), but have strong engineering programs, and the international component can be a great enhancement if it’s a fit. The first three offer multiple language options, whereas Arkansas is German-only. UConn has a specific Robotics major; URI has a minor. Tulsa doesn’t have a specific pathway but launched a new Robotics Institute in 2024; Arkansas has plenty of robotics research too.
Of course, it’s possible that you’ve checked off your HS language requirement and aren’t interested in pursuing it further, but since HS German has become relatively unusual and since the engineering opportunities in Germany are so great, it seemed worth mentioning.
Sounds like a great idea if OP is interested! My S23 was impressed by UConn’s International Engineering program. His stats were a little higher than OP’s, but he didn’t have the math depth or engineering ECs. UConn offered him a sizable merit scholarship that would have made it cheaper than our state schools.
