I just finished my freshman year and as of now, my GPA is approximately a 3.7 GPA (technically 90 because my school doesn’t use a 4.0 scale to calculate grades.) I know it might be a little early to be thinking about where I should go to college, but, I want to go to either one of the Public Ivies (UC Berkeley, Michigan, Texas, etc) or one of the so called “worthy runner ups” (Colorado Boulder, Georgia Tech, Illinois, etc.) However, my heart has always been set on UT Austin because I live close by, my mom went there (so I’m a legacy), and they have an amazing engineering program (I want to major in engineering, I just haven’t decided want branch yet)
Here are my grades (as of this post) note, unless I say so, these grades are averages for both semesters
Scripture and Jesus: B+
English 1: A
Honors Spanish 3: B (I don’t speak Spanish at home, but I know it so well because my middle school’s Spanish program was absolutely amazing)
Honors Advanced Algebra 1: B
Biology: A-
Intro to programming: A (1 semester)
2D design: A- (1 semester)
If you are wondering my EC’s are karate (I’m a black belt and I teach at the school that I trained at), football (for my school), Engineering Society, Basketball (intramural club), Ultimate frisbee (intramural club) and Brothers for Others (service club to help kids with autism). Also, I was nominated for a club called 24/7 which is a leadership club at my school where the sophomores plan out events during the year for fellow sophomores. Also, I won an award for being an honorable mention in the National Spanish Exam, and for being the highest scoring freshman on the TXML Math Tests (Texas Math League Competition.) Finally (And I promise that this is the last thing) on my PSAT, I was 59th percent in reading comp, 86th in math, and 76th overall (percentages are what I would have been placed at if I were a Junior)
I’m sorry if this is a lot to take in, but do you think with all of this that I could get into a Public Ivy?
For next year, I will also be taking 3 honors courses (Honors Spanish 4, Honors Geometry, and Pre-AP Chemistry.) Will taking these classes boost my chances of getting into a public Ivy?
Katliamom, with what I am about to say, please understand that I am not trying to sound like a snob. I am not going answer the your question because that’s private info. I know you are trying to help, and I really do appreciate it, but nobody needs to know what my family’s financial status is.
So I’m guessing you’re in-state for UT? Just so you know, they don’t consider legacy. But if you’re looking to get into Cockrell you’ll probably need to be top 5%, with at least a 30+ ACT with high math and science scores. Not being an auto-admit instate for UT is the kiss of death for difficult majors like Business and Engineering. Unless you go to a private school of course, which seems likely considering one of your classes is called “Scripture and Jesus”.
DustyFeathers, besides UT, I’m also thinking about schools Michigan, UIUC, and Georgia Tech because they have very strong engineering programs.
Danfer91, I am in-state for Texas, and yes I do attend a private school (Scrip and Jesus is Theology). I know that I am definitely not in top 5% and I definitely have ways to go (Im probably top 20% if I had to guess). This may also seem like a stupid excuse, but there are also A BOATLOAD of very bright kids in my class. Do you think that if I improve, at least class rank wise that I would have a better shot, like if I were to get to top 10%? Also, what do you mean by “kiss of death?” For not being an auto-admit instate?
What I mean by that is that UT has a policy wherein anyone who graduates from a public high school in Texas in the top 7-8% of their class (depends on their year), they gain automatic acceptance. Usually, if you’re not an auto admit who also has great test scores it’s going to be next to impossible to gain acceptance to really competitive majors like engineering at UT. However, since you go to a private school, you can’t be an auto admit and this policy doesn’t apply to you. This does likely mean that you’re given a little more leeway with your class rank (top 10 percent might be fine), but you’ll need great scores, especially in math, to even out the rank and show them what your gpa means at your school. They may also be well aware of the school, especially if it’s in austin and very competitive.
Yeah, at my school (I live in Dallas), the average student sat test score is about 200 points above the national average (composite). However, there are so many Aggies who go to my school, so it seems like at least half of my grade wants to go to Texas A&M. But for engineering, what sat/act scores do you think that I should try to shoot for? I was thinking that a 700 on sat or a 32 on act would be good, but I just want your input just to be sure.
Hmm, ya I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule. But I would think a 32+\700+ math section would be pretty much required, especially if you aren’t in the top 10-15%. Engineering is really tough though. The competition for some majors is quite stiff. My cousin was in the top 5% of his class, 32 on the ACT and a 21xx on the SAT, yet got denied from mccombs. Just do your absolute best to have the best shot. Study hard, especially for math, b’s aren’t going to cut it, and you really need calculus for ut engineering. Study hard for the act/sat, and try to get involved in some tech ec’s that you enjoy as well.
You are only a freshman, so you have a good chance at bringing up your GPA. Definitely do not plan on getting any more Bs lol. If you get fine test scores and keep up extracurriculars, you should have a good chance