Ok I kind of understand why a 3.4 GPA isn’t really a good score I’ve always been a “B” student since middle school and have a hard time keeping up with fast paced honors/AP classes. But I refuse to believe 3.4 is THAT BAD… I do have a 1330 SAT which is above average for the schools I applied too. I’m not shocked at certain rejections from schools like Texas A&M, I’m more concerned about the graduation rate of these schools I have a shot of getting into.
I got rejected from Purdue(expected), Texas A&M (expected this), NC State, University of Georgia
Branched by UCONN (in state resident) and Penn State
Waitlisted by UMass Amherst (+ branched into Boston), Virginia Tech, and Syracuse university (all unranked and on spacing basis)
So far the only decent college I’ve gotten into Rutgers - New Brunswick campus which is pretty good. There’s also Embry Riddle but the tuition is too much to afford.
The only other college I’m still waiting on is UCF and I’m most worried about spacing there since I submitted application in march.
My safeties were University of Arizona, University of Houston, and Embry Riddle. 2 of them have low graduation rates and last one is too expensive, that’s what I fear the most even if I get accepted. But I think my biggest fear is having Rutgers acceptance taken away because of my final transcript since by AP calc grades aren’t very good (on the brink of failing). I was at least expecting 2-3 acceptances so I can secure my position but I applied to too many low target schools.
In the scenario Rutgers changes their mind and I don’t make it off any of the waitlists, do u suggest CC? Because gap year won’t help…
You can only go to one college - and Rutgers is great - as is ERAU - but if you can’t afford it, it’t out.
So if you can afford Rutgers, do you have risk? No.
Do you want more acceptances? There’s still time to apply to others. For example, UAH is a mid size school under $40K all in. There are others.
But is there any risk? Not if you want to go to Rutgers - and it’s a great school.
U of Arizona is also FANTASTIC for aero. Yes, some schools have a low overall graduation rate because they’re easy ins - but it doesn’t mean they’re not great schools…just less selective and often have a less wealthy student body - which means some kids will have to drop out due to finances - or had to work and weren’t able to study and struggled…
If I remember, you’re the student from CT who struggles in math but wants to be an engineer? That is a bigger issue than a school’s graduation rate.
Anyway, to answer your question - Rutgers is a top school and unless you’re dying not to go there in which you’ll have Arizona or you can toss in a UAH or Miss State - but no, you’re not in a risky position.
So it sounds as though you have four college acceptances, three of which are affordable:
Rutgers - New Brunswick
U. of Houston
U. of Arizona
Embry-Riddle (not affordable)
All of these are good schools. Although you mention concerns about the grad rates at two of the schools, more often than not it has to do with the family’s finances and the student’s preparation for college. If a school is solidly within your family’s budget (i.e. not stretching to afford it) and you have a 1330 SAT, then I think you’re adequately prepared to be successful in college, no matter what its grad rate. Do realize, however, that some degree programs are more difficult than others, and engineering has a reputation for being quite challenging.
If you’re concerned about Rutgers rescinding your offer because of your grades this semester, I would reach out to them now. I’ve generally heard that grades below a C can be a consideration, depending on the previous transcript. So if you’re looking at multiple Ds (or potentially some Fs), then it’s best to find out now rather than later if Rutgers will withdraw its offer.
The best way to help yourself in any scenario right now is to get some help with calc. Figure out where you became lost and dig out a little. The perseverance will pay off and help you with other math courses in the future.
Some of these colleges received another year of record breaking applications from OOS applicants. Those with higher stats have been waitlisted and rejected - you are in good company.
Get to a C in Calc and then keep working on it, you will most likely get a higher grade than you think, but you can’t give up now.
Rutgers is a great option and you can transfer into UConn from the branch. Look at the pros and cons of each.
If you are still curious about what is out there - In a few weeks this organization will post a list of colleges still accepting applications. There are usually a few that would fit your GPA, stats, etc…
Congrats on the admission to Rutgers – did you get accepted to engineering? Can you afford the >$50K/year for Rutgers? What is your budget? On a previous thread you said:
but then said “ignore budget”.
Which UCONN branch did you get admitted to? I still think that MechE or MechE Technology at Central Connecticut State University is a wonderful option for you since it would cost you so little and is ABET-accredited.
On that thread you got a TON of very good very specific advice about possible majors and schools that you could apply to.
I’m glad you took the advice to apply to University of Houston – have you heard back from them? People mentioned that Arizona and ERAU weren’t safeties for you. In another comment you say you didn’t get into engineering at ERAU? Were you admitted to Arizona?
Considering your recent grades, I think even more now that an engineering technology degree is a better fit for you than an engineering degree.
I believe that U North Texas, UA Huntsville, and Kent State are all still accepting applications. I think you should apply to all of them (for the reasons described in your previous thread). And Central Connecticut if you haven’t already.
OP- I am confused about the finances so I’ll leave that to other posters-- do you want us to ignore money even if ERAU is too expensive? I’m not sure I understand.
Anyway, graduation rates are irrelevant to any particular student (as a prospective engineering student you surely understand when a “rate” is or is not predictive). If you have enough money to fund all four years (a significant factor in kids who don’t graduate is that their families run out of money and they have to withdraw), if you are prepared to go to every single class, lab and do your assignments (another factor is kids who end up on academic probation because they sleep through their morning classes and spend the weekends partying instead of doing their problem sets) AND are going to take your advisor’s advice on which classes to take when (It baffles me when students are paying for the help of an advisor and then ignore the advice), your chances of graduating in 8 semesters is close to 100%. Anyone can get sick or injured of course- so a medical withdrawal might be necessary, but most of the low grad rates nationally are due to one of the above factors.
I think you have terrific options. And starting at a branch might be a blessing in disguise for you. It will help you establish strong study habits before you hit the main campus where there are many more social options/distractions.
I got into Daytona campus but my gpa was too low for admittance into first year engineering. Also no haven’t heard back from UA and UHouston. I didn’t really understand the whole financial constraints since my parents didn’t talk it out, all I know was that they said Embry Riddle and Rochester are too expensive
Do what you can to deal with AP calc. You need to have full mastery over that material if you are going to be an engineer.
IF Rutgers is a no- go (rescinded, unaffordable), you have a good option with UConn. Given your challenges with math, you might find more support at the branch than at the main campus, so maybe not a bad fallback at all.
Well the Stamford branch doesn’t offer engineering or engineering technology, so it’s imperative that you apply to Central Connecticut. They’re still accepting applications.
Put in an application to CCSU and go there. They will nurture you like their own child. My friends’ kids who have gone to CCSU for engineering, science, etc. who were uneven high school students have done very well there, finished in 4 yrs, had close relationships with faculty, got great jobs, are doing very well. If you do well in your first year at Central, and want to transfer to UConn Storrs, you can, while if you were branched, you have to spend 2 yrs there (unless you can justify the transfer for courses not being available at your branch).
Meanwhile, get a calc tutor, so you get at least a C and don’t get rescinded from Rutgers.
In my opinion, your preconceptions about what colleges are “decent” are setting you up for failure. Even if Rutgers doesn’t rescind you, there’s little reason to believe that a student who can’t hold it together in Calc BC is going to thrive in Rutgers Engineering.
You need:
a school where you’re not at the bottom of your cohort in terms of math ability
a school that is strongly supportive of its students
a school that isn’t at the top end of your budget range, so that you can afford to graduate even if it takes more than the standard 4 years
a school with an Engineering Technology option so that you can still pursue a career in the engineering field even if you decide that the path to an ABET engineering degree is too steep
CCSU meets all of these criteria. I strongly agree with the advice to apply there now.
Additional schools that meet these criteria have been suggested in your older threads, but deadlines have passed for many of them. (For example, on your other thread, I suggested UMaine, Maine Maritime, and Mass Maritime, all of which would give you a reciprocity tuiton rate. The Maine schools have a March 1st deadline but do accept apps after the deadline if space is available. Mass Maritime’s deadline is April 15th.) U of Houston may meet the criteria also, but it’s a large commuter school, a long way from home. I suspect it would be a lot easier to fall through the cracks there than at CCSU.
Eyes on the prize - and the prize here is not being able to start, but being able to finish.
CCSU sounds like a great option - supportive, good value, likely to help you reach your goals including attending Storrs.
3.4/1330 is solid indeed. But your current struggles in Calc may explain your decisions. (And yes anything below a C, especially for a major-relevant subject, could very well lead to being rescinded.)
You want a supportive choice to help you through early weedout courses. As @aquapt said, eyes on the prize.
Rutgers Engineering is filled with kids who got As in Calc BC and 1450-1500 with 750+ on their SAT Math… and the weedout is real. Not sure it’s the best choice for you.
You got into Penn State, hopefully Behrend or Harrisburg (if you didn’t and would consider it, email and ask for “reconsideration, same major but Behrend or Harrisburg”. Both are real 4 year colleges with ABET accredited majors; Behrend is mostly Engineering but Harrisburg is larger.) They’ll be more supportive than the University Park campus but after 2 years if you passed your courses you automatically move to UP with your cohort. I assume the UConn Branch is the same system. So basically if you start at a branch you can choose your favorite flagship to end up at (Penn State or UConn). And obviously UConn would be much cheaper.
If you’re still unhappy with your results as @Pathnottaken said there will be a list of colleges that miscalculated enrollment, probably in May-June (the FAFSA fiasco is throwing all timelines into disarray).
I do think Rutgers or C Connecticut - engineering is hard - so not sure one is necessarily better or easier than the other.
Back to the student’s original thread though - they’ve got a lot of great acceptances - so there’s no risk…unless, that is, they can’t afford the school’s they got into. Even with only one acceptance, there’s no risk - unless that school were to close its doors - which Rutgers is in no danger of doing.
If one can’t afford the schools on their list, then the list was properly cultivated.
Hopefully OP comes back to update us and marches ahead but OP should feel proud of their acceptances.
A D (or F) in calculus for a future Engineering major is likely to mean being rescinded. That’s the risk.
OP could also accept the UConn branch offer (Stamford I think) then transition to UConn Storrs.
Wrt CCSU and Rutgers… indeed, ABET accredited engineering is going to be hard everywhere, but at CCSU, OP would be among the top 25% of the class, making it more likely they’d make it through the weedout classes (for which their SAT score and taking Calculus indicate he’d be better prepared than the average student), whereas at Rutgers they’d be in the bottom 25% (for instance in Engineering the bottom 25% Math threshold is 690) and thus at high risk of being among the weeded out.
So CCSU could be a better choice in terms of making it through 4 difficult years that most students give up upon.
(OP is being encouraged to apply to CCSU Engineering.)
I agree they have a lot of great acceptances, not easy to do for Engineering which tends to be harder than the whole university to get into.
Do what you can to get at least a C in that class. D or F grades in classes reported as in progress on your application will risk rescission generally, not just at Rutgers (but check all admission offers for specific conditions to see what grade or GPA requirements you need to meet).