<p>My son is a senior in the state of Florida at a small private school. He is going into engineering.
He will graduate high school with his AA degree
He is #1 in his class of about 40.
GPA 4.0 weighted 4.5
ACT 32
SAT 2070
Rigorous courses include Calculus 1,2 and 3. General Physics 1,2 and Diff equations.
We chose classes that would give him a head start in Engineering.
He didn’t take any AP or IB classes mostly because there wasn’t many to choose from.</p>
<p>He has approx 200 hours of various community service.
National Honors
National Merit- Commended. I doubt he will be a semi-finalist. </p>
<p>Colleges he is considering are:
MIT
Stanford
Princeton
Georgia Tech
Cornell
Rice</p>
<p>Georgia tech is his first choice, but being from Florida we pay out of state tuition. Many of the other schools are more aid friendly.</p>
<ol>
<li>No AP even though it was offered</li>
<li>Low SAT (unless he’s retaking) and average ACT (if reference to those schools of course)</li>
<li>He NEEDS 2 SAT Subjects for a few of those schools</li>
<li>Does he have any ECs?</li>
</ol>
<p>His grades should be fine – #1 in the class means you can’t get any better.</p>
<p>His SATs and ACTs are consistent, though the ACT is slightly better. It’s certainly in the ballpark for any of those schools, though perhaps on the lower end of the range for MIT Stanford and Princeton.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT – many on this site will tell you that 2100/32 is a poor score and will disqualify you from many Ivies. If you get a college guide and look at the 25th and 75th percentiles, I think you’ll find that 32 within the range for acceptances for anywhere. Also, see if you can find the recent thread from an MIT Admissions Officer which discusses this. Conclusion – yes it would be nice if his scores were a bit higher, but these probably won’t kill his application.</p>
<p>Rigor of course schedule looks fine. Though there is a lack of APs (possibly because of limited opportunities in a class of only 40), it looks like he’s made up for this by taking actual college courses. As for graduating with the AA degree – interesting. I assume he’ll be applying as a new student, not a ‘transfer’. I don’t know whether he’s even eligible to do the latter, or whether it is advantageous. One thought, many schools limit the number of credits a Freshman can come in with, so he may not get full credit for all his courses. I don’t know the policies of the schools you mention.</p>
<p>Overall – I think he’d be a competitive candidate at any of those schools. With the acceptance %ages being as low as they are, it’s impossible to say anything more.</p>
<p>He will be taking the Physics and Math 2 subject tests.
I forgot to add he does have a job tutoring high school math and science 6 to 10hrs a week…
There were not many EC except sports. He does drama at our church though.
Yes with the AA degree he applies as a new student not transfer.
In regards to transferring credits many of them will transfer. The original plan was to go to UF where he would go in as a Freshman/Junior and be able to graduate in 2 years with the possibility of getting his masters the following year.</p>
<p>btw – if he can so so, he should consider applying to one or more Early Action schools. There are a number of fine ones which should be safeties or near safeties for your son (and provide an excellent shot at a merit scholarship).</p>
<p>If nothing else, getting in somewhere early will take a lot of pressure off. (Both my kids did this when they applied).</p>
<p>You’ll never know unless he applies. That said, he sounds like a smart kid but not really exceptional by the standards of the most selective colleges from what people typically say on the forum. SAT is on the low side for the schools since its 96th percentile; a wonderful rank, to be sure, but the type of schools you mentioned are flooded with applicants and with 3 million HS graduates a year that means he’s in the top 120,000 kids – more spaces than top colleges have. His ECs are definitely going to hurt; even if the school doesn’t offer much he could have initiated something at his school or in the community. His essays and recs will affect his chances, so he should put all the time he can into writing compelling essays.</p>
<p>Anyway, just my opinion. But I’m not an adcom, so take it with a few grains of salt. Best of luck to him wherever he applies.</p>