MA resident, small private all girls school, 4.2 unweighted [with A+ = 4.3; ~3.95 without +/-], 1570 SAT, full IB diploma candidate - Chem E major

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: MA
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): small private all girls school
  • Other special factors: legacy for Cornell (dad)

Cost Constraints / Budget
None

Intended Major(s)
Chemical engineering

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: (calculate it yourself if your high school does not calculate it) 4.2
  • Weighted HS GPA: school does not weight
  • Class Rank: school does not rank (only 12 students in class year!)
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1570 super score (790 r&w/780 math)

List your HS coursework
Freshman:
Biology
Algebra 2
English
World History
French 3
Drawing
Animation
World Music

Sophomore:
Chemistry
Physics
Functions
English
American History
IB SL French
Painting

Junior Year
IB HL AA math
IB HL Environmental Systems and Societies
IB HL Biology
IB SL Lang and Lit
IB SL Global Politics
IB SL French

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
School has no honors or AP. IB diploma is highest

Awards
Math student of year award sophomore and junio
History student of year award sophomore
World languages student of year award junior
Likely national merit finalist

Extracurriculars
Co-captain Hunt Seat equestrian team, nationally ranked team
Resident assistant
Tour guide for prospective students
Chorus and a cappella group
Hiking (NH 48 and NE 67 finisher)
Eco-leaders club
National honor society
Research project junior year on sustainable energy at my school, culminated in 90 minute presentation and speech in front of school Board of Directors
Summer job at local nature/science museum (senior year summer)

Essays/LORs/Other
Essay will be strong. LORs will be strong.

Schools
Current list:

Reach:
Cornell (ED)
Univ of Mich
Stanford

Target:
Clemson
Virginia Tech
CU Boulder
UMass Amherst
Pitt

Likely:
UNH

No scholarship necessary.

Would appreciate chance me responses as well as match me responses. Ideally looking for strong chem e program at a school with lots of spirit and also hopefully a club equestrian team.

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What is the weighting criteria that you get a 4.2? Is it a 4 point with plus earning an extra .33 so A+ is 4.33 ? Or 5 ?

What would it be on a traditional 4 =A, 3 = B etc.

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No weighting other than A+ is 4.3 (regardless of the class)

4.3 = A+
4.0 = A
3.7 = A-

Thanks!

Edit to add:
Gpa on traditional 4.0 scale would be 3.95ish

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U Delaware is known for having strong Chem E. Here’s their equestrian team: University of Delaware Equestrian Team (@delawareequestrian) • Instagram photos and videos

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UMN and UWisc are strong in ChemE too. And have equestrian.

Any are possible. I’d guess your targets are all yes. The rest is a big question mark but that’s why you have the others.

Pitt responds quickly in many cases if you apply early.

Best of luck.

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-chemical?_sort=rank&_sortDirection=asc

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Looks like a great list! I would not be surprised to see your D26 get into one of her reaches. Your targets look solid also! She is a strong applicant

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UNH, U.Mass Amherst, UVM have equestrian teams, as does Dartmouth College (or at least they did a few years ago when a daughter was competing in an event at Dartmouth). Dartmouth might be a possible reach to add to your list. I am not specifically familiar with their chemical engineering program although they seem to have one and be ABET accredited.

I think that you are doing very well and have a good list of schools to apply to.

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But note that the ABET accredited majors at Dartmouth commonly take more than 12 academic quarters (more than 4 academic years), although it may be possible to do one without extra quarters if planned carefully from the start.

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UDel and UMN are very strong for ChemE - targets.
Definitely apply to their Honors Colleges.

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This is a solid list IMO! Good luck.

You could add URI if you wanted another likely - I think they have equestrian of some sort and seem to have a lovely new engineering building and seem to be sinking $$ into it (outsider view).

This is smaller, but Co School of Mines has a lot of fun traditions and seems to have a strong sense of self (I was really impressed on a recent tour of how fun it seemed) Gender balance may be an issue for you though. I believe it has equestrian of some sort too.

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FWIW IME “traditional” would be A= 4, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3 etc. not just like UCs flat As and Bs. I had never heard of that system until CC. Even a 4.3 as A+ on an “unweighted” system is very, very common. Will not be weird to AOs and why comparing GPAs across the country (never mind varied grade inflation) is kind of silly IMO.

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My D26 is looking at schools w equestrian teams, as well- she’s only looking at LACs. I’ve had her start checking out the club’s Instagram page to get a feel for how many students are on the team and finding out how far the barn is from campus. Several schools that had equestrian listed as an activity only had 2 girls competing, with the barn 50+ minutes away, so those naturally fell lower down on her list. Just something to consider if that’s a big requirement for your daughter!

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Congratulations to your D on building a strong profile in high school! She is a competitive applicant for any school.

Below are my guesses as to your D’s chances for admission. I am known as a conservative chancer.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • UNH

Likely (60-79%)

  • CU – Boulder
  • Pitt
  • UMass – Amherst
  • Virginia Tech

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Clemson (leaning likely)

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Cornell – ED

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Cornell – RD
  • Stanford
  • U. of Michigan

Below is a snip from this site that shows the number of students who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 2022:

image
image831Ă—709 22.5 KB

Using the number of grads as a proxy for strength in program, I would venture to say that all of these schools could be good for your D in terms of the major. Auburn & Texas A&M both have lots of spirit and both have varsity women’s equestrian teams.

The following schools have IHSA teams, are listed as having large numbers of Chem E majors, and that I think would qualify as having lots of school spirit:

  • Arizona State
  • Auburn
  • Georgia Tech
  • Iowa State
  • Louisiana State
  • Michigan State
  • NC State
  • Ohio State
  • Penn State
  • Purdue
  • Rutgers
  • Texas A&M
  • Texas Tech

I did not see a women’s varsity team or IHSA team for Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, or Wisconsin. That’s not to say those schools don’t have equestrian programs, but I wasn’t able to locate them on a separate site. Also, paging @cinnamon1212 who probably has additional insight on the equestrian piece and @momofboiler1 on Chem E.

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Thank you for thinking of me @austenNut! Although I am a horseperson, and run my own farm, I confess to being completely unfamiliar with the collegiate equestrian world. I wish I could be more helpful!

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Agree that Udel has great ChemE.

Tufts has ChemE and an Equestrian team. Could be of interest.

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In addition to the great list by @AustenNut, UIUC is strong in ChemE and has an Equestrian team.

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Thank you so much for this thorough and thoughtful reply!! I will have my daughter research some of these match suggestions and see what she might add to the list.

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Yup, we have added a column to our spreadsheet titled “distance to the barn” :joy:

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OP – As suggested elsewhere on this thread, you/your daughter should consider looking into Purdue; it’s Data Digest, here, https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/, can provide some objective information, especially in the links to “Application, Admits, and Matriculations,” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile.” Also, as others have mentioned, you might want to reach out to @momofboiler1 for information about Purdue’s chemical engineering program: her daughter graduated in 2023, I believe, from Purdue with a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with several semesters of co-ops/professional internships along the way.

Purdue also appears to have an equestrian team, as a club sport: - PURDUE UNIVERSITY | BoilerLink

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@AustenNut gives the best suggestions - but note that most of these are not matches. They are safeties.

But I would find the right school and not an admission match vs. safety vs. reach. Really only Ga Tech is a reach and Purdue maybe a match.

But you should find the right school, not based on admission buckets.

In engineering, everyone is brilliant - or they’re gone in the first year.

And a few of the schools at least - and maybe more - but Purdue and A&M for sure - you don’t have your major first year and the major is competitive (not assured).

Good luck.

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