Match an Indecisive Engineering girlie from CA who's ready to make the most killer college list ever! [CA Resident, 4.0, $40k, Engineering]

Chance Me / Match Me
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HELLO AGAIN!!! :DD I’m back (Congrats to current seniors btw!!) and wow it feels cliche to say but my interests, activities etc have changed quite a bit since I posted an old chance/match me a little less than a year ago! Junior year has been rough, but my life has changed quite a bit! I can only hope for the better…Also, I was very detailed in this, I think(?). If you know me irl, no you don’t. :slight_smile:

Anyways, and onto the good stuff!!! (Well, hopefully good anyways.)

Demographics

  • Location: SoCal, US Citizen
  • HS Type: Uncompetitive Title 1 High School! Medium size ish (my grade level has around 260 -270 students.) Suburban setting but the only thing around our school (and my home by extension) are warehouses and freeways….
  • Hooks: Mexican-American (Does this even matter anymore?), idk Woman in Engineering? I was first-gen for a bit but my mom actually recently went back and finished a degree in education!!! So proud of her :partying_face: :partying_face:
  • Household Income: She makes a bit less now, about $85k

Intended Major(s):

  • So, originally (and in an old post on here actually) I was pretty damn certain about going into a career practicing medicine. It was something I am passionate about and find fairly interesting. HOWEVER, in the past year I started working on an environmental engineering project independently (out of pure interest in the subject) as well as I have been paired doing engineering-type projects for my science club/olympiad team since the senior who was in charge of it graduated and I don’t know man!!! I love the excitement of designing prototypes and slowly improving. Watching something that was once just a daydream being created in real life gives me kicking my feet like a schoolgirl LMAO. I’ve also gotten really interested in sustainable engineering as well as an equitable distribution of the engineering technologies made, which was a goal in my silly little project, and as a result have found myself leaning towards majoring in mechanical engineering or environmental engineering.

  • That being said!!! I 1) am still slowly exploring the career options and day-to-day lives of an engineer at work, as what an engineer does still greatly confuses me. And 2) I still have an interest in maybe going into the medical field one day (not to sure). I’ve already talked to my guidance counselor who advised me to apply as an engineering major as it is easier to switch out of the school of engineering at a lot of colleges than to switch into it, but because I’m not 100% sure I would really like a school which offers cognitive science/neuroscience and the possibility of switching from an engineering major to a more biological science major won’t be impossible.

Stats:

  • UW GPA: 4.0 (I’m fighting for my life in my Honors Precalculus class though. Gonna try my best to maintain this but I might end with a B. )
  • School Weighted GPA: 4.2
  • UC Weighted: 4.50
  • UC Weighted and Capped: 4.17
  • Rank: Top 5%
  • AP Scores:
    4- AP Human Geography, AP World History: Modern
    3 - AP Psychology
    Current (In order of prioritization for studying): AP Environmental Science, AP Physics
    1 (Took last year, cb lost exam and offered free make-up), AP Computer Science
    Principles (we’re barely on unit 6 T_T), AP English Language, APUSH
    Next Year: AP Calc AB, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature, AP US Government,
  • PSAT Score: Canceled at our school due to problems with it being digital/couldn’t find
    a testing center with room afterwards, so I couldn’t do it afterall… Womp womp
    SAT Score: March 9th: 1330 (720 RW & 610 Math), will retake again in (maybe June) August and October. If I don’t get at least a 1500 I won’t apply to MIT and if I don’t get at least a 1450 I will apply test optional.

Coursework:

  • 9th grade schedule: AP HUG, English 1 HP, Athletics, AVID Algebra 1, PLTW Biomedical sciences, DE Spanish 101, DE Intro to Chicano Studies, DE Generic Required Intro to College Life Skills course

  • AP Psych, AP Physics 1 AP World English 2-HP AVID Athletics Algebra 2 w/ Trig. DE Intro Political Philosophy, DE Music in Film, DE Child Development, DE Philosophy, DE English Composition, DE Human Biology w/ Lab

  • 11th grade schedule: APUSH, AP English Language, AP Environmental Science, Honors Precalculus, AP Computer Science Principles, Honors Chemistry (No Dual Enrollment Classes this year, some family stuff came up that affected a lot of stuff which I plan on mentioning in additional information)

  • 12th grade schedule: Ethnic Studies, AP Government, AP Lit, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus AB, Teacher Assistant for Physics, DE Engineering CAD Design Course, (Maybe DE Physics/Mechanics class, idk I’ll see how I feel second semester).

Awards (to any lurking underclassmen, junior year is really it :heart_eyes:):

  • 3rd in Category at Competitive Regional Science Fair (1st person in district/local area in history to make it to CSEF!!!) (11th)
  • 1st overall in Local Science Fair (out of 92 projects >:))(11th)
  • All-League Team for Singles in Girls Varsity Tennis Division (Literally Bronze but shhhhh)
  • College Board National Hispanic Recognition Program
  • Hoping to get a small, independent award at CSEF and applying for Ayn Rand competition. If anyone has any recommendations for any kind of competition/program/award thing, especially related to either engineering or environment stuff that I’m eligible for I’d be really grateful!!!

Extracurriculars (A couple of these are copy and pasted from my MITES profile tbh):

  • Baking/Community Service Club, Founder and President (10th, 11th, 12th):
    Lead meetings for a community service oriented club, communicated with hospitals, food banks and special education teachers to host drives and activities. Directed members and assigned positions in events as well as organized celebratory potlucks for members to socialize while being exposed to new, various cultural dishes. Lots of fun, this one!!
  • Independent Environmental Engineering Research, (10th, 11th):
    Can’t go too into detail because y’know, dw be doxxed but basically worked on implementing a new process in a type desalination process and making it more economically feasible (and thus more accessible to poorer areas) and also sustainable. I plan on continuing it next year and entering it for Regeneron STS and Davidson Fellows but like, it is honestly not anywhere near that level of complexity and insanity tbh. Something I’ve mentioned is that our school is pretty underfunded and I wasn’t able to access some of the materials required to recreate an optimal solution and will probably look into labs/colleges if I could use their chemistry lab to make a solution and continue with the project further. Oh and this year I won a small award at a regional science fair and I am going to get my project published in a journal affiliated with a national museum!! Don’t know if I should include it though since it’s not like a crazy, intense peer reviewed journal that has impact factors and a paywall.
  • Captain (11th) Girls Varsity Tennis
    Singles #2 player (9th, 10th, 11th); researched and implemented new drills and techniques, held team bonding events for a team of 15 girls, organized a fundraiser and raised over $2500 to host the first girl’s tennis banquet since before COVID. Hrs/wk during season can reach around 6-10 hours including practices, but decrease during off-season practices
  • Science Club Member (9th, 11th), and Founding Member of Science Olympiad (11th):
    Specializing in Engineering events at district science competition, creating blueprints and prototypes to distribute to other team members that won second place (9th), currently a founding member of Science Olympiad studying the Detector Probe and Geological Mapping events while also actively recruiting new members. (11). Pause in participation sophomore year was due to being unable to attend after school meetings due to helping care for a Grandparent with cancer. Co-captain of Science Club and Science Olympiad Next Year!
  • Independent Cake & Pastry Business (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th):
    Receive small orders for primarily cakes, however have also sold various other pastries and desserts, serving ~20 customers and making $800. Advertising done word of mouth, currently working on possibly making an insta to advertise. All cake recipes are developed by me after various taste and texture tests, with my most popular cake (as well as my own personal favorite) being my tres leches cake.
  • Independent: Babysitting (11th, 12th):
    Looked after children (2 - 12 years old) and assisted in making snacks and small meals, accompanying to sports and assisting in homework. Currently gain customers through being referred by current customers, have about 11 families I babysit for and have profited $600 on winter season.
  • Family Responsibilities (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (Emphasis on end of 10th, most of 11th):
    Took on the role of part-time caregiver to grandparents, one with Stage 4 Cancer and the other with Cancer (Now Cancer free!! Woohoo!!) Additionally, I had to take on additional responsibilities at home, due to Mom being busy with school, caring for her parents, and work.
  • Summer Programs!! (HOPEFULLY)
    I applied to MITES, HSF YLI,-UCD YSP and Civics Unplugged UCLA. I was recently accepted into HSF YLI at USC and was super excited!!! Until I realized that the dates overlapped with MITES and HSF YLI was binding :(. Had to turn it down that :frowning: Some things are worth the risk I guess…… I hope I get in… If I don’t then I will try to find an engineering internship and work on my research project or get a job, take a Dual Enrollment Physics class and work on my research project.

Essays/LORs/Other:

Letters Of Recommendation (TL;DR: when in doubt, offer homemade baked goods)

  • AP Physics/Science Club Advisor/Research Project Advisor/Science Department Chair
    We’re pretty close! Wrote me a rec for MITES and I feel like he is the person who can best speak for my abilities in Science + plus he’s seen my ambition and perseverance. He’s a cool dude and I really admire him so I can only hope they can write me a strong letter.
  • AP English Language/Community Service Club Advisor/English Department Chair
    Aww we’re super close! She knows me on a personal level, knows about my struggles and my successes. She’s seen me grow from a quiet, scared nerd to a confident, goofy, compassionate nerd, she’s like a second mom to me tbh. Also I do really well in her class haha. Also wrote a rec for MITES and UCD YSP, has already agreed to write college recs for me.
  • Guidance Counselor
    I’ve bugged her a LOT this year and we’ve become comfortable as a result. She’s gotten to know my personality and is impressed by my academic/extracurricular and personal achievements and is really supportive of my dreams for college and beyond. Also wrote me a recommendation for MITES!

Essays

  • Y’know I’ve gotten some practice with the summer program essays I’ve done! If you couldn’t tell from this profile I am a D1 Yapper!!! I feel like I’m gonna really need these to be strong for a shot at the big leagues, so I am defo dedicating time and care to writing and revising my PIQ’s and Common App and having multiple people review it, already making a list of people I know will be cool with reviewing/revising it. If anyone had any resources that helped with that I’d be suuuper grateful!!!

Cost Constraints / Budget

  • My mom said no more than $40k a year! Tbh I have no idea how we could afford that but….eh. The lower the better. Especially because I’d like to possibly get a masters or PHD in engineering or med school if I decide to take that route. OH and I have the npc for a few schools. My sister gets full tuition at a CSU and we both have the same financial situation, so I think its safe to assume I’d probably get about the same. My mom was able to do the UC’s npc which came out at $11k - 13k a year. MIT came out at 7.5k a year. Cool stuff!! Once I have a finalized list I’ll go through each one more intensely.

Preferences

  • I’m open to smaller colleges, but at least 1500 students, not like Caltech (not enough people!). Honestly I’ve been to school’s that are around 1300 - 1500 students all my life and I’m interested in bigger colleges, though I have to admit I see the benefits in smaller schools.
  • I really want to study abroad so a school with strong programs with that/possible stipends would be nice! Crying about my classes in like, Korea or Scotland sounds honestly very aesthetic :3
  • Merit money would also be aesthetic :33
  • Mostly focusing on the West Coast and East Coast at the moment, open to some Midwest though. They MUST be in a state that has safe access to abortion though. Just a personal preference and something that even my mom has sat me down and made clear is a requirement on her end too.

Schools including Safety, Match, Reach (Finally!! The good stuff)

Safety

  • Community College
  • University of New Mexico
  • Cal Poly Pomona

Match

  • Santa Clara University
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Davis (??)

Reach

  • SDSU
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Berkeley
  • UCLA
  • Harvey Mudd
  • MIT (Will remove if I can’t break 1500 on SAT)

My Mom wants me to apply

  • Harvard
  • Yale
  • Princeton
  • Stanford
  • CalTech

Some advice in strengthening my list would be nice!! I’m a bit lost when it comes to engineering and I wanted to finalize a list before summer so I could focus on essays and work through the net price calculators. Match schools would be nice and any advice on strengthening my profile overall!!! Also I’m feeling a bit silly today and a chance me for MITES would be nice (it’s my dream program!!!)

I realized that you have to update these things to make them stay open (whoops haha) and hope that I can provide updates on my journey and results for any of the lurkers on here, also cause heaven knows I’m going to need all the support I can get!! THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE!!! I appreciate you all! <3

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Linking to OP’s previous thread.

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CPP may not be a safety for mechanical engineering. CPP calculates an admission index of GPA * 1000 + 450, with some unspecified bonus for local area, etc…

Your CSU-recalculated GPA is calculated like UC weighted-capped, but each college course counts as two courses and two grades for CSU. So it may be slightly different.

However, if it happens to be the same as your 4.17, then your CPP admission index would be 4620, just barely above last years threshold for mechanical engineering at 4562, according to Freshman Student Profile . Since the threshold can change year to year, it would not be a good idea to count it as a sure thing safety. Civil engineering had a somewhat lower threshold.

Other California public universities with environmental or mechanical engineering, based on abet.org :

  • Cal Poly Humboldt
  • Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
  • CSU Maritime Academy
  • CSU Chico
  • CSU Fresno
  • CSU Fullerton
  • CSU Long Beach
  • CSU Los Angeles
  • CSU Northridge
  • CSU Sacramento
  • UC Berkeley
  • UC Davis
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Los Angeles
  • UC Merced
  • UC Riverside
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • San Diego State University
  • San Francisco State University
  • San Jose State University

The CSUs in italic above are non-impacted at the campus level, and engineering majors are not impacted there, according to Impacted Undergraduate Majors and Universities, 2025-26 | CSU . They can be used as 100% chance of admission safeties if you meet minimum CSU admission requirements (a-g course work, 2.5 HS GPA as recalculated) and can afford attending them.

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Are you open to other locations - east of New Mexico - like the South or midwest?

With your 4.0, U of Arizona should be on your list. We don’t yet know next year’s tuition and they have budget issues - the president just resigned - but it will assuredly be less than $40K and engineering will continue to have focus as it’s a leading school.

Your issue will be - to find a school you can afford and get in - it may be New Mexico - but you’ll want more.

Applying to schools like SCU - a fine school and it may come in at budget - but it may not.

You’ll need more - they’ll 100% come in at budget and I can get in.

You have a reach heavy list - it doesn’t mean you won’t get in - but the odds would be against. You might also look at very male schools - an RPI for example - but those are in addition to the UNM, U Arizona types, etc.

Also, don’t forget you have WUE which has a ton of schools. Some schools give everyone the award. Others only some - but it would really open your list - and you can find those that assure the scholarship. Just make sure the schools you apply to are ABET accredited.

Good luck.

Anchorage, AK

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$10,530

7/15/24

Fairbanks, AK

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$13,005

6/15/23

Flagstaff, AZ

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$17,028

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Alamosa, CO

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$12,418

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Colorado Springs, CO

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$20,247

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Denver, CO

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$18,522

9/4/24

Denver, CO

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$22,275

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Fort Collins, CO

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$20,670

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Grand Junction, CO

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$14,208

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Littleton, CO

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$7,389

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Westminster, CO

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$7,389

9/21/23

Honolulu, HI

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$16,956

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Boise, ID

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$8,912

12/15/23

Moscow, ID

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$9,810

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Pocatello, ID

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$8,988

6/1/24

Bozeman, MT

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$9,086

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Butte, MT

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$9,170

8/23/24

Las Vegas, NV

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$11,813

6/1/24

North Las Vegas, NV

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$5,198

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Reno, NV

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$11,813

4/7/24

Albuquerque, NM

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$12,756

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Las Cruces, NM

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$10,092

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Socorro, NM

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$11,496

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Fargo, ND

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$13,963

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Grand Forks, ND

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$13,856

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Corvallis, OR

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$17,190

2/1/24

Klamath Falls, OR

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$15,738

9/4/24

Portland, OR

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$13,973

8/1/24

Brookings, SD

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$11,283

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Rapid City, SD

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$11,726

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Cedar City, UT

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$9,009

5/1/24

Ephraim, UT

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$5,694

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Logan, UT

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$11,081

12/1/23

Ogden, UT

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$8,207

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Orem, UT

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$8,421

8/1/24

Salt Lake City, UT

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$13,655

12/1/23

St. George, UT

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$7,901

7/15/23

Cheney, WA

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$10,941

2/1/24

Ellensburg, WA

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$10,532

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Everett, WA

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$17,253

1/31/24

Pullman, WA

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$17,331

3/31/24

Richland, WA

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$17,253

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Vancouver, WA

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$17,334

1/31/24

Laramie, WY

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$7,470

5/1/24

5

The state of Arizona probably does not meet the following requirement from the OP and parent:

The states of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming also are not likely to meet that requirement.

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Missed that - I asked about the midwest because U of Kansas and Kansas State will likely come in at budget and the voters there have passed access. So that’s no longer an issue as it’s embedded in the state constitution (so Kansas should be added to students lists where abortion rights are a concern).

Ohio voters also passed protection although a $40K school there will be harder.

The OP may have zero interest in heading east - but this will eliminate southern schools. On the flipside, sometimes due to budgets, you have to make decisions you are not comfortable with.

But there will be enough schools in CA under $40K as well as WUE schools - like UNLV - that the student will have options.

Hopefully, of course, they get into a reach school and it becomes affordable - but I’m looking for that most important school - the assured and affordable safety.

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Is there a reason you don’t include CP SLO? CP SLO is one of the top eng school in CA. Based on your stats, I would rank SDSU target, instead of reach. S24 had about the same stats and applied to aero eng there, he got early acceptance and honor college. You may want to apply to Oregon State, it is a good mech eng school. S24 got WUE discount and honor college there.

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Yeah, I’m fine with looking at schools in these areas so long as they fall in the aforementioned rules of my mom that the state itself has not passed legislation that makes abortion illegal/inaccessible. Thanks for the list of colleges! I’ll look into them!!!

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Cal Poly SLO seems like a nice school, in all honesty I want to do a bit more research on the program and location since I’ve heard some not-so-nice things about the school itself and its location. Hopefully I can organize a visit or do a virtual tour sometime soon though and decide for myself. So I’m def heavily considering it.

Oh thank you for the recommendation!! I’ll look into it.

Congrats on your child’s acceptances btw!!!

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You may want to add ohio state also, ranked 25th among national eng schools. S24 got accepted to pre-aero eng there with $14.5K merit per year, bring COA down to about the same as UC instate.

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It’s very important to apply by EA deadlines for engineering admission and to maximize merit opportunities. Some scholarships require supplemental applications. Consider applying for the Morrill and Stamps Eminence.

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Anyone else questioning whether this is the optimal approach? Especially for a working class Hispanic female who’s FG(ish) and interested in a STEM field? Several Ivies recently reinstated the SAT specifically because too many students who would have increased school diversity declined to submit scores, and that made them LESS likely to get admitted. I think several lamented that scores in the 1400s should have submitted.

1400-1450 is 93rd-96th percentile.

You’ll want math higher for STEM.

But 1400-1450 is a very impressive score coming from a non-competitive HS. And the Ivies know that.

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I mean:

“There are hundreds of less-advantaged applicants with scores in the 1,400 range who should be submitting scores to identify themselves to admissions, but do not under test-optional policies.” Some of these applicants were rejected because the admissions office could not be confident about their academic qualifications.”

“The admissions office will judge an applicant’s environment partly by comparing his or her test score with the score distribution at the applicant’s high schools, Coffin said. In some cases, even an SAT score well below 1,400 can help an application.”

I don’t know. Talk to your guidance counselor. I’m not a professional. But I don’t think it’s obvious that you should be test optional at 1440.

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I agree OP should be give more thought to applying with or without tests once she is done testing and gets to the point of deciding what to do with each app (where she has a choice to submit or not). I don’t think OP needs to hit 1500 to consider MIT (depending on math subscore).

OP what is the average SAT/ACT score at your HS?

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Why?

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Okay, I’m going to give you a heads-up that I’m about to send a pretty overwhelming college list your way. But I’m frequently one of those that likes to look at all of the options and think that everyone else is like that, too (though I realize not everyone is). (I might also be considered a D1 yapper, too! :slight_smile: )

This is a fairly long list because not all of these schools will be right for you. The number one aspect of fit is finances and the second is making sure that the school offers areas of study you’re interested in. But once those metrics have been met, then it’s about figuring out if the vibe of the student body is one that works for you, or if you feel as though you can find “your people” on campus. Maybe you’re big into intercollegiate sports enthusiasm and a school has very little of it (or the reverse). Same thing for Greek life, or type of weather, or the amount of sun (for people affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder), etc. Some people like big expansive campuses while others prefer compact ones. Things you realize are important to you can help to cull the list of those schools that aren’t right for you.

The most important schools on any list are the schools that will be your sure things, and these are the schools that you should focus on finding first. These are the schools that meet three conditions:

  1. They are extremely likely to admit you
  2. They are extremely likely to be affordable for your family
  3. You would be happy to enroll and attend for four years

Like you, I’m concerned that a $40k/year college budget will be extremely challenging to pay for on a family income of $85k. Thus, I would advise that your sure things end up costing significantly less…probably more in line with what your family paid for your sister’s education.

The schools that are bolded are those that offer ABET-accredited environmental engineering and mechanical engineering. Historically, many colleges included a concentration in environmental engineering within their civil engineering programs, so just because a school isn’t ABET-accredited in Env. engineering doesn’t mean that it may not be accredited for civil and that it has a concentration there. Essentially, that is something that you will need to research at the schools of interest.

I have generally included the Ivy League colleges that your mom is very interested in you applying to. They all provide an excellent education, but many people believe that for people who are interested in an education in engineering, that there are better schools for that domain. I will leave it to them to explain further, though, as it is definitely not my area of expertise.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Cal Poly – Humboldt: Env. Eng.

  • Cal State: Chico: Mech E.

  • Marquette (WI): Mech E.

  • UC – Merced: Env. Eng. Mech E.

  • U. of Nevada – Reno: Env. Eng. Mech E., WUE

  • U. of the Pacific (CA): Mech E.

Likely (60-79%)

  • Clarkson (NY) – Env. Eng., Mech E.

  • Colorado State – Env. Eng., Mech E. WUE

  • Gonzaga (WA): Mech E.

  • Montana State: Env. Eng., Mech E., WUE

  • U. of Dayton (OH): Mech E.

  • U. of Denver (CO): Mech E.

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Santa Clara (CA): Mech E.

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • Case Western (OH): Mech E.

  • Lafayette (PA ): Mech E.

  • U. of Rochester (NY): Mech E.

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Brown (RI): Env. Eng., Mech E

  • Columbia (NY) – Env. Eng., Mech E

  • Cornell (NY) – Env. Eng., Mech E

  • Harvard (MA): Mech E.

  • Johns Hopkins (MD) – Env. Eng., Mech E.

  • Northwestern (IL) Env. Eng. Mech E.

  • Princeton (NJ): Mech E.

  • Stanford (CA): Mech E.

  • UC – Berkeley: Mech E.

  • UCLA: Mech E.

  • U. of Pennsylvania: Mech E.

  • U. of Virginia: Mech E.

  • Yale: Mech E.

As California publics are their own special beast, I’m yielding to @Gumbymom and/or @ucbalumnus for your chances at these schools.

Additional California Publics

  • Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo: Env. Eng. Mech. E.

  • San Diego State : Env. Eng, Mech E

  • UC – Davis: Env. Eng. Mech E.

  • UC – Irvine: Env. Eng., Mech E.

  • UC – Riverside: Env. Eng., Mech E.

  • UC – San Diego: Mech E.

  • UC – Santa Barbara: Mech E.

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The weather is colder for sure but RPI (NY) and WPI (MA) give need and substantial merit. Both are states you would NOT need to worry about. And larger than your minimum size.

RPI has a scholarship (“medal”) for one person per high school. You can get nominated by your principal. People often have interesting combinations of engineering with other disciplines and ridiculous companies hire from RPI. And there is a lot of crossover with the MIT applicant list.

WPI declared publicly several years ago their desire to use merit to attract female candidates. Not sure if that is still going but the clear intent there is to have a more gender balanced student body. WPI also has a Brown-like curriculum with few pre-requisites allowing a lot of flexibility.

WPI is also now test blind. Not even test optional. They are very progressive

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Is this a typo?

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Typo

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You are smart, ambitious and very articulate. I’ll be shocked if you don’t get into somewhere great. I actually look forward to reading more on your progress in the next 12 months. Best of luck.

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