Type of high school (current college for transfers): Public - Highly competitive
Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): Asian Female
Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): My parents did their Masters in US, does that make me first gen? 2 times Texas All State musician
Intended Major(s)
Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical Engineering (Where AE is not available as a BS major)
Computer Science (Minor)
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 5.45
College GPA (for transfers): N/A
Class Rank: Don’t know this yet but hopefully top 10%
Coursework (AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
8 APs until Junior year with all As
5 more planned for Senior year
Completed Multivariable Calculus from Dallas college in first sem of Junior year - Only class I got a B so far. I studied on my own and I am worries how this reflects.
Dual Credit and Concurrent Enrollment Dallas County Community College - 3.75 GPA (24 hours)
Awards
AP Scholar with Distinction
Texas state level Cellist - Top 10 across the state last two years
Texas region level competition - 1st chair cellist - Last 3 years
Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Gold Level)
AP Scholar with Honor
HOSA silver medal in regionals
Science olympiad bronze medal + silver medal in regionals
Divisional and state level awards in Robotics (team oriented)
Extracurriculars (Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
10 years playing cello with >7 years as part of very reputable local youth orchestra
NASA High School Astronomy Scholar (NASA HAS) - 20 weeks during junior year
STEM camps every summer involving coding, physics, biology, math
Founder of a math tutoring service - recruited multiple tutors, meets every week for last 3 years
Regular visits to hospitals, senior and assisted living homes - in person and virtual concerts last two years
3000$ raised for various charities via personal skills like music, arts & crafts, etc.
Essays/LORs/Other (Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
I have really good relationships with my HS teachers. But I don’t know how to gauge their strength
Cost Constraints / Budget (High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
I am hoping to qualify for national merit
Please call out need blind schools + merit scholarship awarding schools + potential external scholarships
I don’t qualify for need based and looking for schools preferably < 50k per year
My family is focusing more on a Aerospace Engineering program with good opportunities for internships and future job prospects out of college
Schools (List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)
Below is my personal list as of now. I don’t think I have this right
Safety (certain admission and affordability) : Texas A&M, Embry Riddle, UC Boulder, Virginia Tech
Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable) : Arizona State Uni, UMICH, UT Austin (?), NC State Uni, Duke, UIUC
Match
Reach : Caltech, Rice, Stanford, U Mass Amherst, Georgia Tech
I don’t know much about this but we do have a high stats senior at my kids school who will be attending Auburn next year for this major, and I have heard from them that it is a highly ranked program. Even without aid it meets your $50K and they offer merit scholarships to out of state, which it seems like you would qualify for pending ACT score. So it could be a likely for you? Good luck!
You have some great accomplishments and will get into good schools. But you’re correct that your list isn’t calibrated correctly. Virginia Tech is not a safety. For engineering, Michigan, NC state, Duke, and UIUC are reaches for everyone out of state. Other posters can chime in about the other schools.
At Texas A&M, you’d enter their first year engineering program. They have possibly the most strict transition to major process of any school. It’s called ETAM, and Aero will be one of the toughest majors to get. There’s a lot of info about this over on the A&M forum.
Have you considered U Alabama HUNTSVILLE? It would be a fantastic safety for you as an aero major. You’d get huge merit there and you can read about Huntsville to get an idea about why it’s such a great town for aero. U Alabama (“Bama” in Tuscaloosa) is also a great option, though I think Huntsville would be cooler for an aero major.
ETA: why not Purdue? It’s cheap (relatively speaking) and amazing for aero.
Thanks - I did not know about Auburn’s AE program. I will check it out now. Are you in-state for Auburn? Where do I check the in state vs out of state stats for admissions?
@ColdWombat - Yes I need to do more homework on the Safety vs Target - what do you suggest as the best sources to check my chances given the credentials? I do understand that there are so many other factors that could impact but looking for options. I am looking at Niche right now.
Thanks for the callout on the ETAM, I will check A&M forum.
Any other suggestions for in-state Texas?
This forum Other users will chime in to chance you on the other schools. UT Arlington also offers aero, but honestly, the Alabama schools and ASU might come in just as cheap. Check out their auto-merit tables to find out!
Wow - incredible achievements. $50k is easy but unlikely at CU Boulder and Va Tech. So if not affordable to stated cost then not likely. But admission wise yes.
Michigan, Duke, UIUC possible but not likely. Cost wise not possible.
UT - the rank matters. On paper yeah but you just don’t know.
Odd you rate UMASS a reach. One of the easier you list and gives merit. Ga Tech possible - at cost. But a reach.
Cal Tech and Stanford well over cost.
If you want a big name at budget add Purdue.
UAH for a cheap safety with jobs abound. Alabama for dirt cheap and fine job prospects. Auburn strong too. In budget but more $$ than Bama.
Yes u of Arizona strong in aero too. Budget cuts coming but I’m guessing the program is too strong and well known to be heavily impacted. Good link !!
Today kids hire on LinkedIn and indeed. My son graduated Bama in May. 5 offers by xmas. 2 in aero including one huge one. Works for the other althiugh his major was mechanical. Not sure his job is aero but the company is aero. It’s in the name.
UAH is in NASA’s second city. Jobs abound.
These schools aren’t MIT or Cal Tech but they’re in the mix with most the rest IMHO. My son interned with and lived Ga Tech kids. He went back next summer. They weren’t offered back.
Engineering is not necessarily about the name. You need an ABET accredited school and all you listed are.
At Bama - just as an example - you’d be 4 years at $70k total vs $360k plus at others. And many are in between. Purdue is that top name at low to mid 40s with their engineering co charge.
Get your family to take you to some schools - even locally. What’s your comfort - weather, size, urban vs rural, big Greek, sports etc.
You will be somewhere four years day after day. Make sure you like it there.
You might take a look at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo. Their aero department helped create the CubeSat standard and has an active CubeSat lab.
Their entire focus as a university is on helping students be ready for jobs immediately out of school, and lean heavily on their “learn by doing” philosophy. In fact, I was talking with a friend of mine who’s a program manager at NASA, and she was saying that CalPoly is one of their preferred schools for hiring.
Estimated non-resident undergrad cost for Engineering is currently $53,706, though I expect that to go up, and would guess actual travel costs would be higher than their estimate. So that might be right in line with the top of your affordability band, depending on the wiggle room you noted. Also, unfortunately, your 1500 won’t help, as they’re test blind. Your strong GPA will help, though.
@eyemgh is the resident CalPoly expert; he might have more helpful info for you.
Generally “first gen” means (for purposes of college admissions) that neither parent has a bachelor’s degree (no matter where they got it) though there are exceptions to that definition.
@LionsTigersAndBears - I am also a strong believer of learning by doing. I am amazed … I didn’t know about CalPoly so far. Thank you for your insights and recommendation.
One specific thing that has been bugging me. I want to be able to play my instrument as part of the college orchestra. Does anyone have insights on how possible or difficult this is? First of, the college must have and allow non-music majors to play. Then the logistics of a tough major like aero. Anyone here in aero and still plays their instrument?
Not a reach, a target at worst.
UMass… unlike many schools have very detailed admissions data including a link to how they calculate GPAs so you can do apples to apples (or close to it). Engineering, had average weighted GPA of 4.15. I can’t calculate yours exactly on their scale but seems like it is substantially higher! 75th for SAT was 1470.
My son, an Asian boy was just accepted into Purdue and UIUC ME, deferred at U Michigan, rejected at Georgia Tech.
IMO, the Niche’s ranking seems to be least reliable as it depends partly on survey that more subjective than objective.
Read this blog on ranking All the College Ranking Lists You Should Read.
The US news undergraduate engineering (with doctor degree) ranking appears to be more in line with the reputation in the field of engineering, although there is forever debate on this topic.
Note that public schools rarely give generous scholarship to out-of-state students, so don’t count on too much on merit scholarship. Purdue is the only university with a sticker price attendance < 50K, and it you are lucky, they may give you 10K scholarship. Pursue’s aero is also top notch just below MIT and GeoTech. U Michigan’s scholarship process is separate, but you may get a large amount of need-and-merit-combined scholarship to subsidize their otherwise very expensive sticker price ~80K. UIUC’s sticker price is ~60K, and GeoTech might go a little bit below that.
It’s good that you prepare so early, and it’s a smart move to post questions in the frenzy of this application season when everyone has the impulse to say something. Good luck!
When I saw that you were looking at aerospace engineering, these were some schools I expected to see on your list:
U. of Alabama - Huntsville
U. of Houston
Florida Institute of Technology
Embry-Riddle
U. of Central Florida
These schools are all in big NASA headquarters and/or along the Space Coast in Florida and have tons of connections and links with the aerospace industry. For someone of your caliber, they’re all extremely likely admits, and I would suspect that you’d get nice merit aid from all, easily falling within budget.
Other users will chime in to chance you on the other schools. UT Arlington also offers aero, but honestly, the Alabama schools and ASU might come in just as cheap. Check out their auto-merit tables to find out!