Demographics
- US Citizen
- State/Location of residency: Texas
- Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Medium Small, a little over 1000 students
- Other special factors: None as I am not special
Cost Constraints / Budget
I have no idea, but I doubt I qualify for aid and I know that I will probably have to take out loans
Intended Major
Aerospace engineering
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
No GPA as I transferred in from homeschool to public school 4/5 of the way through this year but I have low 90s in all my classes, 1250 PSAT as a sophmore
List your HS coursework
I was homeschooled from 9th through most of 10th but I transferred into algebra 2, chemistry, english 2 honors, spanish 1, engineering electives, and AP world history although too late to take the exam so I will not get credit
Awards
Won a 4-H event way unrelated to my intended major
Extracurriculars
4-H leadership
2 years TARC team but we never placed anywhere
Other unrelated to major 4-H events that I hopefully will quit next year as I hate them
Essays/LORs/Other
I am not a concise writer so probably 5/10 essays but I estimate 7/10 LORs
Schools
The only aero schools in Texas I know of are UT Austin (auto-reject) and A&M (reach, but I would have to deal with ETAM)
Mod Note: Not a real name
Are you a current junior or sophomore?
I am not knowledgeable about engineering. However, I have a few thoughts about how to proceed.
Work really hard to improve your SAT/ACT score. There are colleges that will offer good merit awards for high scores. Your PSAT isn’t bad. Use College Board’s Blue Book App, or do official practice via ACT. There are test tips here on CC that can help you. Test Preparation - College Confidential Forums
Do a search on here on CC for aerospace and engineer programs. There are colleges that might be really interested in you as a Texas student with a good GPA. They might offer you enough money to make it affordable.
You can get a pair of eyes to look at your essay for free here: STUDENTS, Need Help w/ Your College Essays? Get Community Feedback Now
I’m drawing a blank on folks who know specifically about engineering, but maybe @Mwfan1921 @tamagotchi @knowstuff @MaineLonghorn @blossom @momofboiler1 @ucbalumnus can given you more targeted advice.
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Sophomore, and what schools do you think would be interested?
Without a budget (talk to your parents about that, and have them use net price calculators on colleges you may be interested in) and some basic stats (GPA, rank (especially for Texas public universities), SAT or ACT scores), it may be difficult to suggest colleges where you have a reasonable likelihood of both admission and affordability.
If in-state Texas public universities are affordable, those with aerospace engineering are Texas A&M, UT Austin, and UT Arlington. First-Year Students - Admissions - The University of Texas at Arlington indicates automatic admission to UT Arlington with any of the following:
- 3.25 HS GPA (unweighted on 4.0 scale)
- top 25% rank
- top 50% rank and (1130 SAT or 23 ACT) and 5 advanced credits earned (advanced credits are honors, AP, IB, college courses in high school)
- top 75% rank and (1250 SAT or 26 ACT) and 9 advanced credits earned
- 3.0 HS GPA and (1130 SAT or 23 ACT)
- 2.90 HS GPA and (1250 SAT or 26 ACT)
At many colleges without a specific aerospace engineering major, aerospace related courses may be elective courses within some other engineering major (usually mechanical).
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I can easily make top 25, but is the engineering department more competitive than that?
Okay, as a sophomore, you have LOTS of time. Really. Take hard classes, get the highest grades you can.
It’s too early for you to write essays. Come back in a year for help with those. Make an appointment with your guidance counselor at school and ask for recommendations. Cultivate great relationships with teachers so you can get strong recommendations in your junior year. Ask your teachers sometime around Feb.
Again, I’m not too knowledgeable about engineering. Clarkson, U New Mexico, U Oregon, Embry Riddle, WPI, Rutgers. @MYOS1634 @AustenNut @thumper1 Just throwing out some names of folks who might have ideas. (I know I’m missing someone…)
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I’m also no expert on engineering, but I often read University of Alabama-Huntsville suggested to students interested in aero. They offer automatic merit based on GPA/test scores (see link below). As noted above, you have time but due to your combo homeschool/public school record it is worth discussing those implications with your counselor now so you know what to expect.
ETA: I meant to reply to OP.
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Texas Tech has a minor in aero. I’d add them to your list. There are many well regarded engineering programs that don’t have aero as a major but you can major in mech e with an aero minor and be very employable. Undergraduate Minors | Undergraduate Program Overview | Mechanical Engineering | TTU
Shoot for having 4 years of all your core courses (math, science, English, social studies, and foreign language). Also try to get to the highest level of calculus and physics offered in your school.
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Yes, engineering is usually quite competitive. Again, you ideally want high grades in the hardest classes, as much as you can handle without becoming grey-haired at the age of 16 or so 
You can ask your guidance counselor to switch you into harder classes for the next school year. Get a meeting set up, discuss your goals. Be proactive and make sure your GC knows your name.
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I think it goes up to UT Onramps physics 2 and AP Calculus, both of which I am on track to take.
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This sounds really good, as the #1 thing I want in a college is connections with employers and NASA is in Huntsville as well, I will have to take a look at this. Thank you!
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It does not appear to be especially competitive.
College of Engineering < University of Texas Arlington lists specific high school course work to prepare for studying engineering. Then it mentions “presenting a satisfactory SAT or ACT score” and meeting the prerequisites for calculus 1 and general chemistry (basically sufficient math, so if you continue on your present math track leading to calculus in 12th grade, it is very likely that you will more than meet that).
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Undergraduate Programs < University of Texas Arlington says that you need to earn a 2.50 college GPA in science, math, and engineering courses to move from the frosh/soph level to the junior/senior level in aerospace or mechanical engineering.
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For another in-state option, I’d look at U. of Houston. The engineering college has its own honors college, and the Houston location can be beneficial as well.
Going out-of-state, you should also check out Oklahoma State as another option that might come in pretty affordable, in addition to UAH which @DramaMama2021 already mentioned.
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I was really looking into it but I found out earlier today that Aerospace is only a graduate degree.
Actually, at less selective universities, engineering majors may not be especially competitive for admission, since the rigor of engineering majors deters many students from wanting those majors (or many of those who entered in engineering majors with 3.0 HS GPA or so find it too hard and change into some other major). It is mostly at the more popular state flagship level of admission selectivity (e.g. UT Austin, Texas A&M) where there is an ample supply of capable and interested students that exceeds the capacity of the engineering departments to be able to instruct all of them, so the engineering majors are more selective at frosh admission and/or have more difficult secondary admission.
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I’m sorry that I didn’t indicate mechanical engineering at UH, and you can take aerospace courses within the MechE major.
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Would there be any distinction of aerospace classes on my transcript or diploma?
Good to know.
@JebediahKerman you should still take rigorous classes and meet with your GC. You might decide to apply out of state in the hopes of getting a scholarship, in which case good grades and a high test score will help you. Engineering is rigorous anyway, and you want to be prepared for it.
You are going to do well, just stay positive and keep coming back here to get help.
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