It’s great that you’re thinking about where you want to attend college next year. Unfortunately, I don’t think the schools on your list are well-categorized. I suspect that all of the schools except for your safeties would be reaches, and most of them such extraordinary reaches that your time would probably be better spent on other applications.
What is your budget (the amount of money your family is willing and able to pay per year without any loans)?
I’ve sorted some of the schools from your list above and also added some additional schools for your consideration according to my GUESSES for your chances of admission. For all of these buckets, this is for overall acceptance to the university. If a school has separate admissions to its engineering program, these “chancing” buckets do not take that into account, but you should DEFINITELY take the time to find that detail out.
Extremely Likely (80-99+%)
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Penn State – Behrend College: About 3200 undergrads, so a smaller environment. This is one of the branch campuses where many students actually spend all 4 years rather than switching to University Park. 43% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 54% have between 20-40, and 3% have more than 50.
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U. of Akron (OH): About 11k undergrads (CDS linked). 51.5% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 45.1% have 20-49, and 3.4% have more than 50. This school has amongst the smallest class sizes of any of the public universities on your list.
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U. of Toledo (OH): About 12k undergrads (CDS linked). 49.9% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 39.5% have 20-49, and 10.5% have 50 or more. I would give U. of Toledo a really good look, as it seems to have a very robust computer engineering program. It had almost twice as many Comp. Eng. majors as Cincy (which is nearly 3x the size of Toledo) and more than 3x as many as Akron, even though those two are about the same size.
Likely (60-79%)
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U. of Cincinnati (OH): About 30k undergrads. Less than 7% had a GPA below a 3.0, per its 21-22 Common Data Set (22-23 not posted yet). This is for admission to the general university, but I suspect that the odds for admission to engineering are lower, but I’m not sure how much lower. 34% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 45% have between 20-49, and 21% have more than 50.
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U. of Louisville (KY): About 16k undergrads with a very hands-on focused on engineering program. Also, you would pay the same rate as in-state students as part of its Border Benefit. If your weighted GPA increases to a 3.5, you’d also get an additional $2k/year in scholarship money. According to its Common Data Set, 9.3% of students had below a 3.0 GPA. 42% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 49% have 20-49, and 9% have more than 50.
Toss-Up (40-59%)
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Miami (OH): About 17k undergrads and only 3.2% had a GPA lower than a 3.0 per its 22-23 Common Data Set. 35% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 54% have between 20-49, and 11% have more than 50.
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U. of Dayton (OH): About 8400 undergrads. 38% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 60% have between 20-49, and 2% have more than 50, so you’d get smaller classes here than at many of the other schools. People who like Notre Dame say that this school has a very similar vibe, but with a much more approachable acceptance rate.
Lower Probability (20-39%)
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Michigan State: About 39k undergrads. According to section C11 of its most recent Common Data Set, only 2% of students had a GPA below a 3.0, and my guess is that those may have been athletes. And if you think they were using weighted GPAs, only 3.8% of students had a GPA between 3.00-3.24. Your ACT will help, but this is by no means a sure thing. 22% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 60% have between 20-49, and 18% have more than 50.
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Ohio Northern: About 2600 undergrads. This school is completely different from most of the ones on your list. Like the others, it’s ABET-accredited for several engineering disciplines, including computer engineering. But one thing that makes it different is the class sizes: 55.4% have fewer than 20 students, 43.2% have between 20-49, and only 1.4% have more than 50 students. If you have ADHD and an anxiety disorder, a smaller, more intimate school might be a good choice for you. I would certainly investigate it.
Low Probability (less than 20%)
- Ohio State-Main Campus: About 46k undergrads. For the most recent class, 68% of students were in the top 10% of their class and 96% of students were in the top 25% of their class and the average ACT was a 30.4 (source). This document provides a greater breakdown of ACT scores by campus. You have a shot at main campus, but it’s definitely a reach. 34% of classes have fewer than 20 students, 50% have between 20-49, and 16% have more than 50.