say this student:
Freshman Year: 4.0 GPA, Top Private School, Top of class, Many ECs great athlete
Sophomore Year: Tragedy, depression, 2.7 GPA, Top Private school, Many ECs, great athlete
transfers to avoid drama, recruited to elite boarding school for sport for 3 year agreement (repeat not required but taken)
R-Sophomore: Creates a startup, heavily distracted by this and sports 3.4 GPA, taking advanced classes honors + 1 AP
Junior: 3.7 GPA, taking advanced classes (2 AP, all honors)
Over summer lands internship at NASA for work in nuclear physics, regardless of grades because professors impressed with work. Promoted at NASA but opts to return to school. Remains involved.
Senior fall: Heavily distracted by NASA, very depressed by death of a friend and accutane, flunks school entirely despite being more than capable- full slacker mode. Misses 40+ classes. Starts with 4 APs- AP Physics C, AP Calc BC, AP Econ, AP comp sci, ends up only remaining in AP Physics as he misses too many classes to qualify for department requirements for each AP course except for physics and despite stellar test scores. GPA falls to a 2.8.
ACT: 36 writing 12. SAT II Math II: 800 SAT II Physics: 800.
Wants to study nuclear engineering at an MIT or Berkeley type, but knows chances beyond slim with grades despite work (ethic concerns despite NASA rave recommendations on ethic). So basically slacked off in high school and really regretting it. How does this student transfer into an MiT or any engineering school below 30%, and how far will his high school history haunt him in transfer admissions? Clearly capable just very troubled at the moment.
looking to return to NASA but not even they will take him because of such a sharp fall off
You strive to go there for grad school.
If your state of residency is California, you can start at a low cost California community college, do very well there, and apply for transfer admission to Berkeley nuclear engineering.
It is possible to do that as a non-resident, but it will be much more expensive.
However, the 21 universities with nuclear engineering bachelor’s degree programs include state universities in various states: GA, ID, MO, NC, OR, PA, IN, SC, TX, CA, FL, IL, MA, MI, NM, TN, WI, VA. You may want to see if a similar transfer pathway is feasable in your home state if it is one of these states.
have the mental health issues been seen to?
possibility:
Do a PG year at boarding school. Apply to Reed.
Will be quite an elder PG at this point…
Reed has been on the top of the list- curious as to why you brought it up.
The 3+2 program with Caltech at Reed is enticing even though Caltech does not offer nuclear engineering it would be a great entry to nuclear engineering at a Grad school. Is Reed known as a more holistic school?
Also, Reed has a nuclear reactor, but it isn’t a full-fledged one like you’d find at a state school like U Wisconsin-Madison or Penn, and no full nuclear engineering study around it. Going to a state school and applying for transfer to MiT might be a good option, though this could be a challenging path.
MIT takes HS record into account for its <5% accepted transfers. http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2016/d.html Most highly competitive schools do.
@oxenfree123 : at research institutions, only cadets and graduate students get to approach the reactor.
But, mostly, because Reed accepts some idiosyncratic applicants. Their process requires excellence but is truly holistic.
What’s your budget?
You could try Georgia Perimeter -> GATech, or one of Florida’s community colleges (TCC2FSU program?)
I don’t think MIT or Berkeley are going to be an undergraduate stop on your journey. The erratic grades make you a great risk. I’m not sure I see why you are too old to apply for a post-graduate year at a top prep school should you not have a good option. I like Reed for you - you might be a perfect student for them - obviously very smart, obviously doesn’t care about grades. Still it’s probably a reach.
I think that going to school in Scotland such as Edinburgh might be a good option for you. Schools in the UK don’t look at your grades, just your test scores. This might be a good fit for you and it’s very focused.
Reed and schools overseas will definitely be options. I see MiT is a slim chance with a 4% transfer acceptance and requirement of high school GPA, but I see berkeley here does not require high school gpa for transfer admissions: http://opa.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/uc_berkeley_cds_2015-16_8-3-2016.pdf
If you have already applied to Berkeley and have been rejected though, this might come up in transfer admissions very negatively I’d assume.
Not a CA resident, budget will not be a concern however.
Are you a resident of any of the other states with a state university with a nuclear engineering degree program?
NY has no nuclear program from what I am aware but budget again shouldn’t be my biggest concern at the moment
You could attend a low cost college (possibly a community college, if it offers sufficient preparatory course work) in NY, then apply to transfer to various colleges with nuclear engineering as a junior. Junior level transfers will be evaluated mostly (or solely) on college work, with high school record and high school test scores considered less or not at all. Obviously, you must take the needed courses and do well in them.
Look up the frosh/soph level courses for nuclear engineering at the various colleges that offer it. Then find a low cost college that you can attend that has reasonable coverage of those courses to prepare to transfer. The courses likely include:
Math through multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations.
The entire frosh/soph calculus-based physics sequence (mechanics, waves, E&M, thermodynamics, modern physics).
A year of general chemistry.
Frosh/soph level engineering courses, such as computing for engineering, materials, and electronics.
English composition and other general education requirements.
Note that UK unis tend to care about AP scores.
@MYOS1634 This is great advice. Please re read it. Many people suffer tragedies but are not significantly disabled by them. So, mental health first and the Reed is a super excellent idea.