VA female interested in Engineering or Chemistry 3.9 GPA, 1480 SAT

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Demographics

  • US domestic. US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Virginia
  • Type of high school: Public Governor’s School (competitive application process)
  • Other special factors: n/a

Cost Constraints / Budget
We can pay full price anywhere, but would prefer to be less than 70K/year. In know there are schools over $70K on the list.

Intended Major(s)
Chemical Engineering or Chemistry (schools that don’t have engineering)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.9

  • Weighted HS GPA: *4.5 (school does not weight honors classes, only AP)

  • Class Rank: school does not rank

  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1480 (taking again in August) 760M/720R

List your HS coursework

  • English: 9th H, 10th H, 11th AP lang (4), 12th AP lit
  • Math: 9th Alg 2 H, 10th Pre-Calc H, 11th AP Calc AB (5), 12th DE Calc 2
  • Science: 9th Bio H, 10th Chem H, 11th AP Phy 1, 12th AP Chem & AP Bio
  • History and social studies: 9th H, 10th H & AP US (4), 11h AP Gov (5), 12th AP Micro&Macro
  • Language other than English: 9th Span 2 H, 10th Span 3 H & French 1 H, 11th Spanish 4H & French 2 H, 12th AP Span
  • Visual or performing arts: 9th Chorus
  • Other academic courses: 11th AP Comp Sci Prin (4), 12th Research

Awards (not really much to list here)
National Honors Society
National Spanish Honors Society
AP Scholar with Distinction
Bronze Award for National French Exam
Bronze Award for National Spanish Exam
A few dance awards

Extracurriculars
Travel Dance Company (15+ hours/week - not time for much else)
Job as a gymnastics coach
Nanny during the summer
Volunteer Dance teacher
Other Volunteer Activities (total around 160 hours)
STEP camp at Purdue summer after 11th

Essays/LORs/Other

She is a good writer, essays should be good.

Her Letter of recommendation should be good, she is a good student at her school but there are some extraordinary students there too.

Math 7/10
French 8/10

Schools

  • Extremely Likely:
    Alabama
    VCU EA
    Rose-Hulman

  • Likely:
    WPI EA
    U of Georgia EA
    U of Deleware EA

  • Toss-up:
    Purdue EA
    William & Mary RD
    Va Tech EA
    U of Rochester EA
    U or Maryland EA

  • Lower Probability:
    UVA EA
    Wake Forest EA

  • Low Probability:
    U of Michigan EA (considering applying)
    Case Western EA (considering applying)

I know this is a wide ranging list, but I’m afraid we are missing something. She is looking for an academic campus, she is not the “play hard” type. If William and Mary offered Engineering, it would probably be her first choice. She went to engineering camp at Purdue this summer and decided that a big school would be okay - there are advantages to a big school with a smaller honors group or engineering group.

2

Could she be interested in a very nice LAC that happens to have engineering? Look into Lafayette College in Easton PA.

My daughter (a senior at W&M, but not a STEM student) loved the campus and feeling of Lafayette (her #2 choice). A friend’s daughter (and very smart young woman) graduated a few years ago in chemical engineering at Lafayette and did very well.

Lafayette, at 2700 students, is large for a LAC, with 700 students in the engineering program (51% women, which is unusual for engineering). US news has ranked it a top-20 undergraduate engineering program for 5 years, according to Lafayette’s website. Another interesting thing is that study abroad opportunities are fully integrated for engineering students, 1/3 of which study abroad. This includes semester abroad programs in Spain and Germany, as well as some others. Only mentioning this because so many engineering students assume this is not possible for them, even if they’d like to study abroad.

I do know there is a dance company, if your
D is interested in that, but I can’t speak for its quality, just that students in the company have backgrounds in various types of dance.

2 Likes
3

I am going to send you a PM.

4

I would eliminate W&M and Wake Forest.

Why?

Because you want to ensure, if you choose engineering, that you have that option - and you don’t here. I get it’s the favorite - but I believe in major over school.

Also UGA doesn’t have CHEME but BioCHEME so I’d remove that.

If I were to add schools, I’d look at UMN - a highly likely and strong in ChemE (one of the strongest, along with Delaware) - and you’d get bonus merit. NC State could be another nice addition - but the engineering campus is separated from the main campus (short bus ride or 20 min walk).

I would choose Bama over VCU - but this brings up a good point - you have really large schools like Va Tech and a tiny, rural, middle of nowhere type in Rose Hulman. You have a Bama and an urban VCU.

It may not be in a geography you like but I think Colorado School of Mines might fit nicely too with her more “academic” side. It’s a likely. RPI could be another but it’s heavily male - but it’d be a likely. Tufts could be a 3rd but will be well over budget.

I like the list but as noted I’d swap out a few and really focus in on the environment she wants.

And if she likes urban, I think an app into Georgia Tech would be a reasonable heavy reach as well.

In the end, ChemE will ilkely have stronger outcomes than Chem so giving up W&M might stink but to me, it’s worth it.

Good luck.

5

Your list looks good to me, and is appropriately classified IMO (except maybe RHIT should be a notch down).

Regarding additional school suggestions: consider Stevens Institute of Technology in NJ. You might get enough merit to bring cost down to the 70s.

6

As I understand it, the “happy, friendly, academicky kids” vibe that W&M has can also be found at Rice and WUSTL, and both of those schools have engineering programs. Downsides: a tougher commute and much lower admit rates (8% for Rice, 12% for WUSTL).

The 25% SAT is 1500 for both schools (Rice CDS; WashU CDS), so her August test would need to bring that up to be more competitive.

(That being said, if she’s open to a Chemistry major as opposed to ChemE, I think the in-state option at W&M is a great one. Because students’ interests change over the course of senior year, and since it resonated strongly with her, I’d absolutely keep it in the mix.)

7

I think this is a great list!

My D is a Purdue chem E grad and had a number of these schools on her college list too. Please let me know if you have any Purdue specific questions.

1 Like
8

This is really helpful for framing suggestions.

As in, Rochester is a very good choice for this. Case is a good option too. Finally, I think Delaware is a great more likely choice. So I would just make a point of keeping these on your list for now.

Some schools you didn’t list I might consider:

I agree about Rice and WUSTL if you are looking for reaches.

Maybe RPI, Lehigh, and Clarkson.

Finally, maybe Pitt.

2 Likes
9

My D had RPI, Lehigh and Clarkson all on her list too.

1 Like
10

Great mind on your kid!

1 Like
11

I think she is more likely to get into Case Western than “low probability” - I’d move it up a couple of notches actually.

If she likes the W&M vibe, she might like WPI (and she should get good merit there). It has a campus feel, some of the old school brick and green space/big trees look. The kids are, generally, nerdy people who are also fun. It’s smaller than W&M, but not by much. The biggest difference is that there would be a definite imbalance of more men than women at WPI, whereas I’d guess W&M is the opposite.

2 Likes
12

Thanks for the advice on Case Western. It looks hard to get into based on her school’s historic acceptances, but that could be lack of demonstrated interest.

We visited WPI and it is very high on her list. We had a great tour guide, she really liked the short quarters, the international opportunities and the option to minor in a language!

1 Like
13

I haven’t done any research on Lafayette. She would like the study abroad opportunity! I will put in on the list. Thanks!

1 Like
14

Great list! Nice mix of safeties, targets and a few reaches. I think she’ll have some great choices when all the decisions come out.

If she liked Purdue, perhaps looks at UIUC and Wisconsin. Both great schools strong in ChemE.

1 Like
15

I haven’t looked at most of these schools. I will add UMN, NC State, Col School of Mines and RPI. We originally had Tufts and Georgia Tech but she probably needs better SAT scores - we’ll see how the August test goes.

I think reading about your experiences with Alabama was the reason we originally added it to the list - thanks!

1 Like
16

This was one of my first thoughts too. They’re evidently okay with “heavily male” if they’re considering RHIT, which has fewer women (both in the absolute and as a percentage) than RPI has.

Also agree that Georgia Tech would be worth an app. It’s highly competitive for ChemE though (only MIT is considered stronger in this field). Still, an appropriate reach, and would be in budget if accepted (unlike UMich).

CWRU seems like a great fit to me. Their flexibility to explore/change majors would be a great asset. (They consider demonstrated interest very strongly, so take every opportunity to show that you’re serious about the school - open all emails and click on links, attend virtual events, etc.) There are so many program options, too - not only Chem and ChemE, but also Materials Science & Engineering, Polymer Science & Engineering, and an Engineering Physics major (which includes a concentration in any engineering field). Seems like the dance opportunities are good here too. Rochester also offers similar strength, variety, flexibility, and performing arts opportunities.

If she’d be interested in doubling down on languages and study abroad, there are a number of schools with International Engineering programs - a 5-year dual degree with the 4th year spent entirely abroad (one semester of classes and one semester of internship). UConn, URI, and U of Tulsa all have programs that offer both French and Spanish. (Tulsa’s program also includes non-engineering science majors, including chem.)

5 Likes
17

Bama is a money school - let’s be honest. You want cheap and a fine outcome, you get it. A great experience too - for what my son wanted. His own room and access to outdoor activities, etc. He didn’t do all the stuff you read about (Greek) although he enjoyed occasional sporting events. But kids flock there due to the money…yes, many have a wonderful experience.

To me School of Mines would be great for what you described for her if Denver isn’t too far away.

I noted Ga Tech would be a reasonable reach (if an urban school that size interests her).

In other words, it might be a rejection - but so what - no pain, no gain. To me, that’s not a reason not to apply.

Now, this is the entire school, not engineering but the 25/75 split on the SAT is 1330/1510. Women are accepted at a 22% level vs. 13% for men.

If she has interest - not just it’s high ranked - I would take my shot…because it’s a perfectly reasonable reach.

I like what you wrote about WPI - she visited, she loved.

That’s important - not necessarily before you apply but before you decide…because while RHIT is a FANTASTIC school and punches above its weight career wise, many would be miserable on a small campus, miles from a small town.

So it’s not just who is great - but where she sees herself thriving. So visits to each are critical. We actually - on the Purdue trip - did RHIT on the way and UIUC on the way home. For my son, only Purdue made the final list. He also did STEP and it cemented his interest in engineering - and I thought for sure he was going there til he decided not to!! Loved the food, campus…everything but the housing situation (and my guess, distance to mom).

I’ll throw one more at you. I describe this as a huge W&M - campus was just similar to me - not nearly as “academicky” but a great rep nonetheless - and has ABET ChemE. Miami of Ohio - and she’d get great merit.

Good luck.

1 Like
18

I would suggest reflecting more on chem vs chem e. I cannot imagine a school that offers Chem e that also does not offer chemistry as a degree, but the reverse is NOT true as you’ve seen with W&M.

The two degree programs are quite different (yes, there is a lot of overlap in some coursework, but there are significant differences). Following that, the jobs performed by a chemist and a chemical engineer are typically very different.

Accordingly, if she has any desire to be a Chem e, then she should only look at schools where that is an option.

As others note above, I suspect that she will have many options.

4 Likes
19

We have not visitied Rochester or Case yet. She has the opposite problem of most kids, she likes almost all the schools she visits. The only school we toured that she didn’t like was Northeastern (to be fair, it was dreary and snowing/sleeting in April that day).

She likes Rice, but is a little nervous about Texas - it seems so far away. WUSTL is such a good fit, but over the last few years they have accepted almost no one from her school. She might try anyway.

I will add Lehigh and Clarkson to my list.

2 Likes
20

Houston, St Louis. Same distance. Quick flight !!!