What are my chances of getting into the colleges listed below? ...

College Search & Lists
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<p>What are my chances of getting into the colleges listed below? Would any of these be considered good safety schools for me? Which should I cut off of this list, if any? Are there some other colleges I should consider in lieu of the ones mentioned?</p>

<p>Personal Info:
Weighted GPA: 4.4
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
SAT: 1950 (this score w/o studying…will study and retake shortly)
ACT: 30
Have Taken/Currently Taking: AP Calc AB (score: 4), AP Physics B (score: 3–kind of sad, but was going through difficult time here), AP Language (score: 5), AP Calc BC, AP Bio, AP Gov’t, AP Econ, AP Literature, AP Stats.
I attend a public high school in Salinas, CA which has great programs (GATE, AP, etc) but has questionable reputation as it does not meet state educational standards. It’s Accredited</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Work Experience: Normal part time jobs, held infrequently.
Underwater Robotics Club: Co-founder, and V.P. Have had success, earning 3rd, 4th, and 2nd place in regional competition. Learned elements of electrical, mechanical, and software engineering.
FFA: Dedicated member. Raised livestock and took shop classes.
Internship: Interned at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA in the Center for Cyber Warfare coding malware for distribution to antiviral corporations MacAfee and Norton in addition to prestigious educational facilities MIT and Harvard.
Rotary Interact Club: 250+ hours of community service
Mock Trial Club: Joined this year. Role: Pretrial Attorney for Prosecution.
Volunteer at local hospital: 85 hours total</p>

<p>I have a unique personal experience which includes, but is not limited to homelessness, family illness, single parent, and I am the first family member that will have attended college</p>

<p>Goals: My primary interests are in engineering and science…considering aerospace, mechanical, electrical, nuclear engineering disciplines. I’m also passionate about robotics, which coincides with Engineering. </p>

<p>Potential Colleges List for Application:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
Harvey Mudd College
UC San Diego
UC Berkeley
Cal Poly –SLO
Purdue
University of Michigan
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Princeton University
Carnegie Mellon
Boston University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any help I may recieve as I continue the arduous task of selecting colleges for application :)</p>

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<p>Seriously? No one wants to help me out here?</p>

3

<p>What was your math section score on SAT</p>

4

<p>Your scores seem a little lower for some of these schools (MIT, Cal Institute and Princeton especially) but, as you say, your SAT score may improve. I wonder if smaller schools might pay more attention to or be more interested in your unique personal experience (i.e. Harvey Mudd) but I’m not sure about that. Note that Carnegie Mellon seems to care about demonstrated interest, so try to visit or go to a session they conduct near you.</p>

5

<p>What about cost constraints? Are the state schools you are applying to generous with FA to OOS students? If not, perhaps replace them with more generous privates? Would you be happy at the state schools that seem to be your safeties or do you need more?
Other ideas - U.Rochester, GWU, Case Western Reserve, Northeastern</p>

6

<p>Can you afford UMich, UIUC and Purdue OOS?<br>

It sounds like not. I would drop those. Unless you are in the very top tier of their applicants you will get no aid beyond federal which is limited to $5.5K Pell Grant if you are very low income and a $5.5K loan.</p>