Current list: Northeastern, Boston University, UVA (in-state), VT (in-state), Purdue, Penn State, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve, U Pitt, Lehigh
My safeties (according to my college counselor) Penn State and Purdue
SAT 1470 superscored, (750M, 720R)
GPA: 91.05 (not weighted, attending a college preparatory boarding school so courses are harder than your typical school)
Major: Biomedical Engineering, but Bioengineering at schools that do not offer this major.
What other schools should I apply to? Also, how “recommended” are Subject Tests. I will definitely be taking Math 2, but is a science one really necessary?
Yes, take the subject test. Especially since you intent to go into engineering. I was facing the same dillema myself for a while till o read the article I’ve linked.
Purdue is not really a “safety” for OOS applicants. You should look at Purdue’s Data Digest, here, https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/, under the link for “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations”. It is interactive, so you can input the parameters that most apply to you (for example, you would be “Non-Resident” under the “Residency” tab). Based on your input, the Data Digest will generate information and create some graphs/charts from which you may be able to make an estimate of your chances. Also, there should be a table at the bottom which gives the admission rates (and yield) for students matriculating in the Fall semesters of the past 10 years; you will see that the acceptance rates have been broadly trending down for non-resident undergraduate applicants to the COE since 2008, although there was an upward spike this past admissions cycle. (Purdue underestimated its yield for this past entering freshman class; so it wouldn’t surprise me to see a correction of sorts for those students matriculating in Fall 2019.).
You can also look at Purdue’s Common Data Set, here, https://www.purdue.edu/oirae/resources.html. Part C7 tells you what admissions factors Purdue considers to be “very important,” “important,” “considered,” and “not considered”; Part C9 of the CDS gives the median 50% for both SAT and ACT scores, as well as the percentage of the entering first-year class falling within certain ranges of SAT and ACT scores.
In regards to other schools, I would look at NC State or Clemson for BME/Bioengineering. Washington University in St. Louis would be a reach for you, but might be worth looking into.
Carnegie Mellon recommends taking Math 2 and either Chemistry or Physics SAT IIs for engineering. They used to require it, but now is is only recommended, due to the cost burden. However, if the cost of the exams is not an issue, I think they would expect you to submit them. My S decided not to take the physics exam this year, so now that school is off the list for him.
Johns Hopkins is tops for biomedical engineering and should be on your list. If you like rock climbing, then consider Cornell for access to the outdoors as well as a stellar engineering education. Although central Illinois is all cornfields, Illinois should be on your list for engineering if you don’t mind going to a really big school.
@momofsenior1 makes a good point. I don’t think Purdue or Penn State qualify as “safeties.” So if you want to widen your list for good merit/FA then consider Tulane and possibly Vanderbilt. Though check first to see if they have your major.
Also consider URochester, Union, and Stevens. Clarkson is particularly good if you’re interested in the rehab-adjacent end of biomedical engineering. Since they have PT and OT grad programs, there’s quite a bit of collaborative research between engineering and the rehab professions.
The beauty of Pitt (in addition to its being a great school) is rolling admissions - apply ASAP and you’ll get a decision relatively quickly, thus eliminating all doubt as to whether it’s a safety.
Northeastern is a reach, but it has a great rock climbing team. (The guy who founded it is appearing tonight in the American Ninja Warrior LV season finale.)
Also, a financial safety you could consider is the Biometrics major at WVU. Because it’s a unique program with no equivalent in the VA public university system, it qualifies for SREB tuition reciprocity, so your total COA would be under $23K/year - even more affordable than VT. (And that’s before merit aid, which could knock off another $6K or so if in-state merit standards apply - not sure of the policy on that.) http://home.sreb.org/acm/ProgramDetail.aspx?id=1340&state=VA https://admissions.wvu.edu/academics/majors/biometric-systems
@rockclimber14, I don’t think UPitt is anybody’s safety. As @aquapt points out, apply to UPitt early since it sounds like they have rolling admissions. None of the engineering schools you have heard of are safety schools. There may be some lower tiered regional engineering schools you might think of as a safety, but none of the schools you have listed come close to being a safety in engineering. You may want to add RPI to your list of schools to consider though I am not familiar with its biomedical engineering strength.