I would like to major in chemical engineering and I’m concerned of my chances of getting into the colleges I want to be admitted into.
Colleges that I want to be admitted to are:
University of Delaware
RIT
Purdue
Notre Dame
Maryland
RPI
Georgia Tech
I am a white male in the top 10% of my class with a 3.76 unweighted GPA and 5.80 weighted GPA. I am part of my robotics team, have done a great amount of community service, have held multiple positions in clubs, and have joined many clubs. I will have taken 10+ AP courses mainly focusing on math and science, but with other subjects also, by the end of high school. I can get great letters of recommendation. I applied for the New Jersey Governor’s school of engineering but was not admitted.
Questions I have are as follows:
I am planning on taking the SAT and ACT and I was wondering what scores I will shoot for in order to be admitted?
What are my chances of being admitted to these colleges?
Are these the correct colleges I should be looking at?
Is there more that I should be doing that could help my chances?
Are my goals too high?
Any information would be highly appreciated and I am really nervous about college admissions. Please help!
2100+ SAT or 32+ ACT should be decent scores to aim for, maybe more for GAtech IIRC. Also watch out for required SATII subject tests or SAT/ACT with writing requirements
Chances are not good anywhere - you are playing with 30% and lower admission rates for a lot of these colleges. However, I think you have a good shot at many of them
Yes, you are fine. Watch out for financial stuff, make sure that you can afford places or look for scholarships.
Be a good student, get deeply involved in your extracurriculars. Have fun, don't stress too hard, but try hard as well
In most cases engineering majors are held at a higher standard when it comes to scores for SATs / ACTs so a 2250+ on the SAT and at least a 33 but 33-35 is great for ACT. Try to get your unweighted gpa up as much as you can. Your chances would be hard to calculate seeing as you only referenced things but if you had a more specific thread in the Chancing section I’d be able to help better. If your going into any sort of engineering field you could apply to STEM scholars if they offer it in your area and you should also be involved in some sort of research/competitions for math/science(for instance math & science league).
And goals can never be to high, don’t limit yourself, more often than not limiting yourself to what’s “realistic” is the quickest path to mediocrity. If you know what you want to do, work on it everyday, find people who are doing what you want to do and ask them for advice on what they did so you can reach that same level, then follow the action plan you set up by taking this research and put it into play.
Peace, Love, and Bre. (Fellow projected engineering student)
I’m still a little skeptical about the SAT and ACT scores. As for the English part I have a tough time and I don’t know if I can get the scores I want. If I was to get around a 2000 score and about the equivalent for ACT what would my chances look like then?
For Georgia Tech and Purdue (and frankly most colleges, I strongly recommend you also do the following:
1.Apply early action to as many on your list as possible. Note that for some schools like Tech you are looking at Oct. 15 as the deadline. At Tech the EA admit rate is around 42%,while RD is around 18%. Obviously you want to be in the EA pool.
2.Spend your summer working on your applications. Essay topics for the upcoming common app (which Purdue and Tech use) were released this week. When school lets out, start writing those essays. Remember write a story that only you can write.
3.If you can try to visit the colleges. Also write to the regional admission rep. Colleges like to see demonstrated interest. Pay as much attention to your safety as reach school. This is the time of year for the spring National College Fair. See if it is coming to your area. Some of your colleges are on the fair’s list. My D discovered Georgia Tech that way and the admission rep she met at the fair was instrumental at helping her gain admission. Many of your colleges have special tours for engineering so be sure to also do those. Also some schools have assigned recruitment or enrollment coordinators for the particular engineering majors. Seek out those persons (My d got lots of free college swag from those persons). The one we met at Tech is now my D’s advisor.
Sign up for the May or June math and science subject tests. For some colleges you can substitute a great subject test for a portion of the Sat. Plus if you are taking AP's in science and math then it shouldn't be too hard to prep for those subject tests.
Make sure every college on your list is affordable for you. Run the net price calculator for each school. It is sad to get accepted then find out the college is unaffordable.
Think about your ECs. It is better to be in just two or three but do them in depth and because you enjoy them. Having too many club memberships is a red flag because colleges believe your involvement is superficial. Rick Clark is director of admission at tech. This article gave my D much insight into her college applications. http://collegeadmissionbook.com/blog/rick-clark-director-admission-georgia-institute-technology I like his comment, "will your school miss you when your gone". My d may not have had the highest GPA or test scores in Tech's admission pool, but she did ecs that she truly loved and did them well. Her high school definitely misses her. Like you, she does robotics but took it to different levels (taught programming to underserved, appeared at expos and on TV promoting first, did vex etc.) Also try to find a radio interview Mr. Clark did on a,show called something like " This American Life." Very interesting.
Keep up with what you are doing and enjoy your senior year. My d applied to 13 colleges (12 of them early). She finished everything Nov.1. She went 12 for 13 with acceptances. Had just about all her decisions by Jan. 15. She enrolled in her college on Jan.15. Her senior year had so much less stress than others and she got to enjoy her senior year and robotics season. Be sure to cast a wide net for colleges. I would also look at University of Tulsa (they accept like 90% have a full ride scholarship you could possibly get), LSU, and Miami of Ohio. They have good merit. Alabama and Auburn also have good merit for engineering. Don’t forget to look at honors colleges or special living communities (like tech’s Grand Challenges) at your colleges. They can be great learning experiences. Most colleges have early deadlines for merit money so be sure to pay attention to those deadlines. Good luck.
