What summer programs should I apply to as an engineering major?

Mivi
Sat, 18 Sep 2021 16:25:42 +0000

Hello everyone!

I’m a current junior (Egyptian expat living in Saudi Arabia), and I was wondering about what types of summer program I should join. I will hopefully have a bit of research+lab experience this month, and I’m planning on publishing a paper with the help of my professors early-2022. I have my application profile below — it’s supposedly for college applications and RCMs, but I’m not completely sure about what ECs to present to y’all, so have everything. I would also appreciate it if you guys told me about my actual chances at these programs so I know what I’m getting myself to (e.g. thinking I have a 20% chance when I actually have like 1-5% kek). I also have quite a few sorta irrelevant ECs such as a part-time job in graphic design and stuff.

P.S. I can’t join RSI. It has a faculty in Saudi called SRSI, but that’s preserved for Saudis only — the same applies with olympiads and ISEF among other things (even though I got accepted into a few of them). I’m unsure about SSP and ISSYP as well since those are mainly for biochem/physics majors, so I might not stand a chance against people who are actually genuinely interested in these topics.

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GPA: 99.5+/100. Class rank is not mentioned in the transcript, but usually #1 or #2 in a class of 27.

SAT: 1500 (700 EBRW 800 MATH). Retaking on Oct. for 750+ EBRW.

SAT Subject Tests: 790 Biology, 780 Math II, 720 Chemistry.

Extra Courses: Self-studying for AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C: Mechanics, & AP Environmental Science.

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Activities

1. Two internships as a research assistant. One will be in the 2nd biggest engineering university in Egypt (University of Ain Shams) with their best solar engineering professor. The other is at another decent university (University of Beni Suef). (Sept. 2021 - December 2021)

I’ll definitely get decent LoRs from both of them. I’ll also be receiving UG-level internship certificates. The first internship is 1-2 months long while the other one is going to be done in 3 weeks.

2. Part of the regional robotics team. (June 2021 - End of senior year)

Already won WRO (Nationals division) with them. We’re currently planning on going for 3 competitions, 2 of which should be won with relative ease (according to their reputation). We will also be participating in WRO (international) this year. I’ve dabbled into a lot of things with them so far — mainly programming and electronics — but i have been the presenter for all of our submissions and I’m planning to mainly do electronics.

3. Got a seat in a junior research program centered around gene modification and prosthetics by the best gene-editing laboratory in Saudi Arabia. (September 2021 - October 2021)

Will update this section once I’m done with the program. Nothing too spectacular from what I’ve heard, but I might be able to reflect on it well.

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Awards

1. 2nd place in the WRO competition (Nationals). (#2 out of 1000+ teams and 4000+ participants)

2. Got a bronze medal in the Kangaroo Math Competition (top 10% nationwide)

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