Where should I apply? PLEASE HELP

College Search & Lists
1

Looking for suggestions for good electrical engineering schools. I would prefer medium to large schools with a surrounding area that is progressive and a student body that is friendly and accepting of all people. Need a school with a vibrant social atmosphere. 100% need meet schools, especially those that weight income over assets, are a plus. (Widowed mother, income less than 50k).

STATS:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.4 weighted
ACT: 34
SAT: not so hot (2060), will it affect anything if some schools require sending all scores?
SAT IIs: Math 2- 790, Physics- 800
Public HS in top 50 in CA, school does not rank.

APs: Spanish (5), Comp Sci (5), Calc AB (5), Phys C Mech, Phys C E+M, APUSH, Calc BC (I can guarantee I got a 5)
College Co-enrollment Classes: Internet Publishing, Data Structures
Senior Schedule: AP Eng Lang, AP Chem, AP Gov, AP Psych, Multivar Calc at Comm College, Drama 3-4, Auto Tech

Main Extracurriculars:
Robotics (11, Systems Control Track Manager- teaching students how to program and wire the robot and preparing for competition)
Casas de Luz (10, 11; intern with nonprofit that does homebuilds for poor families in Mexico, Manager of Electrical Team, possibly Intern Director next year)
Casas de Luz Club (11, Founder and President- organizing students to go on homebuilds)

Other Extracurriculars: Theater (9, 10, 11), Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (9, 10, 11; Youth Rep on Worship Committee), Working part-time at ice cream shop (11)

—Side Note: Should I mention JV Lacrosse? Can I say I’m involved in lacrosse without specifying JV? I did receive the JV Defensive MVP Award. Also, should I mention clubs that don’t hold much significance to me like Cross Country (9), Speech and Debate (10), Link Crew (11), and ASB (11)?

Awards: 4-year Honor Roll, Fraternity of Academic and Civic Excellence (top 30/600 juniors), Lacrosse Defensive MVP

—Side Note: Are there any competitions or things I can apply for over the summer to make this awards section look more competitive?

CURRENT LIST: (CA is in-state)
Stanford
UCB
UCLA
UCSB
Carnegie Mellon
Columbia
USC
Harvey Mudd

Possibly:
U Wash at Seattle
U Mich at Ann Arbor
Johns Hopkins

Are my schools too selective for my stats? What are some (slightly) less selective schools that are good fits?

2

Almost all of the schools on your current list are reaches (the only one that isn’t is UCSB). You have high stats and are very qualified, but so are many other students. The acceptance rates at these schools are very low and many kids with similar stats have been rejected. You need to focus on finding matches and safeties.

There are a lot of OOS public flagships with strong engineering (like Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin), but these schools are known for giving poor financial aid to OOS students. So I think your best bet right now would be to find more UCs you like. Definitely take a closer look at UCSD, UCI and UCD. They would all be good matches for you.

3

^^correct that to read that the OOS do not give good aid to OOS student generally.

Did the UC calculators show that they will meet need for your income level? Generally FAFSA only schools count assets less that Profile schools, however FAFSA only schools do not usually give good aid except when your instate does. So you will be a full payer at UW Seattle, possibly at UMich.

Please run the price calculators as you make your list so you don’t waste your efforts. And please expand your UC list because it was very tough year last year with many not getting in where expected. It is one application after all.

Do not fudge little things that don’t matter on your application—being seen as dishonest or not fulsome will hurt much more than any little thing will help.