Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While SAT is okay in general, it isn't for engineering. What is his math component?
I would scrap that list and focus on a solid tier down - look at U of South Carolina, U of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, if you don't like the South find those equivalents up north.
I advise looking at the scattergrams on Naviance or whatever your school has, which will show his GPA in relation to his peers. I think this will be very enlightening - and whatever you see, it will be harder for an engineering student.

Math 750. Yes, avoiding the south. I don't have a login to Naviance or a code.

Then get one. Or have your kid get one and sit with the computer and look at it.
We are trying to give you advice, but we don't know your school. A 3.5 unweighted could be a phenomenal GPA or an absolutely terrible one - only you know that. Your school is one of the most important variables and it makes zero sense to crowd source information when you won't do your own homework.

I didn't even know Naviance existed until now. I have done a lot of research, but I can't know what I don't know. I"m not sure why you feel the need to be so rude. Perhaps don't post if you don't feel like being helpful.

Anonymous wrote:If he hasn’t been motivated in high school, he would likely struggle in a CS or Engr program at any of these schools. Has he done any CS/Engr extracurricular with leadership roles, or extensive community service?

No leadership roles, plenty of service hours but I think that's not going to be that impressive anymore, but he does have CS related extracurriculars. But it's odd that people keep thinking he will struggle in a STEM program, when that's the only thing he doesn't struggle with in HS. He breezes through math and most science courses, but struggles with anything that involves a lot of reading and writing (English and History mostly). He has A's in all math and science courses (except bio freshman year), and managed A's and B's in English and History until this year, when he is barely keeping it above F.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While SAT is okay in general, it isn't for engineering. What is his math component?
I would scrap that list and focus on a solid tier down - look at U of South Carolina, U of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, if you don't like the South find those equivalents up north.
I advise looking at the scattergrams on Naviance or whatever your school has, which will show his GPA in relation to his peers. I think this will be very enlightening - and whatever you see, it will be harder for an engineering student.

Math 750. Yes, avoiding the south. I don't have a login to Naviance or a code.

Then get one. Or have your kid get one and sit with the computer and look at it.
We are trying to give you advice, but we don't know your school. A 3.5 unweighted could be a phenomenal GPA or an absolutely terrible one - only you know that. Your school is one of the most important variables and it makes zero sense to crowd source information when you won't do your own homework.

Anonymous wrote:Even as a recruited D1 athlete with those grades he's got no shot at UMD in those majors. The sport wont take the chance of them failing out.

If he's struggling that much in HS with on level classes, I'd also be concerned about picking two of the hardest majors at any school.

But it's your time and treasure. If you want him spending hours writing essays to a school that he basically has no shot at and fork over 75 bucks a pop, you do you.

I also sort of call BS on the "may be a recruited athlete", if he's a junior he should already have been talking to large D1 programs for recruitment. If he hasn't they likely aren't going to lower their bar for your kid and certainly not take a chance of him in those majors.

It's a niche sport, and only a few schools on the list have it. He's not even sure he wants to do the sport in college, and most of the schools where the coaches have shown a lot of interest are not on the list because they don't work for him for various reasons. So it may give him a slight edge for admission in a couple of schools, but probably ones he has a good shot at anyway. The main factor is the GPA, which was good until this year. We are hoping he will get motivated in time to save it before it's too late.

If he hasn’t been motivated in high school, he would likely struggle in a CS or Engr program at any of these schools. Has he done any CS/Engr extracurricular with leadership roles, or extensive community service?

Anonymous wrote:Not CS, but our kid was outright rejected at Ohio State with a higher GPA, nationally ranked sport, and excellent leadership. Similar test scores but went TO. Kid got into Penn State UP campus which is probably the best comp to your current list. Shoot your shot but maybe throw in a few more likelies based on acceptance rates.

Yes, thank you, I really need more likelies on the list. I am still hopeful that his GPA will improve - it was much higher until this semester, and it took a nosedive. There is still time to save it, though.

Even as a recruited D1 athlete with those grades he's got no shot at UMD in those majors. The sport wont take the chance of them failing out.

If he's struggling that much in HS with on level classes, I'd also be concerned about picking two of the hardest majors at any school.

But it's your time and treasure. If you want him spending hours writing essays to a school that he basically has no shot at and fork over 75 bucks a pop, you do you.

I also sort of call BS on the "may be a recruited athlete", if he's a junior he should already have been talking to large D1 programs for recruitment. If he hasn't they likely aren't going to lower their bar for your kid and certainly not take a chance of him in those majors.

What are his math grades? If really strong math and wants a shot at going to VT apply to the Computational Modeling and Data Analytics major. It's in the College of Science, undergrad major for their Academy of Data Science. Program is half CS, half applied math/statistics.

Much higher admit rate because people don't know it exists. Many students will minor or double major in CS. My son is about to graduate and says 2/3 of his class transferred into the major because they didn't know about it when they applied.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not CS, but our kid was outright rejected at Ohio State with a higher GPA, nationally ranked sport, and excellent leadership. Similar test scores but went TO. Kid got into Penn State UP campus which is probably the best comp to your current list. Shoot your shot but maybe throw in a few more likelies based on acceptance rates.

if he applies penn state, have him check the summer start option. That will help his chances, and it is a great start to the freshman year. You do give up your summer, but every kid loves it once there, and they get 2 classes done at least, make friends, and start the year off well.

GL

Thank you, we will check this out.

Anonymous wrote:Not CS, but our kid was outright rejected at Ohio State with a higher GPA, nationally ranked sport, and excellent leadership. Similar test scores but went TO. Kid got into Penn State UP campus which is probably the best comp to your current list. Shoot your shot but maybe throw in a few more likelies based on acceptance rates.

if he applies penn state, have him check the summer start option. That will help his chances, and it is a great start to the freshman year. You do give up your summer, but every kid loves it once there, and they get 2 classes done at least, make friends, and start the year off well.

GL

Anonymous wrote:DS wants to major in computer science or engineering. 1350 SAT, will graduate with 5 APs (math, science, foreign language), 3.8 weighted GPA (unweighted 3.5), extra curriculars include 1 varsity sport, one club, and a part time job he's had for years and where he works quite a few hours. We are still hoping he might get that GPA up before the end of the year, but he doesn't seem very motivated. Based on what I usually see on dcum, these stats aren't great, but is the list below reasonable? What should we add?

Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
UT Austin
U Wisconsin
U Washington Seattle
U Maryland
Ohio State
University of Florida Gainesville
Boston U

It's better to get a reality check now rather than later. If he's not motivated in high school to do better, there is zero chance he's going to make it through even freshman year in a tough major like engineering or CS, particularly at the really selective schools on this list. Schools like Georgia Tech, Texas, Washington, and UMD are really elite in these majors. There are some serious brainiacs at these schools. I would look for far less selective schools. And honestly, as a parent of a mechanical engineering major, I'd reconsider the major entirely. There is no easy way through an engineering degree. It is a grind for everyone. And I think CS is a terrible major at present. Even recent graduates from the best schools are having a tough time out there. The entire industry is changing very rapidly. The days of making a good living from some light coding are long gone.

OP, UMD for CS is incredibly difficult to get into. There are only 600 direct admit spots, and 100 transfers -- both internal and external to UMD. Lots of kids with higher stats than your kid's don't get into UMD CS.

UMD has indicated that when you apply, and select CS as the major, you should also select a second major because more than likely, you won't get into CS. There are adjacent majors like maybe MIS or something. Data Science is a track in the CS dept, so they can't do that if they aren't a CS major.

If he is determined to go to UMD, go TO. That SAT is a bit low for UMD these days.

Not CS, but our kid was outright rejected at Ohio State with a higher GPA, nationally ranked sport, and excellent leadership. Similar test scores but went TO. Kid got into Penn State UP campus which is probably the best comp to your current list. Shoot your shot but maybe throw in a few more likelies based on acceptance rates.

For engineering, check out University of Dayton.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not with a 3.5 UW. Every one of them is a reach. You need to go another tier down targets.

What do you think it needs to be to make him a better candidate?

More motivation, so he has a chance for higher grades and higher test scores. Maybe a different major? He's competing with strong, motivated students for potentially the most competitive major.

We are hoping his GPA will go up. He also has a sport that would make him desirable for some of the schools on the list. But other than computer science, there is nothing he is remotely interested in.

He has to get through hoops for academics before extracurriculars matter.