Profile Evaluation

[serenity5x5]

I've been going through the profiles posted here, and yet I still can't really figure out what my chances are of getting into schools, or what schools I am competitive for. Any thoughts would be most appreciated!

Major: Environmental Engineering (Top 10 private undergrad)

GPA: 3.29

GRE: Taking them in September, practice scores are around 720 V, 690 Q

Research: One summer doing cancer research (completely unrelated to my field), 3 design projects, 2 award-winning posters presented at state and national professional conferences, potential relevant research project I could start fall of senior year

Other: Dean's List once, industry-related internship one summer, calculus tutor, went on Global Brigades trip, exec board for my residential hall

So, should I forget about IVY league schools (Stanford, MIT, Berkeley)? Do I have any kind of chance at all?

Which schools would I seem competitive for (UT Austin, Georgia Tech, UIUC, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, UMIch, Duke, any other suggested schools)?

Thanks very much!

Edited August 24, 2010 by serenity5x5

[navyasw02]

When I applied to MIT a few years back, the guy I talked to said roughly 700+ Q, 600+ V, 3.3 GPA or higher undergrad. Short answer to whether you can get into MIT or others like it is "Maybe", but you definitely wont get in if you dont apply. Just shoot an application out there as your reach school and give it a shot.

[serenity5x5]

Thanks for the reply! The majority of the profiles I've seen here that got accepted to Ivy Leagues have statistics way higher than mine, but then I see the ocassional one or two profiles that are similar to mine who were accepted, and that gave me perhaps an irrational hope. I just wanted to know if the Stanford adcom would see my application and just laugh at it, or if they would give it at least a moment's consideration. I guess you're saying you'll never know if you don't try, so I'll try.

How about schoos like UT Austin, or UMich?

[kaz]

Also consider your school's history of people getting accepted at top schools and your position in your school , e.g are you top 5% of your class , top 1% or so on. I used those to help me decide what sort of schools I should aim for. And of course there is that factor of luck, so aiming high is always good.

[balderdash]

Also consider your school's history of people getting accepted at top schools and your position in your school , e.g are you top 5% of your class , top 1% or so on. I used those to help me decide what sort of schools I should aim for. And of course there is that factor of luck, so aiming high is always good.

Also, Johns Hopkins program isn't the strongest in the school, so admissions to that program is a bit more lax than others and carries the Hopkins name in engineering. Just thought you might think it worth a gander.