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College Apps

Here is a page to collect related information & manage the applications. For college rankings, I find the US News's & World Report provides the most comprehensive tables. As for prepare for SAT/ACT, there are few links for helpful tips as well as quiz & exercises of which we can take advantage. Filling out admission application is a long process, dealing with the essays and collecting the recommendation letters ... etc. Thus, it's best to have the link to each school's online application here, so that we can quickly go back and continue working on the application.

There are articles on the net describing the whole process of selecting, preparing & applying; which I think is very helpful, try this link to have a general view of the process. Read this article & have a check list of your own, and follow it closely,

Early Decision
Here is a blurb about Early Decision at Carnegie Mellon:

If you apply Early Decision, we encourage you to submit applications to other schools. However, you must agree to withdraw these applications when notified of early decision acceptance and financial aid granted at Carnegie Mellon.

That means it's ok to submit applications at other schools, however as soon as you get the acceptance from Carnegie Mellon, then you have to retract other applications or let other schools know that you no longer interest. This is typical, and of course if Carnegie Mellon accepts, who would want to decline? :)


Here is a quick glance of where we're at in the process of applying to universities

Application Processing List

NameStatusAnnual CostsNotified on
Rutgers University Accepted $35,418 December 24, 2009 
Penn State - Wilkes-Barre Campus Accepted $36,466 February 17, 2010 
North Carolina State University Accepted $26,928 March 19, 2010 
James Madison Accepted $15,050 March 23, 2010 
Penn State - University Park Campus Rejected $36,466 February 17, 2010 
Georgia Tech Rejected $34,920 March 15, 2010 
Virginia Tech Rejected $14,629 March 26, 2010 
University of Maryland Rejected $34,390 April 3, 2010 
Christopher Newport Waiting for notification $17,690  
Showing 9 items from page Applications List sorted by Status, Notified on, Name. View more »

Rankings

There are many list we can find on the net, but here are the three which provides the most comprehensive ranking of engineering schools in US:
Here is Bố's suggestions list, based on tuition, rankings, and distance.
  1. Virginia Tech. VA - Rank 27th. Tuition $7,880. Distance 213 miles.
  2. University of Maryland, College Park. MD - Rank 17th. Tuition $17,244. Distance 11 miles.
  3. Carnegie Mellon University. PA - Rank 6th. Tuition $53,660. Distance 184 miles.
  4. Pennsylvania State University, University Park. PA - Rank 23rd. Tuition $27,364. Distance 137 miles.
  5. University of Pennsylvania. PA - Rank 27th. Tuition $24,000. Distance 126 miles.
  6. University of Virginia. VA - Rank 37th. Tuition $9,961. Distance 96 miles.
Bảo's picks:
  1. Virginia Tech. VA - Rank 27th. Tuition $14,629. Distance 213 miles.
  2. Carnegie Mellon University. PA - Rank 6th. Tuition $53,660. Distance 184 miles.
  3. University of Maryland, College Park. MD - Rank 17th. Tuition $17,244. Distance 11 miles.
  4. James Madison. VA - Ranked one of the best 1st-Year-Experience among 22 others. The school is ranked 22nd by Kiplinger. Tuition $15,050. Distance 125 miles.
  5. George Mason. VA - Rank 173th. However if comparing with other non-medical department schools, the research money into engineering school puts George Mason to the 13th. Tuition $7,824/semester. Distance 17 miles.
Mẹ's picks
  1. Virginia Tech. VA - Rank 27th. Tuition $14,629. Distance 213 miles.
  2. Georgia Tech, GA - College of Engineering is ranked 4th.  Tuition $36,540.  Distance 637 miles; $200/RT airfare.
  3. University of Maryland, College Park. MD - Rank 17th. Tuition $17,244. Distance 11 miles.
  4. James Madison. VA - Ranked one of the best 1st-Year-Experience among 22 others. The school is ranked 22nd by Kiplinger. Tuition $15,050. Distance 125 miles.
  5. George Mason. VA - Rank 173th. However if comparing with other non-medical department schools, the research money into engineering school puts George Mason to the 13th. Tuition $7,824/semester. Distance 17 miles.

SAT/ACT

US News & World Report also has few articles on the topic how to prepare for SAT/ACT. Here is a good suggestion on learning vocabulary:

Want to make it entertaining? Lauren Pinheiro, a junior at Presentation High School in San Jose, Calif., crafted silly pickup lines using unusual words and shared them in a Facebook group. Examples: "Please don't reject me; I'm not that resilient"; "Girl, being that hot just ain't equitable."

Another article on how to improve SAT Critical Reading score. Other students also share their secrets on how to improve SAT CR score, so read the all suggestions, pick one that you like & stick with it. On eHow, there is also an article on this topic, and I think that it's practical. The bottom line is: practice, practice & practice some more.

Online Practices

Vocabulary

  • Go to Merriam & Webster & sign up for Word of the Day & have a word email to you each day
  • Go to Dictionary.com & sign up for Word of the Day & have another one mailed to you each day. 
For this to work, make sure you check your emails.

Essays

You can also find good essays on the web, however they are not as selective as in printed materials:

SAT scores of several universities in US:

SAT Scores

Reading
(530)
Math
(690)
Writing
(580)

25% 75% 25% 75% 25% 75%
College of William and Mary 630 740 620 710 620 710
Georgia Tech 590 690 650 730 580 670
UC Berkeley 580 710 620 740 590 710
UCLA 570 680 610 720 580 690
UC San Diego 540 660 600 700 560 670
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign 550 670 640 740 - -
University of Michigan 590 690 630 730 - -
UNC Chapel Hill 590 690 610 700 580 680
University of Virginia 590 700 610 720 600 700

Admission Applications

Some of universities uses Common Application thus filling out applications & submitting essays are easier; take advantage of this, write your essays early and re-write them often.
  • Virginia Tech - Done

    • Fee $50
    • Application deadline: January 15
    • Notified on: April 1
    • Check list
  • University of Maryland - Done

    • Fee $55
    • Application Deadline: January 20
    • Notified before: April 1
    • Request that an official copy of your current high school transcript and completed School Counselor and Teacher recommendation forms be sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
    • Request that all official standardized test scores be sent to the University of Maryland, College Park by the Educational Testing Service (SAT I code for Maryland is 5814) or the ACT Program (ACT code for Maryland is 1746). Standardized test scores provided by the high school are not considered official.
    • Complete and submit two essays (from list). Each essay should be no more than 300 words.
    • Check list
      • Apply online
      • Request to send transcript (where???)
      • Request to send SAT/ACT scores (where???, school code?)

  • James Madison University - Done

    • Fee $50
    • Application deadline: January 15
    • Application decisions mailed: early April
    • Personal statement: no particular topic, less than 500 words.
  • Penn State University - Done

  • Georgia Tech - Done

    • Fee $65
    • Application deadline: January 15
    • Notified on: March 15
    • Self-reported transcript
    • Personal statement/respond to one of the following topics:
      1. Please expand on an aspect(s) of your academic or extra-curricular background that you feel is especially important to you and that will help us get to know you.
      2. Georgia Tech is proud to draw students from around the United States and countries throughout the world. This unique compilation of academic interests, personal backgrounds, and various life experiences creates an exciting and inspiring educational mix. Given your personal background, what would you hope to learn and contribute through becoming part of this sort of campus community?
  • North Carolina State University - Done

    • Fee $70
    • Application deadline: February 1
    • Out of state tuition & fees: $26,828
    • Notified on: March 30

  •  Rutgers - Accepted

    • Fee: $65
    • Application deadline: Dec 1; after this date, space available basis
    • Notified on: Feb 28
    • Out of state tuition & fees: $35,418
    • Self reported transcript
    • Essay: Rutgers University is a vibrant community of people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.  How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment?  Consider variables such as your talents, travels, leadership activities, volunteer services, and cultural experiences.  Only personal essays submitted via our website will be considered.  You may enter a maximum of 3800 characters including spaces.

  • Christopher Newport University - Done

    • Fee: $45
    • Official high school transcript.  Give the Secondary School Report Form to your guidance office to include with your transcript.
    • An essay or personal statement of approximately 250 - 500 words on the topic of your choice.
    • Optional - A personal recommendation, preferably from a teacher in a core subject
Subpages (1): Applications List
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