u/No_Explanation1971

Hello I’m debating EDing to Tufts or Rice as a Civil Engineering major. I have never been the Northeast before, but I have toured Rice and loved it. My only thing is from my experience of traveling to Texas on a yearly basis, I hate the environment and don’t feel like I connect with the community. My college counselor said that I won’t really do much outside of campus and to not worry, but I feel like something is off about it. Everyone I know that has gone to Rice has said they loved it, so I’m really conflicted.

On the other hand, I love how open the Tufts community is and its location in Boston, which is good for the career I want to go into. The people seem more friendly and I love their school traditions and study abroad opportunities.

Rice is 15k a year for me whereas Tufts is 24k. It’s quite the difference, but I’m so conflicted because I’m willing to work extra jobs to support my education as needed + scholarships.

I feel like my application is also better suited for Rice, but that could be because I am more aware of their application process and how it works. If I don’t get into one of their EDs, I might do the other. My app really emphasizes community especially within my essays and extracurriculars but my grades are mid-tier (probably going test optional too). What should I do? Anyone have any opinions on the schools

Hi everyone! Is there a way to see who the past winners of the scholarship are? I saw some video examples on YouTube, but I want a better understanding of what WPI is truly looking for out of the video submission. Also, does anyone know how competitive this scholarship is? I thought it was awarded to one individual, but I saw another blog post from this separate academic institution saying that their student was one of two winners. I’d appreciate the additional clarification! Thank you so much

For context, I’ll be applying as Mechanical Engineering Major and Education Minor. If I got an F in Precalc, but retake it and receive an A and also take Calc 1 Dual Enrollment and receive an A, does this show academic capability and resilience or make me a less likely candidate for schools due to the initial grade.

I could explain why I had an F, but I feel like it would come off more as an excuse than a valid reason. I’m honestly fine with attending my local state school because I know I have research + intern opportunities, but I want to try my best to go out of state for the experience and growth. I’m primarily applying to good engineering schools out of state, so it’ll be really competitive.

Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone! I was wondering if it’d be appropriate to mention in my additional materials for the MIT WISE application a circumstance that impacted my ability to take the SAT. My test center flooded in March and didn’t reschedule. Due to financial concerns, I’ve only had the chance to take the SAT once, so my score is relatively low. Does this matter or should I just leave it out? Thank you and sorry if this is a stupid question

Demographics:
Asian Female
First-Generation American
First-Generation College Student
Middle Class

Test scores: I can’t provide any because my March SAT test was canceled by test center due to environmental circumstances. I technically got a 27 ACT, but I’m going to retake and disregard that because I was incredibly sick (couldn’t breathe, barely could keep eyes open, and jetlagged.)

UW/W GPA and Rank: UW - 3.5-3.7, W - 4.1-4.2. Rough estimates because I’m factoring junior year grades, but those are not completely finalized yet.
Rank top 30 atleast but my school doesn’t release rank.

Coursework: AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores, etc:
11-12 APs -
10th grade: APUSH - 4, AP Sem - 5,
11th grade: APWH, APES, AP Lang, AP Gov, and AP Research
12th grade (upcoming): AP Physics, AP Psych, AP CSA, AP Macro, AP Micro?
Dual Enrollment - World History, Calculus in the Fall

Do note, I received a B in Trig and F in Pre-Calc, which might hurt my stem chances. I have no valid reasoning behind these atleast imo (bad teacher which is not an excuse + extreme burnout and relationship problems). I’m taking dual credit calc 1 in the fall, and might try to retake pre-calc next spring semester to try show that i can do better + gpa boost potentially

Awards:
- FIRST Tech Challenge Leadership Award 2025
- FIRST Robotics Competition Leadership Award 2026
- 2x NCWIT State Regional Winner and 1x Honorable mention 2025, 2026
- DECA State CDC 1st Place Community Awareness (ICDC Qualifier and Participant)
- Presidential Gold Volunteer Award 2023, 2024 (before it was discontinued)
- Likely AP Capstone Diploma
- Other minor school awards that will probably not end up on my app

Extracurriculars:
- Robotics (FIRST Tech Challenge - FTC, FIRST Robotics Competition - FRC)
- FTC Program Captain 2024-Present: Manages 3 FTC teams and helps coordinates their time management, budget, and oversees overall leadership. Teams have won 3/7 state awards for the past two years. Also, was a team captain for one of the 3 teams.
- FRC Head of Outreach and Member of Impact Team 2025-Present: Manages and delegates our work for 40+ community STEM outreach annually. These range from teaching military students, supporting local teachers, and working with low-income families. Team has also won the FIRST Impact Award. Helped coordinate and run 5+ local robotics tournaments to ensure over 50 teams could participate.
- FRC Captain 2026-Present: Oversees entire team functions and ensures the team runs smoothly with 20+ members. Helps oversee budget, travels, and delegation of work.

- DECA Member - 2x ICDC Qualifer, 1x State Champ with STEM based community awareness project
- Started a free afterschool robotics class in collaboration with the City and County. It was the first STEM class offered in an afterschool program by the state.
- Presented at over 8 STEM conferences about robotics education, including a keynote speech at a CS conference.
- Over 1400 volunteer hours in lifetime
- Summer day-camp volunteering, robotics volunteering, and other small events

Essays/LORs/Other: One of my LORs will be very strong, the other is likely not the greatest but it’s from my robotics coach who can testify for all my ECs

Schools:
MIT (unrealistic ik), Stanford (also unrealistic) Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, Purdue, Seattle U, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Harvey Mudd, Steven’s Institute, SDSU, and some nearby state schools but I don’t want to doxx myself. Honestly open minded to more schools in CA, NY, WA, and MA with good financial aid. If you have any suggestions, lmk.

Thank you!

do teachers count as an extenuating circumstance? for reference, i took 9 classes this year, which is 2 beyond my schools recommended. i received an F in my pre-calc class, which is a half credit. this was a combination of very poor mental health, being gone for extracurriculars, and lack of support from teacher.

i feel like its hard for me to justify the first two points because i received an A in almost every other class this year. this was just a result of being lucky w teachers that gave me grace and all the time i had were put into those classes because math takes me the longest. the one exception being a C in ap comp gov, which should also be an extenuating circumstance because the teacher informed me that it was okay for me to do my unit test late but then finalized grades early. i cant blame her too much because at the end, i still did it late.

any advice?