What are my chances of getting into UIUC or Purdue

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The discussion centers on a high school junior's chances of admission to Purdue University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) with a GPA of 3.2 and an ACT score of 30. Participants agree that Purdue is a viable option, especially for Indiana residents, while noting that the engineering department is highly selective. The distinction between computer science and computer engineering at Purdue is emphasized, with suggestions to improve admission chances through relevant coursework and a strong essay. Resources such as College Confidential are recommended for further insights.

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throwaway1234
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I'm a junior in high school and looking at applying to Purdue and UIUC. I was curious to see what my chances were of getting into either of these schools. I like physics and computer science, but am not sure if i want to major in them.

GPA - 3.2
ACT - 30
Extracurriculars - I am a member of my school's computer science club, I am officer status in a chapter of a national jewish youth group, and I participate in PADS(Helping the homeless)
I will be spending a lot of time on my essay as well

With this information could someone give me my chances of getting into either of these schools?

Thank you for your help
 
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I don't know about UIUC, but purdue is definitely a real possibility, assuming you can maintain or raise your gpa. If you are an Indiana resident you are basically locked into purdue.

What classes are you taking/have you taken? Any AP math/science classes?

A passing thought: the engineering department at purdue is the most selective, so the physics major would likely more safe than the CS department (they call it computer engineering, i believe) -- but you've got a shot at both.
 
anonymity said:
A passing thought: the engineering department at purdue is the most selective, so the physics major would likely more safe than the CS department (they call it computer engineering, i believe) -- but you've got a shot at both.

Computer science is a very different field than computer engineering and has its own distinct department at Purdue (as it does at most universities).
 
zif. said:
Computer science is a very different field than computer engineering and has its own distinct department at Purdue (as it does at most universities).

Good news for the OP

edit: if you're looking for a thoughtful/more-informed answer to this question, i would check out college confidential. There are two places you can try: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/ (a subforum dedicated to this type of question), and http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/alphabetic-list-colleges/ (a list of all of the subforums dedicated to individual universities, which you can use to navigate to Purdue and UIUC, and post your info there).

If you do re-post your question, I would include a brief list of courses relevant to the science/engineering/computer science majors (APs/honors/calculus/programming/etc).
 
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For what it's worth - I applied to both schools ~10 years ago and got into their Electrical Engineering programs with similar credentials (but did not attend either). I had a 29 on my ACT (36 math, 32 science) and a 3.4gpa (ranking 40/300).

I still love UIUC's campus, one of the most beautiful and well kept up in the country.
 

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