How can I improve my chances to get into a good engineering college?

Hello, Samika! You have so much excitement ahead! Congratulations on your choice to become an engineer. I know I am biased but I can’t imagine a better path for you to take. You will have so many ways to impact the world in the years ahead as you apply your intelligence and drive to solve problems big and small. For now, I’m sure you can find it challenging to solve the immediate problem at hand – how to get your college education to become an engineer. It has been a long time since I was in college but I have interviewed many engineering applicants recently. For me, the college attended was not really very important. I wanted to see that the applicant had the perseverance to earn an engineering degree but it was more important to see that the applicant had worked doing anything STEM related. Internships in college were great but it could even be an on-campus job where the applicant had an opportunity to practice engineering skill sets. I encourage you to look for any opportunities to practice engineering related skills while you are still in high school and beyond even if it only moderately related. I don’t know what opportunities you have available to you but it could be volunteering to provide tutoring for elementary students in math or science, participating in science fairs, or maybe a Rube Goldberg machine contest. Since your interest is in biomedical, perhaps you could volunteer at a hospital. As long as it is something you enjoy doing, you will be able to speak about it with authentic passion when you get to college and later job interviews. Authentic passion is one of the key items I look for when I interview applicants! So, as clique as it can sound, I do encourage you to pursue your passion but to do so by cultivating opportunities in engineering related activities. Of course, you must prioritize your studies and apply yourself to earn good grades especially in science and math courses. I recommend AP courses in calculus and physics if possible. Through it all, remember that this is not a sprint, it is a journey with many paths available to you to reach your destination. As long as you keep moving forward, you will get there so, enjoy the trail!
All the Best to you!
Eva Hayward