<p>Hi, guys. I'm new here. But from previous reading you guys seem so helpful. I thought It would be worth it to add my plight and see what is said. SO My question is not about one certain college. I was just wondering if I'm aiming too high with the schools I'm currently considering(Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, USC, UC Berkley, Pomona, etc) for applied mathematics or computer science. My basic scores/profile is as following:
Female
Black/African-American
GPA: 3.997W (should go up since got straight A's this last semester)</p>
<p>SAT:2030
CR-800
M-640
W-590 (Standardized tests hate my essays...but I took English 3AP this year and got a 5 on the practice test and generally do consistently well on essays in any class so I really don't know whats going on with that)</p>
<p>ACT:29
Reading: 33
English: 31
Math: 31
Science: 22 (I'm retaking in a week. This should improve significantly to match the rest of my scores.)</p>
<p>I was a high scorer for the PSAT at my school, will have 7 AP classes by graduation, 4 years on Swimming and Water Polo. I'm also participating in University of Pennsylvania's Summer Academy of Applied Sciences and Technology (SAAST) this summer. ummm I have a job at a restaurant, single parent home, low income, etc etc</p>
<p>If I'm aiming too high I really would like someone to tell me so I can spend my time and resources on schools better matched to me. Thank you :D</p>
<p>CMU: Reach
Cornell: Reach
USC: Match/High match
Pomona: Reach
Berkeley: Reach</p>
<p>Try Cal Poly Pomona as a safety…</p>
<p>What about Cal poly obispo?
What constitutes a reach versus a match or safety?</p>
<p>I also forgot that I’m a Questbridge College Prep Scholar and a Ventures Scholar if that matters?</p>
<p>CMU: Reach
Cornell: Low Reach
USC: Match/High match
Pomona: Reach
Berkeley: Reach
Questbridge College Prep Scholar: Low match</p>
<p>chance me back!</p>
<p>You can never aim too high.</p>
<p>Thank you, Annie. Im gonna keep telling myself that. 
any other input?</p>
<p>Alright guys these other posts are depressing me.</p>
<p>@LeeMonet im still waiting for you to chance me back :/</p>
<p>Depends really. ED to Cornell and you’d probably get in given the strength of your high school. They are all competitive, leaving your best chance at USC. But no, they are definitely possible. It won’t be easy, obviously, but UCB, Pomona, and CMU will be tough however you will have a chance. Maybe look at BC, Wake Forest, UCLA, etc. Obviously I don’t know what you’re looking for in the means of geography, but those 3 would be matches similar to USC.</p>
<p>Thank you very much Vineyard. Looking at forum after forum of near 2400s on SAT is really discouraging for me. I’ll look at the schools you mentioned very glad to see UCLA on that list. My high school is actually ranked as one of the hardest in my state I think btw.</p>
<p>You are not aiming to high and I know a kid with less spectacular ECs and much lower gpa and a lower SAT than you who got into Cornell regular decision. He was also a URM. Though even if you did not have the URM you would still be qualified in my opinion.</p>
<p>Cornell you’d be set with out being a URM, people overrate how difficult it is to get in there. You also seem to have a strong story to tell perhaps.
CMU should also be a match Engineering is difficult to get into at Berkeley and they don’t consider race, assuming it’s in-state, I’d call it a reach. You can probably think higher and aim at schools such as MIT and Stanford if you can raise your standardized test scores. Also make sure to have some safety schools. </p>
<p>Which USC are you talking about?
In general, you are a bit aiming too high. Particularly for your intended major and poor math score in SAT.</p>
<p>with an 800 in CR, you’re a safe match, especially since you’re a URM.</p>
<p>^ um, no. The Math score is too low to be a match at a high end school. The URM part helps once you meet the accepted minimums. </p>
<p>OP, no need to stress about the 2400 types. In reality, if you can get into the 700-720 range in all of the sections (1 down, 2 to go!), you will have met the expectations and will be eligible for consideration. Many will tell you that higher is better, but the scores mean next to nothing once you cross into the norms for that school. At this point, your math and writing scores are on the low end (Math) or below the target minimums. You could still have an outside chance, but more than likely there are other students with similar backgrounds that have better scores. Not to worry, you can take the tests again. I am usually not an advocate of doing so, but in your case you can make yourself a more attractive candidate by studing up and shooting for getting another 80-100 points in each section.</p>
<p>Just make sure you have good ECs, raise up those lower SAT & ACT scores, and prepare to write a moving essay come college app time. Considering you have many perks going for you (URM, low-income, etc.), you should at least try applying to your top schools. Though all of them have low acceptance rates, there’s never any harm in at least trying!</p>
<p>How many apps are you planning? Is this the bulk of your list? Way too reachy for me, as is. High risk. Are you a CA resident?</p>
<p>@Dunboyne I’m not sure how many apps. I’m visiting some schools (20 days at UPenn, fam vacation to Cali, and local schools) and trying to get a better idea of what I’m looking for and what I can really do with my scores. I’m an Illinois resident who’s california dreamin but not opposed to other schools in other places, It also seems that the top notch Tech schools are on the west coast. </p>
<p>and everyone else
About my test scores. I took no prep classes and it’s been a really rough year for my health so I’m hoping everything will calm down and I can focus more on getting my PSAT projected scores (was only few pts from being merit I think -_-)</p>
<p>Thank y’all for the input, even the comments I might not have wanted to hear. :)</p>
<p>@billcsho University of Southern California = USC I’m talking about</p>