It’s been so long since I’ve written on this thread! Even looking back at the beginning of my junior year, a bit has changed!
My GPA’s getting a nice uptick, with a 4.0 UW last term and a probable 4.0 this term. I’ve been participating on my robotics team and realizing how much I like the hardware side of computers. I think that I want to pursue a major in electrical/computer engineering, rather than CS. CS is really cool, and I like the software side too, but I think ECE/CE would fit my interests much more.
I’ve been doing some research as my formal college counseling process has started, and I’ve found a bit more of what I like in colleges. I still definitely want nerdy schools! I don’t want anything with a big Greek life. I’m a huge nerd, and not much of a partier. There’s nothing wrong with a party culture, but I don’t think I want a school whose social life relies a lot on alcohol/drugs/whatever (although I recognize that a lot of college students partake in that, and I’m not judging them for that). I’ve been talking a lot to Carnegie Mellon students, and am falling more in love with that school everyday. I was also told by the CMU SAMS admissions office that I will be accepted this year again (since 2020 was cancelled), so I’m excited to maybe spend my summer learning from CMU professors! I am still waiting on my MOSTEC application, though.
I retook my SAT in December and scored a 1470 (710 M 760 RW). It’s a good score, but my counselor and I decided that I would take it again. I’m also sitting for the ACT in February, as I finished the SAT very quickly and he thinks that I would do better with easier questions in a quicker time period. I hope I do well on it, but if I don’t, I’m going to take the March SAT. I’m also very relieved that subject tests are cancelled, because I was very worried about the Math 2/Physics tests I was going to take in May.
So… yeah! College research is fun. I’m looking at MIT, CMU, Purdue, IU, Northeastern, Cornell, Harvey Mudd, Caltech, and Lehigh with my counselor. On my own, I’ve done virtual tours for Michigan, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Harvard. I didn’t like the social scenes at Notre Dame, Michigan, or Stanford, but my dad wants me to keep looking at Michigan, since it’s been his favorite team for so long. I have fee waivers, so I might apply, but OOS financial aid is a bust from a public school like that. I didn’t really like the abundance of Greek life at Cornell and Lehigh, either. I really like the academic programs at Cornell, so I think I’ll still apply, but I’m pretty much turned off of Lehigh. Purdue and IU are a bit big for my liking, but as in-state options they’re as good as I could ask for.