Any Chances at Ivies, UChicago, Rice, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, UVA, or Georgia Tech?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi, if you have a moment, could you tell me what you think of my chances at the Ivies, UChicago, Rice, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, UVA, and Georgia Tech? Just tell me the truth, don’t sugarcoat anything. Also, if you could tell me what you think the strengths and weaknesses of my application are, that would be great. Thanks so much! I really appreciate it.

Majoring in Computer Science

Demographics:
Location: Virginia (I don’t live in Northern Virginia)
Race: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income: 140k

Academics:
SAT : 790 M 710 CR+W (Essay: 17)/ 790 M 700 CR+W (Essay: 18) (Yeah I don’t know what happened the second time )
ACT : 35 (36 E/35 R/36 M/33 S) (Essay: 8 / ELA: 31)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
GPA: 3.93 (Unweighted), 4.40 (Weighted)
Class Rank: 13/511 seniors
AP Scores: AP Human Geography (5), AP Computer Science A (5), AP European History (5), AP Chemistry (4), AP United States History (5), AP Biology (4), AP Calculus BC (5)
Senior Class Load: AP Physics C, AP English Lit., AP U.S. Government, AP Spanish Lang., Multivariable Calculus & Differential Equations, Economics and Personal Finance
Freshman Year Grades: 7 classes (1 AP) – all As
Sophomore Year Grades: 8 classes (2 APs) – all As
Junior Year Grades: 8 classes (4 APs) – six As, two Bs
Senior Year 1st Quarter Grades (not calculated in GPA): 6 classes (4 APs) – five As, one A- in AP English
11 AP Classes Total in High School
Most of my other classes were all magnet or honors classes. My regular classes that I took were mostly all graduation requirements.

Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist (1 of 10 in my entire city)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Dartmouth Book Award
American Mathematics Competition School Winner (one question away from AIME)
Math Department Student of the Year (9th and 11th Grade)
Social Studies Department Student of the Year (10th Grade)

Activities:
Golf Team (Member - 10th, 11th, 12th Grade/Team Captain and MVP - 11th, 12th Grade)
Mu Alpha Theta National Math Honor Society
Model UN (Founding Member - 9th Grade/Treasurer- 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th Grade)
Senior Research Project – Completed 140+ hours of research. Worked closely with a computer science professor at a local university and studied the applications of formal methods in computer science.
National Honor Society (Member - 12th Grade)

Community Service:
200+ Hours of Community Service
High School Math Center Tutor in 10th, 11th, 12th Grade – Volunteered during my off-blocks and sometimes afterschool to help tutor kids who were struggling with math. Helped with all subjects from Algebra I to AP Calculus BC.
Volunteer Golf Instructor at the First Tee in 11th and 12th Grade – Helped out with junior golf instruction every Saturday. Taught golf skills, the Rules of Golf, and life lessons to be learned from golf to little kids.
Volunteer with U.S. Kids Local Golf Tour in 11th and 12th Grade – Served as a rules official for local junior golf tournaments. Answered rulings questions, facilitated play, and helped out with other logistics.

Application:
Common App Essay: (6.5/10) Not a bad essay, just not an excellent essay. I kind of lost my motivation for the prompt near the end so it feels a bit rushed and bland.
School Essays: (8/10) Generally most of my college essays were pretty good. I spent a lot of time on them.
Counselor Recommendation: (9/10) I think this was a pretty good recommendation. My counselor and I are on really good terms, and I am her top-ranked student. She always praises me for being kind and on top of things. My only concern is that she will write a generic recommendation because of all the recommendations that she has to write.
1st Teacher Recommendation: (10/10) I got this from my AP Calculus BC teacher. She told me that I am one of the best students she’s ever taught. She always has good words for me and I think it will be an amazing recommendation.
2nd Teacher Recommendation: (9.5/10) I got this from my AP Physics C teacher. He taught me junior and senior year for magnet physics and now AP Physics C. He can really attest to my growth and development as a student. He think I’m his top student. My only worry is that he will write a generic recommendation because he’s really busy and also kind of lazy.

2

Hey! You have an ish chance to get into the ivies, UChicago, and Northwestern, just like everyone else. I’m scared that your less than steller common app essay, your lack of national awards, and your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing SAT score might bring your chances down slightly for the ivies. You should be fine for Georgia Tech and UVA.

why not apply to CMU if you wanna do compsci? just curious. :smiley:

3

Yah I’d say low reach for ivies, northwestern and uchicago and a match for the rest. Good luck, chance m you back please?

4

UVA is a match while Georgia Tech, Rice, Vandy, and Northwestern are low reaches. Your stats and ECs are pretty good so the Ivies aren’t completely out of the question. I could see you getting into Cornell if you wrote good essays

5

Thanks for the honest replies guys. I really appreciate it. I kind of had the same idea about my chances, so I guess I was just worrying too much. There seems to be lots of intended computer science majors applying to good schools this year, so competition is pretty tough. I guess all I can do now is wait and see.

@doorrealthe Lol, I applied to Cornell ED, and I think I killed the essay, so fingers crossed right now.

Also @pianoswim I wanted to apply to CMU for a long time, but CMU CS is really, really hard to get into. I think it’s a pretty high reach for me. My biggest problem with CMU is the financial aid offered there. Compared with all the rest of the private schools, CMU’s financial aid offering through their Net Price Calculator was quite a bit worse for me. So long story short, I don’t think I will get in, and it’s much too expensive for me. I might still apply to CMU RD though. I’ll just have to see.

6

CMU places extreme emphasis on legacy. If there are one, even two legacy in your school, that’ll tank your chances severely.
Heck, they offer preferential seating to alumni children.
http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/alumni/index-social.aspx?sid=1410&gid=1&pgid=1287

However, your school seems a bit… familiar… I postulate that that the senior project is a requirement? Then it’ll probably be part of your school report as well.

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@Dankjewel Kevin! Is that you? If not, do you go to Deep Run?

Thanks for your input. I understand that some schools do place high emphasis on legacy, but frankly CMU just isn’t one of my top choices. And no, the senior project was an optional project I did on my own time. Seniors at my school have a choice of doing an optional research project. I thought it would look really good on my resume. I live in Glen Allen if you know where that is. The education system is okay there, but just isn’t up to par with northern VA.

8

http://deeprun.henricoschools.us/clubs-organizations/

Rachel Lawrence would totally be Chinese :wink: (psst… I wouldn’t recommend messing with a prospective pre-law). Don’t worry man. I got your back covered.


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I thought it would look really good on my resume.

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I don’t really suggest doing anything for the resume. Oh Well

No, I don’t go to Deep Run. I’m actually a Thomas Jefferson student

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:wink: Thanks man. Also the admins can lock this up now. I’ve got what I needed, and this is getting way off topic.