Carnegie Mellon Comp Sci

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Can anyone chance me for regular decision Carnegie Mellon comp sci? I know that the college itself is extremely selective, but it's very difficult for me to judge because there are huge differences between various programs, i.e. comp sci vs fine arts.</p>

<p>My stats are:
GPA: 4.0 unweightef, 4.25 weighter
ACT: 34 composite, took twice, planning to send the SAT instead
SAT: 2370 (800 W, 800 M, 770 R), took once
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 800 Physics
APs: took 8 tests (Calc BC, Comp Sci A, Physics C Mech & EM, Econ Macro & Micro, English Lang, APUSH), 5 on each one</p>

<p>Course load: strong upward trend - moved from Russia in 8th grade, had to take basic classes at first, but took several APs by 11th grade. Took total of 7 credits of math in high school, including 2 semesters of comp sci, currently dual enrolled in calc 3 and linear algebra.</p>

<p>Major Awards: NHS, National AP Scholar, National Merit Semifinalist, several math & comp sci competitions</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars: officer of Econ Club, president of Debate Club, founder of Comp Sci club, member of several other clubs.</p>

<p>Other activities: participated in a free summer program sponsored by the MMPC (math competition in Michigan), consisted of college classes in Graph Theory and Analysis of Algorithms - 4.0 in both, did research with a professor at University of Michigan - created a computer simulation of asteroid movement which the professor will use to teach his class.</p>

<p>Recs: Economics and Comp Sci teachers, both should be solid, counselor - should be great</p>

<p>Essays: still working on them, but I think my essays should turn out great. I'm focusing on moving from Russia at such an old age, although that's pretty cliche, as well as my interest in comp sci - you can't really tell from my app, but I've devoted a lot of time to studying and practicing comp sci and computer engineering, and I think that should come off pretty well in my essays.</p>

<p>P.S.: I'm also applying to schools like Stanford and MIT, but I realize that the chances of getting there are pretty low and can't be predicted very accurately. I'm still working on my "hook." It'd be great if someone could chance me for Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science. Also, how significant is the difference between CMU comp sci and engineering schools? Are my chances of getting into engineering any higher?</p>

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<p>[Carnegie</a> Mellon Admission | Admission Statistics](<a href=“http://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics]Carnegie”>Admission - Undergraduate Admission - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>

<p>CMU’s Computer Science acceptance rate is about 7%. Carnegie Mellon is every bit as selective as MIT or Stanford for CS. You’re competitive though, the research is good. However, with that acceptance rate, it’s a reach for anybody.</p>

<p>Engineering at CMU is easier to get into but still very selective, with an 18% acceptance rate. However, they limit their acceptances to the ECE (computer engineering) major, so you can get accepted to their engineering school without actually getting accepted to the ECE major. If this happens to you, you can still take the intro to ECE course, and if you do well enough, you’ll still be allowed to declare it as your major. </p>

<p>In short, CMU for anything computer related = super tough to get into. I think you’re a great applicant for CMU though, and I wish you luck in getting in!!! I’m doing ED there to their Engineering school myself so I truly love it :D</p>

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<p>you are about as good as an applicant gets. good luck</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1571620-will-i-get-into-any-these-transfer.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1571620-will-i-get-into-any-these-transfer.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>yayitsme123, thanks for the response. I was considering ED myself, but it’s a little out of my price range, because CMU doesn’t offer full need-based scholarships like Stanford or MIT. And I know that you can technically get out of a binding decision if you don’t get enough financial aid, but I decided not to risk it. But good luck to you, and at least you don’t need to worry about the app anymore - just gotta wait two months for the decision.
Also, I have a general question about CMU admission. On my common app, I put down both College of Computer Science (as 1st choice) and Institute of Technology (as 2nd). Is admission separate for both schools? In other words, is it possible to get accepted to engineering and not comp sci, or even to both?</p>

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<p>Actually, CMU will meet full need for ED students only. But yeah, you’re pretty much stuck with what they decide you need. Haha you’re right about my application, the waiting is so hard though!!! It’s been like four days and I’m already freaking out. </p>

<p>Admission for the different schools is separate, you will receive two different admission decisions with your letter, one for CIT and one for SCS :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Chance me for ED? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1571559-carnegie-mellon-engineering-ed-chance-me.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1571559-carnegie-mellon-engineering-ed-chance-me.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>jake5504, thanks, but I wish that were true. Super-competitive colleges get plenty of applicants like me, with top scores and grades and some extra-curriculars, but nothing special that stands out. That’s why I’m working on my “hook” right now, to hopefully make my app stand out in some way.</p>

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<p>By the way, Carnegie Mellon is a super unique and diverse school with a lot of funky traditions. I’d suggest visiting for sure and maybe doing a sleeping bag weekend, and absolutely do an interview if you’re serious about applying. If you can capture their outside-the-box nerdy-ness in an essay and talk about how that relates to you, that’ll give you major points!</p>

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<p>Okay, thanks for the advice! I’ll make sure to visit the campus before getting started on that supplement essay.</p>

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<p>Teasing out acceptance rates for the schools within CMU can be problematic. There is a site though that gives some info on it but can’t find it now.</p>

<p>BTW I wouldn’t use CS and CFA to contrast the difference between acceptance ranges. CFA- Drama has the lowest acceptance- something like 4% (lower than CS).</p>