<p>I want to apply to CMU SCS as an ED but I have a MAJOR issue and its my course rigor. What do you advise I do with my issue? How much does it hurt my chances of being accepted into CMU SCS?</p>
<p>I could not enroll in AP courses becuase currently I go DPHS and in 9th grade I went to another school and I was enrolled in the magnet EST (Engineering Science and Technology) but had to leave becuase my dad got a job transfer. At the other school they did not offer AP courses to Freshman they only offered Honors which I took and I took 5 of them and we are required to have 7 classes a year and the other 2 were Hope and Spanish 1, which they did not offer Honors. Then for 10th grade I came to High School but when I transfered here classes had already been chosen so it became difficult for me to enroll in AP becuase the state government passed a class size amenmandt stating only 25 kids per class and those spots were already taken. Also I was forced to take some regular courses because Honor spots had been taken. Now I am in 11th grade and I enrolled in AP classes but the spots in AP classes went to the CIS (kinda like IB but not as hard) kids first which is a magnet program offered here I would have enrolled in CIS but you have to enroll as an incoming Freshman and there were no open spots becuase if they tried to squeeze me into some of the AP classes then my school faces fines from the school district for breaking state law and now I am stuck again 5 honors classes, the non-honors are Web Design 2 and Team Sports 1. In my school district OCPS we are required to have 8 elective credits to meet graduation requirements and they dont offer AP or Honors in the electives classes offered are like Basketball, Team Sports 1, Team Sports 2, Hope, and Weightlifting, etc....</p>
<p>In addition to, my school is so underfunded they have had to remove elective teachers and are forced to teach a English, Math, or any other core based class becuase we don't have enough money to hire additional teachers.</p>
<p>Thats why I could not enroll in AP's but I have taken the most rigourous cirriculm that I could possibly take and I would have taken AP's but due to a variety of reasons as stated above, I was unable to. </p>
<p>How can I go about communicating this to the admissions personnel at CMU? I know course rigor is important to them, and this situation was clearly out of my hands. I dont want this one issue to hinder my chances of acceptance into CMU SCS. I plan on participating in sleep over weekend and giving a interview which seem like chances for me to communicate that to admissions personnel. </p>
<p>What else do you advise I do?</p>
<p>How much does it hurt my chances of being accepted into SCS?</p>
<p>I am starting to freak out because the situation is out of my hands and I dont want to be denied admissions becuase of something I could not control.</p>
<p>P.S. Sorry if this comes off as whiny not intending for it to.</p>
<p>First off: CMU does not meet 100% of financial need, which means that if you apply ED your family needs to be willing to pay full-fare, or accept the offer given to you. Talk to your family and make sure they can afford CMU.</p>
<p>Second: What have you done that is comp sci related? Have you created a game, an app? Do you have a website that displays them? If comp sci is your intended major, you are going to need something to show them in lieu of AP classes that you could not take.</p>
<p>UChicago, are your parents able to afford summer school at a university? If so, I would take Calculus and Intro to Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon this summer. If you get As in those classes, it will help your chances. If you do not get As, you know that you don’t belong there.</p>
<p>You can also take more traditional college courses with college students at schools like Brown, Cornell or Harvard, all of which offer classes to rising high school seniors.</p>
<p>Not true, if the financial aid they offer does not make it possible to attend (and it’s totally up to you or your parents to decide what is possible), then you can get a release from ED. The common application says so. ED is not only for the wealthy!</p>
<p>“Researchers . . have long found that these [ED] practices tends to benefit white, wealthy and educated applicants, who receive an admissions boost equivalent to 100 SAT points.”</p>
<p>“Critics have pointed out that early decision programs are particularly unfair to low-income applicants because the binding commitment to attend a particular college eliminates the ability to bargain between colleges for the most advantageous financial aid packages.”</p>
<p>“The authors point out that the policy of early admissions – like the policy of legacy preferences – defies the commitment of colleges to make “need blind” admissions. They write: “early decision in particular works as a sort of class-based affirmative action that gives wealthier applicants a ‘plus’ factor: a higher likelihood of being admitted than if they applied under the regular decision deadline.”</p>
<p>I think we’re saying different things, but not totally orthogonal. </p>
<p>You are saying that the OP is more likely to get a better package applying RD. That’s true only if he gets in RD. At most schools ED has a little bit laxer standards. </p>
<p>I am saying that the OP can apply ED and if he (or she) can’t afford to go, nobody is going to force him (or her) to pay. The Common Application expressly allows this, and CMU has to release the OP from the binding agreement in this case. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, I tend to agree with you, that once you are admitted, you have much greater leverage to negotiate a better FinAid package if you apply RD. If the OP can’t afford the EFC and really wants to go to CMU, than perhaps you are right and he (or she) should apply to CMU RD in order to be able to negotiate a better deal. However, if the OP can afford the EFC, then there is a bump in admissions chances to consider that ED usually provides. That chance may make it worth applying ED.</p>
<p>^^ Which is why I suggested the OP talk with his/her family about what they can (or cannot) afford. </p>
<p>BTW: if a student applies ED to any college, and that college makes up the difference between the family’s EFC and the cost of attendance, there is very little wiggle room to back out of an ED offer. So, the student’s family must be prepared to pay their full EFC, which in most cases, is approximately 1/3 of AGI with standard assets and one child in college.</p>
<p>This is simply not correct. If, IN THE OPINION OF THE STUDENT AND PARENTS, the financial aid offer does not make it possible to attend, then they can be released from the ED agreement.</p>
<p>"Dear Mr. Financial Aid officer: </p>
<p>I have been accepted to Carnegie Mellon Early Decision. Unfortunately, the financial aid offer that you provided me does not make it possible for me to attend. I would gladly reconsider if you increased my financial aid to a number that would make it possible for me to attend, however, if you cannot, I am formally requesting a release from my early decision agreement as provided for in the Common Application Early Decision agreement. </p>
<p>Sincerely,…
"</p>
<p>The ultimate decision is the students and his or her family.</p>
<p>The student and family decide if the financial aid offered is enough, not the school.</p>
<p>But ED should be used only at the number one choice, where you’re prepared to make this decision. If you don’t have a number one choice, apply RD so you can compare FA offers.</p>
<p>“I dont want to be denied admissions becuase of something I could not control.”</p>
<p>Hey, everyone is in this situation! There are lots of admission factors beyond your control!</p>