Carnegie Mellon SCS Chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm only a junior, so I know it's a bit early, but I was curious to see if I have any chance of being accepted to the SCS at Carnegie Mellon. I would greatly appreciate any help! </p>

<p>I am female, if that helps at all.</p>

<p>Okay. I have not taken an SAT yet, and I have not gotten the results back from my PSAT. Because of my location, colleges and universities around here rarely look at these tests, and our school does not emphasize taking them. </p>

<p>I have taken the ACT only once. I plan to take it again and improve my score. I scored a 33 composite. I did take the writing portion, and got an 8.</p>

<p>My unweighted GPA is 4.0
My weighted GPA is 4.115
I am in the top 10% of my class.
By graduation, I will have taken 2-3 AP classes and 7-8 additional honors classes.
I have taken two summer courses, one over math and one over computers.
I will have taken both visual basic 1 and 2 and C++ 1 and 2.</p>

<p>For ECs, I am in:
Marching Band (As drum major)
Concert Band (As 1st/2nd chair flute)
Pep Band (As drum major)
German Club
DECA business (Have qualified for nationals)
Library Advisory Board
Sculpture Class
Taekwondo</p>

<p>For additional honors:
National Honors Society
District Band
District Orchestra (3rd chair flute)
Numerous I rankings at regional/state solo festivals
Numerous I rankings at regional/state ensemble festivals</p>

<p>I have over 200 hours of service including teaching Sunday School and helping at a local animal shelter.</p>

<p>I am going to visit Carnegie Mellon this spring, so hopefully that will help them see I am interested. I have requested information from them as well and sent my ACT scores.</p>

<p>I am also fairly confident in my essay abilities, and all of my teachers would be willing to give positive recommendations.</p>

<p>How important are SAT scores in factoring your chances? Obviously, I've put a lot of time into music. Will this reflect positively on my chances of getting in? Do I need to take more AP classes, even though I have been taking every possible honors course? Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>For future reference, all ACTs should be taken with writing. </p>

<p>SCS would be a reach for any applicant. You are a strong applicant, but you can’t expect anything (well you can likely expect a rejection, but by no means do you deserve to be rejected) due to the selectivity.</p>

3

<p>I agree with @jibler. You are definitely a strong applicant with good extracurricular work. I suggest you start volunteering or working more with your selected major; but, if you are interested in a music major, your non-academic actions definitely reflect your interests.</p>

4

<p>Go for it! Your credentials are good, and Carnegie Mellon won’t be as selective as schools like Stanford or Princeton. I’ve seen many upperclassmen from my school make it to ivies with way fewer achievements, so you should be fine!</p>