Chance for BCSA

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

DS talked to me the other day excitedly about CMU’s BCSA program. I took a look at the program description and threads on this board; now I am curious to know a) if he is a fit or b) if so, what his chance is.

DS hopes to work on something new and different. He draws often but has no serious training outside class. He is creative but is unlikely to have a traditional portfolio. He had a drawing that won an insignificant award. That’s all. CS side he is capable but not the kind of an insanely good hardcore hacker.

Asian male. Reputed prep school.
GPA school doesn’t reveal but should be 3.8x. No question about course rigorosity. SAT: high 1500s. Subject Math II 800. School has no APs. Took AP CS/AP BC exam. Senior courses: lineary algebra, multi-var calc, calc-based physics, advanced cs courses. NMSF.

Art and CS ECs:

  • Led a high school team to an award in a college hackathon in 10th grade.
  • Led a team to write an app in android store.
  • Built a tool to use neural networks to generate art pieces, which went to several exhibitions and won awards.
  • Wrote a tool to analyze and visualize the semantics of a rare language he self taught over the years. Both these projects’ ideas which he researched and proposed as independent study topics. He was supervised by faculty who did not provide detailed technical assistance.
  • Contacted a univ prof with similar interests; now he works with them on computer generated modern arts.

Science ECs:

  • Governance committee of an international bio research platform. Actively support current research projects. Most committee members are adult professionals around the world.
  • College/high school bio research competition. Worked on hardware/software. Team medal at world, where he led a team to win a science-business challenge.
  • Covid-19 related research. Ongoing. Details unknown.

Leadership and service ECs:

  • Eagle scout expected. Scout SPL(captain). The first few in nation to help lead activities of a female scout unit. Speaker at a conference.
  • Model UN. leading staff and secretariat positions for regional and international conferences. Responsible for 2 successful programs. School club leader, tripled membershp.
  • Worked on equal rights at a renowned org. Led LGBTQ discussion. Out reach to 75 NPOs. Helped organize an event that usually attended by 40k people (disrupted by the virus).
  • 4 yr XC varsity letters. 2 yr JV soccer. Major city half marathon high finisher.
  • 4 yr 100 miles/day ultra multi sports outdoor relay. Captain. Responsible for training and logistics.
  • Other volunteer work. Contracted with city on a preservation project. Grass mowing business. Helped build a school in Africa in summer. Elected member of an outdoor society. Metro rare language society.
2

Hey! CMU Parent here. No one on here can tell you your chances, but I would say your son has a good shot. When you apply to the BCSA program, you are technically applying to 2 departments and must meet requirements for both. CFA (College of Fine Arts) generally uses the portfolio heavily, and emphasizes academics much less. CS on the other hand, really emphasizes stats/ECs/essays. Good luck to your son! I think the program is a great fit.
Another note: Apply RD. That way, you can choose a second choice major (you can’t do this during ED). Also, the ED and RD rates do not differ by much.

3

Thanks for the reply. This is the exact kind of information I was hoping for. The ED/RD part is particularly helpful.

DS also scheduled a time to talk to the program too. Will update to help others if he he hears anything interesting.

4

Maybe worth an update that DS later was accepted.

1 Like