Chance for CS program at CMU

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm looking to apply to CMU's School of Computer Science, as it is ranked highly among CS programs, and was recommended to me by a family friend who runs an Artificial Intelligence Consulting Firm (apparently that's a thing). I know the CS department is going to be difficult to enter due to its rank among other top schools, so I was wondering what you guys thought about it.</p>

<p>Here's my profile:</p>

<p>Student:</p>

<p>User Name: maxemoe
Gender: M
Location: Las Vegas
College Class Year: 2018
High School: Public Magnet
High School Type: sends many grads to top schools</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.88
GPA - Weighted: 4.68
Class Rank: top 15% (rank is the main thing that worries me)
Class Size: 330</p>

<p>Scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 800
SAT I Critical Reading: 730
SAT I Writing: 700</p>

<p>(Haven't taken SAT II's yet, but I estimate an 800 on Math II and 700-800 on Physics based on practice tests)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Significant Extracurriculars: -Self-taught programmer (made a 5 on AP CS w/o a class, design programs and game prototypes in spare time)
-Chess club
-Founded Software Programming Club, and act as the programming "instructor" for other members
-National Honors Society
-Have logged over 50 Scuba dives in 3 countries and at over 20 reefs/wrecks</p>

<p>Leadership positions: -Lead the development of and currently maintain my school's iPhone app
-Vice President of Chess Club
-Programming Teacher for Programming Club
-Manage and schedule volunteering events for NHS</p>

<p>Athletic Status - list sport and your level: Nope</p>

<p>Volunteer/Service Work: -Around 150 hours at local charities including Three Square Meals (feeds the less fortunate) and several charity marathons (including Race for the Cure and the Rock N' Roll Marathon)</p>

<p>Honors and Awards: -Top scores on IT proficiency and Business Skills exams in county
-A+ Certified
-National Merit Semi-Finalist
-Top score in school for the American Mathematics Competition
College Summer programs: Nope</p>

<p>Inspiration/Passion for ECs (for essays):
Comes from my middle school Technology teacher, who acted as my mentor and inspired me to teacher others in a similar manner.</p>

2

<p>bump10char</p>

3

<p>CMU CS: Reach</p>

<p>What’s your safety?</p>

4

<p>My safer schools are UT Austin, University of Washington, and UCLA. If worse comes to worse I have UNR as a backup.</p>

<p>Some of my other reach/match schools are Stanford, MIT, Harvard, etc.</p>

5

<p>*just reach</p>

6

<p>Does anyone else have any opinions/advice? It would be greatly appreciated!</p>

7

<p>I think you have a decent chance at SCS. They’ll appreciate the fact you founded/lead the programming club and taught yourself how to program (that’s pretty strong demonstrated interest). Write compelling essays that really showcase who you are and make you stand out from the crowd. Consider reading books like “On Writing the College Application Essay” by Harry Bauld if you aren’t very confident in writing. </p>

<p>Your middle school teacher can make one good essay but most schools on your list require several essays/short responses. Try to come up with a few topics for essays that you could reuse for different prompts or be shorten/extend to fit different word constraints. Be creative in making essays work for several applications. That way, you can focus on polishing a select few essays. </p>

<p>As for the GPA side of things, your class rank is a little on the low side for your reach schools, so try to get straight A’s first semester to pull yourself up a bit before grades are sent in. Your school is pretty small though, and seems competitive, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.</p>

8

<p>Before you apply to SCS, ask yourself why you want to go there. Do you have a personal reason or is it just because your family recommended it. I personally already interviewed and from what I got from the admissions counsellor the stats skew the picture a bit. It’s much more about knowing what you want to do with their education than what kind of SAT scores you have for example. I have a 3.5 GPA and a 1940 SAT and I noticed that she really didn’t care much about them. Convey your passion for the school and the program and you’ll get in. Be sure to know that SCS basically is a major in 2 years and than an almost unrelated liberal arts education so ask yourself if you want that. Good luck!</p>