Chance for SCS and Tepper?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
1

<p>Hey guys, thanks in advance for chancing me. Please be brutally honest. I seriously don't know how I'll do in the admission process b/c I fall in a different category than many of you. I have good academics/gpa, but weaker extracurriculars. Well, just take a look:</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2400 single sitting
ACT: none
SAT II: Math2 800, US History 800, BiologyM 790
UW GPA: 4.0? school doesn't report, but I've never had below a 95 in a class
W GPA: 4.727
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~top 3 out of 143
AP (place score in parenthesis): CompSci 5, World 5, Stats 5, USH 5, Bio 4, Lang/Comp 3
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, AP Micro+Macro, AP Spanish, AP Physics C, English electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, AP Scholar w/ distinction, National Spanish Exam Silver, Headmaster's list</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: basketball team, math club president, computer club president, NHS executive council, Carolina Premier Bank program, Students of Service club, Key club
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at Carolina Medical Center (100+ hrs), Math Buddies tutoring, peer tutoring service (through NHS), school's Key Club
Summer Activities: business camp at UNCC, basketball team camp at Wofford, nothing huge
Essays: Common App (at least 8/10 if I'm being hard on myself), CMU Supplement Essays (around 8-9 out of 10)
Teacher Recommendation: Calc BC teacher (9/10), English teacher (she likes me but not very diligent person, probs 8/10)
Counselor Rec: (9/10, he's a pro and knows me well)
Additional Rec: none
Interview: not yet (should I do it? I seriously hate interviews and I'm worried that I might shoot myself in the foot with an interview)</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: private school, send a handful to Ivies on a good year. my year is super competitive, at least 9 other ppl are applying to CMU, and every other top school
Ethnicity: Asian (goddamnit, the only part I hate about being Chinese)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: lol, lets just say that there is no way that I could qualify for FA
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): haha, nope
Major: Computer Science
Submit date: 12/30/2013 (regular decision)</p>

<p>Just wondering if I even have a chance, or if I just ****ed away another 80 bucks in fees. Goddamn, I swear that my year is literally the most competitive class for the past 10 years. I'm near the top, but with less than 150 kids, colleges won't accept more than 2 from our school, right?</p>

2

<p>Tepper - high match</p>

<p>I’m sorry, Idk what scs is referring to. You are a perfect applicant, but let’s face it, it’s competitive. When it gets to this level, it’s more about what they are looking for than what you can provide. RD and ethnicity may hurt you, and your ECs are good, but not great. Other than that you’re set. Deep breath in, deep breath out, really nothing more that you can do.</p>

<p>Good luck!! :)</p>

<p>Please take another look at my thread - I posted a question in reply to your chance <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1603586-chance-me-georgetown-will-chance-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1603586-chance-me-georgetown-will-chance-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>I think you’re in at Tepper and SCS is a reach for anybody, but you’ve got a good shot! Don’t be so hard on yourself, you have a great looking application and you would impress any admissions officer. If there are lots of strong students from your school, then they’ll probably admit those strong students, no? It’s not some sort of “ok we’ll take one from this school, who’s the best?” process. If you all really impress them, then a lot of you will likely be accepted. Not sure about SCS again, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t get into Tepper, it’s a match. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I agree that you’re in at Tepper, and SCS will be difficult. I disagree with what you said; you have pretty outstanding activities, especially considering your interests. Don’t count yourself out, especially considering your great stats!</p>

5

<p>I got into SCS early decision this year with a less impressive application in terms of academics and extracurriculars (it’s worth mentioning that I’m white in terms of college admissions). I posted my stats in the sticked seniors results thread in the College Chances section if you’re interested (I think I posted around mid December 2013). The only strike against you I can think of is ethnicity, but being Asian doesn’t hurt your chances nearly as bad as being an international student.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that CMU admits strictly by department. While CMU probably does ensure some geographic diversity while admitting domestic students, this wouldn’t matter much if only one or two other people at your school were applying to the same departments you are. </p>

<p>And as far as the interview goes, there’s no need to be nervous. I had mine in December and it was very casual, and one of the first things my interviewer said was that the interview can only help. I was even 5 or 10 minutes late (there was snow and the highway was closed in parts) and it wasn’t a huge deal. You should be on time and make a good impression obviously, but don’t overthink it. If you’re still nervous though, it won’t look awful if you don’t have an interview. My interview report didn’t reach the admissions office until after I got in, so it isn’t a dealbreaker.</p>

<p>In short, I think you have a good shot and wouldn’t be suprised if you got into SCS and Tepper. Good luck, maybe I’ll see you at CMU some time if you go.</p>

6

<p>This is comforting to hear, thanks a lot. I’ll update when I hear back from CMU. And I only say that my EC’s are weak b/c I’m comparing with kids on here who have conducted international research projects or eradicated malaria and stuff like that. And congrats to @Roswell for getting into such an amazing school! I hope to see you at CMU also. Thanks again!</p>

7

<p>I don’t see how you wouldn’t get into these programs. Your extracurriculars are good but with scores like yours how much can they even matter. I am of the opinion that extracurriculars are only that relevant when you’re doing amazing which few people do. No one cares that you docked 100 community service hours doing some ******** playing on your phone. I think you should feel good about your chances.</p>

8

<p>You’re certainly qualified to get into both. I know people that had far worse stats in high school that are in SCS at the moment, and you’re a shoo-in for Tepper. In the interest of creating a balanced incoming class you might be waitlisted, but if you show that you’re serious about attending CMU (take the interview!), I bet you’ll be accepted.</p>

9

<p>alright, im doing the interview on sunday morning at a coffee shop. any tips for dress? im planning on going with some nice chinos, a button down with a sweater on top, and some old rockport boat shoes. also, aside from “Why CMU”, “Why compsci”, and “tell me about yourself”, is there any other question that you guys think might be asked?</p>

10

<p>@Tarheel wouldn’t that be pointless (unless you are just doing this for pleasure, which is awesome)? Your interviewer has to submit his/her report by Feb. 1 to be considered by the CMU admissions panel - just FYI. I don’t know if that is going to be possible for your interviewer though. If it is, you are set.</p>

11

<p>yeah, i actually asked the same question. her exact instructions given by CMU admissions office are:</p>

<p>If you are contacted prior to February 1st, but are unable to meet with the student until after February 1st, feel free to conduct the interview and submit the interview form as soon as possible.</p>

<p>So I guess I’m really lucky. any comments about my outfit?</p>