<p>I felt that there were a lot of disadvantages that held me back: being in a low income household, having parents who were drug addicts, and being learning disabled.</p>
<p>By working a lot harder than my peers, I managed to do well in high school despite having cognitive processing issues. My GPA in 9th grade was low. I got my act together from there.</p>
<p>AP scores (no accommodations):
AP Physics C-3
AP US History-3
AP English Language-4
AP Spanish-5
AP Stats-5</p>
<p>Part-time job (15 hours/week)</p>
<p>Awards:
Congressional recognition from Carl Levin
Questbridge finalist (should receive my decisions earlier)
DECA States-2nd place
AP Scholar with distinction</p>
<p>ECs:
100+ hours of community service
Key Club (10, 11, 12)
Indian American Student Association (10,11)
DECA (11,12)</p>
<p>I know there’s not much I did in high school, but I know I have a lot of potential to succeed.</p>
<p>questbridge will get your profile in front of many good programs and I’ll bet you have some nice choices come next April. Best of luck with you on that. However, you shouldn’t bank on any schools as selective as Brown. While not impossible, you should head into it with clear that you face steep odds.</p>
<p>I don’t know what sort of “cognitive processing issues” you have, but I suspect that you would not be happy studying computer science in a school as selective as Brown. CS requires both a highly-structured understanding of processes and careful attention to minor details – a single missing parenthesis in the wrong place can break an otherwise functional program. </p>
<p>The assignments can be extremely time-consuming even if you fully understand the material and your classmates are the type who slept through AP Calculus because it was too slow for them. You would be at an extreme disadvantage if your learning disability caused you to spend significantly more time than the median in completing your work.</p>
<p>When I look at your info above, I see a student who could get accepted. It’s not likely, but it’s possible, especially if you tossed your QB ED app at Brown. However, LoremIpsum’s counsel is wise. I would consider whether your academic and EC background supports a CS concentration, both in a practical sense as a student, and in the eyes of the admissions office. My son has a severe processing disorder, too, and is a first year at Brown. So far, Brown SEAS and his professors have been phenomenally accommodating, and the Open Curriculum is a blessing, as well. However, Brown is a tough ticket under the best of circumstances and, if you do get accepted, you will have to keep up with some of the top CS students in the world. I don’t see anything math or CS related on the info above that suggests you have a strong CS/Math background. Not only could that put you at a disadvantage if you are accepted, but it could weaken your app if the admissions office doesn’t see the academic/EC background to support the CS concentration in one of the top CS programs in the world.</p>
<p>If you are considering EDing Brown, I would quickly call the CS department, ask to be contacted by some current CS concentrators, ask them about their CS/Math backgrounds from high school, and ask them how they are faring grade-wise in college. I would also take a good look at your transcript, ECs, test scores and interests, and come up with a second concentration option that is strongly supported in all of the above categories. I would start with anything you made a 5 in on the APs, and go from there. I am guessing that Brown will want to see some level of mastery in your proposed concentration area that is supported by standardized test scores and state/national awards, if possible in order to feel comfortable with fit, especially for an LD student. </p>
<p>Good luck! I believe that whatever happens with Brown, you’re going to have great college options. :)</p>
<p>Doesn’t Brown say they don’t admit by proposed major? My daughter was an accidental CS major and judging from her graduating class there were quite a few others who didn’t start out intending or having background in CS. But seeing no AP Calc is worrysome. And the point above about keeping up with the work in such a strong program shouldn’t be ignored.</p>
<p>Good luck OP, chances aren’t likely for Brown, but you never know. And hopefully QB will hook you up somewhere.</p>
<p>BP, I don’t know if they admit per major or not, but I do know that, as a student considering a science major, DS had to fill out a somewhat lengthy science supplement where he was asked to detail his past involvement, interests, accomplishments and educational background in the areas he was considering as a concentration. I pulled out his app files (yes, I kept copies–you never know, haha) and there was a lot of science-related inquiry happening. Pretty sure that, especially in the sciences (because there is a separate supplement for it), they explore your background to see if you have a history of academic work and extracurricular involvement to support your stated interest in that area. That’s why I encouraged OP to find a strong secondary concentration that was supported by the application. ;)</p>