Chance me as a Junior to Top Schools?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m an African American female looking to major in CS

Academic:
SAT- (Superscored)1500 (:\ I’m probably going to take it again or try the ACT)
SAT IIs- Nonexistent but they’ll probably be STEM subjects and in the high 700s
GPA - 4.1 UW. 4.6 W (I know, my school is weird)
Class Rank- 4 (But will probably go up to 2 by college apps by the way things are going)
AP Courses - AP Physics 1 (3) [Not going to submit], AP Computer Science A (4) [I know, also low considering it’s going to be my prospective major].
AP Courses senior year - AP Lang, Calc AB, APUSH, Physics 2, Chem
A little Background: I’m concurrently taking an Independent Study Course in Computer Science. I’ve also taken CS courses since freshman year and I plan on taking AP CS Principles next year.

ECs:
-Started a program for elementary school students giving minilessons at local Elementary Schools to introduce them to Computer Science
-Captain of Varsity Track and Field (3 years)
-Varsity Member of Debate Club (3 years and probably going to be captain next year
-Varsity Member of the Math Team (3 years and prob going to be vp or secretary next year)

  • Underclassmen Representative of Red Cross Club (2 years and again probably going to be pres next year + lots of volunteer hours)

Summer Activities:
2016:
-took an Algebra 2 class to get ahead
2017:
-participated in Kean GSSRP-a research program- where I specialized in computer science. Might get work published in a scientific journal.
-took an online Python class

Academic Awards:
Ehhhhhh… this is really bad. I only have generic ones from my school like student of the month and principals honor roll welp

Essays: good I guess, I’ve been told I’m a good writer and I plan on starting them early. Plus, I think I have a good backstory to portray.
Recs: Okay, depending on the teacher, might be a little generic

Educational/career goals: I’m from a country in West Africa and I’m really connected (I used to live there) so when I get older I sort of want to take the skills that I’ve learned here and apply them back home such as starting a school, or specialized program in computer science.

Hooks: AA female in STEM (or is that not a hook anymore?), I’m applying to Questbridge so if I get in that might help.

Top Schools:
My top school is Harvard, I’m applying REA. But I’m also really interested in Princeton, MIT, Cornell, Stanford, John Hopkins, Yale and Carnegie Mellon

PS
I have safety school if you were wondering, it’s just that those are my top schools
Thanks!

2

Harvard is a good school, but it falls way behind in STEM compared to other colleges. If you want a good STEM school, your best chances are MIT, Stanford, Cal Tech and Ga Tech. MIT and Stanford will probably give the best need based aid. My advice is high student loans are not worth the price, even if it’s Stanford. Computer degrees are highly employable out of college, and it absolutely doesn’t matter where you go. Employers are interested in whether you can do the job. You would be just as well, or better off graduating from UT-Austin debt free.

3

Your hook is great. I would recommend starting a CS related club in your school for leadership and academic interest purposes. A 1500 is not bad. If you get two 700s+ on the subject tests I think your standardized test scores will be good.

4

@coolguy40 well most of the schools on my list are known for giving great financial aid to students with a similar financial situation as me. But price is a big factor for me and I have a few other in-state schools with good cs programs that I would gladly go to if the financial aid from the other schools is not better or at least on a similar level.

5

Best of luck!