Chance Me: Cal Poly, UCs, Harvey Mudd

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m currently an Oregon resident, but my family is moving back to California when I go to college. I’m a junior and go to a STEM option school. Harvey Mudd is my dream school but my stats are not nearly good enough. I plan on taking my SAT a second time because I didn’t do too well since I didn’t study (hoping to bump up to 1500) I’m 99% certain I want to major in CS and would like for you to chance me on the following schools:

 - Harvey Mudd
 - Carnegie Mellon
 - Cornell
 - UCLA
 - Cal Poly SLO
 - NYU
 - UCSD

These colleges are in order of preference and most are reaches to be honest. Is it worth a shot to apply for early decision to Harvey Mudd? Also, does being female boost my chances in any way? Given my current stats, what are some other colleges you recommend I look at? “Prestige” is a touchy subject, but I would prefer a college with a good reputation in the tech industry.

Weighted GPA:
4.04
UC GPA:
4.04
AP Courses:
Calc BC, Physics, Stats, Lit
SAT:
1450 - 670 English/780 Math (planning on improving English portion)
EC:
Varsity Softball- 2nd place state champion
Travel Softball for 9 years (22 hours per week)
100 hours of volunteering
Leadership Club
Key Club
Internship at Kaiser this upcoming summer.

I also plan on taking AP Chem, AP CSP, Vector Calc, and AP Lang next year.

2

Is your family planning to move to California in order to gain in-state residency for UCs? If so, make sure they understand the many restrictions on that.

Even if you will have CA residency, I’m not sure your GPA will get you in to either of the UCs or Cal Poly for CS. You might want to add less reachy CS options. SJSU or UCSC could be matches with your GPA but they will be far from sure things. You’ll need safeties.

For Harvey Mudd, you might find that coming from out of state is an advantage. Yes, the acceptance rate for women at Harvey Mudd is higher than the acceptance rate for men, but you still have to have tippy top stats. The higher female acceptance rate means that relatively more women than men with 1550+ SATs get accepted. It does not necessarily mean that more women with lower stats get accepted.

Not sure why you would want to go to NYU for CS. The school is not one I’ve seen represented among the techies in Silicon Valley. Note: Oregon universities are well represented and respected.

3

Because you are looking at CS, one of or possibly the hardest admit–I would say all of these are in the reach range for you. Make sure you apply to many more schools and is money an issue (you will not qualify for instate if parents moving when you graduate)?

4

I do highly recommend that you verify the residency requirements for UC campuses. It appears that you would not be a resident for tuition purposes.

As other commenters said, CS is a highly selective major. You will need to demonstrate a significant STEM background.

At Harvey Mudd, the admissions are extremely selective—in line with MIT and Caltech. I’m glad you are interested in it and know that it’s a reach school. Honestly, HMC expects very impressive, STEM-related extracurriculars. In addition, more than one third of the incoming class is a valedictorian or salutatorian. I’m not telling you not to apply, but know that admissions is not on the likelier side. If it is your top choice though, do consider applying ED. It’s worth a visit to Claremont to see it. You could fly into LAX and drive an hour east.

Carnegie Mellon likewise has very competitive admissions. You would apply directly to the School of Computer Science. It has a 7% acceptance rate, with mid-range SAT scores of 1500–1570. You would be substantially below the 25th percentile of admitted students.

Cornell has a mid-range SAT of 1490–1550, so again, you would be below the 25th percentile.

UCLA is more likely than these other schools, but you would probably be evaluated relative to out-of-state applicants, so it is again highly competitive.

I think you have a very good chance of getting into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. This would be a target school.

I think you would be a competitive applicant to NYU. You would also be competitive for UC San Diego, although it is becoming more selective.

I agree that you should try to raise your SAT score by > 50 points. Your GPA and academic record are a bit of a weak spot in your profile, but what is your class rank?

For CS, I would recommend taking a computer science class, ideally something college-level, perhaps at a nearby college or AP Computer Science A. You should also work on STEM-focused extracurriculars. It’s not just doing things like Math Club, but also involving yourself in competitions and recreational math or tutoring/teaching math, etc.

Are you able to apply as a student athlete? Have you looked at athletic recruitment?

In what field is your Kaiser internship?

I think being a female interested in STEM gives your chances a modest boost, but has it actually impacted you seriously in a negative way? What is your race and ethnicity?

I would recommend other UC campuses, University of Oregon, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Boston College (BC), and Boston University (BU).

5

I will add that you will need to take two SAT Subject tests for admissions to many of these schools, one of which must be Math Level 2. You should aim for a score 770–800.

6

@suewieder - I do not think Cal Poly Slo would be a target for her. The avg GPA for engineering is 4.17 and avg 33 ACT—CS would be at the high end of that range with an admit rate of only 10%.

7

Ah, that’s true. Definitely a reach.

8

SJSU would have rejected a CS applicant this year with the OP’s stats.

9

For CS, the OP’s entire list looks like reaches.

10

Thank you for all the helpful replies! I do have quite a few in-state safety schools on my list that I didn’t mention. I just listed my reach schools above. Nearly all of the schools I’m interested in are D1. I’ve only received softball offers from D3 and D2 colleges that primarily focus on liberal arts majors :frowning:

I don’t qualify for financial aid and don’t mind paying OOS first year for UCs. I talked to a UC counselor and he said I should be able to qualify for in-state by sophomore year since I grew up in the bay for the first 14 years of my life and my dad still lives there. I am also Asian which California has plenty of so I don’t see any advantages for this particular state.

I attend an option school with “science and technology” literally in the name and the level of rigor at my school far surpasses the rigor at my local high school. Therefore, 95% of AP students at my school pass the AP exams with a 4-5. I’m so frustrated I went to this school because OOS colleges aren’t familiar with it. Even though the quality of my education is much better than the education I would’ve receive at a regular public school, the expectations are raised much higher. My teachers have even recognized the deflation of grades at my school; many of my classmates would have gotten straight As across the board with flying colors if they had attended “regular” public school.

Harvey Mudd is probably impossible for me, but I will definitely strive for Cal Poly as their CS program is amazing according to my cousin. Hopefully I can improve the English section of my SAT and ACT! I got a 36 for Math on my Pre-ACT but struggled hard on the reading and writing.
These are all difficult schools to get into, but if anything I’ll just go to school in-state and save loads of $$$ :slight_smile:

11

I do highly recommend that you verify the residency requirements for UC campuses https://www.ucop.edu/residency/. It appears that you would not be a resident for tuition purposes.

As other commenters said, CS is a highly selective major. You will need to demonstrate a significant STEM background.

At Harvey Mudd, the admissions are extremely selective—in line with MIT and Caltech. I’m glad you are interested in it and know that it’s a reach school. Honestly, HMC expects very impressive, STEM-related extracurriculars. In addition, more than one third of the incoming class is a valedictorian or salutatorian. I’m not telling you not to apply, but know that admissions is not on the likelier side. If it is your top choice though, do consider applying ED. It’s worth a visit to Claremont to see it. You could fly into LAX and drive an hour east.

Carnegie Mellon likewise has very competitive admissions. You would apply directly to the School of Computer Science. It has a 7% acceptance rate, with mid-range SAT scores of 1500–1570. You would be substantially below the 25th percentile of admitted students https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics.

Cornell has a mid-range SAT of 1490–1550, so again, you would be below the 25th percentile.

UCLA is more likely than these other schools, but you would probably be evaluated relative to out-of-state applicants, so it is again highly competitive.

I think you have a very good chance of getting into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. This would be a target school.

I think you would be a competitive applicant to NYU. You would also be competitive for UC San Diego, although it is becoming more selective.

I agree that you should try to raise your SAT score by > 50 points. Your GPA and academic record are a bit of a weak spot in your profile, but what is your class rank?

For CS, I would recommend taking a computer science class, ideally something college-level, perhaps at a nearby college or AP Computer Science A. You should also work on STEM-focused extracurriculars. It’s not just doing things like Math Club, but also involving yourself in competitions and recreational math or tutoring/teaching math, etc.

Are you able to apply as a student athlete? Have you looked at athletic recruitment?

In what field is your Kaiser internship?

I think being a female interested in STEM gives your chances a modest boost, but has it actually impacted you seriously in a negative way? What is your race and ethnicity?

I would recommend other UC campuses, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Boston College (BC), and Boston University (BU).

12

I do highly recommend that you verify the residency requirements for UC campuses https://www.ucop.edu/residency/. It appears that you would not be a resident for tuition purposes.

As other commenters said, CS is a highly selective major. You will need to demonstrate a significant STEM background.

At Harvey Mudd, the admissions are extremely selective—in line with MIT and Caltech. I’m glad you are interested in it and know that it’s a reach school. Honestly, HMC expects very impressive, STEM-related extracurriculars. In addition, more than one third of the incoming class is a valedictorian or salutatorian. I’m not telling you not to apply, but know that admissions is not on the likelier side. If it is your top choice though, do consider applying ED. It’s worth a visit to Claremont to see it. You could fly into LAX and drive an hour east.

Carnegie Mellon likewise has very competitive admissions. You would apply directly to the School of Computer Science. It has a 7% acceptance rate, with mid-range SAT scores of 1500–1570. You would be substantially below the 25th percentile of admitted students https://admission.enrollment.cmu.edu/pages/undergraduate-admission-statistics.

Cornell has a mid-range SAT of 1490–1550, so again, you would be below the 25th percentile.

UCLA is more likely than these other schools, but you would probably be evaluated relative to out-of-state applicants, so it is again highly competitive.

I think you have a very good chance of getting into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. This would be a target school.

I think you would be a competitive applicant to NYU. You would also be competitive for UC San Diego, although it is becoming more selective.

I agree that you should try to raise your SAT score by > 50 points. Your GPA and academic record are a bit of a weak spot in your profile, but what is your class rank?

For CS, I would recommend taking a computer science class, ideally something college-level, perhaps at a nearby college or AP Computer Science A. You should also work on STEM-focused extracurriculars. It’s not just doing things like Math Club, but also involving yourself in competitions and recreational math or tutoring/teaching math, etc.

Are you able to apply as a student athlete? Have you looked at athletic recruitment?

In what field is your Kaiser internship?

I think being a female interested in STEM gives your chances a modest boost, but has it actually impacted you seriously in a negative way? What is your race and ethnicity?

I would recommend other UC campuses, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Boston College (BC), and Boston University (BU).