Chance me CS Major at MIT, Princeton, GIT, Yale, Columbia, Carnegia Melon

Chance Me / Match Me!
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I was wondering if anyone could chance me based off of this list for top CS schools in the country. This is for an Asian male located in California

Major: Computer Science

GPA: 96.5, 3.98 unweighted(school ranks on a decile scale, top 10%)

SAT: 1590(second attempt)

Courses:
9 AP’s
Will have scores for 5 AP’s when applying - all 5’s - other 4 taken during senior year
Took Calculus 3 at a local college
Most challenging courses

EC’s:
*I wont go into too much detail with some ec’s due to legal issues

Created a ______________ (can’t say what it is) -

  • Used by government and various non profit organizations(this is kind of why I can’t
    talk about it)
    ISEF - first in category, regional competition 1st
    National JSHS 3rd place, Regionals 1st place
    Competing in STS
    Davidson Fellows Scholarship
    Paper published in prestigious CS/Technology journal
    Independent Study - done with partner

Created a device that _____________

  • Diamond Challenge Winner - done with partner
    Currently discussing with _____ corporations to use in their products(this is why I can’t talk about it)
    Paper published in semi prestigious CS/Technology Journal
    Project let me be a MIT THINK Finalist

Created a __________

  • Clean Tech Competiton Winner - group of 3
    Currently looking to apply it in real world(again can’t talk about it because of this)

Created a website that provides resources and tutoring services for elementary students during quarantine

  • Over 130 kids used it - won district award for community service project

Founder and President of a club that promotes research on global issues and offers a platform for students to create and share their solutions

  • Club also does their own research as a group for their own projects
    One club project was recognized nationally
    Raising over 10,000 dollars for a project we are doing in April

Internship at a University to create an app for a professor’s project(paid for internship since I created the app by myself and it was more like he requested for me to build the app for him in return for some compensation)

Helped create an EMR system for non profit organization in that specializes in providing ophthalmology services to those in Africa who are unable to afford it

Team Lead on Programming for FRC

  • Semifinalists at Worlds(Unforuntaley due to COVID there was no competition last year or this year, but we would likely have gone to Worlds again)

Varsity XC, Indoor/Outdoor Track - 5 years, 4 years(respectively)

  • Captain on XC team, captain of distance team on track
    XC - Nike Federations(Regionals for XC basically)
    States twice - although I was injured for one race and couldn’t run
    Varsity Letters every year and season of high school

RISE Summer Program

LOR: One is really good, and one of them I think will be good but I’m not sure, and one from counselor which should also be good

What are my chances for colleges like MIT, Princeton, and other T10 schools? For MIT I am kind of worried that I don’t have any math competitions, since those kind of bored me and I didn’t feel like I would really be challenging myself if I did them.

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I’d say you’re a pretty amazing applicant. That said, the programs and institutions you listed are tops in the US. All are reaches. You are clearly in the top tier of applicants, but there are so many highly qualified candidates for these select programs, both from this country and beyond, that there just isn’t enough room for everybody. So, in short, none of these schools is a guarantee for anybody, but I would say your chances are no less than anybody else’s.

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I think that you are competitive at any school, including the ones that you have listed. Of course none of them are safeties. I am assuming that you did also apply to safeties.

“For MIT I am kind of worried that I don’t have any math competitions”

I do not think that I would be concerned about this. MIT does not admit by major. From what I understand (I did go there, but decades ago) they admit exceptional students without that much concern for what particular thing they are exceptional at. You could google “MIT applying sideways” to find a blog that talks about MIT admissions. My understanding of the blog seems to match what you have done in the sense that it recommends that you do what you want to do, and do it really well. The issue with MIT of course is just that admissions is insanely competitive there.

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Track is the ONLY non stem-related activity? Nowadays, tippy tops want to see kids climb out of just their interest zones, be open to other sorts of ECs, as well, not simply be unilaterally strong. Yes, see the MIT admission blogs.

Assuming you’re a junior, you have time to make adjustments. You’ll benefit from researching what each of these colleges shows they value and look for. Nothing to lose by expanding a bit.

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I second this. All the best!

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I’m surprised you don’t have Caltech or Harvey Mudd or Cal Poly on your list.
How much do you know about the CS programs at P, Y, or Columbia?

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The club I founded is also not STEM-related, although some students have a little STEM involved in their research. Would this, along with track/xc, not be enough for non stem-related activities?

8

I’m not applying to any in-state colleges.

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Thanks for the reply!

10

For CS, coming from California, this is a bit of a surprise. What are your safeties? What is your budget?

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Heres a list of the colleges I applied to:

MIT, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Institute of Technology, UT Austin, UMichigan, Boston University, Northeastern, Purdue, RPI, University of Maryland, and some SUNY school(maybe Stony Brook)

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You clearly have some reaches that are very good for CS. You have some schools where I would expect you to probably get in (RPI, BU). I do not know whether any of these are quite safeties although multiple seem likely.

Why would you pay out of state prices at some very good universities such as Maryland or “some SUNY”, or private school prices at RPI or BU, when you could pay in-state prices in California?

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My parents are moving to the east coast, and since I’m an only child they would like me to go to a college near them.

Do you know anything I can do to make my application better? I’ve mainly been pursuing topics and competitions that explore my passion (computer science), but I see posts where you need certain things to get into top tier schools. Is there anything I’m lacking in that sense?

Thanks for the response.

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I think that you are a very strong candidate. I think that you have a chance at the very top schools, and should have a very good chance for many of the schools on your list. You can do very well in life with a CS degree from RPI or UMD or one of the SUNY’s.

Being an only child does help quite a bit with regard to the affordability of a university education.

Best wishes. I expect that you are going to do well wherever you end up.

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I’d say you have >50% chance for all those schools. GL!