Hi, I’m an international applicant studying in Hongkong. I’m a female and I’m planning to apply for CS major or information systems major. Here is my profile:
GPA: It’s IB school so my predicted grade would be 42 at 45 scale (UW GPA 3.75 -4.0 scale, W GPA 4.5 -5.0 scale)
Math, physics are two of my HL studies.
Standardized tests:
ACT highest composite 33, super score 34
SAT II: Math II 750 Physics 750 (planning to retake in October)
EC:
- Service Project
- Founding member and second generation leader of a club that tries to solve a social issue with technology - we created an educational kit for children in the Philippines and did crowdfunding to send them. (still continuing the connection. We also visited the school that we helped as well.)
- Led another crowdfunding project(succeeded) for a nearby orphanage. I enjoy drawing, so I produced some badges and stickers for crowdfunding purpose.
- Robotics Team
Contributed as a programmer for 3 years - participated in FTC competitions
- MUN
School MUN team captain for 2 years.
served as chair, deputy secretary general, and secretary general.
Award for Best Delegate
- Sports - played soccer for 5 years
- Leadership
--> Elected as a member of Student Council
--> Led my own council for service area
My family background is middle-upper class. My university list is:
Reach- UPenn, Northwestern, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, CMU, Cornell
Match- USC, UT at Austin
Safety: Purdue, U of W
*****I’m thinking of ED for UPENN, Cornell or CMU so plz give me any advice regarding ED - I can’t decide the school 
While your stats will put you in the ballpark, your list is VERY reach heavy. USC and UT Austin are definitely not matches because you don’t have in state residency. Purdue and U of W also have very competitive CS programs that I would call high match to even low reach (again, for out of state).
How did you come up with your ED list? These are very different feeling schools.
Thanks for replying!
Yes my US universities are mostly reach schools because my safety schools are in Canada & Hongkong.
For my ED list, I thought of CMU because certainly, CMU offers the best CS program in US. However, I also love Cornell & Penn’s atmosphere for start-ups ( also, in case I want to change a major - I think Cornell & Penn can provide a wider choice than CMU)
USC is private so CA residency is not a consideration for admissions. Still consider it a Reach due to low acceptance rate. UC Berkeley is also a Reach and since you are not a CA resident, costs will be $65K/ year with little no financial aid.
Make sure all schools are affordable and best of luck.
I think you will be a competitive applicant for admittance. Purdue is not a safety school for any of the STEM majors. They have a large overall acceptance rate which hides how selective the STEM departments really are.
Only apply ED if you are absolutely certain you would like to attend that school (you can only apply to one school ED). Also, make sure you can afford to attend before you spend time and money on the application. Scholarships for international students are hard to get.
I don’t think you need to retake your physics subject test. 750 is a great score. If anything, work on getting your GPA up to a 3.8.