Chance me for CMU/Cornell/UCSD/Oxford?

[Woodworks]

Hey - so I’m a current senior getting ready to apply for college but I have a bit of a unique situation. I ran into some personal issues during highschool and wasn’t able to peak my GPA/did bad on APs, but I hit fairly high SAT/ACT and other scores, and hit some high ECs and was wondering where I fell. Without further ado my stats:

GPA - 3.8/5.0 weighted, not sure unweighted but probably low 3’s. Course Rigor - I’ve taken 7 AP classes and am currently in 4 more.

ACT: 36, all sections, still waiting for essay score but got a perfect NSAT essay and have full faith in my writing skills

SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Physics PSAT: 1500, qualified for national merit semifinalist

AP Tests: 5 Comp Sci, Microecon, Lang; 4 Stat (oops), APES, Physics 1, Physics 2; 3 Macroecon (oops); Predicting (for Oxford they make you predict): 5 Calc BC, 5 Human Geography, 5 Literature, 5 Mechanics

ECs:

VEX Robotics - Founder, 2 years, state level awards

FTC Robotics - 4 years, 2 years Head of coding, 2 years captain, advanced to World
Championships and won an award that places me 9th overall, founded a community team that has since become intensely successful, have 20+ regional and state level awards at the highest prestige.

World Maker Faire - I’ve exhibited in the last 2 years with 3 total exhibits, twice in the Robot Tent and this year for the first time as a makerspace. Leading role each time, also did an exhibit at Newark Mini Maker Faire.

VR Developer - I have several successful simulations that have been shown and used at World Maker Faire and FIRST Robotics events

OS Development - I developed an operating system (if you’re not familiar, Mac OS X is an operating system, Windows is an operating system, etc) that establishes a built-in airgapped environment to reduce security flaws, providing dissidents and researchers who are oppressed by totalitarian states to have access to computing without fear of being found out.

Neural Network Developer - If you’re not familiar, neural networks are at the core of machine learning/artificial intelligence. I made several networks, and I’m about to publish two networks, one that can predict college admission using scores and one
that can assess any dataset and be customized for easy usage by researchers.

Web Developer - I’ve developed over 20 websites and continue to be the webmaster for several organizations. Took a course in this too at NJIT.

Hackathon Organizing Internship - I can’t say the organization’s name here but they’re known worldwide as a hackathon giant, I run events in New Jersey with over 150 members. I’ve also worked with evangelists from Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Arduino as a part of this.

Attended a GenCyber camp for a week, it’s a NSA program offered at universities to throw students into a one week course about information security.

MIT Launch - Last year, I got finalist status and then proceeded to win 2nd place overall. I’m now on the board for the local club.

Tech Liaison for a money management initiative that I can’t say the name of, but in this position I manage all their web applications and visit schools and elderly homes to educate them about proper money management; it’s fairly large.

I’m probably going to combine those and list based on award level for Common App, but write everything down for Oxford Personal Statement.

Community Outreach:

As part of robotics we do outreach; I’ve been to a series of electronics recycling drives, built robots and catapults to entertain disabled children, built robots to provide disabled children with the ability to experience art in a new way, regularly present to younger children in elementary schools. I also mentor a local FLL robotics team.

Also do a senior citizen thing (can’t divulge name without divulging who I am so sorry again) where every month, I work in a group of 6-10 students who help senior citizens learn to use technology.

Recommendation Letters:

guidance counselor, knows me somewhat well
physics teacher, she knows me very well, one of her faves
computer science teacher, knows me very well, one of his faves
economics teacher, knows me very well, he advises MIT Launch
one from my boss at the hackathon giant (? she’s an executive but I’m not sure if I can use her for every school)
one from my robotics coach (? not sure if I can use him for every school)

As for race/gender, I’m an Indian male. I’m going into STEM, particularly, Computer Science, so I’m aware this works against me.

Schools:

Oxford University, want to read Computer Science. They don’t take any transcript or grades, so only my standardized testing and ECs go through. They have their own admissions test that I can consistently score very high on (about 80/100 which is guaranteed interview and high chances at success) and very intensive interviews that I’m worried about.

CMU, Computer Science super reach, Information Systems target
Georgia Tech
Cornell University (super super reach)
Dartmouth University
UT Austin Computer Science
UC San Diego

[collegemom3717]

Be careful with your personal statement- you only have 4000 words, and you have to show some critical thinking not just list your prizes. Talk to whoever is writing your LoR and coordinate with them - they may be able to spell out some of your accolades and (importantly) what they say about you as a student. Some comments from the Oxford website on the PS may be helpful:

The key issue is to find out more about why an applicant is applying for the course they have chosen. The personal statement should tell the tutor the reasons why that subject genuinely interests them, and should evidence that they understand what is required to study the course. For example if applying for Computer Science at Oxford, they should demonstrate that they know maths is integral to the subject. It…can be helpful for applicants to follow the selection criteria for their chosen subject at Oxford*…

Tutors are also looking to find out about the applicant’s skills and experience which may demonstrate their potential to succeed on the course…where work experience is mentioned, it is important that an applicant is able to reflect on their experience and what they have learned as a result. The length or perceived quality of the work experience is not an important factor; what matters is that an applicant has thought critically about it.

(emphasis added- they aren’t just saying that)

Students applying for maths, or maths based subjects, often worry about what to include in their personal statement as the selection criteria essentially focuses on their mathematical ability and potential. Dr Richard Earl, Tutor in Mathematics, suggests students should focus on writing about those areas they particularly enjoy in maths and any wider reading in maths that students have come across. Suggested further reading for maths is available here: www.maths.ox.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate.

Tutors are not looking to make applicants jump over hurdles in the interview and often the personal statement is a useful starting point for a student to talk about something in their comfort zone. Therefore it is even more important that applicants think carefully about what they choose to include in their statement as they are essentially highlighting topics to tutors which they should be knowledgeable about and able to discuss in some detail. For example, a student applying to study Experimental Psychology, who states they have a keen interest in consumer behaviour, should be prepared to answer questions about their thoughts on consumer behaviour, relevant models or independent reading and research around this topic.

Those students who live and breathe their subject will be able to write a full personal statement concentrating on their chosen course and why this particularly motivates them.

Oxford tutors, and representatives from many other leading universities, recommend that three quarters of the personal statement should be academic focused and the remaining quarter may broadly be used for extra-curricular activities. If the applicant knows what they would like to achieve after completing their degree they may like to include a short explanation of this in the academic section of their personal statement. It is not necessary to go into detailed career plans and *students should remember that they are applying for an academically rigorous course so their reasons for wanting to study the subject for three years or more should take precedence * [emphasis added]

Also, some helpful points for whoever is writing your LoR, which is different than a US one:

The reference should provide an objective assessment of the candidate’s academic suitability for their chosen subject, and to that end, it would be useful for the referee(s) to be aware of the specific selection criteria for the Oxford degree*.

The University of Oxford does not require the reference to be written by the headteacher or head of sixth form; it is more important that it is written by someone who knows the student well enough to comment on their academic abilities and any personal qualities that will help them to succeed. Often the subject teacher in the most relevant field to the applicant’s chosen course is best suited to write the reference.

Ideally, the primary content should focus on the academic skills and experiences of the student, with the reference giving prominence to the subjects the student is undertaking that are most relevant to their chosen degree.

The reference is a good opportunity to focus on the individual applicant and their particular strengths relevant to the chosen subject. Tutors at Oxford, like other universities, are interested to find out if the student is expected to flourish in an intensive academic environment and how they may cope with a sustained workload [emphasis added]; specific examples are useful here. Relating the relevant selection criteria to specific pieces of work, activities, experiences or interactions with the students are helpful indicators and bring the candidate’s qualities to life.

For CompSci, in addition to the required marks, MAT, interview, PS, and LoR:

A. a capacity to absorb and use new ideas,
B. the ability to think and work independently, an
C. perseverance and enthusiasm,

The CompSci group at Oxford has a lot of really decent people, who try to be helpful. If you get an interview you are likely to actually enjoy a lot of it, even through the obvious anxiety of the event!

[Woodworks]

Thanks collegemom3717! That’s some helpful information I will definitely look into. I was a bit confused about the “academic” portion of the Personal Statement though–what am I supposed to include here? As an American student I don’t have GCSEs to brag about.

[ARequiredField]

Your ECs are definitely strong and so is your testing - 80 on MAT is really high! I would be worried about that 3 on AP; the interview is definitely hard but it’s made so it is possible. You just need to show passion for your subject and be familiar with YOURSELF. They’ll be asking personal items from your PS. Which one of those recommendees are you asking for the reference btw?

[collegemom3717]

The academic portion doesn’t have anything to do with past exams (they already know your test scores)- it has to do with the academic course you are applying to study. How carefully have you read the website about the course? You have a lot of applied things in your ECs- what excites you about the academic things you would be doing this course? Have you done any academic or theoretical reading in your field? Mention it (integrate it into the text, don’t just name drop it!)(as long as you actually read it, have actually thought about it and actually understand it- b/c it is considered a kind way to open an interview- and people really have sat down to an interview to find that the author of a book that they mentioned in their PS is the one interviewing them!).

And,looking at the work (your compsci ECs) you have done, what have you learned about where you want to go with it? how have those experiences informed your understanding of what you need/want from your university experience?

It’s a tough essay to write and keeping it to 4000 words is hard. For most people it takes a good few drafts to get a tight, cohesive academically-oriented essay.

[ARequiredField]

Thanks! This is really helpful, I originally was planning on writing focused entirely on my CS EC’s but I’ll probably refer to some of the research that interests me at Oxford or such. To what extent is the writing important? I know in the US the writing is paramount in a college essay but many of the PS’es I read from Oxford seem to be very average as far as the level of writing.

[collegemom3717]

It needs to be good enough to convey that you have a good understanding of, a real interest in and an aptitude for your subject, and that you are able to think critically and analyze academic material. It doesn’t have to be high prose! Use your ECs and outside reading as examples of why you are interested in X area of your subject, and how you have explored it, and link it to what you are hoping to do in the course. You are trying to create a narrative arc. In 4000 words