UW doesn’t have ED.
Thanks for all the comments, and I’ve picked up some more really helpful advice from recent discussion. I realize I should’ve also included my order of school preferences as opposed to simply just tiers of safety/reach:
Stanford, Princeton, MIT, CMU, Cornell, UIUC, Yale, Georgia Tech, Umich, Berkeley, UW, Duke, Brown, Caltech, Rice, UCLA, UCSD, UT Austin, UC Irvine, WSU, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, ASU
You can probably tell from my intended majors, but the most important thing to me is the ability to take a breadth of courses across disciplines. The problem with a lot of public schools is that they typically take CS through direct admission, and as such, the number of elective slots and course availability for CS majors is typically more limited than at private schools which don’t admit by major. Cornell’s motto is practically centered on this, as you can minor across colleges and take whatever courses you want in any of their schools. Course waitlists aren’t very common either, and even as a CS major, you can easily get into popular unrelated courses such as their Mushrooms/Molds and famous wines course.
Cornell also has an abundance of really great engineering/CS project teams that I’d join over traditional clubs in a heartbeat, and my top choices (+ gtech and umich) also have an abundance of these. Strong startup culture is another appealing factor, but this can really be found in abundance at most CS-focused colleges today.
Now that things are a bit more contextualized, my internal debate was to either shoot for Cornell ED, or take my chances at the four schools I (barely) hold above it and lose the strong ED advantage. Also, as a CS major, there really is no guarantee at any of the stronger schools which is why the list is so reach-heavy (in fact, I’ll probably be adding a few more).
Also, I know how AMAZING UW is for cs (I’ve got a few close friends there and an insane 10% of my school’s previous graduating class went into UW CS direct admission), but one of the most important things to me is the OOS independent experience. My parents agree with this sentiment, and that’s the big reason why they want to help pay enough where I’d be left with a similar amount of debt no matter where I choose to go. We’re a pretty well-off family, and the purpose of not entirely paying off debt was for my own growth rather than financial limits.
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I get it. But again a UW, WSU, saves you maybe hundreds of thousands. So if they are willing to help, why not have them pay everything bs some of and that costs you.
How large is your hs ?
I find it hard to believe unless it’s 20 kids or a STEM school that 10% go to UW CS or any school CS.
My son’s roomie is a CS major at Bama with multiple minors. And ABET requires a well rounded education. Joining an honors college like ASU Barrett would give you more. I could be wrong but I think you’d have plenty of chances to explore over your 4 years. My son is MECHE and has a minor which may turn into a double geography).
I think your chances are reasonable at most/all of the places in the list. Your math strength is on the light side for some of the tippy top ones if you are hitting Calc BC only in senior year. The raw material is mostly here. You really need to write good essays. And it is not about creative writing. It needs to showcase your personality in an authentic way. Prune the EC list. Showcase your non-STEM awards along with the ISEF and other national level STEM awards. The narrative about yourself should be coherent. The only missing thing that we wouldn’t know, and the college judging you would know, is course rigor and the strength of your reccs. The reccs need to be effusive.
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I would consider looking at the entrepreneurial studies programs that are offered at some of these schools. Several of the schools you mention would potentially support your venture via in-house or external accelerator programs, mentorships, venture awards and direct and indirect access to seed and VC funding.
You also may want to consider the flexibility of the curriculum and or the ability to get support for independent study given your seemingly eclectic interests.
Good luck and happy to offer any support I can.
Look you are a great candidate with a great overall resume. But you have to understand that at the first 18 schools you listed you are going against kids that have similar or better stats. All of your top 18 are lottery picks especially for CS. You could get rejected at all of them despite your incredible stats. Also as mentioned by others the cost has to be considered as well. It is unclear if your parents willing to pay full amount for these schools. As you mentioned you might want to consider expanding you applications to include UMD Wisconsin etc.
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Here is what I would do
- Apply EA to MIT and Caltech
- Simultaneously apply ED1 to Cornell (double check the agreement to make sure they allow)
- If rejected or deferred from Cornell, then apply ED2 to CMU
- RD round: all the rest
Before I did that, I’d want to know that MIT, Caltech and CMU were good fits. For the right student, they can be great, but they are not for everyone. That’s not just my opinion, but frequently voiced here by parents that have a student attending one of them that know they wouldn’t fit their other children well.
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Could you explain why some of these schools are super reach and your consideration of ED at cornell? Your application seems really good and I’m not sure how people could top that. Is this much not good enough? Are the Reach schools listed really that competitive?
Some schools are either a reach or a super reach for everybody :-). Unless you are an IMO Gold or a USACO Platinum, or went to RSI or similar accomplishments on the Humanities side etc … When I say it is a reach for other people it doesn’t mean they won’t get in. It means their getting in is a bit random, and depends on essays etc.
It’s that they’ll receive MANY more applications from fully qualified students than they can accommodate.
There are nearly 28,000 high schools in the US. That means there will be at a minimum, that many Valedictorians and that many Salutatorians looking for slots at schools. At a minimum…56,000 graduates ranked #1 or #2 in their class.
It’s not about qualifications. It’s about too many students applying to too few schools.
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Since Cornell is fifth on your list, please do not apply ED without first visiting. Although never done by any self respecting CC poster, I am going to venture to say that if you apply ED to Cornell, you will get in.
I would suggest you apply REA to Stanford. They will appreciate your Young Arts win and your huge entrepreneurial achievements. As a strong writer, you can hit your essays out of the park. I think you’d have a good shot there. Plus, it is your first choice.
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Does your school offer math beyond BC?
I’m a bit confused, are you currently taking AB and the 4/5 is a projected score?
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If you end up applying CS at UIUC, you need to apply EA. There won’t be CS slots still left in the RD round.
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The OP is just entering high school I think and planning all things out ahead of time. Our school offers Calc BC whenever the kid can take it. There is more math available beyond that if a kid is interested. One day f my kids took it in 10th grade. I just meant to tell him that if he expects to be a strong contender into the absolute top schools, there would be others that would have done more math
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OP states “ Still a junior, but I love creative writing and feel confident with the essays and LORs.”
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I misremembered. You are correct. BC is good. But these days kids seem to be doing MVC etc. Wasn’t sure if the profile would standout are the very top places. I have heard that some of the top CS schools care more about the math more than the CS courses in high school. For example discrete math is nicer to have than AP CS A
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I 100% agree with you that for some schools, particularly MIT and CalTech, OP’s math level could be considered “light,” especially since they say that their school offers many post AP courses. I was asking whether their school offers math beyond BC to see whether or not they will be expected to have gotten to MV.
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First, BC is not light. Most applicants at most schools, including MIT and Caltech will have had BC or less. The vast majority of students simply don’t have the opportunity. The CS curricula at both MIT and Caltech presume Calculus during 1st year.
Certainly there will be students at both who have had more math. I don’t know that it is an advantage in and of itself. What seems to be is having a background in math competition and doing well.
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I agree BC is not light, not at all. I question, though, if a kid would be fully prepared with just BC, and even if prepared, will they get in to CalTech. It seems to me that BC is the bare minimum for these schools. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d surprised if either accepted many AB student last cycle. Heck, AB seems to be the bare minimum for liberal arts at the Ivies.
Also, OP has said their school offers a number of post AP courses. If ten or so kids take MV or DiffEQ as seniors, OP may not be seen as having taken the most rigorous courses. This was my primary point. Sure, if your school doesn’t offer calculus, you have to be creative and have the money to take it via BYU, UC Scout, dual enrollment, or the like. But, if you don’t take at least AB, are you really going to apply to MIT or CalTech and will you be accepted?
Even where I live—and I don’t live in Arlington or Palo Alto—it is becoming commonplace to see kids get to DIffEQ by senior year.
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