I really want to go to UIUC and major in either computer science or computer engineering. With the following stats, would it be smarter for me to apply as a straight CS major in CoE, a CompE major in CoE, or a CS+X major in LAS?
GPA Scale: A in a regular class: 4.0 ; Honors/AP:5.0
Unweighted/ Weighted GPA: 3.65 / 4.41
Class rank: Top 15% in the over 650 kids in my graduating class
ACT: 31 (taking classes and hoping to increase this to a 33)
Senior Course Load: AP Econ/Gov (1st/2nd semester), AP Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Physics, AP Computer Science, and Advanced Marketing
AP Courses: 9 by the end of next year
Extra curricular:
DECA:
Arizona DECA State Officer (Represent 9,000 students)
Served as Chapter Vice President & Public Relations Officer
Won 1st Place in Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan Junior Year (Developed an app plan), 3rd Place in Marketing Communications Sophomore Year
Two Year International Career Development Conference Qualifier
International Media Correspondent
Speech & Debate:
4 Year Speech and Debate member
Served as Speech and Debate Secretary
3 Year Varsity Debater
American Red Cross:
4 Year American Red Cross member
Serve as Red Cross Public Relations Officer
Other:
National Honors Society (2 Years)
Mentoring Program
Key Club
200+ hours of community service
Arizona State University’s Business Scholar
WORK:
Corporate Marketing IT Intern for 2 Years
IT Development Specialist for 1 Year
Started my own business by coding my own website and creating an online retail website.
Plan on starting an engineering organization at my school
Ethnicity: Asian/Indian
First Generation American
First Generation College Student
I know my GPA is relatively low as is my class rank. Would it be better for me to apply for regular decision and get my grades up first semester of senior year? Also, is there anything I can do to show my passion for engineering and technology? Do you guys know of any place I can get an online certificate or something in CS or CE? Any help/advice would be appreciated!