Hi Guys
Just starting college apps now and would like some suggestions on where to apply and what my chances are for my dream schools like Stanford and Columbia. Rising Senior.
Intended Major: Computer Science and Mathematics
Intended Minor: Business
Personal Details: Asian Male
Academics:
3.97 GPA (UW); 4.5+(W)
HG(4), WH(4), Stats(5), Chem(5), Lang(4), USH(5), Calc AB(5), CS Prin (5), CSA(5), Psych(5).
ACT: 35
PSAT: 1470 (will likely get Semi-finalist due to predicted cutoff)
Subject Tests: Math II (800); Chemistry (800); Physics (800)
ECs:
Worked as Camp Counselor for Kiwanis Camp Casey (336 hrs).
Varsity Tennis Player (3 years so far) + Team Captain (senior year) + Districts Champion and State competitor
Created a small non-profit organization called Lib Tutors (donated money to needy organizations)- Initially was a platform through which people from my area could get free tutoring from people from my high school. This offered online summer classes (corona) and also one-on-one tutoring through discord. Before school starts, we will integrate with our school's National Honor Society in the form of a club offering service events so we can open our services to anyone at Liberty. Lib Tutors became a fairly popular tool used by my high school.
Worked as a paid math, computer science, and chemistry tutor for family friends and peers. A job that took quite a bit of time. (I hope admissions officers take this into account).
Completed two online courses.
Introduction to Computer Science Course from Harvard University (CS50).
Astrophysics Course from EdX (ANUx's Astrophysics XSeries).
Will be president of Lib Tutors club once school begins (extends Lib Tutors organization)
Will participate in a neuroscience camp at the University of Washington in a few days. Called YSP-Reach (Center for Neurotechnology Virtual REACH Program).
I would have done more EC's like do the National Chemistry Olympiad (I think I had a good chance of getting to Nationals), but they were all unfortunately canceled.
Are any of these colleges a safety/match and any suggestions for other colleges??? I am struggling on finding a safety/match that I actually want to go to.
Stanford University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
UC Berkeley
Princeton University
Yale University
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
California Institute of Technology
UCLA
Cornell University
University of Washington
Brown University
UC Santa Barbara
University of Pennsylvania
Oxford University
Dartmouth College
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rice University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Duke University
University of Chicago
I forgot to mention that I am also the public relations officer for National Honor Society in senior year and that I was in science olympiad for two years. The one year I competed the state competition was canceled. We made it to state though, if I remember correctly. I was also in Patriot Crew, a school program that helps freshmen become more familiar with the school.
@sgopal2
Iām a Washington resident who doesnāt need financial aid. My class rank is probably top 1%, and Iām applying EA to probably almost all my colleges (definite those in my title). ED Iām still deciding.
Of the schools on your list, those with a binding ED program will give you the biggest boost. Your stats and scores are superb. Being full pay is also a nice plus. But as you know, things for ORMs are a bit more difficult, especially with your interest in STEM. Applying to one of the lottery schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford) SCEA will be a big risk, I personally wouldnāt do it.
Instead, I would suggest to find a school with binding ED1 and apply. At the same time apply to as many EA schools that allow concurrent ED apps. Then have a backup plan in place for ED2 round. Finally the RD schools. Here is a suggested gameplan:
UCAS: Oxford
EA: MIT, Caltech, UChicago, GaTech
ED1: Pick from RIT, Dartmouth, Penn, Chicago, Brown or Cornell
ED2: If you get deferred or rejected from EA and ED1, then apply ED2 to Chicago
RD: UCB, UCLA, UCSB, UW, others
Statistically your greatest odds of acceptance will be in ED1 and ED2 rounds. Then there is a huge drop off in acceptance rates during EA and RD rounds.
If youāre a Washington resident youāre probably a match for UW. Other than just about all of the colleges on your long list are reaches for everyone, or everyone out of state for the publics (not sure about data for Rochester, possibly a match). You need to put some solid work into figuring out matches and safeties. And into figuring out what you actually want in a college. There are such differences between the schools on your list, other than they are mostly āprestigiousā and selective, that itās hard to believe youāve really thought about what type of college you think will suit you (and vice versa).
Your stats are excellent - donāt get me wrong, you are a great candidate - but many of the schools on your list have so many excellent candidates that their admit rates are in single digits or low teens (for publics you need to look at OOS admit rates). That makes them a reach for everyone.
thanks for the advice. Yeah, the colleges I listed were just some colleges that were on my mind, but I didnāt start any research yet, so I didnāt have any safeties yet.
Do you have any idea what my chances would look like for UCLA and UCB? Would they be a reach or match or high match?
Also, by UW, Iām guessing you meant UW Computer Science?
UW Computer Science or Informatics are very tough admissions direct to major, even with your stats, @CollegePanda12. UCB and UCLA might be even tougher. I know of several highly qualified Washington state residents (with national awards, etc.) rejected by UCB in the STEM fields. The UC system provides very little out-of-state aid.
Soā¦Iām not even sure UW would be a match for direct admit, and itās really hard to get into those majors later. UCB and UCLA are reach to high reach, I think.
The two flagship UCs are reaches for almost everyone. I understand UCLA has the highest number of applications of any college in the country. I meant what I said - UW and maybe Rochester, I donāt know enough about it, are the only matches on that list. For UW I meant admission in general, not major specific. If you havenāt read through the UW results thread(s) itās worth a read. Some majors are seriously tough to get direct admit and it seems CS is one of them.
You have a great profile and you are very likely to get into at least one top 20 college, but I think you need to do some more work on what kind of college youāre actually looking for, because youāre much more likely to gain admittance somewhere you can show a strong fit.
It occurs to me you may be making a common mistake about analyzing match vs reach, namely only looking at admitted student profile stats and not taking the overall admit rates into account. Anything with an admit rate in the teens or below is generally regarded as a reach for everyone. For publics you need to look at the OOS distinction too - example Georgia Tech last year had admit rates of 38% instate and 15% out of state.
yeah, youāre right. How about a college like Boston University? It has a decent CS program and its admit rate is 25% with an average ACT of 29-32. Would this be a match? High safety? Also, I noticed that you are a very active and get lots of agrees. Do you mind if I ask for your discord? I just think it could really help. You donāt have to, obviously.
BU is a tricky one because its admit rate is actually down to the high teens, but I do think itād be a match. Youāre at the 75th percentile on ACT. Hint: go on to each college page to confirm actual stats, the āheadlineā google results are often outdated. Here is BUās latest: http://www.bu.edu/admissions/why-bu/academic-profile/
thanks for the reply, and Iāll be sure to check the actual websites.
As for Stanford, do you think itās an impossible reach? (Same goes for Harvard and Columbia, those are my dream schools). I feel like my test scores and extracurriculars are average by their standards, at best, and thatās why I was considering applying to many reaches to maximize my chances. You said that my chances for T20 are likely, but are my chances of getting into stanford, columbia, or harvard too small to even consider SCEA? How do I stack up against the competition?
My daughter was accepted to Columbia (and other reach schools) during the regular decision round in 2019. I believe that with all the high reach schools, applicants really need to carefully research the college, programs of interest, and social/physical environment. Additionally, one needs to craft their personal essay and individual college supplements with exquisite (and authentic) care to resonate with the admissions teams. Colleges like Columbia receive tens of thousands of applications each year. They really need to āseeā and āhearā you through your essays.
Many students apply to these colleges with amazing stats, but the schools remain out of reach to many, which is why applicants need to be strategic, resilient, and open-minded.
Nothing is impossible with your stats, but these are all high reaches for everyone. If you truly, truly love a school then by all means use your early application on it. And these schools arenāt always predictable. On naviance, Columbia had accepted exactly one person from my daughterās school over the previous 3 year period before her senior year. In her senior year, it handed out 7 admits! By contrast Stanford, which usually took a few, only took a recruited athlete that year. Moral of this little story is that you never really know how you āstack up against the competitionā at high reaches once youāre past the good-enough-stats part. Post above says it all - you need to reach them beyond your stats. Make sure thereās fit, and make sure you show it in your essays.
will do! Do you recommend that I get a college admissions counselor to help with essay and application building, or would it be sufficient to just write them myself? These tutors are crazy expensive.
At Columbia you can major in CS either through Columbia College or SEAS (or even Barnard). The acceptance rate at SEAS is a bit higher than the College. If Columbia is your top choice, then apply binding ED1. Doing a double major will be tough, due to Core requirements.
I think RiT (Rochester Institute of Technology) is a match. Of the schools on your list, I think RIT is the most likely admission, but as with other schools, CS is the most competitive major there. UDub is also a match since you are instate. UC Santa Barbara is a reach for CS. All of the other schools are reaches for anyone for any major.
To be honest, I have no idea, just apply and see where do you get in. It is very competitive process. My one kid applied early and got in and then he withdrew all applications except he did continue with few full ride schools. He got in few full rides but did not attend full those colleges. Second kid applied early. He was wait listed and then accepted in RD. He got into 3 of the HYPMS school, but he still got rejected from other top schools. GLTY
Hi @CollegePanda12, Iām a sophomore and Iām interested in learning more about the non-profit you started. This is probably not a response youāre looking for, but a group of friends and I want to start a club similar to what you did (making a non-profit organization to tutor anyone who needs any assistance with their school work etc.) and we need some guidance on how to start. If you have time, can you get back to me? We would really appreciate it. Hereās my discord: BQMattBOss#3118
