Chance me for ivies, MIT

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

African American Male Go to private highschool in NJ Middle class

Intended Major: Computer Science

GPA: 3.96 UW/ 4.84 W (5.0 Scale) Would be 4.0 UW without PE Class Rank: my school doesn’t rank but I assume I am in the top 15%

SAT: 1410(not submitting)
ACT: 33 comp, 35 English, 35 Math, 34 Reading, 29 Science (Retaking in hopes to improve science)
SAT Subject Tests: Taking Math II and Biology in the fall
APs: World History (4), United States History (3), Biology (4), English language (5), Comp Sci Principles (5), Calculus AB (3), Senior Course Load: AP Eng Literature, AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, AP Spanish Language, AP Art History, and theology

EC’s
Robotics Team (for three years, hold two leadership positions, really important part of my life)
IT Internship in a police department
Worked in IT in a municipality
Tutor students in math after school
Programming as a hobby (Java, Python, HTML, JS)

Awards
AP Scholar with distinction
national Spanish exam honorable mention
National honor society
Math honor society
Honor roll all periods of each 3 years

Essays Should be above average. I’m going to write about how robotics not only introduced me to a field I want to major and work in but also had a significant role in my character development

Letters of Recommendations
My Robotics mentor who also has taught me in two classes in school. We have a good relationship in and out of class so it should be good.
Don’t know who else to ask as of now

I think my EC’s and Awards are weak but I hope I can present them in a way to show interest in my major

2

I think they’d probably want a higher score in Calc. If you do programming as a hobby, maybe make a useful study app or some sort of other project. It should make you stand out and sounds a lot stronger and a lot more what they look for. Programming as a hobby sounds passive and they don’t want passive students. Make sure that the essay is creative and imaginative and tells them that robotics influenced you, but not directly. Write it more like a story. Also, if you are taking the subject tests, biology seems kind of irrelevant to your major. Maybe try physics?

3

I don’t think that they will care at all about a B in PE. Hopefully your calc BC AP test will go better than calc AB, although if it doesn’t they just might want you to take calculus as a freshman which shouldn’t be a problem at all.

I think that you chances are decent, probably a bit better than the overall acceptance rate, and that it is worth an application. If you want to major in CS then the Ivy League schools would not be my second choice (after MIT), although I have heard claims that Harvard is getting better for CS and it might be worth seeing if they give you a good offer.

You definitely should also apply to some safeties and matches also, but I am sure that you know that.

4

MIT would be tough but some Ivies should be doable

5

@DadTwoGirls Yeah, I’m also looking at CMU and Georgia Tech(both reaches), U of Mich and UVA (somewhat of matches), and Rutgers and Virginia Tech for safeties.

6

I think Ivies are a stretch. Any chance you could work on that robotics to explore better ECs with it in Senior year? esp since you are interested in that as a career. I think your APs are strong, GPA is good, SAT is weak and ECs are so-so. A great essay and stronger robotics EC might make you a contender but not likely at MIT. Look carefully at schools with robotics programs ( WPI, Carnegie Mellon etc). I honestly don’t think you’d gain much from an Ivy if robotics is your goal.

7

@infinity421 Thanks for the advice. For my calc score, I got an A+ in the class so I hope that holds more merit as far as admittance, and as far as physics go I might add it on as a third after getting a review in September. I would like to hear more about what you mean by writing the essay as a story if you get the chance.

8

I’m going to submit my ACT which I think can be a 34+. My goal is just to be in a strong CS or even engineering program, it doesn’t necessarily have to be solely robotics. Do you have any suggestions on any EC’s or projects I can work on to improve my app?

9

By writing the essay as a story I mean that it should be the story of your life, but relevant to a particular part of it (robotics for you). Here’s an excerpt from my personal statement (I’m still editing it, but it should give you a chance of the ‘story’ aspect):

'I…Then, imagine a rather scary, bald man standing inside of it, giving you instructions and attempting to colour your mind with endless interpretations of century-old words… ’

I can’t post the entire statement here for obvious reasons, but I hope this quote gives you a better idea. The point is, your essay shouldn’t be a drag for the admissions officer to read. It shouldn’t list off your achievements, your application probably already does that. It should be from the heart, it should be descriptive, and it should showcase your personality. Sarcastic humour is a part of who I am, and the admissions officer will see that in my personal statement. But he/she should also see that I’m a passionate, focused, person with a lot more going on than good grades. Try to see what makes people want to know you. If you’d just met yourself, what would you love? Focus on that. No need to be humble but don’t act like you own the world either - no one likes pretentious brats. If you need more help, just PM me, I’d love to help out. :slight_smile:

10

“I’m also looking at CMU and Georgia Tech(both reaches), U of Mich and UVA (somewhat of matches), and Rutgers and Virginia Tech for safeties.”

IMHO this is a good list. I think that you will do well.

11

Seeing you want STEM, your best bet for an Ivy in STEM is Cornell ED.

12

Overall application looks strong, you definitely have a chance at top schools. I would recommend looking for ways you can improve your community/world around you through more initiatives like tutoring.

13

Those ACT scores are very strong - get your science score up a little bit and you could be a “true” 34 or 35 composite. With that GPA, that would likely place you within the top 50 or so African Americans in the entire nationwide applicant pool on the GPA + ACT score metric. With a true single sitting 35 you have a shot at being in the top 10. I think you will be an extremely competitive applicant for any school.

Yes, the Calc AB score is a tiny bit low, but don’t sweat it. Work hard prepping for Math level 2 - with your ACT math score, an 800 on M2 is well within your ability, and a high score on that will help confirm your quantitative chops and remove any doubt that you can handle the work. My kid found the Huh book very helpful, so perhaps take a look? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0996564705/

As for science ACT, I am far from an expert, but I have recommended to my own kid to read plenty of articles in Scientific American, Nature, Astronomy or Sky and Telescope, Aviation Week and Space Technology (also very useful for econ and “business-y topics,” etc. A few hours a week in the library perusing mid-level popular science magazines could pay some big dividends and in any event would be inherently valuable for anyone thinking about a STEM career (even CS).

Best of luck!

14

Can anyone chance me : http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/2095363-looking-for-colleges-with-need-based-fa-full-ride-scholarship.html#latest