@gradlv, you are a very strong applicant. You check off the key boxes in terms of academic achievement, curricular rigor, and standardized test scores, plus you have 2 very strong “spikes” with strong awards in terms of your creative writing (National YoungArts level) and computer science (USACO gold plus a paid internship in Computational Biology as a rising junior). Those are impressive and will make you stand out, especially if you package yourself well in your application and tie those in to your long-term focus, which shouldn’t be hard. There’s never any guarantee of getting in to a particular school among the very elite, but if you put together a strong application you should do very well.
I am a Stanford grad, though from a long time ago, and did a double major in Comparative Literature and Mathematical Sciences, as well as a MA in Linguistics, all in 4 years. It’s doable, though challenging. That was long before CS+X, which makes things much easier. Stanford has a strong interest in blending CS and the humanities, so I agree with @writergirl0316 that it is a good fit for you, and you should be of interest. I’d also take a hard look at MIT, which I suspect would love your combination of interests. I’m surprised that it wasn’t on your initial list.
I think you should consider your home flagship as a safety. I don’t think you can call the state schools on your list safeties for OOS applicants.
So your list has plenty of reaches and match-range schools, but not really a safety.
Strong public schools are typically strong in the most popular majors, and English, EE and CS are probably among them. I would replace Georgia Tech with maybe the University of Wisconsin, U of Washington, U of Minnesota or another flagship known for all-around academic strength, from STEM to soft sciences to the Humanities.
The U of Iowa is outstanding in Creative Writing, but its STEM offerings are not particularly well known – make sure you read up on them.
And since you might change your mind, you want schools where it is relatively easy to change majors and schools, like from Engineering to Letters & Science (at UW-Madison, for example).
Whoooooa!!! You are really accomplished. I think you have a shot at every single Ivy League and UCLA, but it’s always really unpredictable. You’ll most probably be accepted at all of your safety schools other than UCLA, which I hear is sort of competitive.
yeah while passion is important… it’s what you do with your passion that makes it all worth while. how i see it is that you need to do exceptional things to go to an exceptional school. you can’t just have just typical ec’s here and there. places like Stanford accept people who are active in their community and are able to make a change. ivies accept future leaders who aren’t afraid to take initiative and always keep moving forward. it’s cool to have a leadership spot but, just bc you hold the leadership title doesn’t actually mean you’re a leader really. nevertheless, your application is still great and you have a chance to get into every single school but just keep that in mind
Safeties seem fine to me but being from a competitive New England state means you’ve got a LOT of kids to compete against in terms of Ivy Leaye admission. You’ve painted a picture of yourself as a creative minded writer who has been swept up but the STEM rigor of your high school and is now torn. I’d say your best shot is an admission officer seeing the 36 and taking a chance on your potential future in a passionate writing major. HYPS is probably a rejection but do not give up hope!!! I’m guessing you’ll get an acceptance or two from your other reaches (Brownn, Swarthmore, Carnegie, maybe UPenn)
Updates: I was named a nonfiction & fiction finalist for a university’s creative writing contest, a poetry semifinalist in another contest, and a nominee for a national poetry anthology (my first non-high school pool recognition! I’m excited!!!). I got a few poems published, and also qualified into the Tournament of Champions for debate, although I can’t go (AP testing…haha). As for summer plans - I received a somewhat positive update letter from BU Rise, and I was accepted into a free online writing mentorship for fiction. I have no idea how selective the writing program is, but it’s produced a number of fantastic writers and the alumni community is super encouraging and friendly, so I’d likely choose this over BU.
I say you have a solid chance at all your schools just based on GPA and SAT/ACT test scores. I’m sure you’ll get into all the schools you’ve listed believe me I have had students with lower scores and they somehow got in. So you’re on track. I would even say that if your really unsure ask you high school for a dual enrollment program with a local community college for senior year where you do college courses and excel which will guarantee you to all the ivies. Since they will be seeing in your application a student who has experienced a college environment during high school which will surely bump your chances to an extent that all these universities will be fighting over you.
@renaissancedad
Thank you so much for the encouragement! I’m definitely interested in Stanford’s CS+English joint major, and I especially love its emphasis on a synthesis between the two fields, rather than a hard duality. I’m also considering MIT as an option, as I know someone with impressive writing and math EC’s who is currently attending (and loving!) the school. I’m also taking a post-AP CS topic modeled after MIT’s topic course and it’s super fun! Then again, there are many exclusively STEM research-oriented kids from my school who will be applying to MIT (and Caltech as well), so I would likely have a lower chance.
@prezbucky
Thanks for the safety school suggestions! I truly appreciate it. I might as well just say outright that I’m from CA, which is why I’ll be applying to so many UC’s. And I do agree that I want a well-rounded school in terms of academics, that’s easy to change majors in.
@jaymiegaymie Chanced you back! I come from a competitive state as well, so I do realize that my chances at my reaches are slim to none. And I was actually interested in CS long before I got swept up in writing – I started fairly late last summer, and racked up the majority of my accomplishments only this year.
@“Hassan Zaidi” Thanks for chancing! My school somewhat discourages dual enrollment since it’s a private, but it offers “college-level” classes like linear algebra or data structures, which I’m planning to take.
You’re lucky to have high quality low reach/high match, match and safety schools just among your in-state UCs. You can cherry pick some private reaches if you like and have a pretty comprehensive (in terms of reaching high, being practical, and being safe…) list of schools to apply to. I’d add Cal Poly and SJSU (at least, among CSUs) as other strong in-state candidates that would be match/low match (SJSU maybe bordering on a safety) apps.
Your stats are awesome!!And EC’s clearly show where your passions lie. I couldn’t predict your chances at your matches/UC’s cuz I’m really unfamiliar with them.
Yale: waitlist/accept
Stanford: reject
Brown: accept
University of Pennsylvania: accept
Carnegie Mellon: accept (just curious- this is mostly engineering. why would you choose CMU for liberal arts?)
Swarthmore: accept
I suggest Amherst and middlebury!! I think you’d be really fit for LAC’s
@hungrihippo Thank you! I’ll look into the schools you suggested. Regarding CMU - my parents want me to apply specifically because of its strong engineering departments. I think they have a soft spot for this school because they have many family friends who had went.
I also applied to the BU Rise program, just wondering what the letter you got said? Was it email or letter? And did it indicate if you were accepted or not? I am curious bc I did not receive and email like this.
“Thank you for your application to the Boston University Research in Science and Engineering (RISE) program: Internship track. We appreciate your patience as we focus on matching your background and research interests with an appropriate professor. As you know finding the right match for you is extremely important and requires careful consideration from faculty members and the admissions committee. While we cannot guarantee a placement, we are actively seeking a match for you and we will contact you as soon as your status changes.”
It was an email that basically said they’re trying to find a professor for me. I don’t think it’s an acceptance letter per se, since if BU can’t find a match then I won’t be able to go, but rather an acknowledgement that I’m qualified for this program. Also - don’t quote me on this, but I believe BU is still in the process of sending out acceptance / rejections. Good luck!
UCLA - accept
Georgia Tech - accept
UCB - waitlist/accept
UCSB - accept
USC, - accept
UiUC, - What even is this school gonna guess accept
U of Iowa - accept
Virginia Tech - accept
Yale - reject
Stanford - good shot- work on essays!
Brown - accept
University of Pennsylvania - cant judge
Carnegie Mellon - accept
Swarthmore - accept
I think I’m horribly optomistic though so take mine at face value