Chance Me For Top CS Schools

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Schools:

Reach: Harvard (RD), Stanford (EA), MIT (RD), Princeton (RD), Cornell (RD), Carnegie Mellon (RD)

Match: UIUC (In-State, EA), Purdue (Rolling), Georgia Tech (RD)

Safety: UIC (Rolling)

Demographics: Male, Indian, Illinois, decent public school

Academics:

SAT: 1550/1600, 800 Math, 750 CR+W

SAT II: Math Level 2: 800, Physics: 770

Class rank: School does not give specific ranks, but I am in the highest bracket (top 5%)

UW/W GPA: 3.83/4.0 (UW), 4.58 (W, all honors and APs are +1)

Coursework: Mostly A’s (B in freshman semester 1 English 9 Honors, sophomore semester 2 Pre-Calculus Honors, junior AP Physics 1 both semesters, and junior Calculus BC both semesters). Nearly all Honors and APs. Here are all the AP exams I’ve taken (all 4s and 5s):

Freshman Year: AP Human Geography, AP Psychology (self study), AP Environmental Science (self study)

Sophomore: Comparative Gov (self study), Microeconomics (self study), European History, Computer Science A, Macroeconomics (self study)

Junior: English Language, US History, Calculus BC, Statistics, Physics 1, Physics C: Mechanics (Self-Study), French Language (Self Study)

Senior: US Government, Calculus III (through UIUC), World History, English Literature

Awards: National AP Scholar, school award for making a positive impact in the school body (nominated by pre-calculus teacher, award is by nomination only), outstanding state mock trial witness back to back

Extracurriculars:

Worked as a CS Intern at a $500k+ national non-profit academic organization (3 years)

Developed and published two Android apps (one game and one database) - the game with ~2,000 downloads and the database with ~600 (2 years)

Worked in IT at a local law firm (3 years)

Mock Trial (4 Years) Placed Top 5 twice at prestigious international tournament * Consistently placed high in state competitions (Basically one of the two best teams in the state) *Won state twice back-to-back for first time in school history and competed at nationals * Secretary 1 Year, Captain 2 Years

Computer Science Club (3 Years, Executive Board 1 year) Helped develop and design apps for the school district and promote CS contests and activities in order to boost enrollment into CS classes and promote STEM to the school

Winter Madrigals (2 Years) - served as Prince of the madrigal during the other year

Spring Musical (1 Year) - Served as principal role in one year of the musical

Math National Honors Society (2 Years) - tutoring and stuff, nothing really special

~100 hours volunteering at a Hindu temple over 2 years

Essays and Letters of Rec: Essays are a solid 8/10, Counselor Rec is 6/10, Rec #1 (AP Physics 1 teacher) is 8/10, Rec #2 (APUSH teacher) is 9/10, Rec #3 (Founder of the non-profit I intern at) is 10/10

Questions: I’m mainly worried that my UW GPA and my ECs (i.e. the fact that they’re good but not mindblowing) will stop me from even having a chance of making my reaches or UIUC. Am I that screwed?

2

Are you sure that UIUC is a match rather than reach for CS?

3

It’s definitely a high match. I have it categorized as a match because of my instate status.

4

You are a highly competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are great. Write good essays and you could get accepted by any of these schools

5

Purdue did away with rolling admission. You can apply early action and the notification date this past cycle was mid January. CS was super competitive with many students getting into Purdue but not into the CS major. IMO, get more match and safety schools on your list even though you have great stats and ECs.

6

I can see the future. You’ll be accepted to UIC, UIUC and Purdue. Waitlisted CMU.

7

@Greymeer am I really that screwed for my reaches? Anything I can do to improve?

8

You aren’t screwed for your reaches but they are just that, reaches. Admission stats are very low. My advice is to revisit your list. You should have the bulk of your applications going to matches and safeties. Then really research which reach schools best align with your interest and have the best fit. Do you want to go to a more rural campus environment or be in a city (big difference between Cornell and Harvard in terms of location). Do you want a big campus or small? It’s more than just prestige! You will write better college specific essays if you can answer those questions. Keep doing the ECs you are passionate about, especially as they relate to CS. Show demonstrated interest to the schools that make your list- sign up for mailings at college visits, go visit in person, do alumni interviews if they are offered, create your student portal after you apply, follow the schools on social media, and reach out to the regional admission rep, especially for your top choice. Not all the schools care about interest but some do even when they aren’t transparent about it!

9

You are not screwed. The reason for my comment is simply the percentage of admissions.

UIC 77 you are in
UIUC instate 60… For CS lower probably 33 instate… Your high stats 75 chance
Purdue OOS 33… For CS lower probably 25 OOS… Your high stats 75 chance

GT OOS 17… For CS 10… Everyone has high stats
Cornell 14… For CS 10… Everyone has high stats

CMU 13… For CS 5

Others are sub 10. You need a national award to have a good chance.

CMU and GT waitlist are good possibilities. CMU seems to WL many people.

Stanford EA is a waste of time and prevents you from applying to multiple reaches early. Apply to Harvard and MIT early. If you are rich apply to CMU early.

When you write essays make sure you show good knowledge about the school, the CS dept and why you want to attend. Don’t say things like “go hoosiers” for Purdue.

10

@greymeer Harvard is also SCEA, so idk how I can do both that and MIT

11

You should consider applying to more reach schools. Your application is good enough for any school. It is more essay writing but for top schools you want to apply to as many as you can that you like since they are so selective

12

You’re in the toughest demographic, Asian male applying for CS. That being said, you can improve your odds by applying ED if you don’t have a clear first choice and would be fine at CMU or Cornell. Your mock trial is going to be interesting, it’s not a typical CS EC, so maybe explaining why you did it may show something different to the adcoms. Also add a couple matches - RPI, Case Western.

13

I agree with @theloniusmonk Your stats are great, but read the acceptance threads and see that you need more match and safety. Applying early to one makes sense. If you choose CMU for that make sure you sign up for a tour (they consider demonstrated interest last we were there)