Chance me for UPenn, MIT, Cornell, GeorgiaTech, UIUC, Purdue, ASU

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I have an avid interest in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Aerospace Engineering and will be applying as one of these three majors at most of the schools.

GPA Scale: A in a regular class: 4.0 ; Honors/AP:5.0
Unweighted/ Weighted GPA: 3.65 / 4.39
Class rank: Top 15% in the over 650 kids in my graduating class
ACT: 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
(I have taken the highest level of rigor with my courses that are offered all four years now.)

Extracurricular:
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

National Technical Honors Society:
President & Founder
Help students prepare for specific career fields
Offer career training and internship opportunities

Speech & Debate:
4 Year Speech and Debate member
Served as Speech and Debate Secretary
3 Year Varsity Debater

Diversity Club:
Indian President/Ambassador

American Red Cross:
4 Year American Red Cross member
Serve as Red Cross Public Relations Officer

Computer Science Club:
Founder and President
Developing apps and new websites for teachers and school

AP Physics Phreaks:
Public Relations Director
Work on many physics projects during the school year with teams

Animal Allies:
Public Relations Director
Help and save animals in local communities

Other:
National Honors Society (2 Years)
SkillsUSA
Mentoring Program
Key Club
Large amount of community service
Arizona State University’s Business Scholar

WORK:

Corporate Marketing IT Intern (May 2013-2014)
Marketing IT Development Specialist for (May 2014-Present)
CEO of successful international business (June 2015-Present)
Inside Sales Representative//Web Developer for a Digital Marketing Firm (June 2015-Present)
Best Buy Mobile Sales Consultant (August 2015-Present)
Yes, I’m working four jobs with a full AP Schedule/Lots of EC’s

Ethnicity: Asian/Indian

First Generation American
First Generation College Student

MIT: RD | No major while applying
UPenn: RD | Management & Technology Program/Wharton
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign: RD | Computer Engineering/Aerospace Engineering
Purdue: PD | Computer Science
GeorgiaTech: EA | Computer Science/Computer Engineering
ASU Barrett: PD | Computer Science

I have my extracurriculars going for me, and my ACT score isn’t bad, but obviously my GPA is weighing me down. My essays are usually very well written, and my letters of recommendation are outstanding. What are my chances for these schools?

2

MIT reach
UPenn wharton is a pretty big reach for almost everyone; your act and gpa could hurt you here
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign high/match (depends on ACT, especially math and science subscores)
Purdue safety/low match
GeorgiaTech match
ASU safety

your ECs will compensate for your gpa at many of these schools. good luck!

3

Thanks so much! Yeah, MIT and UPenn were complete reaches to begin with, just applying because why not. Also, I forgot to write it in there, but I’ll also be applying to Cornell; easily have my best essay for that school but again, I don’t have very high expectations for Cornell either.

The breakdown for my ACT is:
Math: 35, Science 33, Reading 32, English 33.

4

M&T and MIT are probably out of reach given your 3.65 UW GPA, top 15% class rank, and 33 ACT. With have about a 7-8% acceptance rate, and the competition will be fierce.

You have a lot of ECs - too many. You need to organize them a bit, and not show some of the lesser ones. You’re the public relations director of at least 4 that I can see. It will be hard for adcoms to tell where your priorities and focus are. But you are a reasonably strong candidate for the other schools on your list.

5

I’m definitely not submitting all the EC’s on my application, you’re right. I’ll probably stick to DECA, National Technical Honors Society, American Red Cross, Speech & Debate, AP Computer Science Coding Club, National Honors Society and then all my work experiences. Thanks for the advice!

6

There are over 100 kids who have better grades than you do at your school. I’m afraid you have very little chance at getting into MIT or Penn M&T. They are looking for the very top kids in the entire country/world and you are nowhere near the top of your school. Cornell is also a very low likelihood of acceptance. You should drop these top schools and put in some more realistic schools. Good luck!

7

I’m applying to GeorgiaTech, ASU, Purdue, and UIUC because I know for a fact that I have close to no chance to get in at all three of my reach schools. The only reason I am applying is because someone from my school has been accepted to MIT with a 3.6, a 27 ACT, and was in the top 25% of his class vs top 15%. So I’m simply applying because my school has had a really good record with getting through with holistic applications. Thanks for the advice!

8

oh, i assumed you had a lower act since you said it “wasnt bad” haha
you actually have a really good score, which boosts your chances at most of your schools. your three reaches are worth a shot; theyre unrealistic, yes, but thats the case for anyone who applies to schools that are so selective.

9

UIUC CS is a reach. It is just too competitive and you uwGPA of 3.65 is very low for UIUC engineering (admission average 3.9).

10

@sahar1811 thanks! yup, definitely realize that about reach schools. seriously only applying because “why not” hahaha!

@billcsho You’re right, UIUC CS has like a 10% acceptance rate I believe?? But I believe their engineering school admits on choice of major more than anything else, which is why I’m applying as a computer engineering major for my primary choice and an aerospace engineer for my secondary choice! Correct me if I’m wrong, though.

11

UPenn-Reach
MIT- Reach
Cornell- Reach
UIUC- High Match/Low Reach
Georgia Tech- High Match/Low Reach
Purdue- Low Match/Safety
ASU- Safety

12

@djix1234 That’s while I comment on your chance for CS and for engineering in general at UIUC too.

13

@billcsho So their CompE and Aerospace majors are just as selective…?

14

No. CS is even more competitive.

15

@billcsho I know, but I’m not applying as a CS major at UIUC but as a CompE/Aerospace major. Do I meet the criteria for that?

16

I think I have already mentioned above that the admission average GPA for UIUC engineering is 3.9. So your GPA is rather weak for that. Your ACT is within the mid 50 though. From the CDS, UIUC consider GPA to be very important while test score to be just important. If you are from OOS, your chance is not good.

17

Oh, I thought you were saying it was 3.9 for CS specifically, not engineering in general. Thanks for the insight!

18

@djix1234 If you want, you could also apply for CS in the College of Arts and Sciences. There are many different CS majors there, and CAS is less selective than CoE. You would probably be a High Match for UIUC if you chose to apply for CAS.

19

Yes, there are CS Math and CS Stat etc in LAS of UIUC. They are slightly less competitive than the CS in engineering but are still at the level of other engineering major. Same for the ChemE (ChBE) in LAS.