I really want to go to a school in California for computer science. My dream schools are Stanford and UC Berkeley but I know that those aren’t realistic for what I have done. If anyone has some suggestions for other California school that would be more realistic for me that would be great.
14 AP classes by the end of high school. (I got 4s and some 3s freshmen and sophomore years, still waiting on last years scores)
First SAT: 1420
Second SAT: 1500
taking the ACT and math and physics SAT subject tests
unweighted GPA: 3.9
weighted GPA: 4.8 (currently with only 9 AP classes since it’s before next year)
played trumpet in the marching and concert band for four years, lead librarian this year on leadership
mu alpha theta math tutoring for two years
GKTW volunteering for 1.5 years
volunteering at the school library this summer
programing club/competitions for 1 year
robotics club/competitions for 1 year
have two games as well as a music app for trumpet players on the app store
Thank you so much for the help!
University of Southern California and UC Santa Barbara might be good bets.
I’m giving this advice with the assumption that you’re applying as an out-of-state student. You have a pretty good chance of getting into any of these schools, but you’re at an inherent disadvantage for Berkeley since you’re out-of-state, and Stanford is just plain hard to get into. If you’re dead set on going to school in California, I would give those two schools a try. I know kids who went to those schools for comp sci, were out of state, and didn’t have the GPA or SAT scores that you do.
Also, I’d avoid sending some of those AP scores, particularly the 3s. You don’t have to send AP scores to colleges, and the lower scores will definitely give the impression that you took too many AP courses, didn’t retain the information, and were unable to do super well because you spread yourself too thin. It might be better if you just keep it to yourself until you’re accepted and applying for AP credit.
Are you a California resident or out of state? If OOS, can your parents afford $60K/year cost of attendance with little to no financial aid?
UC GPA (capped weighted) and Fully weighted? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
I would suggest UCSB, UCSD, UC Irvine, and UC Davis as possible matches. By all means you should still apply to Berkeley and Stanford if you want because you definitely have the academic qualifications. Just use this summer to take some subject tests and ramp up your involvement in some CS-related ECs. Good luck!