Chance me (please): University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) CS

Hi guys, I’m a senior looking to apply for college soon. I would really love to do Computer Science at U of I but I heard it’s pretty competitive so I’d appreciate some feedback. Thanks!
Race/Gender: White male
Illinois resident
SAT: 1540 (780 Math/760 Reading)
GPA: 4.98/5.0 UW and 5.64 W
APs: Computer Science (Principles and A), Human Geography, US History, Language and Comp. All 5s on exams.
Classes: Took honors/challenging courses in most respects. Taking AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, and AP Literature this year.
Honors/Distinctions: High Honor Roll and National Honors Society. I also published an Amazon Alexa Skill back in sophomore year and passed a Udacity Nanodegree course freshman year so I might mention that.
Extracurriculars: No clubs but I worked a part-time job as a consultant at a local IT company since sophomore year. I’ve done some professional software development there (making/managing custom applications) which I talk a lot about in my essay. I’ve done some volunteer work as a tutor at my local Children’s Resource center and did some website development for free for a local charity.

That’s all I can think of, please let me know if more information would help. Good luck everyone!

You’re an IL resident (I am originally from the Chicago area but now live in FL), and if you are not a strong candidate, then I don’t know who is. That said, yes, computer science is typically a much, much tougher admit than the university as a whole, especially at places like U of Washington. My advice? Aim for UIUC (you’ll get a boost as an in-stater), but be sure to have backups. For instance, Bradley U in Peoria might not be a sexy school, but it has a pretty strong computer science program. IIT is another. If a more traditional college-town and university experience is a must, please realize that most universities offer computer science, so if you are staying in state, you could consider ISU, SIU, or even LACs. If you can afford OOS tuition, consider other Big Ten flagships.

I like your chances. Your stats are about where they need to be. Being from in-state helps. UIUC values GPA and course rigor the highest. I’m not 100% clear what you mean by, “Took honors/challenging courses in most respects.” However you have AP Physics and Calc BC, which are important STEM classes to show for this major. Yes, it is very competitive (<20% acceptance rate to this major), but you are a good candidate. Consider this a high match/low reach, and apply to some likely schools too. Best of luck to you!

Thank you very much for your feedback, I will look into the schools you guys mentioned!