Chance me? Please?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of Washington
1

<p>I wasn't originally going to post this, but with all the talk about lower acceptance rates, especially for out-of-state applicants, I'm a bit worried. UW is in my top 3 college choices and (it would be #1 if it offered more financial aid and grants) and Seattle in particular is where I want to be in the future. However, I only started looking at colleges recently and as a result have no idea what I'm doing or what is needed to apply. So, with that said, here are my stats:</p>

<p>Personal Info:
Out of state (Glendora, CA)
Male / Asian-American (Filipino)
Both parents have gone to college in the Philippines with a 4-year degree
Lower middle class (if that has any sort of impact on the decision)</p>

<p>GPA: approx. 3.79 unweighted using some sort of online calculator</p>

<p>SAT (first time): 2080/2400 (reading 680, math 700, writing 680)
SAT (second time): 2260/2400 (reading 770, math 800, writing 690)</p>

<p>Classes (with grades for two semesters and AP test scores):</p>

<p>9th Grade:
Spanish 1 / A+ / A+
Honors English / A- / B+
Honors Algebra II / A / A+
Honors Biology / A / A-
Honors World History / A / A
Concert Band / A / A
Marching Band / A+ / A+
(note: not really anything noteworthy except in two semesters, 13 As and 1 B)</p>

<p>10th Grade:
AP Chemistry / B / B- / 1
AP European History / A- / B- / 5
Honors Pre-Calculus ("Advanced", higher than normal Honors, or in other words my school's unofficial AP class) / A / A
Honors English / B / C
Spanish 2 / A / A
Concert Band / A / A
Marching Band / A+ / A+
(note: as shown above, in second semester Honors English, I had a C [maybe minus, don't have transcript on hand and this is mostly from memory]... how much will that hurt my chances?)</p>

<p>11th Grade:
AP English Language / B / A / 4
AP Calculus BC / A / A / 5
AP U.S. History / B / A- / 4
AP Physics B / A / B- / 4
Spanish 3 / A / A
Wind Ensemble / A / A
Marching Band / A+ / A+</p>

<p>12th Grade (planned courses):
AP English Literature
AP Statistics
AP U.S. Government & Politics / AP Macroeconomics (one per semester)
AP Environmental Science
AP Art History
Wind Ensemble
Marching Band</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (counting 12th grade):
4 years of Marching Band / Band Board positions (Librarian, Trombone Section Leader) in 11th and 12th grades / Rose Parade 2010, so an experience I can possibly write about
2 years of Leo Club (a volunteer club like Key Club) / possible position next year, but not sure right now
2 years of Harry Potter Club / half Hufflepuff, half Slytherin (...not sure how I feel about this or why I even included it)
2.5 years of National Honor Society
2.5 years of California Scholarship Federation
6 years of Boy Scouts / soon to be an Eagle Scout
100+ hours of volunteer work with Boy Scouts, Leo Club, and NHS</p>

<p>I want to major in Computer Science or something related. At the risk of sounding absolutely clueless about, well, pretty much everything: does that affect my admission chances in any way? or will that only be during my freshman year? Meaning, do I have to say that I plan to major in Computer Science in my application? </p>

<p>And that's it! :) At the moment, my main concerns are my extracurriculars and my high-to-low-to-high grade trend. Also, writing is a bit of an issue with me; I'm not feeling particularly confident with my essays. If there's anything else I should add, just tell me.</p>

<p>Looking forward to your feedback, and thanks in advance! ^_^</p>

2

<p>I can’t really comment about your chances (Didn’t go to HS here and clueless about the system), but I gotta ask, does your school have any computer subjects that you can take? Since you want to major in computer science and all. I don’t think that’s a necessity, but it might help your application. Also, you do have to put your intended major on your application.</p>

<p>As for your essay, you really need to work on that as it’s a really important part of your application. Ask for advice from peers and instructors.</p>

3

<p>My school does have one computer class (named “Computers”), though it’s restricted to 9th and 10th graders and lasts only one semester. At the time, the only way I could incorporate it into my schedule would be if I gave up history or band, which would have made me either unable to take AP history classes or unable to gain a leadership position in band. :confused: I didn’t feel that it was worth it. (Especially now that my friend who had taken it before told me that the class is basically “this is the keyboard and this is the mouse”. Still, you’re right, it probably would have helped my application.)</p>

<p>My AP English Language teacher offered to look at my essay for me, so I’ll take her up on that then; thanks for your help! :D</p>

4

<p>Computer science is one of the majors that a direct admit admissions option. That means that about 70 freshmen applicants will be admitted into the CSE department. The advisors aim for a yield of about 30 students in their annual direct admit class. </p>

<p>*do I have to say that I plan to major in Computer Science in my application? *
You can put whatever you want as your intended major. BUT … to be considered for direct admit (which is like 70/1000 applicants), put CS as your intended major! </p>

<p>does that affect my admission chances in any way?
No. You’re given admission to UW overall and then the CS department will take a look at your application for direct admit if you list one of your intended majors (max 2) as CS or CE.</p>

<p>Have a few people read your essays, not just your English teacher. See if you have any classmates/friends/parents who can read it as well. Don’t ask if it’s “good,” ask what they would learn about you from the essay. If you need them to list it out, do it. See if they can find your personality there and learn something that is unique to you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>How exactly does your school weight GPA? Does an A+ get more weight than A (i.e. 4.333 instead of 4.0)? I’d be interested to know this.</p>

6

<p>@speedsolver: Thank you! :slight_smile: That information really helps; I’m worrying a bit less now. So, again, thanks!</p>

<p>@UDUBHUSKIES: In regards to GPA at my school, an A+ is the same as an A-, with a maximum 4.00 (my school doesn’t give us any information on weighted grades). I only added the + and - signs to simulate, roughly, what my transcript will look like. Additionally, I used an online calculator to calculate my GPA a while ago and ended up with something in the ~3.75 range for three years. I forgot exactly how that calculator factored in grades, so there’s a good chance it’s slightly off.</p>

7

<p>well, to get a more accurate prediction, just take how many points a grade is weighted, add them all up, and divide by the credit hours :)</p>

8

<p>So I took your advice and got about 3.762. Is that good for a student who’s taking all honors or AP classes?</p>

9

<p>absolutely.</p>