Hey guys, I’m an incoming senior and I’m about to apply! I’d love to see what you guys think my chances are based on my profile:
Background:
Asian that goes to very competitive high school. High Income bracket.
Academics:
GPA (Unweighted): 4.0 - Valedictorian
SAT: 1540 (740 Reading/Writing / 800 Math)
SAT Biology: 730
SAT Chemistry: 780
SAT Math 2: 800
SAT Physics: 800
AP Tests: Physics 1, Statistics, Microeconomics, Computer Science: All 5s
National Merit Semifinalist
Extracurriculars:
Software Development Business - make apps and websites for businesses with 5 digit contracts.
Nonprofit Founder - Created a nonprofit to teach CS to underprivileged youth in rural countries. Raised over $5000 and built computer labs for underprivileged students.
Software Engineer Intern - The youngest (and only high school) software engineer intern in at a top tier company.
Created an app for my school which has over 1200 users.
Have a patent pending under my name.
President of School Business Club
Awards/Competitions:
2 time Hackathon Winner
1st and 5th place at DECA Internationals
Top 10 at MIT Launch Clubs
Finalist for the Conrad Challenge
Top 10 Software Development TSA
Letters of Rec:
8/10 - My AP CS teacher
7.5/10 - My Marketing teacher
Supplemental: 9/10 - My mentor for my software dev internship
My Colleges List:
Harvard
Stanford
MIT
UPenn
UIUC
All UCs, but Berkeley and UCLA at the top of the list
Georgia Tech
University of Washington
UMich
Columbia University
Would love to get your opinions on what my chances are looking like and any advice for my list of colleges!
You will be competitive, but be sure you have match and safeties on your list that you love. Your list is very reach heavy and the publics favor instate applicants. I’m curious as to why CMU isn’t on your list?
You’re one of the best applicants I’ve seen on these boards. It’s highly likely you’ll make it into many of the colleges in this list. I agree with momofsenior1: why not CMU? Also, I didn’t see what state you are from, but if you are not from Cali, I’d add another safety school.
Keep this in mind: colleges want people who will learn from them and who need them. And you look like you’re doing just fine on your own. So make sure when you’re writing the “Why us?” essays to these schools that you have a thoughtful and well articulated answer, not just about what you hope to contribute to their campus, but what and why you want them to teach you.
I agree that your list is very reach-heavy and that you need some matches/safeties. I would also rethink who you choose for your recommendations. I believe most schools want recs from teacher in core subjects (math, science, lit, etc.) Good luck!
Appreciate the replies and the advice guys! The reason I didn’t include a few of the good colleges like Caltech and CMU is because I personally didn’t think it’d be a good fit, even though they have great programs. And yes, Groundwork2022, I am from California. I’ll definitely agree that my list is a bit reach-heavy, I’ll add a few more targets and safeties.
For letters of recommendation, I chose the teachers that I think I’m closer to but they aren’t part of core subjects. Would you guys recommend getting an average to decent letter in a core subject compared to a better letter from an elective class (like Marketing or CS in my case)? Also, how much of a role would my supplemental essay play in my applications?
Maybe swap out the marketing LOR. I would keep the CS since it is clear that is what you want to be doing and studying.
“At MIT, we require letters of recommendation from two teachers (one math/science, one humanities), plus materials from your school counselor (typically including your transcript, a school profile, and a letter of recommendation).”
Stanford: “The evaluations for freshman applicants should be from teachers who taught you in the 11th or 12th grades in one of the core academic subjects (English, math, foreign language, social studies or science)—though we will certainly accept evaluations from earlier grades in unusual circumstances.”
Penn: “Penn requires two teacher recommendations, ideally instructors from your junior or senior year in major academic subjects.”
Research what each of the schools request/suggest.
Do note that if you decide to apply for the Engineering school at either UCLA or UCB, you start getting into very nebulous territory. Both routinely spit out perfect ACT/SAT and 4.0uw candidates. Some of other UCs if you don’t show any demonstrated interest and apply for high impacted majors (ie CS) might just throw you into their ring of honor known as a waitlist.
Oh, good note about what the specific universities require. I’ll probably use a Math or Physics rec letter (should be 7.5-9/10s) instead of the Marketing one.
@ProfessorPlum168, thanks, I’ll be cautious about applying to these schools for Engineering. Based on my extracurriculars, I’m wondering if I come off as too one-dimensional, as in only pursuing things in STEM or CS related things. Would that backfire on me, or help strengthen my story? Tips on bolstering my personal story?