Honestly as long as you advertise well that you were part of an FRC team that went to worlds twice then you should be a shoo in anywhere (and I don’t say this often) supporting that you get at least 1450 on the SAT.
@collegeboundprogrammer you have a competitive profile for sure.
ED at Penn would help a bit even if you are not legacy, but only apply if it is your first choice/you wouldn’t regret it. Penn provides a stronger overall undergrad experience but CMU is stronger for CS. That said, for undergrad there are not going to be any significant differences in quality and opportunities for CS. As an engineering major, i did chose Penn for undergrad over CMU. I think Penn undergrad and then CMU grad is a better route. but that is just my opinion. In any case make sure you research both and are sure what your first choice is.
The average Penn SAT is 1500 (new version), so you are good, if you are able to raise it a little bit, even better.
With all due respect you’re not “probably going to get accepted to all of these”. The kid saying that is a junior in high school so I wouldn’t take what they say to heart (no offense gatsby). If you read through CC over the past few months you see a lot of heartbroken students who were told the same thing and didn’t get into a single one. The Ivy leagues (and their equivalents like MIT) are extremely competitive even for top tier students with incredible extra curricular activities. That being said, you are a competitive applicant, so I think you would get into 1 or two of the top tier schools, especially if you get your SAT up a little bit. I’m happy to see your college list includes realistic match and safety schools as well :). I recommend looking into and applying ED to one of the top schools that you really love as well.
Your course load and your ECs look solid, in fact many of them (such as app development) could act as a “hook” for the admissions officer. I wouldn’t say your SAT score is subpar too, but try to get it up as it will definetly make you more competitive. That being said, you should not have a problem with acceptance at schools #6-12 on the list. I would definetly say you have a decent chance of acceptance at Cornell and CMU but depending on apps that year, you may be waitlisted. MIT, Penn, and Princeton are reachs and as things stand now I would expect a rejection or maybe a waitlist. You would have better chances if you applied to one of the 3 early and work to get SAT score up as much as possible.
Of course there is always room for improvement in the SAT department and given that CMU has the top computer science program in the nation in some rankings, it would be wise to improve it to the highest you can. However, if you really want to go to CMU and really actually like the school, I cannot stress enough that interest is important! Showing the maximum amount of interest by doing summer programs, visiting the campus if possible, and DOING AN INTERVIEW is extremely important and can be the difference between being admitted or being denied.
sat is low for these, aim for 1540+
You should retake… 1490 is not very good
What do you expect to hear on CC that you can’t find in the Common Data Set?
@Muad_dib The common data set cannot compare EC’s to that of other applicants. I was hoping that qualitative answers from people would give me a somewhat reasonable estimation of my chances.
@beepybeetle @kjake2000 is my selection of schools reasonable? I wasn’t sure about a couple of them.
GaTech is a reach for most applicant including you, other than that your fine
@collegeboundprogrammer You are definitely competitive for your reaches. 1490 is slightly below the average for Penn, MIT and Princeton, so if you feel you can raise it above 1500 i might be worth retaking. But it is not a huge concern.
I would leave GTech as a match as you have it, but i can see why one would put it as a reach. For undergrad I see it as a match rather than a reach for a person with your profile. Maryland is for sure a match for you in my opinion.
try your best
Any awards or just participation in your ECs. Your peers will some, for sure. Also any hooks?
Your ECs are pretty unique, but I think they can be even stronger. Have you built an app? Have you entered in tech competitions? Awards are important to demonstrate that you have skill and not just resourcefulness. If you get 800s on the subject tests than I think your SAT is fine, but if not, retake the SAT and shoot for a 1520+
@doorrealthe I completely forgot to mention that I am building an app for Android.
@doorrealthe @theloniusmonk I also forgot to mention that I am a four time National Latin Exam medal winner. I have two golds and two silvers (I am the first in my high school’s history to accomplish a gold).
@collegeboundprogrammer wow, you have accomplished so much!
I can only speak to Princeton chances, which are not good (for anyone).
For Princeton, you should try to get 1500 or above. You should apply SCEA.
Also, and this is hard because of your obvious passion, but you need to find a way to convey another aspect of your profile. It is very one-dimensional. Some ECs that are not compsci-based, ones that highlight your other strengths.
Fwiw - I think CMU and Berkeley would be more your liking.
Good luck,
Psy
You seem to be an ivy candidate from what you are showing me here, however, you don’t say your courseload/GPA. If they are just as good as the rest of your application you have a good chance.
@StudyFoxx Oops. Completely forgot. I have a 4.0 UW, and a 4.36 W. That’s only by the end of junior year though.
@psywar I see what you mean. Do you think that my involvement in JV tennis (3 years), my blog and newsletter (sorta counts as writing), Latin, and my outside of school Statistics and Engineering courses would showcase that? Or should I find new activities to try?