Chance me, TX resident, for CS!

Demographics
Austin, TX resident who was born in L.A and moved to TX 6 years ago. My Dad is a USC PhD grad, mom is a John Hopkins MD Grad. I attend a top 50 High School in Texas. I am a non recruited athlete
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0 Unweighted GPA
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.63 Weighted GPA
  • College GPA (for transfers):
  • Class Rank: No Class Rank but in top 10%
  • ACT/SAT Scores:
    36 ACT Comp Score
    1,580 SAT
    1,490 PSAT

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))
Freshman Year: Honors English 9, Honors Precalculus, Honors Biology, AP CS A (5), AP Human Geo (5), Video Game Design, Health, Spanish 2, Boys Basketball
Sophomore Year: Honors English 10, AP Calc AB (5), AP World History (4), CS 2, Honors Spanish 3
Junior Year: (Current) AP Lang (5), AP Physics 1 and 2 (5), APUSH (4), CS 3, AP Spanish 4 (4)
Senior Year: (Projected) AP Lit, AP Physics C Mech, AP Gov, CS Independent Study, AP Spanish 5
Awards
National Merit Scholar Semi Finalist (So Far)

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)
President of the CS Club
NHS President
Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)
Very Strong
Cost Constraints / Budget
(High school students: please get a budget from your parents and use the Net Price Calculators on the web sites of colleges of interest.)
Will need FA/Parents Income after tax is 60k
Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if a scholarship is necessary for affordability, indicate that you are aiming for a scholarship and use the scholarship chance to estimate it into the appropriate group below)

  • Safety (certain admission and affordability)
    UT Austin (Auto Admit)
    UTD CS
  • Likely (would be possible, but very unlikely or surprising, for it not to admit or be affordable)
  • Match
    IDK,Suggestions would be nice!
  • Reach
    Rice
    USC
    Stanford

I’d like some match and school suggestions! Any opinions from @DadTwoGirls and @CADREAMIN would be most appreciated! Thanks guys!

UT Austin is only auto-admit for top 6% Texas residents. Auto-admit is only to the campus, not a specific major (and CS is one of the most competitive majors there).

Income $60k or below with an MD?

Run the net price calculator on each college’s web site to get a financial aid estimate.

1 Like

Hi @ucbalumnus ! Our house, and everything cuts the total down thanks to Austin being expensive. I ran NPC’s on USC and UTA. My school only gives top 10% but I’ll most likely be in the top 6% class rank.

Financial aid will be based on parent income before taxes and expenses. Use that in net price calculators.

1 Like

If you get UT Austin, you only need to go up market. But if you need some targets (and we don’t know how far you are willing to go), here’s some - and if UTD works for you, you don’t need any. UT Austin is not a guarantee for you - admittance doesn’t mean admittance to CS. I’d assume you are fine…but just in case - and how important is cost - because there’s lots of great merit schools (Alabama, Arizona State, Arizona, Arkansas, South Carolina):

RPI, Case Western, Rose Hulman, Northeastern, Purdue, William & Mary, Florida, Lehigh.

If UTD works for you, then you really need to just apply to UT Austin and UTD - plus your reach schools (you might add WUSTL).

Congrats on your efforts and achievements.

2 Likes

Thanks! Do I have a shot at USC?

@CADREAMIN Do I have any chance for USC? Thanks!

With your stats to you’ll be competitive at any school. Getting acceptances is another story - so make a good list of schools to apply to.

Yes - but it’s a very tough school to get into. But you have a fantastic profile - it’s a reach for all.

If your parents incomes is $60K, you might also look at Questbridge.

QuestBridge

Ok! I’ll look into it! Thanks!

CS is ridiculously competitive at UT-Austin, but your grades and scores give you a good chance of getting in. Also, try Texas A&M. 30 miles south is Texas State University, and you would almost certainly get a big scholarship there. Texas State is a unique school because it draws employers from both Austin and San Antonio.

Ok! That makes sense!

High COL doesn’t bring down the income, monthly expenses don’t factor in.

You have very competitive stats for Rice. Rice does not admit by major, except for music and architecture. The number of students allowed to major in CS at Rice is not limited. Rice also offers very generous financial aid. Rice is likely very familiar with your high school. If your school has Naviance check there to see how students with your stats have fared with Rice admissions in past years.

Okay! I agree!

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