Chance me UCs, Wash U, Michigan, and more CLASS OF 2025 Computer Science

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi guys, it would be really helpful if you could chance me for the following schools. Thanks in advance and good luck to everybody applying this Fall!

UCBerkeley, UCLA, UCSD, WashU STL, Northwestern, UMichigan, Notre Dame, U Maryland, UIUC, Harvard, Purdue, GA Tech, CMU

Major: Computer Science or/and Math

ACT: 34 (33E, 31M, 35R, 35S) [Only taken once back in February, keeps getting cancelled for COVID. My school is offering one in October though and I’m sure I can do much better on Math (34-36)]
SAT II: Math II – 800, Physics – 760
Weighted GPA: 4.8
Unweighted: 4.0
UC GPA: 4.3
Class rank: Pretty sure I’m #2, in running for Valedictorian (out of 180)

Honors, AP, College level:
Freshman:
H Alg 2 / Trig
H English
H Biology

Sophomore (school only offers 1 AP):
AP World History (4)
H Chemistry
H English
H Geometry

Junior: (school only offers 3 AP)
AP US History (4)
AP English Lang (4)
AP Physics 1 (4)
H Precalc
ACC Spanish III (ACC is a local dual enrollment program with a SLU)

Senior:
Linear Algebra
AP Physics C Mechanics
AP Comp Sci
AP BC Calculus
AP English Lit
AP Music Theory
ACC World Religions

  • Planning on self studying AP Psych, I’m really interested in it just couldn’t fit into schedule

Extracurriculars:

  • NHS VP (11, 12)
    o In charge of mentorship program between upperclassmen and underclassmen.
  • Learning to Code (11,12) o Spent lots of own time learning (400-500ish hrs?) Python as well as some HTML/CSS/SQL o Completing several online college courses in coding, I have certificates to prove completion  Harvard CS50  Rice Intro to Programming in Python  MIT 6.00.2x Intro to Computational Thinking and Data Science  Harvard Python for Data Science
  • Supporting Heroes Club o Founding member / VP o Helped organize several charitable events and fundraisers for veterans/first responders as well as helped organize memorial service for alumni of my high school who died in combat
  • Learning to Produce Music (10,11,12) o Spent A LOT (1,500+) of hours learning to produce music on my own in FL Studio & Ableton. Probably gonna send in some songs I’ve made. Rap electronic & chill.
  • Campus Ministry (10,11,12) o There’s not really Pres or VP positions but I am one of two most senior members. In charge of faith life on campus. Plan all masses and retreats. Going to lead one or two multiple day retreats for my classmates this year.
  • Varsity Track & XC (9) o Made it to sectionals in both. Won most valuable runner in both.
  • Soccer (9,10,11) o Captain of Sophomore team in year 10. Made varsity in year 11 and won state championship. o Also played club soccer since about 4th grade
  • Youtube Channel (Grades 7 & 8) o Idk if I should put this bc it was a while ago, but I had a youtube channel where I would upload videos with music that I liked and wanted to promote. Grew it to 2,500 subscribers before I gave it up.
  • IHS?? o Special Invite leadership group at our school. Basically several teachers choose one student they feel is qualified to help lead the school and we attend special meetings about it. Not completely sure of what to expect or if it will happen because of the possibility of online school.
  •   Published article

    o Getting an article published in a small publication about the relationship between
    science and faith.

  • Alteryx Designer Core Certified Data Scientist
  • Also took MIT Single Variable Calc on MIT OCW this summer and plan on self- teaching more advanced math classes (MVC) in free time. School wouldn’t let me test out of BC Calc. I might put this on but I don’t really have any way to prove that I did the work as it wasn’t a structured class.
  • Planning on starting either an Engineering or Coding club and maybe a Music Production club next year.

Service:

  • 65 hours as teacher aide at special school for children with Autism (would’ve been
    more but cut short by COVID)
  • 2 seasons as volunteer CYC Basketball coach (probably around 120 hours)

Job/Work:

  • Worked at action park for a summer, also score kept basketball games each winter for
    6 years. No huge commitments.

Awards:

  • No big awards. Several from school: Best new club award (Supporting heroes), 2x
    exceptional service award, MVP for Track and XC in one year.)
  • AP Scholar

Essays: Haven’t finished but I feel very confident about them, especially the UC application. Probably 7-9 on average.
Wash U’s supplemental essay is really good I wrote about my fascination with the link between technology and music and my desire to explore it further.

LOR:

  • Precalc teacher: good friends with him knows me pretty well 9/10
  • Counselor: 7/10

Financial Aid: No
Race: White
State: Missouri
School type: Medium Catholic boys school (180 in class)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High (150k+)
Parents education: MS and BS
No legacy.

Thanks!!

2

So your parents are fine with paying full price for UC’s?

I would say you are very competitive applicant and best of luck.

2019 Freshman admit rates for UC GPA of 4.20 or above capped weighted and not major specific:
UCB: 38%
UCLA: 35%
UCSD: 71%

**2020 UC capped weighted GPA averages along with 25th-75th percentile range: **
UCB: 4.22 (4.13-4.30)
UCLA: 4.25 (4.18-4.31)
UCSD: 4.18(4.04-4.28)

25th - 75th percentiles for ACT composite + language arts
UCB: 29-35
UCLA: 31-35
UCSD: 29-34

3

Thanks for the reply!!

4

Since @Gumbymom has covered the UC

As for the rest, you are competitive for all of them, but almost all will be reaches, I do not see a reason for you to apply to WashU or Notre Dame for CS - they have very low acceptance rates, and their CS programs are not as good as many places that have higher acceptance rates. Since you have too many reaches, I recommend that you drop those, unless you are a legacy at one of them. Harvard isn’t a top CS school either.

WashU STL, Northwestern, UMichigan OOS, Notre Dame, UIUC, Harvard, Purdue, GA Tech OOS, and CMU are all reaches (or high reaches) for CS.

U Maryland would be a match or a low match, but you may not be accepted directly to CS.

You need more matches and a safety.

More importantly, what can your parents afford Almost all of the colleges above could be affordable at your income level. Some, like WashU will meet all demonstrated need, but their definition of demonstrated need may not be your parent’s.

Cost of attendance in all of the private colleges will be about $70,000 a year, while OOS for Michigan, GTech, and UMD will be about $50,000 a year. At you family’s income, their EFC may be more than they can afford.

5

@MWolf Thanks for the super helpful reply! I forgot to include that I am also looking at Purdue. Are there any other solid compsci/math safeties that you would recommend?
Thanks again

6

For a match school, you could apply to University of Washington – Seattle’s CS program.

It’s rated very highly and your stats are within range.

7

the UW CS for OOS admission rate is 2%. I would say it is a reach.

8

Utah would be a solid safety for math and CS (the math program in particular has quite a number of strong students who regularly win Churchill scholarships and go on to top tier PhD programs). It’s a great location for students who like the outdoors. Your stats should get you a full tuition scholarship if the criteria remain the same as last year (and there are competitive full rides too).

9

Listen to @Gumbymom - you need to make sure you know what your budget is before you finalize your list. Nothing worse than getting into a top school and not having the $$ to pay for it. UC’s, for example, aren’t going to throw any money your way unless you become a Regents/Chancellors scholar (very competitive - UCB only has 200 or so/year) and have major financial need. Those scholarships don’t necessarily go to the applicant with the best stats, BTW. OOS tuition is at private school prices. Not to say that, if you can afford it, a Berkeley or UCLA (or even San Diego, to a slightly lesser degree) shouldn’t be in the mix for CS. Just spend your (parent’s) money wisely.