I have taken some time to create a moderately balanced list (still reach-heavy), as well as considering the financial packages. I have also gotten a college counselor to help me with my essays and activity lists, and my essay writing skills are strong, so I am assuming my essays will be pretty good.
Major: Computer Science & Mathematics
Demographics: Asian Male
Location: Washington
Grade: Senior
My list (I have more safeties/matches not listed, like the rest of the UC schools):
Stanford
MIT
Princeton
Cornell
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Columbia
UChicago
Carnegie Mellon
Caltech
Georgia Tech
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Washington
UT Austin
New York University
Purdue University
Ohio State University
My Profile:
GPA: 3.97 (UW), 4.5+ (W) (no class rank)
ACT: 35
PSAT: 1470 (NM Semi-finalist)
Subject Tests: Math II (800); Chemistry (800); Physics (800)
of APs by end of high school: 16
Extracurriculars:
Minecraft Server Owner
Ran 6 multiplayer servers over 5 years; designed unique games; created supplementary websites (HTML/JavaScript); held business meetings for ads/revenue/support; hosted thousands of players total; raised $500+ from in-game purchases (100+); created partnerships with other servers; managed staff team; coordinated giveaways, lotteries, voting systems.
Founder & President, Lib Tutors
Regional non-profit initiative to expand tutoring; managed 15+ tutors over all academic subjects; instructed summer classes in 6 subjects with course instructors; scheduled 80+ lessons; developed course curriculum; created/assigned homework; led management in public relations/ads/services; donated earnings; non-affiliated with Liberty High.
Independent STEM + ACT Tutor
Mentored 17 students in math, chemistry, physics, and ACT; discuss teaching plans with parents; write and administer my own exams; earned $6000+ over 6 years, scheduled lessons; expanded through Lib tutors; experienced different cultures/lifestyles through in-person teaching; analyzed student strengths and weaknesses; over 500 lessons taught.
Counselor, Kiwanis Camp Casey
Responsible for bathing, feeding, lifting, putting to bed, and living with ~100 campers (~50 counselors); supervised events/dances; held night shifts; performed skits; in charge of the carnival: transformed a small indoor game event into a campus-wide party with more games, decorations, and a points system for boosting morale (counselor of the day)
Varsity Tennis Captain
Designed and led drills/stretches; coached techniques; facilitated text communication; presented pre- and post-game analyses; coordinated matches and rankings; practiced 5 hours/week outside school; gave presentations to freshmen; hosted team get-togethers; supervised post-practice sessions; qualified for state competition (#2 in districts, 11th).
Minecraft Java Program Developer
Wrote for-profit Java programs for Minecraft servers (self-taught), including my own (earned $40+); freelance programmer for friends; negotiated with clients; established timelines/deadlines; discussed wants/needs.
Chess Coach
Introduced chess concepts to family friends and kids ages 6-13; exposed underlying patterns and strategies used in various opening lines; assigned tactics problems; scheduled meetings; learned patience and gentleness when dealing with younger children
PR Officer, National Honor Society
Supervised information distribution; helped schedule/publicize volunteer events; managed social media pages; facilitated communications; helped prepare presentations.
Chemistry, Science Olympiad
Non-competitive (10th); ran labs; exchanged information; studied for exams; placed top 3 in all invitations (11th)
Patriot Crew Leader
~30 juniors/seniors chosen through a selective process requiring teacher nomination; helped integrate freshmen into high school; offered tours; formed support networks for ~15 freshmen; gave online presentations (12th); ate lunch with freshmen group.
Additional Info:
Educational Programs:
CS50 - Harvard University
Learned the fundamentals of computer science; solved challenging problem sets; gained a more nuanced understanding of programming, allowing me to create better Java programs for my Minecraft servers; created projects like an elementary stock trading website and a fully operational website with accounts; received verified certificate.
Young Scholars Program - REACH, University of Washington
Online; gained an introductory knowledge of neuroscience, neuro-ethics, neural engineering, scientific communication, and brain-computer interfaces; learned about the applications of engineering on human bodies, specifically disabilities including deafness, blindness, and paralysis; explored ethical situations involving body modifications/dilemmas.
What are the chances I will get into at least one of my top 10 schools?
The University of Washington is a very good university. Its CS program is very strong. You are lucky to have this in-state.
You have a very long list. You have a lot of reaches on this list. I would try to shrink the list.
Why would you attend the University of Ohio for computer science and math with out of state prices rather than U. Washington at in-state prices? I might wonder the same thing for Purdue. Admittedly both Ohio and Purdue are great schools, but so is Washington.
Are you okay being full pay at the Universities of California? Other than UCLA and UC Berkeley, would you attend any of the rest of the UCs at full pay rather than U.Washington in-state?
I do understand why you are applying to MIT and Stanford for Math and CS. These are great schools with great programs in these majors. MIT does not admit by major but if you get in look at 18C as a possible major.
Thanks for your reply. I am banking on the University of Washington CS, but it is still very competitive and is at best, a target. My college counselor is helping me with 8 applications, and I have strategically chosen them so I can reuse several of the essays for all of my other schools, and only have to craft around 7 unique essays.
As for the UC pricing, we would obviously prefer the UW’s price and choose it over schools like UC Santa Barbara, but if I am making an app for berkeley, might as well put the others on there as a backup, since they reuse the prompts. The price is affordable, though not optimal.
The Ohio State University I put because it was still #30 in CS and was a safety option.
If I was guaranteed acceptance to UW CS, I would probably cut my list in half, but since it’s very unpredictable, I put some other schools on there as well like University of Illinois and Georgia Tech.
It’s definitely top-heavy, but also expensive. Except for UW every school is either private or out of state. Even if you could afford one of those schools now, that might not be true in the next 4 years. Believe me, it’s common for students to start out at an exotic school, then be forced to transfer back home because of a layoff or business failure.
With CS, prestige makes no difference, and in fact, it could be a liability if you end-up with large amounts of debt. This is a degree that’s ridiculously employable. The best safety school if UW doesn’t happen would be WSU. That’s seriously all you need.
@happy1@coolguy40
you’re right. I had WSU on my list, but it wasn’t on the list I posted here. Hopefully it won’t have to come to that though, because I would prefer if I didn’t stay here.
I count about 17 schools. List needs to be cut in-half plus 2-3 safeties. Lots of work to apply, write essays, and visit (if possible).
Is UW a safety, even in-state? What about WSU? Maybe Utah? What about a Canadian school like British Columbia?
Also, the list is very diverse. Do you want to be in a city or rural area? Warm or cold weather?
Drill down into each program and ask questions on CC. You’ll probably be able to eliminate half this way. Like U Chicago’s CS program. I don’t think they’re highly rated unless you want to get into the mathematical parts of CS.
I think CMU’s CS acceptance rate is around 5%. That’s typical at T10 schools for CS. Your stats are great but it’s tough for everyone.
@chmcnm
UW is probably target to high target, given I’m going into computer science in-state. WSU is a safety, pretty much 100% acceptance rate if in-state. I am definitely going to stay in the United States.
As for location, it doesn’t matter much to me, as I like adapting to new places. Same with weather.
With my counselor (mentioned above), we are covering 8 schools that have a very broad range of essay topics. I selected them so I can reuse the essays for over 8 other schools. As for safeties, many of them require a basic essay prompt and/or a reusable one.
I think, given my time management skills and discipline, that I can finish my entire list within the time frame, with the pace I’m going at now.
Like you said, no matter the stats, T10 schools are incredibly hard to get into, so I think I am just going to apply to as many schools as possible without sacrificing essay quality or interest (as in I would be equally happy going to any of these schools)
I was also wondering about this. UBC and SFU would be good choices. They should be very likely for admissions since admission is so stats-oriented in Canada, the OP has great stats, and being Asian should not be a detriment at Canadian schools.
I really want to stay in the US, and I think there are good options here as well that doesn’t require me going to another nation. Thanks for the suggestion though.
It seems really long, but logistics wise there are only 6 applications I have to write for myself, and the rest are reusable prompts from the 8 I did with my counselor.
I do not think that UC Irvine out of state is a safety, even with your great stats. I think that I would put it under “match”. Four safeties are plenty anyway.
I did not think that Chicago was known for CS, but I am not sure. I might drop it given that your list is too long. I am not sure that I would pay $320,000 over four years to go all the way across the country to study CS at NYU.
Some of your reach schools (Stanford, MIT) are very strong for math and CS. Some are not particularly known for CS. Given how long your list is, I might try to shorten it based on which schools are strong for your intended majors.
I find this match list a little problematic. It has 5 publics you are out of state for, and two privates with admit rates in the teens which generally makes them reaches for everyone. I know your stats are excellent, but I still find this list worrisome as the totality of your matches.
No need to explain the number of applications to me. It’s your life. You’re going to get accepted to a bunch and you’re going to get waitlisted and/or rejected from a bunch. It’s all good.
I’m actually trying to increase my D21’s list. ?
With Michigan OOS, the school that I’m most familiar with, I think your profile is strong, but I’d agree with you and call it a “reach” with a 19% OOS acceptance rate and the fact that the forum here has many, many top notch profiles like yours being deferred EA and the waitlisted and then rejected.
BTW, you can get a CS degree in both LSA and CoE at UMich. They’re almost the same program. But by applying to LSA, you slightly increase your odds of acceptance to Michigan. However, some applicants want the CoE or nothing.
Not sure Purdue CS is a safety. Very likely but not guaranteed. You’re OOS and STEM usually has a lower acceptance rate. Are there any schools on your list that are rolling admission or early action? It would be nice to have 2 or 3 where you’re admitted before November. Maybe the Arizona schools?
You can reuse essays but if you want scholarships and/or honors colleges you’ll be writing more essays. Sure some of it is reusable but don’t underestimate the amount of effort and yes, essays do count. Twenty plus applications will become tough to manage. Take some time to weed out schools that don’t fit and avoid the “shotgun” approach. Do you really want to travel to Cornell or Dartmouth from Washington? Cornell is beautiful but not easy to get to.
Other posters are correct. Your list has schools that are good at math but not CS and vice versa. Also, paying $300K for an undergrad degree, especially CS isn’t necessary or wise.
One thing to consider about public schools is AP/IB credit. Public schools tend to be more generous with transfer credits. My son walked onto GT with 51 credits. Being able to graduate in 3 years made the OOS cost more workable. Some schools are big on co-ops so you can make some money (not a lot). They also might only charge in-state tuition if you study abroad. There are ways to manage OOS costs at public schools.
@sushiritto is spot-on. You’ll get into some and rejected by others and there probably won’t be any logic behind it.
