Hi I’m a junior in high school and i want to find my chances for UT comp sci.
Here are my stats:
Residence: Texas
Ethnicity: Chinese
Family Income: middle-upper class
Rank: 40/588 (top 7%)
Weighted GPA: 4.21
Unweighted GPA: 2.91 (yea ik its low)
AP classes: WHAP, Comp Sci, Calculus AB, English Language, APUSH, Physics, Stat
AP Classes I plan to take senior year: BC Calculus, English Lit, Gov, Macro, Comp Sci Principles, Physics C
SAT; 1550
Math 2 SAT: 790
ACT: 35
ECs:
DECA: 2x International qualifier and placed top 10 in the world twice
CS: there aren’t any CS clubs at my school so i just program on my own. I am proficient in Java, Javascript, and C.
Violin: I was in the top orchestra at my school for two years
Engineering Club, Mu Alpha Theta, STUCO, church worship leader
Is there anything I need to improve on? I know UT comp sci is very selective. Thanks!
Also, I forgot to mention that freshman and sophomore year I didn’t try that much, my rank was about 90 and my weighted GPA was like a 3.9. Junior year I studied a lot harder because I realized I wanted to go to a good college and my rank went up 6%. I had like a 4.7 GPA for junior year. Hopefully the upward grade trend will help me.
This is a kind of vague answer, but with UT Austin, especially when applying as a freshman, having good grades, a good rank, and good scores will always be important, but just as important are your extracurriculars! Even with the best grades, ranks, and ACT/SAT scores you’ll still need strong extracurriculars and strong essays to really make you stand out. Getting involved with internships and out of school programs/organizations, especially those related to your major, will increase your chances well. Pursuing leadership positions in the organizations and clubs you’re in will also make you seem like a good applicant to have. UT like a lot of big schools, will admit students based on how well they think they’ll contribute to the university, in the forms of both academics and extracurricular clubs and organizations. Starting your essays early is also a good thing to do; make sure you get it proofread by multiple people that’ll give you honest opinions. You should also look for letters of recommendations that’ll add information or expand on things you’ve said about yourself through your resume and essays.