Weighted HS GPA: I don’t know, estimate around 4.5 if a 5 is an A on AP/IB courses
Class Rank: N/A
ACT/SAT Scores: 1550 SAT (800 Math 750 Reading)
Coursework
4 AP Comp Sci, AP Lit, AP World, AP French Language
5 AP Physics 1, AP Calc AB/BC, AP English Language, AP Government
I took a variety of courses b/c I didnt know what I wanted to do before this school year
Extracurriculars
Chess club captain
Varsity swim 3 years
Essays/LORs/Other
Essays - I think they’re strong or they will be.
Cost Constraints / Budget
None
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: ASU, Stony Brook University
Likely: University of Washington, Purdue (legacy)
Match: UC Irvine, UC San Diego, UCLA
Reach: CMU (ED), UC Berkeley, MIT
I wanted to know if I’m being too ambitious with the few extracurriculars I have - I go to a very competitive high school in Seattle and a lot of my upperclassmen this year have been rejected from schools that I thought they could get into - IE the National Honor Society president was rejected from UW Computer Science this year and was deferred into prescience.
Your categorization of those schools is mostly correct, except that UCLA is a reach not a match. And Purdue is probably a match.
Also, given the shift in admission patterns last year and especially this year for high stats students like you - expect to get deferred or waitlisted at schools you thought you’d get in to. So maybe add a couple more likelies and matches. Others may disagree with this but I think that’s the safer approach.
Finally, I know you said cost is not a constraint - but just to be sure: that means your parents have explicitly said they’re willing and able to pay $320k+ without incurring an unreasonable amount of debt?
All of these are more selective for the CS major than for admission to the campus. At the very least, Washington, UCSD, and UCLA should be move to the reach category if you want the CS major (and Purdue is probably not likely for CS). Some may admit you to the campus but not the CS major, but then it will be very difficult (other than maybe UCI) to get into the CS major after enrolling.
Ah no, Its not exactly that - My parents said it’s fine for schools within reason
So 320k+ would be too much but I think 50k-60k/year under then would be the best
I’ll update it now
Ok, got it. You should have a direct conversation with them and understand what your budget is. If a school on your list (like MIT) is outside your budget then there’s no point applying. They don’t offer merit scholarships and if you can afford in the ballpark of $250k I’m guessing you’re probably not eligible for need based financial aid.
But just to be sure, run each college’s net price calculator and also find out your EFC.
Given how exceptionally strong the University of Washington is for computer science and that you are in-state, if you can get into CS at UW then I do not think that it would be worth being full pay at CMU. I do understand that CMU is also exceptional for computer science. If you apply ED, then you have decided to go there before you discover where else you get accepted or what the finances will look like.
I would be inclined to apply at least EA to the University of Washington (if not ED). It would be a great school to have an acceptance from early in the process and should take away some stress of waiting if you do get into their CS program early.
Since you are in a WUE state, I am wondering whether you should see what universities offer WUE discounts for CS students. I also wonder about WSU as a possible safety.
You have done really well up to now. Congratulations and keep up the good work!
Congratulations on your wonderful accomplishments! I think you’re going to do well wherever you end up.
College admissions have gotten really competitive the last couple of years, and CS is arguably the hardest major to gain entry to. I was reading the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign thread yesterday and there was an in-state student with a 4.68 GPA and 1560 SAT who was denied to the CS major. There were OOS students with 4.0 UW GPAs and perfect test scores who were denied. I realize that UIUC and Washington are two different universities, but as they’re both extremely well regarded, I’d take it as a signal of how difficult it might be to get in CS at your state flagship, even though you have great credentials.
I prefer not to use reach/match/safety terminology, so I’ve categorized your list of schools with my own labels based on my very fallible sense of what might be your chances of acceptance.
Guaranteed
Arizona State
Extremely Likely (90+%)
Likely (60-90%)
Stony Brook
Toss-Up (40-60%)
Possible (15-40%)
U. of Washington
CMU (ED)
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
Purdue
Less Likely (15% or less)
UC Berkeley
UCLA
MIT
CMU (if not ED-ing)
And yes, have your family run the NFC calculator to see what the university thinks they would be able to afford. If your family is willing and able to pay that number without unsubsidized loans and while keeping on track for a financially secure retirement, great! If your family is not willing and able to do so, however, let us know what the budget is so that we can find schools where you’re likely to meet the budget via sticker price and/or merit aid.
We are also in the Seattle area. UW CS is a tough admit, even in-state, even with your stats. My D21 knows a couple of people from her class (similar stats to yours) who were certain they’d get admitted to CS. They both got into UW, but not into CS.
If you’re applying to CMU SCS, there is no way that applying ED could provide a significant enough boost to bring your chances in line with UCSD, UCI, Purdue, etc. CMU SCS had a 6-7% admit rate the last year this was published and I doubt it’s easier this year. You should treat it like MIT.
Agreed. UW-CS is reach for Instate kids. It’s not target for anyone. My son with almost same stat like yours (4UW/36ACT/14+APs+IB Diploma++etc) got only pre-sciences. So please add few more to your list UIUC-CS+X options, UMass, Ohio State and Col Poly etc
My first choice major would be Computer Science and my second choice major would be something engineering related (a lot of schools I will apply to seem to have “engineering undeclared” as an option)
For the three assumptions that you make, I would say that they’re generally correct, and add on that I would much rather look at techy schools or those that have a decent comp sci program. I’ve been told that material wise there are little differences between other schools in CS.
I just talked with my parents and they said that they plan on providing a ~250k budget (bless their hearts) on tuition, but also according to them “you’ll make money after you graduate if you study hard so don’t be afraid to take a small student loan”
Your safety/likely predictions I’d say are accurate. But because of the limited ECs, and with UCs being test blind entirely, I think even UCI, UCSD, and especially UCLA should be labeled more so as reach schools. Especially since you’re OOS, odds aren’t stacked in your favor for those. I was an IS applicant and in HS I had classmates with stellar stats get rejected from those UCS or waitlisted, and people with lower stats get in. Even for historically “mid” or “upper” tier ones, UCs in general are increasingly competitive and rely more so on EC involvement + essays.
Has your family run an NFC at MIT and CMU? If they haven’t I would have them do so. If the school thinks that your expected family contribution is about $62-63k or thereabouts, fabulous! If not, however, you’re going to need to look at schools that offer merit or are less expensive because YOU cannot get $18-20k/year in loans. The total amount of federal loans that can be taken out in undergrad is $27k, I believe, with about $5500 as a first year and up to about $7500 by senior year.
A couple possibilities to think about whose sticker prices would all fall within budget, or that I think would likely fall under budget after merit aid:
Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY)…I’d peg your chances as greater than 50%, heading into likely territory
Colorado School of Mines…I would guess this to be a likely
Georgia Tech…this one is going have lower odds of admission, but it’s a really top program
U. of Minnesota…I think this one would fall into the possible category
For the exception of ASU, all of these schools are reaches. It’s not just the schools, it’s the hyper-competitive CS programs. Being a programmer myself, these schools are seriously overkill. CS is a ridiculously employable degree, and prestige doesn’t matter. In fact, after about 2-3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school. Spending $300,000 on a CS degree is a waste of money. Even going out of state is a waste of money, unless you have a scholarship. You could save that extra money for a masters degree, which would be worth a lot more than a brand name bachelors.
If you don’t get into the UW CompSci program. Just go to Washington State U.
Good advice. I just want to add the University of Washington does not have EA or ED option. It’s similar to UC system, offering one round of application in October and releasing results in March