US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident) or international student
State/Location of residency: Washington, DC
Type of high school: Private
Gender/Race/Ethnicity: White Female
Other special factors: n/a
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science
Economics GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.97 (not reported by school, self calculated)
Weighted HS GPA: school does not weight
Class Rank: school does not rank
ACT/SAT Scores: 1550 SAT (800 Math)
Coursework
AP US History
AP Literature
AP Computer Science A
AP Physics C - Mechatronics
AP Statistics
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP Calculus BC
Advanced(AP equivalent level as school phases out APs):
Humanities Seminar
Python Programming
All honors math and science classes (honors history and english not offered)
highest math: AP Calculus BC
highest language: Spanish 4
Awards
National Merit Semifinalist
AP Scholar
US Figure Skating Graduating Seniors Award
National Spanish Exam Silver Medal
Extracurriculars
Elite level synchronized figure skater
4 Year high school tennis player
Worked for vaccine and diagnostic company during the pandemic to create programs to manages inventory
Service learning club leader
Tutor in free elementary school coding
Stanford AI Program
Learnserve global fellow
Essays/LORs/Other
My essays are fairly strong and letters of recommendation very strong.
Cost Constraints / Budget
None
Schools
Already accepted to Georgia, Clemson, Alabama
Match: UT, Michigan, UNC
Reach: Yale (rea), Harvard, Vanderbilt, Duke
I am a bit worried that my application will not stand out enough to my reach schools. I am also very aware that my matches are also very difficult to get into but I would love thoughts!!
I’m confused. You self calculated your unweighted yet your school doesn’t. Nor does your school weight. So how do they provide any status ??
You’re an elite figure skater ? That will stand out.
You’re already into three solid schools. So you have no issues. For CS, it’s an interesting group.
I’ll guess you’ll get into at least one of your remaining. But you still have time to add another school in between this list and your already in such as RPI, Purdue, or even a W&L.
The good news is you already have three fine options.
Yes! They are super weird in that they submit a transcript only without a numerical GPA but I have not received lower than an A- on my transcript. It’s super confusing.
This is true but it’s happened b4 that a student will get into a top Ivy but not UNC.
OP has a shot at the remaining but also can get blanked. Still she has three great programs she’s already into.
I was thinking UMD but similar to Purdue the main deadline has passed. The Big 10 has great programs…in addition to Purdue, UMN, Wisconsin, and Ohio State are well regarded but you need to research whatever school you see in order to see if applying RD greatly diminishes.
That said, I assume you applied to Clemson, UGA, and Bama because you’d be happy at any of them. You can apply for Honors too. Assuming you’re good at any of those, no reason to worry about the remaining.
But if you want a school above, look at RPI, Northeastern (although RD tough there ), Stony Brook and Boulder. All rank higher but other than RPI, likely don’t offer any greater likely outcomes.
Again congrats on what you’ve accomplished. Many on CC say where you go for CS matters little other than if you go to a few top schools. So based on their expertise, you’ll be fine.
If you like Vanderbilt as reach, why not Emory (closer to hard match perhaps)? Your list seems too brand conscious besides the state safeties allowed by the SCEA.
My children attended a private school that did not submit GPA to colleges. I think it is a somewhat common practice among independent day and boarding schools so your school is not alone in this practice. The admissions folks know how to evaluate the apps from these students.
Congratulations on you acceptances to some great schools and good luck with the rest of your applications!
Approximately 2/3 of the first-year applicants for UNC are OOS; and OOS students are limited to filling 18% of the entering first-year class. So UNC is by no means a match for any OOS applicant. If an OOS applicant has a parent who is an alumnus, that will increase the chances somewhat.
I’m not saying that the OP won’t get in to UNC; but it is a mistake to consider UNC as a match, and I agree that it is a reach for an OOS applicant.
If you like Vanderbilt, you might also consider Emory (seconding an earlier poster) and Washington U in St. Louis.
Also, the Big Ten flagships would yield more match-range options OOS (echoing again…). Most would be a bit easier to get into than UMich, UNC, and Texas, and still have massive academic reputations. (UW, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, OSU…)