Chances at HYPSM + Ivy League for Computer Science

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics: Chinese M from PA.

Intended major: Computer Science

Academics:
ACT: 35 (E:35 , M:36 , R:36 , Sci:34, E+W:32)
SAT II: Bio E:770, taking Math II and Physics in the fall (expecting 800s)
Class rank: 1/305
GPA: Unweighted:4.2586 (on a 4.33 scale) and Weighted: 7.3548
Coursework: 8 APs taken and got all 5s: Biology, Chinese, Computer Science, English Lang, Macro, Micro, Physics C: Mechanics, Statistics
Senior Schedule: Honors Orchestra, Honors Advanced Computer Science, AP Calc BC, AP Physics: E+M, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, APUSH, AP English Literature, AP Spanish Language
Awards: Science Olympiad National, State, and Regional Medals (my highest being a silver at nations), School chess tournament first place, Bausch+Lomb Honorary Science Award, COMAP HiMCM Honorable Mention, Bronze Medal in National Spanish Exam, National AP Scholar, possibly NMSQT commended

Extracurriculars:
Rho Kappa (National History Honor Society)
Mu Alpha Theta (National Math Honor Society)
National Honor Society
Pi Lamda Sigma (National English Honor Society)
World Language Honor Society - Treasurer
Math Team - captain and founder
Chess club and chess team - captain
Science Olympiad (our team has won the state championship and is typically nationally ranked)
Physics Olympics - co-captain
Red Cross Club
Orchestra and Chamber Ensemble
Teen Advisory Board Member for local library
Chess instructor and club supervisor at local library (for kids)
Started a summer camp for programming at the local library (for kids)
Project work at Notre Dame

Schools:
Cornell (ED)
Carnegie Mellon (SCS)
MIT
Stanford
UPenn
Princeton
Harvard
Columbia
Brown
Duke
CalTech
Pittsburgh (Safety)
Penn State (Safety)

Questions:
Is my list balanced enough? I think I will cut some reaches out after I visit them and see what I like. Right now, I’m thinking about doing ED to Cornell. If you have any suggestions for safety/match schools, I’d really appreciate it! Also, is there anything I can do to make me a stronger applicant? Thanks :slight_smile:

2

You have no match schools. Get rid of a lot of reaches and add some matches.

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^agree with above poster. Admission to all your schools besides your safeties are crapshoots. Get some match schools you’ll be happy at if the world falls apart.

4

Thanks @jarrett211 ! I’m probably going to get a full-ride to Pitt, and I would only turn it down if I got accepted to my top schools. I don’t want to waste $50,000 / year on a match school when it’s only marginally better than Pitt. However, I may still apply to some matches. Do you have any suggestions?

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Thanks @michelle426 ! You raise a good point :slight_smile: Do you have recommendations for match schools?

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I am with the other people who have commented on this. Although your stats and activities are definitely on par with ivies, the fact of the matter is that ivies are ivies and are hard for anybody to get into.

What you should so is add UCLA and UC Berkeley to that list because I think you are near lock for both of those, not to mention CS at Berkeley is among the best if not the best.

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@nballday UCLA and UCB are incredibly expensive at 55k a year with basically no aid for out of state students.
If you get in Cornell, then you’re not going anywhere else.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but judging from your list, it’s hard to see how Cornell is your absolute first choice. Usually when I see someone apply to Cornell ED, the rest of the schools are all “worse” than Cornell, but based on your list, half of the schools on your list are “better” than Cornell in terms of CS.

Just wanted to make sure that you were completely satisfied going to Cornell knowing that you may have gotten into Harvard, MIT, Carnegie Mellon etc. as I can definitely see you getting in ED (still a reach but very possible).

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@nballday I don’t really want to apply to the UCs as an OOS because of the costs, but I’ll consider it. Thanks!

@rdeng2614 Thanks for your insight! I actually visited Cornell, CMU, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Penn, and Columbia, and of all of those, I liked Cornell the best. Their programs (Project teams, Kessler Fellows, research, and internships) sounded very strong, plus their campus was the most beautiful. I felt that Cornell fit me best, but it’s certainly possible that the Cornell information session presenter just sold their school better. Of course, I shouldn’t base my decision on one person’s presentation so I’m going to attend a few more info sessions and do further research before finalizing on which school I’ll ED to.

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You are an unusually mature and self-confident applicant up you do indeed take such a course. Congratulations. I seldom see that level of self-awareness from young applicants. Some excellent school will be lucky to have you as an entering freshman next year.

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@renaissancedad Thanks for the comment! :slight_smile:

11

Would University of Rochester be a match for me? Also, I have a fee waiver for Rochester, so it doesn’t really hurt me to apply there. Any other suggestions for matches?

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I would think so.

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Would you take HYPSM or CMU SCS over Cornell? If so, I highly recommend not doing ED to Cornell. I suspect there is a very high chance you will get in ED- and probably a pretty good chance you will get in RD as well. There is no reason to waste the ED opportunity on Cornell with your stats, unless it is really your top choice school.

Also, many OOS students pick Berkeley over Cornell for Computer Science. The recruiting opportunities and location are simply much better for CS at Cal. I would definitely considering applying to UCs.

14

I think you have the grades, stats, and everything to have a solid shot at anywhere you want to apply. Being that you are interested in CS I would highky suggest Berkley or Stanford because of the amazing programs they have and their proximity to Silicon Valley.

Best of luck!

15

Amazing objective stats (grades, GPA, SAT/ACT). That you’re very competent in. Good ECs and leadership too. You sound like a really cool, bright kid. Focus on your essays now, and make them perfect. I really think you could get into some of your reach schools. (I understand why you don’t have a lot of matches–its the same with me. Go big or go home, eh?) Good luck!!! :slight_smile:

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You seem to be a really good candidate for all the schools listed here. I would be surprised if you did not get into a handful of them. A lot depends on your essays.

Thanks for commenting on my thread. Best of luck!

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I would be somewhat surprised if you didn’t get into Cornell ED, assuming you have good essays. But you should get into some of these; however, college admissions are enigmatic and fickle, so make sure to diversify your list a bit. Good luck! It’d be cool if you could post final results when they come out :slight_smile:

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@DL43516 as a stereotypical male Asian in STEM, I don’t think I’m very diversified… Maybe I can try to stand out by highlighting my interest in my culture (visiting China, going to Chinese school, and teaching the community about Chinese New Year) in my application. Hopefully that makes me stand out a bit. Thoughts?

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Being a “stereotypical male Asian in STEM” is one reason why I would encourage you to apply ED to Cornell if you really believe it is the best fit for you. I see a lot of people advising you to “aim higher”, but what’s the sense of that if you feel that you would be happier at Cornell? Cornell has perfectly good Silicon Valley recruiting potential, if that ends up being what you want. Plus as an Asian male STEM applicant you would be drowned by a sea of incredibly qualified applicants with similar backgrounds at Stanford and UCB. Applying ED could be an important edge.

20

Thanks for your insight again! I want to potentially work at a startup or create my own startup (I know it’s hard but it’s my dream) so I have considered applying REA to Stanford just because of the startup culture it has. But I’m probably going to end up applying ED to Cornell because they have the Kessler Fellows program, and it’s closer to home which is pretty important to me.