Chances (For A Junior)

<p>I'm currently a junior at a southern California public school who happens to be one of those feeders for some of the top universities. My school sent 3 to MIT and 7 to CalTech this year. School population is about 2400, am probably in the first decile, but am not too sure.</p>

<p>Freshman year - went to a school with an awful reputation - no honors classes (as they aren't offered), but lots of classes with upperclassmen: World Geography and World History, regular English, 4th year Integrated Math (eq. to Trig/Precalc), Physics, Orchestra, and Spanish 3. All A's - school does not do +'s or -'s.</p>

<p>Sophomore year (transferred to current school): AP Calculus BC (A/5), AP European History (B+/3), regular English (A+), Honors Biology (A), Health (A+), Fundamentals of Programming (A+)</p>

<p>Junior year: Multi-variable Calculus (B+), AP US History (B+), AP English Language (A-), AP Physics C (A), AP Computer Science A (A+)</p>

<p>Plans for senior year: Linear Algebra, AP Government, AP Economics, AP English Literature, AP Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science AB, and maybe AP Biology</p>

<p>SAT I - got at 1890 last time (610W, 560R, 720M) - could have done much better - should have bothered to study. Am expecting an 2100 next time (650W, 650R, 800M). Felt lots more comfortable about it after taking a look at some prep books.</p>

<p>ACT - haven't taken it yet officially - tried it in 9th grade and got a 28 composite (don't remember the details). I hope I'll do better this time.</p>

<p>ECs: not much - Chess Club (9th), Go Club (11th), Math Club (11th). If it counts - writing scripts for my school's website and working on open source software. I absolutely hate competition unless there's a reason behind it, so that's why I avoided Science Olympiad, sports, math competitions. Also, for everything else (eg. with volunteering), I just don't see any point to it but college (as I don't truly support the cause at all).</p>

<p>My list of colleges (from 1st choice down):
MIT
CalTech
Berkeley
UCLA
Princeton (legacy)
Columbia (legacy)
Carnegie-Mellon
UC Irvine
Stanford
CalState Long Beach
CalState Fullerton
Community Colleges...</p>

<p>In this case, should I even bother applying for Princeton, Columbia, and Stanford? Or, will I be admitted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine before having a chance at those?</p>

<p>What are my chances at those? Are there any recommendations on what other colleges I should consider? I'm hoping to double-major in Math and Electronics Engineering.</p>

<p>MIT: reach
CalTech: reach
Berkeley: slight reach
UCLA: slight reach
Princeton (legacy): reach
Columbia (legacy): reach
Carnegie-Mellon: match to slight reach
UC Irvine: safe match
Stanford: reach
CalState Long Beach: safety
CalState Fullerton: safety</p>

<p>Weak ECs, a little weak GPA, no distinguishing awards/honors, and no apparent passion.</p>

<p>I'll be sure to mention my passion for computers, etc. on my essay. I'm basically showing that by contributing to open-source software and doing stuff for my school's website.</p>

<p>That pretty much describes why I have no ECs at school - there isn't much place for me to show for it in the environment at my school (AP Computer Science is as close as I can get).</p>

<p>Oh - I tend to have very good relations with my teachers, and the recs should be excellent.</p>

<p>Should check out Franklin Olin and Rice..</p>

<p>MIT- super reach
CalTech- reach
Berkeley- slight reach
UCLA- high match
Princeton (legacy)- reach
Columbia (legacy)- reach
Carnegie-Mellon- high match
UC Irvine- safety
Stanford- reach
CalState Long Beach- safety
CalState Fullerton- safety</p>

<p>Would you like to chance my thread?</p>

<p>If there aren't any ECs, then you make ECs. It's what many have had to do, and it communicates something better than "taking advantage of all possible resources": actually making your own resources. That shows initiative, leadership, and overall excellence.</p>

<p>There are other non-school-related functions that you could've done that relate to comp sci. Maybe working at a local business, or attending conferences on it, that sort of thing.</p>