Hi, guys, I’m thecuriousguy (or you can call me Peter, which may or may not be my real name).
In advance: I will not say whether or not any of this is true for anonymity purposes. However, for judging whether or not these numbers and things would get an AES distinction scholarship, assume that they are all true (and please pick whatever ACT composite would look better for a CS major).
The question: Could you chance me for acceptance into UTD and whether or not I would receive AES, and if so, what level of AES (achievement, distinction, or honors) is most likely, assuming I apply in fall of 2016? Intended major is computer science.
ACT: either 31 (E33,M27,R34,S31) or 31 (E35, M30, R30, S28), not sure which one I should use in my application (intended major is CS).
SAT: Taken, but will not use to apply to any colleges
High School Rank: School doesn’t rank to my knowledge, but if it does, I’m almost positively in the top 25%, probably somewhere around the top 10%. No idea.
3.92/4.0 GPA (unweighted)
Took/am taking: Algebra I/II, Geometry, Bio, Chem, Environmental Systems, Physics I, 3 years of Engineering, Statistics, Statistics Dual-Credit with UT Austin, English I/II/III, Rhetoric Dual-Credit with UT Austin, Economics, 3 years of Technology, US History, Debate, World Hist/Geo, 3 years of Art, 2 years of Latin, Business Information Management I, Digital Design and Media Production… (tl;dr I have 6 UT Austin credit hours completed. A- for rhetoric and B+ for stats are the grades, and I am taking another algebra course this summer out of boredom at my community college so I can hopefully take their computer science classes during the school year. I will probably pass that class, so there is another 3 credit hours, but from a community college)
ECs:
- Co-Founder and elected Vice President of Scientific Design Club Grades 10-Present, at least 175 hours invested
- Mu Alpha Theta Member, Grade 11, at least 10 hours invested
- Student Tutor, Grade 11, at least 5 hours invested
- Robotics Club Member, Grade 11, at least 80 hours invested
- Film Club Member, Grade 10, at least 60 hours invested
- Science Fair, Grade 11 (placed in district, regional, and placed in a special award at TXSEF. This was my first year doing science fair), I don’t think hours matter here
- (haven’t founded this yet but will this year) Chess club, I intend to dedicate at least 15 hours to it by my time of application to college
I don’t know if these count but:
I would expect 1 fantastic and 2 fairly decent recommendation letters (or fantastic ones if I’m allowed to ask my 10th through this coming 12th grade science-teacher-then-science-fair-mentor and a 10th grade teacher, but I doubt I could ask the 10th grade one).
I had a lab internship at UT Dallas last summer through a fairly selective program (no, I didn’t pay money for it), with a ~7-10% chance of getting in for any applicant. What I studied wasn’t really directly related to my major, but it was with someone ranking rather high in UTD’s chemistry department and I worked regularly with grad students and professors.
This summer I have a paid internship (I applied, interviewed, etc, and I was offered a job because of my resume and performance in the interview, not because I payed to get in or had inside connections) in a field closely related to my intended major of computer science (I’m in an IT department, and my general field of operation can be described as mostly software engineering with some data science, all with industry-standard practices) with a company that is in the US fortune 50. That means it is in the top fifty companies on this list http://www.uspages.com/fortune500.htm, to be clear that I meant 50 and not 500. The chance of getting in from the pool of applicants was also around ~7-10% based on the initial pool of applicants. And no, it isn’t one of the grocery or supply chains. It is one of the companies that doesn’t have stores or make anything you’d see in a store because it is a service company. That is all I can say about it without compromising my anonymity.
Thanks in advance!