<p>I'm a Junior in High School, chance me for my top choice school!</p>
<p>GPA: 4.1/4.3
PSAT: 2080 (730 M, 730 CR, 620 W)</p>
<p>APs:
AP World History - 4 (last year)</p>
<p>Current:
AP Biology
AP Computer Science
AP Lang/Comp
APUSH</p>
<p>I've been in all Honors/AP all three years. I'm also taking several classes outside of my school day through VHS (Virtual High School). These include</p>
<ul>
<li>AP Computer Science (present)</li>
<li><p>Number Theory (present)</p></li>
<li><p>Introduction to Computer Science Honors (10th grade)</p></li>
<li><p>Advanced Web Design (10th grade)</p></li>
<li><p>Principles of Engineering (10th grade)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Expected Course-load for 12th grade:</p>
<p>AP Calculus BC
AP Statistics
AP Physics C
AP Lit
AP French
AP Art History (VHS)
Nuclear Physics (VHS)
Epidemics (VHS)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars: President/Founder Ecology Club (10-11), Vice-President/Founder Science Olympiad Club (11), President/Founder Rubik's Cube/Logic Puzzle Club (10-11), Spanish Club, French Club, Gardening Club, Chair Person of Budget Committee</p>
<p>Volunteering: Not much. Small activities through church, I'm going to start at a hospital next week however.</p>
<p>Intended Major: Computer Science
Race: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Location: NJ
Income bracket: < 40,000</p>
<p>Any suggestions to improve my chances?
Thank you!</p>
<p>Bad news: Your math score is HORRIBLE for SCS. Most of these kids will have perfect 800’s. Last time I checked the middle fifty percent range was 750-800. Also, have you taken the subject tests? I believe you need a math one and a science one. Take math level II over math level I because it is easier to score better with such a generous curve (you can miss ~7 questions and still get an 800). Push yourself to score strong on your AP exams also.</p>
<p>Your extracurricular are weird (gardening club)… They are good, but I wish I could see more focus in math/science/computers. Improve on your volunteering. More service should help your app, and shows a “hard work” ethic…</p>
<p>Good news: I don’t want to say this, but at a school like Carnegie Mellon, race matters especially in departments that relatively struggle with diversity (race-wise and gender) like CIT/SCS. I am a low-income Hispanic too, and my stats were worse than yours. I got into ECE though which is comparable to SCS in terms of selectivity and competition, so perceive that however you want. Low income will help you stand out at a private school with a kids who are well off if you know how to pull off mentioning it in your essays or having it mentioned in your recommendations. In a perfect world with a perfect admissions process, one’s race or socioeconomic status does not matter, but in this world, it DOES.</p>
<p>Suggestions: CMU likes demonstrated interest, so next year maybe do an interview or visit campus through one of their fly ins. You should have no problem having them pay for your plane ticket (if you live far enough). Work on your academics and extracurricular. Once you do all of that and combined with excellent hooks and essays, you might stand a good chance.</p>
<p>None of us can accurately chance you until you: (1) Take your SAT Subject Tests, (2) Finish your college essays, (3) Determine who you’re getting your recommendations from, (4) Show interest (or not) in CMU by the application deadline, (5) Tell us what you’ll be doing over the summer before senior year.</p>
<p>What we can tell however is that you have the potential to be very competitive for SCS. You race and low-income status give you a very significant advantage over the competition. I think your course-load (aside from senior year) should be more challenging, but your GPA is pretty high so don’t worry too much about that. At the moment, you have three main problems with your prospective application, all of which are easily fixable (IMO): </p>
<p>(1) Your SAT score is extremely low for SCS. According to CMU’s admissions data, 75% of admits to SCS last year scored 780 or higher on the SAT Math. You should really retake the SAT and aim for a 2250+ (with a 780+ on the math section). If you can’t score that high after a second attempt, I’d strongly suggest taking the ACT instead and getting a 35+ on math section. If you’re competent enough to take Number Theory in high school, you shouldn’t have a problem doing well on SAT or ACT math sections. You should also make sure you get 800’s on the SAT Math II and two science Subject tests. Although only two subject tests are required, its usually better to take three (especially if you’re SAT/ACT score is low).</p>
<p>(2) You don’t seem to doing many math and science activities. Your EC’s are decent overall, but two math/science clubs is definitely on the low side. Not to sound harsh, but SCS adcoms don’t really care whether you’re in Spanish Honors Society or Tri-M; they want to see that you’re part of (or leading) Math Team, Science Honors Society, Physics Club, etc. Try to join such clubs this year if its not too late.You should also get a summer job as a computer programmer. There are hundreds of companies who hire school students as coders during the summer. I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a CS job that demonstrates your interest in programming.</p>
<p>(3) Most admits to SCS have done fairly well in math and science competitions. Everyone from my HS who got into SCS was an AIME qualifier, USAPHO semifinalist, and/or USACO Gold Division competitor. While awards won’t guarantee your admission, they definitely help you beat the other applicants (many of whom have won similar awards).
tl;dr - Make sure you win awards in math, CS, and physics competitions. These awards are extremely useful if you’re applying to SCS. </p>