Hi guys,
I’m a rising senior who’s interested in CS, so I just wanna know what my chances are to get into these schools:
Stanford Princeton UCB UCLA Harvey Mudd UCSD Cornell Harvard (maybe gonna apply there)
My stats:
GPA: 3.9 UW, 4.25 W
SAT: 2270 (770 CR, 740 M, 760 W), 2310 superscore
SAT II: Got a 650 on Math II in sophomore year, taking Bio and Math II in October 2015
ACT: taking next month, aiming for 35 or 36
APs: 5 on APUSH, AP Calc BC
4 on AP EURO, AP Lang (self-studied for 2 days), AP CS
Rank: Top 10% out of 38 seniors
ECs:
-Did Taekwondo for 8.5 years (from 2nd to 10th grade), had a 2nd degree black belt and was part of the Special Team of Role Models (STORM), an elite club of black belts that helped teach classes. Was on Competition Team, went to tons of tournaments including a top-10 finish at the Jr Olympics out of 25+ people. Have tons of medals from Taekwondo.
-Played basketball in 10th and 11th grade, was co-captain in 11th
-Currently doing an unpaid CS internship for a start-up, JibaSoft Inc.
-Went to Punjabi school at my temple for 6 years, have some small awards from that
-Member of Interact for past 3 years
Advanced courses I’m taking senior year: APES, AP Chem, Linear Algebra, Advanced Computer Programming, AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Lit
You’ll get in to UCSD. UCLA is a strong possibility too. The others are hard to tell since admissions can sometimes be unpredictable. However if your essays are good UCB and Cornell are doable.
Do you think that I should apply EA (to whatever colleges offer it) or should I use my 1st semester senior year to boost my GPA and (hopefully) extracurriculars? Stanford is my dream school, but I honestly would have no issue going to UCB or UCLA.
You SAT math score (740) is only 25th percentile for Mudd, and many accepted students there also have 800 Math II scores. Especially if you are a male applicant, stronger math scores and essays that show you really are suited to Mudd will be important. Your STEM ECs are also a little weak. It is a reach.
Intparent, my superscored Math score is 780, and I believe that Harvey Mudd superscores (correct me if I’m wrong). Also, I go to a private school, so there aren’t any STEM-related clubs or special programs.
Okay, and it sounds like you are retaking the Math II. Now… about the ECs… my kid (a current Mudder) also went to a private school with somewhat limited ECs. She helped start a FIRST robotics EC (started her junior year), but also did ECs outside of school. She was an avid entomologist (went to our state fair with her exhibit) and self studied for the USA Biology Olympiad (got her bio teacher to sign her up an proctor for her, we paid the fee). She also went to an engineering summer program one summer. Every EC does not have to be a school EC (in fact, it probably improves your odds at top colleges if some aren’t – they are looking for unique, genuine thinkers, which can be hard to show in a standard environment).
You will have have a terrific Math II score. Math ability is pretty important for CS. I think the Ivies, Stanford and UCB will be high reaches for you. You need to find a way to stand out if you want to be successful and unfortunately, time is running out to do so.
Unfortunately, I just literallly changed my decided field of interest from medicine to computer science THIS summer. As a result, I’m very behind in any CS extracurriculars. Also guys, I know that Harvey Mudd is a STEM school and tthat I’m not very experienced in that, so this school would probably be one of the last schools on my list anyways cuz of the techy environment (which I wouldn’t necessarily like). So can any others who comment on this thread talk about the other top schools on my list please?
Your comments are confusing… medicine and CS are both heavy in science and math usually. You want to be a CS major… what kind of classes do you think you will be taking and what kind of students do you expect in your major?
All the top schools on your list are likely to notice the disconnect between your major interest and your ECs. But that would still be true if you were still thinking pre-med. Not sure your ECs have the “pop” in general that is expected for schools like Stanford, Princeton, and Harvard.
Forgot to mention… I did NYLF Medicine last summer at UC Berkeley… prob gonna mention my certificate of completion for that in my extracurriculars section
All those schools are reaches for everyone (UCLA might be easier since you’re in state, Cornell and UCB are slightly easier…slightly…but only when compared to schools like Harvard and Stanford.)
Your strengths/neutrals won’t hurt or hook- GPA and SAT scores are fine. Advanced courseload. A summer program that related to CS. Devotion to a main EC (Taekwondo)
Weakness- nothing WHOA…for me, a whoa factor is something intriguing that adcoms never/rarely see…or something everybody is impressed by such as international/national awards, the olympiads, RSI like programs, top athlete. (Not saying these are the only ones…just a few examples). Not many CS or even science ECs…poor SAT II score so far; but you can change that easily.
Definitely apply to match and safeties. Those schools are super risky. For UC’s, consider UCSD like mentioned…plus top CS schools such as Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UWashington…etc. You get the point.
Would AP Scholar with Distinction (expected to get it next month) be something adcoms would be impressed with? Also, I got a 216 on the PSAT and am being considered to be National Merit Semifinalist (doubt I’ll actually be one though, California has a high PSAT cutoff). Aside from those and my Certificate for completing NYLF Medicine, I can’t think of any more “national” awards I’ve received in HS. How about my Kukkiwon certified Black Belt Certificates (1st and 2nd degree)? It shows that I’m an official 2nd degree black belt recognized by Kukkiwon , so if I went to Korea and brought it, studios would respect me as a 2nd degree. However, the downside is that I received these certificates before HS so I guess I can include in my “Additional Information” section but not the “Awards” section.
Unfortunately, AP Scholar with distinction is not that special. you can actually try googling the information because the number and type of AP awards are listed by State. Also, how many freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors receive each type of award is listed. National AP scholar is a bigger deal with some states only having a few and some of the more populous states quite a lot. State AP scholar is the highest honor.
216 won’t qualify you to be a National Merit Semifinalist in CA. Your second degree black belt is somewhat interesting as long as it was achieved in HS. Good luck with everything!