Hi I am a junior in high school. I plan on majoring in computer engineering or computer science. Are my stats good enough or should I lower my standard?
Stats: uw gpa 3.94
W gpa 4.36
Sat 2290
APs
Ap bio 4. Chem 4. Cslc ab 5. Calc bc 5 Spanish 4. Lal 4 us history 5. Macroeconomics 5 ap physics C 4
My course load is intensive and I am in the top 5 % of my grade
Ecs: guitar for 8 years, Brown belt in karate, varsity soccer high school, member of environmental action club, member of deca & fbla & nhs & Spanish nhs & tech club & red cross club & mathletes & elite board of science nhs & science league & academic team
Volunteer at hospital for 200 hours
Other volunteer work at 100 hours
I also participate in research opportunities I’m Rutgers. I have published one physics paper into a scientific journal.
I also have a good connection with one professor in the engineering department of Princeton as he helped me conduct research. I have written his name into the application and could get a recommendation from him.
I also plan on publishing an app into the apple App Store soon this year
Have ap awards and couple guitar recitals
My recommendations were good but nothing super and my essay was pretty good
I think you have a chance, but then again ivies are unpredictable. It’s good you sorta have a connection and that your SAT score and AP scores are excellent. But, you also have to do well on the physics and math SAT subject tests. While you do show a lot of involvement in extracurriculars, I see that you don’t hold leadership positions. But it’s great that you’re so involved in research, have published already, and might even create an app! To improve your chances, I recommend you work on a massive scale science/engineering project this summer, one that you could submit to Intel ISEF or another major competition. Also, in the Spring or over the Summer, I would visit other excellent engineering schools like Cornell, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rensaelaer Polytechnic Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, etc. in case Princeton doesn’t work out.
Wow 800s on both; that’s impressive. I think your safeties are UIUC and Georgia tech. Cornell and Carnegie Mellon are matches. Princeton low to mid reach. Other people should comment on this thread because varied insights are useful.
@pokemon1 - You wrote “My recommendations were good but nothing super and my essay was pretty good”. It’s rather unusual for a junior applying next year to write about recommendations and essays in the past tense - could you clarify?
thank you iwannagotocoll
BldrDad, i am a junior but i am predicting that my recs for next year wont be superb nor bad based on my current state with my teachers. In terms of essay, i wrote “average essay” because i do not yet know how my essay will turn out. Considering, my pretty good writing skills, i am expecting mediocrity at least which is why i stated average essay in my portfolio.
@pokemon1 - your credentials are great, but your “pretty good writing skills” as demonstrated on this forum appear seriously substandard - if your college applications look anything like your posts here, there is no way you will get into Princeton or any other top college.
If you are using the same manner of writing in school, it’s also likely to impact your recommendations as it will not go unnoticed by your teachers. In general, I think it’s safe to say that applicants with great credentials but so-so essays and recommendations often end up in the “I can’t understand why he/she didn’t get in” group.
