Chances of Carnegie Mellon?

Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Indian
School: Public School is Pittsburgh area - where CMU is located

Applying for and CIT (Electrical and Computer Engineering)

Sat I: 1550(M: 770: R/W: 780)

Sat II:
Math 2 : 800
Physics : 730 (Retaking)

AP Classes:

H English, History, Civics, (core classes) (10th)
AP Calculus BC (10th)
AP Physics E&M (11th)
AP English(11th)
AP US History(11th)
AP Statistics(11th)
AP Capstone Seminar (11th)

All AP Scores are 4 or 5

Class for senior
AP English Language (12th)
AP Government (12th)
H Linear Algebra (12th)
TAing E&M (12th)

GPA:

3.9 uw
uw rank - top 10%
4.8 w
w rank - top 1%

Honors:
AP scholar with distinction
School honors
Mulltiple 1st Place awards at Regional Science fairs

ECs:

  • Captain of School Robotics Team
  • Captain of School Science Olympiad Team
  • Varsity Swim Team
  • Science Bowl Team
  • Quiz Bowl Team
  • Math League (Team)
  • Science Fairs
  • Multiple Summer Internships
  • Worked in College Labs
  • National Honors Society

Leadership:
Captain of School Robotics Team
Captain of School Science bowl Team

Volunteer:

  • Taught workshops at local libraries on Computers and electronic devices
  • Mentored my old elementary school’s swim team
  • Lifeguarded and worked many Elementary and Middle School level swim meets

Summers:
-Was a participant and then returned as a TA to a Summer CS/Robotics program held at CMU

Hook:
Worked at 2 College labs over the last 2 years, one at CMU and the other at the University of Pittsburgh; experience in college-level environments and deadlines.

Do I have a chance at ECE at CMU? I am worried because of the competitive nature of this school, and schools similar to it.

I think you have a good shot given your coursework (BC Calc in 10th grade etc.), testing (yes CMU Engineering requires SAT physics - try to bring up that score) and accomplishments. I think it is helpful to visit, show interest (maybe even ED though I don’t think it is a huge advantage) and develop a strong answer to the CMU questions on the common App - especially this one: “Please submit a one page, single-spaced essay that explains why you have chosen Carnegie Mellon and your particular major(s), department(s) or program(s). This essay should include the reasons why you’ve chosen the major(s), any goals or relevant work plans and any other information you would like us to know. For freshmen applying to more than one college or program, please mention each college or program to which you are applying. Because our admission committees review applicants by college and program, your essay can impact our final decision.” My son was admitted to CMU for ECE and it was a hard choice for him not to attend (it is an amazing school!) but he also wants to double major in CS which is a separate school at CMU and we wanted him a bit closer to home. Good luck to you.

Thank you so much! I will take this into consideration when applying! I am considering applying ED.

failed pre-cal twice in high school… now im 3rd year community college student and barely taking linear alg… you f*cking genius… gud luck in future endeavors.

@VVVBATMAN YES, @CA1543 is right. A really solid essay about what you would like to study there, what interests you about the various CMU offerings. Be specific. Read through the millions of MB of information about your college of interest and write up a nice narrative of what all you like about it.

My son wrote about Louis VanHon the creator of DuoLingo, from his acceptance letter it sounded like they were very impressed

VISIT and on campus interview are considered super important

If you can do that you are all set