<p>Hello, I happened across here thanks to a friend, and was curious what would my chances of acceptance be for a school such as CMU? I am interested in studying computer science...</p>
<p>My SAT Score is 1870,
710 for math
630 for Critical Reading
530 for Writing (ouch... yea, but my essay was a 10 however...)</p>
<p>I have yet to take my SAT IIs, but will be taking them on German, Math, and Physics.</p>
<p>As for my gpa...
Frosh it was 3.9 unweighted, and my Soph and Junior year was 3.9 weighted.</p>
<p>As of right now, I have only taken a single AP class, and that would be computer programming. However, this upcoming year I will be taking AP Calc B, AP Physics B, as well as AP Programming... again.</p>
<p>As for extra curricular activities, I am a track runner during the winter and spring season, and I help out with two different community service organizations.</p>
<p>To me, CMU is my dream college... I know it is one of the best, but I am curious how I would fair, should I retake my SATs? ect. The other two colleges I have my eyes on are RPI and RIT, but I think that I have a decent chance for those two... but what do you think?</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for that link. I took a look over, and to my amazement I saw the averages for CMU's SCS's SAT scores to be Verbal: 696, Math: 761. My scores are, Verbal: 630, Math: 710...</p>
<p>So would my best bet for upping my chances be to try and raise my SAT score? </p>
<p>(still can't believe I made 4 mistakes on math... 4 mistakes= -90 points!!!! :-( )</p>
<p>I don't know how heavily CMU weights SAT scores in admissions, I just know that mine got me in, but they were higher than their average. Thought the random information in factbook might be of use, since it breaks it up by school. I did have 730 on my physics SATII, which is far from stellar...</p>
<p>SATII scores are generally higher than SAT I, from the people I've talked to... Also, do remember that for everyone above the average, there has to be someone below the average. :)</p>
<p>What's your unweighted soph. and junior GPA? Your GPA is the most important part of your app, but different schools weight differently so a weighted GPA isn't going to help us figure out what your chances are.</p>
<p>
[quote]
remember that for everyone above the average, there has to be someone below the average.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not true... it depends on the distribution of the scores. For instance, suppose 80 people scored 1590 and 40 people scored 1200. Then there would only be 1/2 person below the average for every person above the average :-)</p>
<p>That's kind of an extreme case, but in fact there's probably a difference between the number of people below and above the sat average.</p>
<p>Some information not found in the factbook (25-75 ranges):
College/Dept. SAT-V SAT-M
CIT 600-700 680-780
CFA 570-670 590-690
H&SS 600-700 630-730
IS 580-680 650-750
MCS 610-710 670-770
SCS 640-740 720-800
TSB (formerly SIA) 590-690 670-770
BHA/BSA 650-750 680-780 </p>
<p>This was posted on the CMU admissions forum.</p>
<p>-<em>-" My scores were both 10 less than the lowest averages... <</em><</p>
<p>Also, do either of you (or anyone for this matter) know how harshly CMU regards the writing section? I know a 530 on the writing section won't help me, but will it hurt me?</p>
<p>Scores dont me anything. I had good grades, and mediocre scores. I showed them my passion for learning in my essay and that granted me access to the university. </p>
<p>Dont worry about the statistics, admissions is totally random!</p>
<p>Exactly.. I believe strongly they do not weigh SAT scores heavily in the admission process.. they want individuals who will enrich the campus atmosphere, not just another high scorer. I also had good grades, but poor SAT scores.. and I was accepted. Your "below average" SAT scores will be shadowed by the rest of your application.. There are so many other factors..</p>
<p>Don't get hung up on SAT scores. This is a mistake. As I've said millions of times on CC, SAT scores are just a small part of an application. Of course there are people with better SAT scores than you. And so what? A good essay, good HS grades, and good recommendations can more than offset bad SAT scores.</p>
<p>As has been stated, though, SCS is the toughest school to get into (statistically), so don't get your hopes up too high. This isn't to say I don't think you have a chance. Based on your stats, you do; especially with your track involvement. Make sure you write good essays and get good teacher recommendations; those are important and not something you can quantify in a forum post.</p>
<p>As to your other schools, you have a good chance at RPI. I'm not familiar with RIT.</p>
<p>Admission isn't totally random, it just seems that way because you're all getting hung up on scores and GPAs. The most important things can't be expressed in numbers and statistics, and on CC most people seem to overlook them.</p>
<p>I went to a CMU local information session about two years ago. The representative outlined admissions factors in a pie chart and said that admissions was broken down into scores, grades, and everything else (ECs, essays, etc.). IIRC it was 50% grades, 25% scores, and 25% everything else. However, I'm not 100% certain of that. It was probably oversimplified in the presentation, and it varies from school to school.</p>
<p>cmu DOESN'T meet 100% need. been there, tried that, done it. But i would suggest that you try to raise your scores. definetly. and keep interest in carnegie, let them know your interested by est. a relationship with the councelors. crazy, i know. i dont mean xmas cards and cookies. ask them legit questions about the school, and try to visit if you can. anyway, ive seen patterns lately. don't let test scores alone determine if you get in. I wrote a really good essay and my grades/sat scores were semi-ok. trust me, way lower than most of yours, and i still got in. the more competitive, the harder it is, obviously, but make sure that ur recs and EC's are really strong. good luck!</p>