Chances(very shoddy GPA and SATs)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Ok, so I have a very crappy GPA/SAT scores. All the honors and AP courses weight up a point in GPA, so I really have like a 3.0-ish GPA(maybe 3.2; my school doesn't do UW). I'm <em>HOPING</em> to get 1(maybe even 2, but doubtful) CS papers at least submitted to journals by the time I apply(I'm working with a prof for one and a PhD student for the other both at an ivy league university). Computer Science is, as you may have guessed, my primary interest.</p>

<p>My tests:
SAT1: 660W/670CR/700M (retaking; going for 750-800M)
SAT2: 640 chem / 710 math iic (retaking math iic for 800; I suck at chem)</p>

<p>My grades:
GPA: 3.68W(honors/AP are weighted up a point :/)
Frosh year
Hon Bio - B-
English(honors not offered, but higher level) - B-
Hon Geometry - C-
Social studies(honors not offered, but higher level) - B-
Hon Spanish - B+
Orchestra - A
Intro comp programming - A+</p>

<p>Soph year:
Hon Alg 2 - B-
Hon English - C+
Hon American History - B-
Hon Spanish - B-
Orchestra - A
Independent CS study - A(no A+ is allotted for this)</p>

<p>Junior Year:
AP Calc AB - B (5 on AP)
AP Chemistry - B (3 on AP)
Honors Physics - B-
Honors English 1st semester - B+
Honors English 2nd semester - A-
Honors Social studies 1st semester - A
Honors Social studies 2nd semester - A-
Orchestra - A
Chinese(no honors offered) - B</p>

<p>Senior year courses:
3rd semester college calc.
AP Physics C
Honors English 1st and 2nd semester
AP Psychology
Chinese 2(again, no honors offered)</p>

<p>ECs(limited, but devoted):
900+ hours of community service at one place(including doing audio engineering)
Computer Club(maybe 100-200 hours total)
Robotics Club(maybe 200-300 hours total)</p>

<p>Schools I'm considering applying to(yes, I know, they're way out of reach, but chance me anyway):</p>

<ul>
<li>CMU(both SCS(preferably) and CIT)</li>
<li>Columbia(legacy status, applying to SEAS)</li>
<li>UMass amherst</li>
<li>Bucknell</li>
<li>UTexas Austin</li>
<li>UChicago</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Any other schools you think I should apply to ;)</li>
</ul>

2

<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think MIT requires 3 SAT II's.</p>

3

<p>You won't get into MIT or UChicago or Caltech. These are very hard to get into unless you really improve your SATs and GPA. Sorry to say. But, I think you should be able to get into SEAS and CMU. But, you have write really good essays. It seems you got a 660 on writing. Not good. As a freshman, I got a 690 or 700 or the writing section of the SAT. Yet, I still need to improve in writing a bit more. So, I would say this:
MIT - outright rejection (unless you do something extrordinary like inventing)
CALtech - Same as MIT
CMU - mm...for computer science, it might me hard...but work on the those essays. Still, a sort of a reach.
UChicago - same as MIT and Caltech
U mass Amherst / U Texas.....kinda like CMU.</p>

<p>PS: Do something extraordinaty on ur ECs and point it out on ur essays.</p>

4

<p>get a safety college</p>

5

<p>AshwinSundar: Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Also, I thought UMass Amherst was easy to get into. On my school's naviance, no one was rejected, and there were some people applying with a 2.5 and a 2000 SAT got in(alright it was the least qualified person, but most people got accepted, and no one applied with an SAT > 2100).</p>

<p>In addition, would you say SEAS is a high reach? I mean, I know Columbia isn't known(particularly well anyway) for their engineering school, but I thought it was hard to get in. Even as a legacy, I didn't really think I had a shot.</p>

<p>I forgot to add one school to my chance list: Cornell</p>

6

<p>CMU: Unlikely
Columbia(legacy status, applying to SEAS): REJECT
UMass amherst: In
Bucknell: In
UTexas Austin: IN
UChicago: REJECT
MIT: REJECT
Cornell: REJECT</p>

7

<p>Gaffe:
Would those chances(particularly CMU/Columbia) change if I raised my SAT scores and/or got significantly better(A/A- in all classes) grades senior year?</p>

8

<p>do u guys have block scheduling</p>

9

<p>3.68 weighted is very low.</p>

<p>That means your unweighted is even lower, a "3.0ish GPA" as you said.</p>

<p>Raising your SAT scores and/or GPA won't help.</p>

<p>Your GPA has killed your chances at CMU and especially Columbia.
Do you really think you can get "significantly better grades"? It looks like you've been trying that for 3 years, and that has not happened.</p>

10

<p>Are my chances better at CMU CIT than at SCS?</p>

11

<p>I don't want to instill false hope, but I do want to compliment you. You seem like a really cool kid, and given what you've been able to accomplish outside of the classroom, you might be able to compensate with your interest in CS.</p>

<p>You're also the kind of kid who is going to do just fine in college and be happy wherever you go. You'll be able to find the resources you want and take classes that interest you with professors who will probably be more responsive.</p>

<p>That said, I think the way you really need to redeem yourself for these elite schools is to demonstrate through recommendations and your essays that you are right for the kind of rigorous program that these schools are going to dump on you and expect you to fulfill. Caltech somehow knew that one of my good friends, a B student, not in many honors classes, was the perfect kid for them, and he is (since he's arrived at CalTech, he's been able to score lots of cool opportunities).</p>

<p>I must say, I don't understand why Chicago is on your list. There's a compulsory reading/writing heavy core curriculum, and it doesn't sound like you want that.</p>

<p>Add RPI to your list.</p>

12

<p>How about WPI, Purdue, or Texas A&M? All are strong for engineering and a little more realistic than Columbia. I also know someone who went to Hartford for engineering and he got a great job.</p>

13

<p>Thanks for the compliment unalove. That's what I pretty much plan to do(get a recommendation from the professor I'm doing research with, write an essay about how great it is to work on CS research). I hope that, combined with higher SAT scores, will make me an appealing candidate for some elite schools.</p>

14

<p>Check out Chicago's uncommon app, though-- if you apply there, I strongly, strongly recommend that you use one of their prompts or create a similarly wacky one for yourself, just because you want to show Chicago that you're ready for the overall academic challenge, not just their CS department.</p>

<p><a href="http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level3.asp?id=376%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level3.asp?id=376&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

15

<p>gaffe is bad</p>

16

<p>laptop19, you couldn't handle the truth when I chanced you.</p>

17

<p>The truth is people like Mike and I have a less than 20 percent shot, in some cases even less than 50 percent, but you write reject which doesnt help! How do you know its a REJECT? You should give a slight reach or a reach.</p>

18

<ul>
<li>CMU(both SCS(preferably) and CIT) 30 percent</li>
<li>Columbia(legacy status, applying to SEAS) 20 percent</li>
<li>UMass amherst 80 percent</li>
<li>Bucknell 95 percent</li>
<li>UTexas Austin If your in state 100 percent</li>
<li>UChicago 25 percent</li>
<li>MIT 5 percent</li>
</ul>

19

<p>Your best bet for an elite college is transfer. Your HS profile says slacker, and there are millions who read just like you. Obviously bright and interested in an area. Yet the colleges know that all the smart in the world won't do you any good if you can't/don't apply it.</p>

<p>I see no way at Columbia with 6 legacies unless they each gave a million.</p>

20

<p>How do you know it's less than 20%?
Why did you pick that specific number?</p>

<p>How do you know MIT is 5% when you chanced the OP?</p>

<p>You can NEVER be certain.</p>

<p>I just give other people chances.</p>