College Application--Any Feedback or Suggestions

Applying to College
1

Hello, I’m currently a high school junior nearing the end of my second semester, and I would like some suggestions for how I could bolster my current potential application. I am not looking for validation about my stats, nor what my percentage is at Stanford or Princeton. I am simply looking for constructive feedback, since I still have some time to brush up my application.

Application:

Basic Stats:
SAT I: 1550 (New 2016 SAT, could still retake)
SAT II: Math 2 (800), Physics (800)
GPA(UW/W): 3.85/4.32 ( a few B’s in the humanities, all As in advanced math and science)
Rank: Not provided (probably at least top 10 percent)
APs: World History (4), U.S. History (5), Calculus BC (5), Computer Science A (5), Physics 1 (5)
IBs: Not provided at my school.
Planned Senior Course Load: A.P. Macroeconomics, Multi-variable Calculus (taking at a nearby university), A.P. Spanish 4, A.P. Physics 2, A.P. Data Structures, A.P. English Literature
Major Awards: None, as far as I can tell.
Minor Awards: Meritorious ranking in High School Mathematical Modeling Contest, 7th in Regional Programming Contest, Sentinel Award (High School Recognition awards)

Extracurricular Activities: Eagle Scout (also Senior Patrol Leader in troop; highest leadership ranking possible, 9-12), Mu Alpha Theta (11-12, elected President for 12), Science Bowl Team Club(10-12), Physics Olympiad Team Club(11-12), A number of self-study courses (Programming languages: Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C++, C, HTML; Comp-Sci Courses (mostly Coursera): Machine Learning, Mathematical Thinking, Model Designing, Basic Data Structures), a number of competitions (High School Mathematical Modeling Contest (10-12), International Mathematical Modeling Contest (10), AMC 10 (10) AMC 12 (11-12), Regional Programming Contest (11-12), Regional Math Contest (11-12), Another Regional Math Contest (11-12), F=MA (USAPHO first round) test (11-12)), Developed 3 games, started an organization that helps promote Programming education for elementary and middle school kids in my city.

*Note, 12 means I plan to continue to take this in senior year, not that I have already taken it

Job/Work Experience: Working as a cashier at a local grocery store on the weekends.
Volunteer/Community service: ~100 hours, mostly for a local food bank.
Summer Activities: Course study, work.
Recommendation Letters (so far): 11th Grade A.P. Calculus B/C (10/10), 11th Grade A.P. U.S. History (8/10), 11th Grade A.P. Comp Sci teacher (9/10), 11th Grade A.P. Physics Teacher (8/10) (I will probably not use all of these); My Scoutmaster for the past 5 years (10/10) (if applicable), Counselor (5/10)(way too general).

Applying for Financial Aid? Yes.
Intended Major: Computer Science
State: California
School Type: Public, large (~3000 students)
Ethnicity/Race: European White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not exactly sure, but my family makes about 90k a year.
Hooks: Legacies at Duke, Carnegie Mellon

Schools I’m considering: Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Caltech, Duke, UC Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Cornell, UC San Diego, UC Irvine.

Current Thoughts:

Strengths: Concentrated ECs (not overly general and mostly focused around Math, Science, and Comp Science, all having a Comp Sci Theme), Decent Recommendations, a few leadership roles.

Weaknesses: Stats seem somewhat low for some places (Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Caltech), No major awards.

I am not overly concerned with essays at the moment since I plan to write them over the summer, as well still having plenty of time for extracurriculars (the other factor you have real control over).

So, what are some suggestions? I welcome all constructive feedback, positive or negative.

2

FA is going to be a driver, so start with affordability. Run those EFCs! Duke wants legacies in its ED rounds, so if you’re liking that one, I would reach out to your AO to see what you can do.

I would get a couple more safety schools with good aid on your list.

Start thinking now about what story it is you want to tell with your essays. That’s where you get to differentiate yourself from all the other high stats applicants and be human.

3

You’ve worked hard and done well. Keep what you are doing and any extra effort should be spent on essays. Think 50+ hours for the common ap essays, particularly when you are a math/science kid.

4

Suggestion - Make your essays really shine and start the process early.

5

Hey we have a lot in common! I am also a high school junior applying to most of the schools you are applying to (except I am on the east coast and I don’t plan on applying to the west coast - too far from family). I also plan on majoring in computer science.

As for your chances, you seem to have a good chance at all of the colleges. Your EC’s are great, and you were right in that they are concentrated around STEM (although you should focus more on CS since that is your major). Colleges like these like to see deep achievement in your prospective major, and you have shown that. You should also try making yourself a personal website since you know HTML / CSS so that colleges see you as a professional programmer.

I also saw that you took a Machine Learning course on Coursera. If you are considering pursuing that field then I would take AP Statistics if your school offers it. We have to do stats in college anyway as part of the CS curriculum. If you are interested in more CS courses, then try MIT Open Course Ware and EDX (run by MIT and Harvard). Stanford also does a machine learning class on YouTube offered by a leading practitioner.

Make sure to keep creating applications with the knowledge you have learned to show achievement. A great GPA and SAT score is good, but since people who apply to these schools often have stellar stats, you need to keep making sure you stand apart from the crowd (two friends of mine run their own companies and have apps that have 20000+ downloads).

So what is AP Data Structures if I may ask? Is it another computer science course? I am taking Computer Science AB (sequel to AP Computer Science A), which used to be an AP class but College Board stopped making the exam.

6

Chance me back? http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20517252#Comment_20517252