<p>It sounds like your programming experience will be a significant hook. I don’t think anyone here can predict whether your experience together with your academic record will assure your admission to an Ivy League school. They’re a crapshoot for almost everyone - even valedictorians and perfect SAT scorers get rejected. By all means, apply to top schools but include a range of schools (matches and safeties) that you also would be happy attending.</p>
<p>It appears you are several years removed from high school so you don’t have a high school advisor to help. Is there anyone associated with Mamram that can give you input on how others have fared with US colleges or who can otherwise help? That would be useful to you.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to dismiss your programming experience or Mamram background. There were lots of posters who seemed to think that service in the IDF alone was unique and exotic, and I was pointing out that it is practically universal among Israeli applicants. (A number of other nations also have universal military service and send lots of veterans to US colleges, although Israel may be the only one whose soldiers are all involved in something a lot like actual war.) Admissions committees at selective colleges see plenty of IDF veterans every year. To the extent you have special skills and training, that’s a different matter.</p>
<p>I was reacting to Mamram specifically. I know that every Israeli kid does a tour of duty with the IDF. I hope you think I just didn’t fall off the turnip truck. Or the Jaffa orange truck, perhaps.</p>
<p>Your problem isn’t your math score (750), or your life experience! Those are great. Programming for four years is also nice, but it’s not a hook; everybody entering quality CS programs these days has been programming since they were kids. Your biggest bang for the buck would seem to be improving your reading/writing scores, which could really open up some doors.</p>
<p>Regarding the Ivy’s - strange choice for a CS major (although I love Cornell CS). There are 5-8 state schools and even more solid privates that stack up just as well. And many are matches for you.</p>
<p>“everybody entering quality CS programs these days has been programming since they were kids”</p>
<p>I really don’t want to decry people who have been programming since they were kids…They must be really good…
and here comes the but…I did things they couldn’t do at home/work…it’s a different experience…</p>
<p>Netanel; You appear to want Cal Tech and MIT. Apply and see what happens. I also suggest that you include one or two recommendation letters about your programming experience with the IDF in your application. You will need to take the SAT II subject tests. Look at the university web site to see what the requirements are for the SAT II subject tests.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, Cal Tech and MIT are extremely competitive schools. In the US, many students are applying to many universities (perhaps 6-14 schools) because of competition.
No one on this forum knows 100% if you will or will not be accepted to MIT and Cal Tech.</p>
<p>If there is an international or famous Israeli competition for Computer Science, I suggest you try to win an award. US college applications ask for honors and awards. Look at the Cal Tech and MIT applications to see if you have everything they request. If you don’t, call the admissions office and ask your questions.</p>
<p>I am actually sorry to read that you want to leave Israel. I suggest you visit here first, for a summer, to see if you really want to live in the US now.</p>
<p>I love Israel and I’m not gonna leave it…I just want to study somewhere else…
and see how is it, living in the US…I don’t think it’s something wrong…I’m curious to learn about new cultures…</p>
<p>Netanel: I suggest you only apply to the best U.S. universities. IF you want California (and I must tell you the economy is terrible in California now), then apply to Stanford, Cal Tech, USC and UCLA. If you are ok to live on the East Coast, then apply to MIT, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and the University of Maryland College Park location only. </p>
<p>Also, apply to the Technion and any other good Israeli university as a back up plan.</p>
<p>It used to be much easier to come to the U.S.–everything was cheaper, easier, many jobs, much opportunity. This is NOT the case now. I don’t want you to be disappointed. It is much more difficult to find a job now in the U.S. </p>
<p>I also meet very nice Israelis here who say they want to go back to Israel because they miss their family and say it is better to raise children in Israel. Some return, some stay here. If you are close to your family in Israel, you will miss them very much.</p>
<p>I honestly hope that you will stay in Israel. High tech is booming near Tel Aviv, Herzylia and Haifa. People say there are more computer jobs in Israel and more opportunity in Israel.</p>
<p>If you can come this summer and take some classes at an American University (you may easily be able to take classes at Stanford, Cornell and other top universities), you will see if you really want to come here. It is much easier to come for a summer. Maybe you can arrange for credits to transfer back to another university in Israel or in the US, depends upon which classes you take and what the other university says so it is not a waste of time and not a waste of money.</p>
<p>These are the 2010 USNews Graduate School rankings for Computer Science (undergraduate computer engineering is ranked).</p>
<p>Rankings
Computer Science
Ranked in 2010 </p>
<p>1 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 5.0<br>
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 5.0<br>
1 Stanford University Stanford, CA 5.0<br>
1 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA 5.0<br>
5 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 4.6<br>
5 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 4.6<br>
7 University of Washington Seattle, WA 4.5<br>
8 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 4.4<br>
8 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX 4.4<br>
10 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 4.3<br>
11 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 4.2<br>
11 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 4.2<br>
13 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 4.1<br>
14 University of California–Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 4.0<br>
14 University of California–San Diego La Jolla, CA 4.0<br>
14 University of Maryland–College Park College Park, MD 4.0<br>
17 Columbia University New York, NY 3.9<br>
17 Harvard University Cambridge, MA 3.9<br>
17 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 3.9<br>
20 Brown University Providence, RI 3.7<br>
20 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN 3.7<br>
20 Rice University Houston, TX 3.7<br>
20 University of Massachusetts–Amherst Amherst, MA 3.7<br>
20 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 3.7<br>
20 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 3.7</p>
<p>^Quakerstate, could you please make it clearer, since the source pertained to Graduate schools: Does the above ranking list order represent ONLY that magazine’s evaluation of the undergraduate CS departments at these universities?</p>
<p>@OP: the source referred to above as “USNews” is this: US News and World Reports. (USNWR). It’s a monthly national news magazine that generates and publishes an annual ranking of higher education institutions. Its list generates considerable interest within the U.S., although not everyone is ruled by it! When it comes out each year, there’s a big buzz of conversation. You can study their methodology to see whether it has value for you.</p>
<p>In other words, Quakerstate, can we understand that this list declares CMU’s, U. of Illinois, U. Texas (for examples) undergraduate offering in CS superior to some of the Ivies’ undergraduate CS offerings, listed lower down (for example, Harvard, Columbia and Brown)?</p>
<p>If so, that is informative to the OP who was initially so focused upon “the Ivies” as his goal.</p>
<p>I copied and pasted the USNews & World Report GRADUATE rankings that I found. I was not able to find a ranking of UNDERGRADUATE Computer Science departments. The graduate rankings are relevant to the OP if we can assume there is a correlation between the quality of graduate and undergraduate programs (which there likely is). US News & World Report does rank undergraduate Computer Engineering. However, I believe that Computer Engineering is more hardware oriented and is of less interest to the OP.</p>
<p>Here’s the top 10 ranking for Computer Engineering:</p>
<p>Best Colleges Specialty Rankings: Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Computer
Ranked in 2010
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
3 Stanford University Stanford, CA
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
5 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
6 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
7 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
8 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
9 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
10 Cornell University Ithaca, NY </p>
<p>These schools also ranked highly on the Computer Science list. It is true that the top schools for computer science and particularly computer engineering are not necessarily the Ivy League.</p>
<p>What is the closest major to real time/embedded programming which is what I’m doing??</p>
<p>and for the record I’m not gonna apply for this upcoming fall…
I’ll apply when I’m discharged…so I have time to search for the right colleges, retake the SAT’s and take 2 SAT subject tests: Math 2 , I’m not sure about the other one…I will for sure ace the modern Hebrew but this is not that impressive…</p>
<p>Don’t take the Hebrew SAT II. It would be a waste of time since the result would be meaningless for a native speaker. You might consider Physics in addition to Math II. (I’m assuming you’ve studied the subject.)You have plenty of time to get the official prep book and study the material covered on the test.</p>
That is not true. Many schools take the highest 2 SAT II scores for the “stats” part, and an easy 800 can only help. Also many schools use SAT II language scores to satisfy foreign lang requirement (I know that Stanford does).</p>
<p>CMU used to require Math II and Physics SAT IIs for all engineering, so I’d recommend taking Math II + Physics + Hebrew.</p>
<p>I think it is true, in terms of ADMISSIONS. Except at a completely stats-driven school, where personal details are irrelevant, an 800 on the Modern Hebrew SATII by an Israeli citizen would add precisely zero to the evidence of academic strength presented by the student. Foreign language SATIIs are not designed to test native speakers. The committees aren’t stupid. </p>
<p>Whether it would help him avoid the language requirement, should he wish to do so, is another issue.</p>
Yes, as I pointed out earlier in the thread. It’s strange to see how people swoon at the sound of an Ivy.</p>
<p>There are many privates and a solid number of top-flight state school CS programs that easily match or beat the Ivy’s for CS (exception: Cornell); probably 10-15 have been mentioned in this thread already. It would be quite silly to attend Harvard as a CS major. With those kinds of stats, you could have attended UT Austin. Seriously, they’re not in the same league - for Computer Science. By the same token, don’t go to CalTech for PolySci.</p>
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