@ucbalumnus - Given the high demand for CS these days, a 3.1 GPA and a 17 ACT isunlikely to get an applicant into one of the “strongest CS departments” that you are probably thinking about - and even if they could, it may not be a good fit.
Food for thought - a team of hard working students from Mass Bay Community College recently placed ahead of two teams from Middlebury College and two teams from Wellesley College in a regional programming contest…
https://cs.hamilton.edu/ccscne/
Here are some colleges involved in the CCSC Midwest Region
https://www.ccsc.org/midwest/conference/past-conferences.php