I applied to several oos cs schools early like UT Austin, UMass, Purdue, GeorgiaTech, UMD, UIUC, and others and have been pretty surprised with the results:
I have decent stats: 3.81 UW, 1530 (800 M, 730 RW), pretty good ec’s and national awards, I know CS is very competitive and given that I have no acceptances in the early round, I’m getting worried for my regulars. Is it my average gpa that’s hurting me (got a B in ap chemistry and ap spanish both semesters of junior year) or is it just the sheer competitiveness of CS? I’m hoping for the best for my regulars and UC’s, but would appreciate any insight on my chances for Ivy’s/T20’s given these results as well as the UC’s.
Moderator’s Note: OP clarified that they have been accepted to ASU w/honors college.
Between being OOS and CS, the odds were against you from the start. You would have had to simply get lucky at that point to get an acceptance. Hopefully you have some good in state matches/targets/safeties lined up for the RD round.
I’m not surprised. If you did a chance me you’d have gotten these results - that maybe UMASS but not easy. It’s strong.
Lucky for you there’s still time to get in solid OOS programs and with merit. Let us know if you want some ideas.
Ps Ivys aren’t definitely your top CS and your odds are likely similar to your results thus far.
Who else is left that isn’t Ivy/top 20?
Not trying to make your mood more sour. There’s still time to get in very solid schools. You won’t miss a beat at easier to get into schools. But you do need to regroup and act vs feel bad. You over reached. It’s ok - time to recover.
Do you have a safety strategy? Are you in California…if so, did you apply to Merced, any Cal States? Are you part of any kind of auto-admit or similar placement guarantee (I’m not super familiar with those but I know some states have them). If you don’t have a safety strategy in place, use this thread to solicit ideas for last minute applications. Like, in the next 24 hours since it’s almost Feb 1!
Otherwise you are in a waiting game…hard to know why you got unlucky in early rounds but you wouldn’t be the first. A great school could still pull through for you in a couple of months, but with CS and the current competitiveness at top schools, it very well might not, and you should know that it isn’t a reflection of your academic worth. It’s just numbers…too many qualified students for a limited number of spots. You did great in high school! Be proud of that.
The top 3 UC computer science is highly unlikely for 3.81 UW. The competition is insane in the bay area. >80 National Merit Semifinalists, >50 valedictorians in my high school with 483 seniors. UMass/Purdue are good CS schools. Hope silvercrypt will get in.
I’m sorry you had such disappointing results. Unfortunately your list contains some of the strongest CS programs in the country, making them extremely l competitive. And more so for OOS applicants.
Aside from Ivies, UCs and other T20s, where else have you applied? and do you have any acceptances in hand already where you’d be happy to attend?
What if they get in and it’s not affordable or don’t get in ?
There’s still plenty of fine and high merit schools accepting applications that are not that different from UCs or UMASS in totality - forget rankings - an Arizona or Bama or Mizzou or other big or smaller schools. There’s more. That’s just a sampling.
WPI - would be a match. It’s a unique school - unique academic calendar.
When I hear UMASS, UCs, UMD - I think Arizona, Alabama, Mizzou, Mississippi State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Michigan State, Nebraska…you can go through the gamut of schools out there…Iowa State, Missouri Science & Tech…just would have to check app dates - but there’s lots still avail.
What are your budget concerns if any? What other concerns - weather, Greek, etc.?
So many schools are still available and they’ll produce plenty of solid grads!!
Budget isn’t too much of a concern. I don’t have much other preferences in terms of weather. I’ve looked at WPI and really like the program, so what would you say my chances are for getting into WPI? I think I’m going to switch to ED2 Northeastern and apply to WPI as well as some of the other schools I mentioned. I also applied to all the UC’s but I’m not too excited about going to Riverside or Merced, but would love any of the other UC’s.
WPI is a target. NEU will still be tough. Why do you like NEU enough to go ED and do you know what it costs ?
Why not a U of AZ instead of the UCs? It’s a brand name. You’d get $20k in merit. And it’s a bonafide safety.
You can see what happens with the others. NEU is a big risk in that it’s well over $300k for four years. Are you willing to take that risk ? Or rather are your parents?
While you over reached you needn’t be desperate. Do you think employees really care if your degree is from UMASS or name your other flagship?