CS help

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys,
I want to pursue computer science as a major but I haven’t studied science( biology,physics and chemistry) in high school.
Will this be a problem?
I am an international student.
Sat 1 - superscore of 2070( Math-800, writing - 680 and CR - 590)
Sat 2 - math 2 - 800 and physics - 680

We use a percentage system in our school
9th - 70%
10th - 89.2%
11th - 80.5%
Currently in 12th - expected percentage of 85+ in midterms
I have decent Extracurriculars and great recommendations
I’m applying to:
Ucla , UC Berkeley, Michigan Ann Arbor, Urbana champaign, Purdue, Texas at Austin, Texas a&am, Upenn, UC San Diego, Wisconsin. Please chance me

Thank you!

2
  1. How does one get a 680 on the Physics SAT2 without studying the subject at all?
  2. CS is misleading by name - physical sciences are not really related, but many colleges are going to require that you have taken these subjects, at least two of them.
  3. Your list of schools is going to be a lot of reaches, many unrealistic (UPenn, UCB, UCLA, Urbana-Champaign) between your SAT and GPA. I notice your list is a lot of public schools - If you're an international student, looking at more private universities would be helpful - you will probably find that with merit aid, they could be less expensive than public schools.
3

@maxa4422 I believe the UCs require you to take a certain number of science courses in HS as part of the a-g requirement. Other schools might have such req’ts. If you haven’t taken any such courses, you’re in bad shape.

Additionally, CS is widely used in those sciences, so you might be behind if you were to take a CS course that covered algorithms for genome sequencing, for example.

Another issue is finance - for many of the state schools, expect little or no aid, even if you are admitted.

4

Is it a good option to go for an undecided major or major in something else and take computer science as an elective then?
I’m willing to even take AP physics 1 or 2 in May. I can mention that in my application.
And our school is very competitive. I’m sure that I’m at least in the top 15 out of 120.

5

It doesn’t matter what major you are - schools across the board are going to require that you have taken science classes throughout high school.

6

Thanks for your help !

7

UC a-g course requirements:

http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/