Do I have a chance?

<p>I am really looking into SCS but I'm afraid it may be a bit of a reach. I'm currently a Junior and I'm out of state (New Hampshire).</p>

<p>UWGPA: 3.40 (Freshman), 3.42 (Sophomore) 3.81 (Junior). 3.56 (Overall)
WGPA: 3.51 (Freshman), 3.62 (Sophomore), 4.61 (Junior). 3.91 (Overall)
Class rank: 13 (Out of ~60). I go to a pretty competitive school. I'd say it's more competitive than 9 out of 10 public schools.</p>

<p>AP scores (all of these are just predictions at this point): Language and Composition (4), US History (5), Computer Science A (5), Calculus (4).</p>

<p>Academic honors (kinda lacking): National Latin Test silver medal (8th grade, 9th, and 10th, but they probably don't even care about this). Honor roll throughout 9th and 10th grade. High honors throughout 11th.</p>

<p>SATs: 730 Reading, 690 Math, 710 Writing. I realize that the math in particular is severely lacking. I've been studying since I last took the SATs and I think I can safely predict for next time: 760 Reading, 740 Math, 790 Writing.</p>

<p>Service/Leadership/etc: Senior Class President, Geometry tutoring (11th grade), two part time jobs (Feb 07 - Feb 09). Five hours per week helping at a soup kitchen this summer. About 20 more hours of community service here and there and I'm going to be a teacher aid next year. I do track, tennis, and nordic skiing, though I'm not particularly good at any of them.</p>

<p>I can write a very good essay and I have excellent recommendations. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>Bump bump bump :(</p>

<p>Looks very reachy to me, esp. in SCS. Your grades are okay and rising, but your SAT1 math score really is very low. Don’t forget you’ll also have to take SAT2s if you haven’t already. Will you be doing the AB level of AP Comp Sci next year? Have you taught yourself anything computer-ish? There are lots of possibilities on line from MIT’s open course ware to learning how to use Linux. Do you know what sort of kids have been accepted at CMU in the past from your school? It’s hard to judge whether that CMU will know your school is “more competitive than 9 out of 10 schools”.</p>

<p>Your stats seem out of reach for SCS, especially your SAT Math score and your overall GPA. You can still apply to CMU as a reach, but make sure you have other matches/safeties.</p>

<p>SCS is a reach, but you have a good shot at information systems. If I were you I would apply to both schools, which CMU allows you to do easily.</p>

<p>I got into ECE with a 620 in math and no reported AP scores(I was not waitlisted either, and needed significant financial aid). Id hesitate to call it a reach. Just do good in school and really focus on the essay.</p>

<p>^I’d hesitate to imply CMU is a match. I was waitlisted for CIT (not ECE). I don’t want to post my stats here, but let’s just say I had very high stats at a top public high school, not only in math/science but other subjects as well, had a significant national award, am a strong writer, and participated in a variety of ECs (with an emphasis on golf and math/science stuff), all of which I was very passionate about. CMU is a reach for almost all applicants, and I learned that the hard way.</p>

<p>^ I agree with the person above. Sometimes CMU does funky things with admittance.</p>

<p>But for randwulf, I’d say CMU is a reach. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply though. In my opinion, if you want a better chance of acceptance, apply early decision or early action if you are completely 100% sure CMU is the school for you. Early decision/ action stats tend to be a little bit more forgiving.</p>

<p>And also, you have a better shot if you apply to more than one college within CMU, since SCS is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) to get into.</p>