Don't really have much guidance, can someone "chance me"?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a current high school student who really wants college for computer science. Note: I am applying or regular Computer science, not Honors.

My stats are:
GPA (unweighted): 3.5
Classes: Taken all math, literature, history and physics AP classes offered at school, and have passed every test.
ACT: 35 - 34 english, 35 math, 34 reading, 36 science
Class rank: my school does not rank outside top 10%, which I am not apart of

Extracurriculars:
Created a service, in the form of an app, that helps small attract nearby customers, allowing them to stay in business and be more successful. This app is used in 3 restaurants currently, and has attracted over 2k customers.

Had an internship opportunity this summer with a professor from a local university, where I helped code, and do projects and research for him. My name is on the projects, and have documentation to show what I did. The professor also wrote a rec. letter for me.

2nd degree Black belt in taekwondo that is internally recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation, and am also a black belt in both karate and Brazilian Jiujitsu. I now teach Taekwondo at my school.

President of my local toastmasters chapter, and have been an active member for 4 years

Officer of my school Youth and Government club (similar to debate) and have named a Distinguished Delegate, honor only given to approx. 25 people out of 300+.

Officer of my school Ted-Ed club.

Was top 5 out of 30+ teams in an entrepreneur ship competition, where we had to create a business idea and pitch it to real entrepreneurs.

Received 2 awards from my city for volunteering

The colleges I am aiming for (these are my reaches/target):

Ut Austin
U Mich
Georgia Tech
UCLA
Purdue
Boston University

Do I have a shot an any of these (namely the first 4). Btw, I am a Texas resident

2

Please be honest, even if you think it may hurt me.

3

Can you and your family afford $65K/ year to attend UCLA with little to no financial aid? Your GPA is low for CS, where the target is around 3.9 unweighted.

What are your UC GPA’s? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

4

Well, you should know what your chances are with UT-Austin. You don’t make the auto cut there. Your GC should be. able to tell you what your chances are coming from your high school.

All of these schools are reach schools especially for CS which is a highly competitive major. Purdue might be a match if CS is not heavily impacted.

It has been my observation that state schools tend to place a heavy weight on gpa and class rank. Your own flagship is a good example. Though your test scores are up there, the combo of your grades and your choice of major make a lot of such schools reaches.

No big deal applying to those schools, but make sure you add some schools that are likely to take you. Also make sure you have that all important safety school.

Have you addressed finances with your parents? OOS state schools charge a premium and do not tend to be generous with aid to OOers.

5

Gumbymom, mu UC gpa according to the calculator is a 3.7.

Also, I knew UCLA is a reach, but I was just wondering if i had a shot.

Thanks.

6

cptofthehouse

Ya, I knew many of the schools were reaches, my safeties were UTD, Texas a&m, OU, etc.

I was just wondering my shot.

7

UCLA chances are very very low. Sorry, but even if you we a CA resident it would be a reach and even more so OOS. GT and Purdue maybe, depends on how impacted CS is there. I graduated CSE from UT Arlington and have done well for myself-- went on to grad in CS/Eng at UC Davis (employer paid). UTD is similar to UTA. I would say A&M is even better (academically) if you like the school culture.

8

UMich will be a high reach. As mentioned above, UMich focuses on unweighted GPA and rigor as the two most important factors. And the average GPA for the Class of 2023 was 3.9uw and OOS students will skew towards the higher end. Your ACT score of 35 puts you at the 75%. And I love your multiple martial arts disciplines. A great EC IMO. But I’m not in the admissions office. ?

Take a shot, if you can afford to. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

9

The admit rate for UCLA (not major specific) with a capped weighted UC GPA of 3.7 was 1% in 2018. Even with an outstanding ACT score, compelling essays and EC’s, UCLA will be a high Reach. UC’s tend to be more GPA focused so your grades/GPA will have a huge impact on your chances.

10

If you can afford these schools (public schools do not tend to fund OOS students) , go on ahead and try. I noticed a UCSD had like a 60% accept rate and I have heard that UCs and other state schools are looking for OOS dollars. That you are applying to a highly desired Major is going to make it more challenging, and yes, for state schools gpa looms large, and you aren’t way up there.

But you have safeties in place, so no harm trying. My nephew did not get into his flagship UT-Austin, but got into UVa and USC (CA). My son with a lower Gpa than yours got into Penn State, UMD, UDel and Pitt with lower test scores than yours. It can happen. Just don’t count on it

11

@cptofthehouse @LuckyLegend: UC’s have a higher admit rate for OOS applicants since the matriculation rate is low due to costs. The admit rates however are overall and do not reflect the difficulty of getting into the CS major as a direct admit.

UCSD admits into the University first and then into the major, there are many applicants that get an acceptance but are not admitted into their choice major. Changing from Undeclared or Another major to CS involves a GPA requirement for the pre-req courses and then a lottery for the open spots.

Admission Rates for Out-of-State Applicants (Domestic):
UCLA: 16.5%
UC Berkeley: 17.1%
UC Santa Barbara: 38.7%
UC Irvine: 44.2%
UC San Diego: 59.6%
UC Davis: 62.8%
UC Merced: 72.4%
UC Riverside: 73.9%
UC Santa Cruz: 85.5%