Early Decision at Carnegie Mellon or Columbia or Cornell?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi. I am in my junior year right now, looking to apply early decision to either Carnegie Mellon, Columbia or Cornell.

Only Preferred Major: Computer Science
College Tuition: Not a concern.
Nationality: Indian (I live in India)

GPA/Grades:
Freshman Year: 8.0/10
Sophomore Year: 9.2/10
Junior Year: 70%(Mid Term) & 95%(Final Term) [82% overall = 4.1/5 GPA]
Senior Year: 97% (Predicted) [5/5 GPA]
Coursework: Computer Science, Maths, Physics, English, Economics, Multimedia & Web Technology.
(School Does not offer AP’s. Just subjects.)

Super Tough High School, One of the best in the country, 1.5k kids pass out every year.

Standardized Tests:
SAT: 1700 (LOL, Wont Send)
ACT: 35 (E:35 M:36 R:34 S:35) [Writing:10]
SAT 2: Maths 2 & Physics: 800
AP: Computer Science A, Physics C Mechanics, Calculus AB : 5 & Stats : 4

Extra Curricular:

  1. iOS Game Launching Soon
  2. Internship at India’s Fastest Growing Website
  3. Students Council (2 Years)
  4. Social Service (100+Hours)
  5. Guitar Grade 4 (Trinity Guildhall)
  6. Blog with 50k Hits
  7. 10 Inter School CS Competition Winner
  8. (Ignore this) Working on this project, if it works, Ill get into Stanford xD)

PS: I can write really, really good essays. (I think)

Personally, I just LOVE CMU, but I feel my grades reduce my chances a lot.
I want a college which has THE BEST Cs Program (within these 3) & also I can get into it.
What do you guys think?

2

Is CMU your clear first choice, and you are not worried about affordability?

3

@ucbalumnus‌ Yep. CMU Is my dream choice. But i dont want to waste ED on a college i cant get into. Affordiblity, nope.

4

They are all great choices. If you love CMU above all and can afford the school then that sounds like where you should use your ED.

5

Well, SCS at Carnegie Mellon is about as selective as Columbia (5.8% vs.7%). Early Decision was clearly invented for students who have a clear first choice and would want to go one particular school over all others. If CMU is your dream choice, then apply there - it’s not a waste.

6

CMU. And good luck–you’ve worked very hard and you have great stats!

7

@happy1, @juillet‌, @MidwestDad3‌ Thanks a lot. :smiley: Applying ED CMU.