Finding more safeties/matches for a CS/engineering major

College Search & Selection
1

So I’m your average excellent (I think that’s the term used around here?) HS student, applying to a whole bunch of reach schools and some that I consider to be… somewhat safeties, I suppose. I would like some help looking over my list and debating both the colleges on there and the ones left out, however if you are to suggest adding some schools or taking some away, keep in mind I’d like to apply to around 8-12 schools, though I could be convinced to apply to more if it’s really necessary, I suppose. Anyway, I’ll give you some helpful stats:

Ethnicity: Mixed white/Asian - and I’m putting both down on my college app, affirmative action be damned.
Income & affording college: 100K-200K. Parents are willing to completely fund my education, and would be much happier about doing so if I were to go to a UC or a “top college.” More on that below.
SAT: 1570+
SAT Subject tests: 800 Bio M, 800 Math II, expecting 800 on Physics this August.
GPA: 3.95+ UW i*
APs: 5’s on Human Geo, BC Calc, APUSH, Spanish Lang & Culture, CS (not the new principles one.) From what I’ve researched, the scores here don’t really matter - just that I’ve taken and excelled in the class in school.
Course load:
Freshman - honors in core subjects, except history which wasn’t offered.
Sophomore - honors in science and spanish, other subjects weren’t offered.
Junior - honors in english and science; APs in history, math, CS and spanish.

I can supply additional information or senior schedule if necessary, but I don’t really want to clutter up this post. I will add, however, that my one B was in first semester English, sophomore year. Embarrasing, right? :stuck_out_tongue:

Extracurriculars
Conventional:

  • USACO Platinum, grades 10ish-12
  • Sponsorship team for a hackathon, grades 11-12
  • Did a bit of community service (40hrs) over the summer
  • Quiz bowl treasurer, grades 10-12

Unconventional (do these even count?):

  • Worldbuilding, which basically is an umbrella term for mapmaking, planetmaking, conlanging/u and a whole host of other things. These mean A LOT to me, and I will definitely be writing about them on my application in terms of how they’ve changed how I view learning-for-the-sake-of-learning, logical & critical thought and a few other things.
  • Coding chatbots, games in my spare time.
  • I’m working on an astrophysics-related website right now, and hopefully it’ll be up in a week or two. This most likely won’t help me get into college, but I don’t care. It’s a passion project of mine that I’ve wanted to do since forever.

As you might be able to tell, EC’s are where I’m weakest. I didn’t go out and join a laundry list of clubs over my high school career, and if I had I’m certain I would’ve won plenty of resume-padding awards. Instead, I spent that time worldbuilding with friends and coding some random side projects, both of which are things that are hard to sell to colleges. Maybe I took MIT’s “applying sideways” advice a bit too far. Regardless, It’s too late to do anything about it at this point so I’ve made peace with myself.

I’m getting a bit too reflective here, so let’s move on to my tentative college list for a likely Engineering/physics (aerospace, astrophysics, quantum) and/or CS (AI, quantum) major:

Reaches

  • MIT
  • Stanford
  • Duke (My grandmother lives nearby, and I’m visiting it in August. Yes, every college list has its quirky bits.)
  • Caltech
    High Priority Matches
  • UC Berkeley
  • CMU (considering throwing this out in favor of Harvard because (a) high price tag and (b) I need to be able to brag about getting rejected from at least ONE Ivy. However, I’ve read that they negotiate prices based off of what other schools you get accepted into. I’m willing to strategically apply to one or two partner schools in hopes of getting a lot of scholarships, then try to bargain with CMU. Not sure if that’s a good idea.)
    Second-tier matches
  • USC
  • UCLA
    Safeties
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • Cal Poly

If I get into just one of my reaches or high priority matches I’ll consider my college application process an overwhelming success. But I’m happy going to any other of the colleges on my list too! That’s definitely important.

A few sidenotes on the logic behind my college list:

  • I'm a California resident, and any OOS match I get accepted into will need to compete against the almost irresistibly cheap in-state tuition offered by one of my safeties.
  • I'm also likely to be a NMF (224 selection index), which is why I'm applying to USC. I was considering OU but I didn't find any good Japanese grocery stores nearby, so I threw that one out. I would've probably applied to UF as well, but they ended up not passing legislation to give the Bencaquisto scholarship to OOS students.
  • I much prefer urban areas because I've been pent up in suburbia for most of my life and found it rather lacking in a lot of aspects. This might change if I get a car, but I want to live in an urban area for a few years to get a better feel for how it actually is.

This post is a bit long - if you’ve made it all the way to the end, I apologize. If I’ve missed anything or you want more information, feel free to ask and I’ll provide.

2

Matches: Georgia Tech, U Mich, UIUC (only GT is Urban)
Safeties: RPI, VT (not-so-urban)

3

I’m not sure I would view UCLA as an easy match, although you’re in the ballpark for sure. CMU for CS probably isn’t a match either and I personally think you’d be crazy to throw that out for Harvard. If you want some Ivies, you have a solid shot at Cornell (your astrophysics website especially might catch their eye) and you could score on Columbia too. Those just seem like better fits for your interests.

Given your interest in AI, look into U of Waterloo if you haven’t already.

4

@aneeshs17 Thanks for the suggestions. GT definitely looks interesting to me, and I was considering U Mich and UIUC but I’m not so sure about those - I’ll need to do some more research. RPI looks a bit expensive but I’ll also look into Virginia Tech.

@Otterma Yeah, my impression is that UCLA is about as hard to get into as Berkeley. And I agree I probably should put CMU into the reach category. Thank you for suggesting both Cornell and Columbia - though I do have to ask, how great is Columbia’s STEM education versus Cornell? Maybe it doesn’t really matter - geographically speaking, Columbia is amazing and that’s kind of pushing me over the edge to apply there.

And as far as international colleges go, my parents said they are not willing to pay for that. So although I was considering U Waterloo I sadly won’t be able to apply.

5

For CS or engineering, UCB and UCLA should be considered reach for all. UCSD is uncertain, but should not be considered a safety for CS or engineering. You should apply more widely to the UCs.

CMU School of Computer Science should be considered a reach for all.

Note that some non-US universities are price competitive even for international students.

6

RPI gives respectable merit, you could probably qualify

7

http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ is a list of National Merit scholarships, but it is a few years old, so check on school web sites. http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/ is a list of competitive large scholarships, but check on school web sites for these as well.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2006094-2017-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html is a list of automatic big merit scholarships that may be worth considering for low cost safeties.

8

@ucbalumnus yep, I’m a bit uncertain on whether or not UCSD is a safety, which is why I threw UCSB onto the list. What other UC’s should I consider? I’m thinking Davis, Irvine or Santa Cruz right now.

@aneeshs17 thanks for the clarification. In that case, I might apply there seeing as how all my matches have evaporated into reaches :stuck_out_tongue:

9

I don’t see UMich or UIUC as matches for OOS in those majors. Low reaches.

10

Perhaps just apply to all UCs that have your majors. Then decide later if it comes to that.

11

UCSB engineering is extremely competitive, especially considering how small the department is. You’re an excellent applicant, just realize it is not a safety for anyone. Are you applying to UCSB’s CCS program? Good Luck!

12

Imo, you are an excellent student, not average excellent!

13

You’re in that weird zone that a lot of high stat stem kids find themselves in where there are relatively few true matches, most things are reaches or safeties. RPI is a great suggestion for a true match.

You could probably call Santa Cruz a match but I gotta go with ucbalumnus and suggest you apply widely to the UCs. While UCB and UCLA are consistent reaches, the stats needed for admissions to the CS major at the mid-tier campuses are much less predictable.

Cornell might be the better choice for your academic interests but I remembered from my son’s college search that Columbia has a thriving Japanese cultural community, which really appealed to him. Your concern about proximity to Japanese groceries led me to think you might find that appealing too.

14

For aerospace engineering - Embry-Riddle

Canadian schools - University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia

All will have a very high population of Asian students, as well as Asian grocery stores and restaurants.

U of T is in the heart of North America’s 4th largest city. CS is not a direct admit at U of T though. Engineering is a direct admit.

CS at Waterloo is a direct admit, as is engineering. Both are very much centered around Waterloo’s co-op program. Waterloo is the least urban of the three.

UBC is a little easier to get in than the other two. The weather is better too.

15

I second @Otterma

I’m looking at your list from a CS perspective (no input on engineering/physics). Consider UIUC. CMU SCS and Berkeley are in the top half of a two section list. GT good but surprisingly tough for OOS. Maybe look at Purdue.

I can tell they you are definitely setting yourself up for success when you say:

16

I also suggest that you look at UCSB College of Creative Studies program for CS. https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/computing
It’s a great program.

For CMU SCS, can you visit or interview with an alumni? That is important to them. The USACO Platinum is great for them. It is still a reach for anyone. CMU does have some merit aid, but I believe you need to fill out the financial aid documents on time (early?) to show that you don’t qualify for financial aid so that you can qualify for merit aid.

Several of the schools on your list will want to see that you are taking post-BC Calc math, not just AP Stats as a senior. MIT and Caltech want at least one class each of biology, chemistry, and physics.

I think with those scores/GPA you can apply to Calpoly SLO as a safety. Our Naviance indicated that UC Santa Cruz was also probably a safety for high scores/GPA. Davis seems a bit more random on the high end on our Naviance.

17

For CS, UCB/UCLA should be considered reaches for all including you with almost perfect stats! During the last few years many with your stats got surprised by rejection.

18

Northeastern and Case both offer good NMF scholarships in the range of half the COA and have solid CS programs. Both would be matches edging on safeties but not quite there.

WPI/RIT would be good but expensive safeties.