I was planning to apply to a few US colleges for fall 2020.
I have always wanted to study at one of the IVY leagues. Stanford and MIT were always my first choice for computer science. However, I am facing a dilemma now as I realized I cannot do all of them by November 1st.
I have a strong inclination towards math and computer science. I have a decent SAT score, GPA and a few contests to support the same.
So, should I apply Harvard/Stanford REA or MIT and Caltech EA. I want to maximize my chances in attending the above mentioned universities. Any possibilities or scenarios would be really helpful for me to decide. As you suggest the best option, let me know which choice will give me a higher admission rate with respect to the major chosen.
It doesn’t matter how perfect your grades or scores are. You have a 95% chance of getting rejected by all of them. Programmer here - You SERIOUSLY don’t need that kind of school for a high paying career in computers. In fact, it makes zero difference where you graduate. Your worth as a professional is based entirely on hands-on experience. That’s going to be your real education. The degree only teaches you the basics to get your foot in the door, no more, no less.
I agree with @coolguy40. If you are the #1 or #2 student in your high school in math and sciences, then your chances at any of these schools are about the same as the percent of applicants that are accepted. If you are not one of the top students in your high school in math and science, then your chances are quite a bit worse that this.
If you are the top student in your high school for math and sciences, then pick one or two and apply, then start focusing on more realistic schools. If you are not in the top three or four in your high school in math and sciences, then just start focusing on other schools. There are quite a few universities in the US which are very good for computer science, and still more in Canada, Europe, India, and probably several other places.
I have worked with software engineers from MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Michigan, Wisconsin, San Jose State, U.Mass Amherst, Rutgers, UNH, Waterloo, U.Alberta, UBC, several of the various IITs, and many other universities. Once you are hired into your first job, no one cares where you went to university. There are enough jobs that getting hired into your first job will happen. Also, even universities that you have never heard of will have good internship opportunities, and an internship will make getting your first job even easier.
“I have a decent SAT score”
How decent? According to Prepscholar, the average SAT score at Caltech is 1560 with a 25th percentile for math of 780. The average at MIT is only 1528 and the 25th percentile for math is only 770.
If you are an international candidate, since you mentioned US schools, your competition would be your countrymen who would have the same types of scores and abilities on their tests.
Taking CS at an Ivy type of schools doesn’t really make sense.
US schools would educate you, but you would have to return to your country after you completed your education.
Also, if you shouldn’t plan on getting employed in the US since it’s almost impossible to be sponsored.
@“aunt bea” The OP is a USA citizen who has gone to school overseas.
@Pi-guy123 The acceptance rates at Stanford and Harvard have dropped below 5%, those for Caltech and MIT are not much better. Unless you are a superstar academically, and have ECs which will blow the AOs away, your realistic chances are lower than that. Based on what you have written so far, this is not the case.
At this point, there s little you can do to increase your chances of acceptance to these colleges above a few percent.
Have you built a list of reaches, matches, and safeties? That’s what you should be doing, not mooning over “The Ivies”.
BTW, why have you “always wanted to study at one of the Ivy Leagues”? Since they are all extremely different from each other, there is absolutely no way that this is based on any actual knowledge of these schools. Your entire knowledge of them seems to be “They’re Very Prestigious”.