Based on my stats, which would best improve my chances of being admitted? I like both majors equally.
Demographics: Asian (Indian) Male
School: Relatively competitive public school on the east coast
Hooks: None
Intended Major(s): Electrical Engineering
SAT: 1550
UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.0 UW, 4.43 W
Coursework: APHUG (5), APUSH (4), APCSP (5), APCSA (5), AP Lang (Pending), AP Micro/Macro (Pending), AP Calc BC (Pending), AP Phys C Mechanics (Pending), AP US Gov (Pending)
Awards:
Winner of the Congressional App Challenge
Eagle Scout
9 Hackathon Wins
3x Model UN Best Del, 2x Outstanding Del, 1x Verbal Commendation, 1x Delegates Choice
Robotics State Champion
Extracurriculars:
Debate – President and Founder
CS Club – President
Model UN – Secretary-General (President)
Boy Scouts – ASPL (Highest Leadership Team)
Independent Software Development Projects (Created Multiple Apps, one of which was featured by IBM)
Software (Java dev) intern at a local company
VEX Robotics
Volunteering at middle school robotics club
Admitted into a selective program at a University, which allowed me to take courses alongside undergrads for free. Do not want to give too much information about myself, so I won’t say what college.
Recreational Table Tennis
Based on my EC’s, would Electrical Engineering or CS improve my chances of getting into a top university the most? Some examples I was thinking of were Duke, UIUC, CMU, Cornell, NYU, and Purdue. Thanks in advance!
My son is doing a combined Computer Engineering/CS major at Northeastern if you want to add that option to your list for greater flexibility a somewhat higher chance for admission. Northeastern allows you to easily change majors.
Sorry, no special insight into the difference in competitiveness for these majors within your list of universities.
I can speak for Purdue, and I think UIUC, that CS is more competitive than EE. That said, if you are interested in CS, it’s a very hard transfer after the fact so pick the major you really want. I think Cornell will be a wash.
IMO, expand your list to include match and safeties and apply to the major you really want.
For Cornell, your robotics experience appears to align well with the Dept of Comp Sci, but it is still a difficult admit. Take a look at questions on apps for EE and CS, & see what essays you like to write.
Sorry to say, neither, I believe that the statistics are pretty equal for electrical engineering and computer science. I have multiple children in engineering and I am also. Your demographic - male asian (indian) is not unusual for those majors which doesn’t help you in getting in unfortunately. if you look at the large employers in CS you will see that they have a large population of your demographic. our sons were eagle scouts and that’s unusual for a mix with your other background. you have some great colleges on the list, hard to get into but i think purdue is a good (more of a safety) college. if you like purdue the other college very close to purdue in ranking and great engineering is texas A&M. our sons got into purdue and texas A&M and one went to texas A&M because they love eagle scouts and they gave him a great scholarship. they also like students outside of texas. Texas A&M campus has a diverse group of students, I know they are in texas but hey, purdue is in indiana… The campuses often have diversity if you are concerned about that (we were). You just want some safety options against the cornell’s of the world that are hard to get into. You have a lot of accomplishments, good luck in getting a great choice!
Based on your resume, you seem to really be interested in CS, and that is likely where you will do best and be most likely to succeed and thrive. It is not a good idea to apply to a major because it is easier to be admitted to that major, and then to spend four years engaged in a field in which you are not really interested.
Your aim should be to succeed in college, not to succeed in college admissions.
Consider University of Texas, Turing Scholars program. The application review process there could help your application stand out and it’s a fantastic program at a school on par with Purdue, UIUC and the others.
Adding: agree with others, apply to programs that fit you. Ensure they have the flexibility to take classes in both areas. What you learn and who you surround yourself with will have a much greater impact than the school name or major on your degree.