Hows my list? Low stats, hopeful for elites

<p>Firstly, thanks for reading :)</p>

<p>Rough stats
Approximate GPA: 3.66 UW; 4.4 W
1980 SAT (750M,680W,550CR)
Hoping to get 2100 in october. Pratice tests show i can.</p>

<p>Majoring in CS.</p>

<p>Colleges i will be applying to. I dont want chances. I just wanna know if my list is good or not. If i dont have enough matches or safeties etc.
Anything not even wortg the try
Also, any additions would be nice. I need quite a bit of aid</p>

<p>In order of preference
1. Cornell
2. Stanford
3. MIT
4. Pomona
5. Harvey Mudd
6. Brown
7. John Hopkins
8. University of Southern California
9. Boston College
10. Georgia Tech
11. Emory
12. Rochester Institute of Technogy
13. Colgate
14. UMD - CP (in state)</p>

<p>Very reach heavy list you have there. Get rid of some of your reaches and add safeties and matches. You probably shouldn’t apply to more than 12 schools (8 is recommended). Pick 3-5 reaches, 3-5 matches, and 2 safeties.</p>

<p>I was thinking of taking emory and rit out. I know my list is reach heavy. Thats becuz i really wanna get into an elite school. Imo, theyre all crapshoots, im bound to get into one right?</p>

<p>

No you are not. Do you have a safety?</p>

<p>

Every spring, there are posts on College Confidential from posters who said that in the fall, and they didn’t.</p>

<p>Honestly, it doesn’t matter much to me one way or the other whether you take the trouble to find suitable and affordable match and safety schools. But if you wind up shut out next spring, you can’t say nobody warned you.</p>

<p>I think you will find BC’s computer science program much weaker than the school as a whole. It is a very small department that does not really appear on any rankings. You might want to consider UMass, which has a very large and highly ranked computer science program and would satisfy your need for a safety. I am not sure BC even sponsors a graduate program, which will really limit the type of research that can be done department wide.</p>

<p>Don’t drop RIT, it is one of your matches. Drop some of the reach schools. Why is Colgate on your list? Nice liberal arts school but what is their CS department like?</p>

<p>Drop colgate?</p>

<p>And i will look into umass. Thanks</p>

<p>Add UMBC as a safety. Really. Just because it’s not elite or ivy doesn’t mean it’s a bad school. </p>

<p>Honestly, your grades and scores aren’t up to your reaches. I say apply to them if you want. I encourage applying because you never know - but do not expect to get any acceptances to your top 8.</p>

<p>I think that your CR is going to hold you back. </p>

<ol>
<li>Cornell - Apply ED to Engineering, still an uber reach, but it’s your first choice, so go for it</li>
<li>Stanford - remove, no chance barring a clerical error. </li>
<li>MIT - remove no chance </li>
<li>Pomona - no chance</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd - keep, reach to match</li>
<li>Brown - no chance, none</li>
<li>John Hopkins - reach</li>
<li>University of Southern California - reach to match</li>
<li>Boston College - not great for CS</li>
<li>Georgia Tech - match, probably not great aid. </li>
<li>Emory - reach</li>
<li>Rochester Institute of Technogy - safety, actually University of Rochester is better for CS.</li>
<li>Colgate - not sure why this is here</li>
<li>UMD - CP (in state) - match</li>
</ol>

<p>consider adding RPI, URochester, Northeastern, WPI</p>

<p>No way is Mudd close to a match for this poster. Male, low GPA, and poor CR scores – one of the things about Mudd is that they want students who are good at STEM and at the humanities. He has a better chance at Pomona than Mudd… But both are significant reaches.</p>

<p>OP, no one out here can improve your chances for acceptance to reach schools. And just because you desparately want them does not mean that they will accept you, it just doesn’t work that way. As other posters have advised, trim your list to 3-5 reaches, 3-5 matches, and 2 safeties. Pay careful attention to your matches and safeties (visit if possible, make sure they are schools you really want to attend) because the odds are very high that you will end up at one of those.</p>

<p>Colgate wasnt on this list. My bad. I copy pasted from my email. UW - Seattle should be there. I just realized</p>

<p>And what is the weak point of my application? My practice tests show
Math :750-800
CR :600-650
Writing :700-7</p>

<p>Im knocking 800’s on math II and physics</p>

<p>My gpa shouldnt be taken to the exact point. I study under the british system which doesnt have gpa. I made a loose estimate as provided by the cie website</p>

<p>Agree Mudd is nothing like a match - CR is in the bottom 2% or so.</p>

<p>Georgia Tech is also not a match, bottom 20% in CR and GPA.</p>

<p>Even Maryland may be a stretch, bottom quartile in CR.</p>

<p>If you get your scores up to your desired level that might make GT and Maryland realistic matches, but you still need a safety or 2.</p>

<p>But practice tests aren’t the same as your actual score. Until you retake it, you still have a 1980 with a low score in CR.</p>

<p>I dont think one section would kill my chances. That 550 will be higher. There was some issue grading my SAT which caused 12 omits, when i didnt omit anything. Practice tests are around 650</p>

<p>Your CR scores and your GPA are weak for your reach schools. Plus – a practice test isn’t a real result.</p>

<p>A lot of these top-tier schools are going to expect to see ALL of your scores. Even if you’re allowed to super-score, they still will likely want to see everything. </p>

<p>You’re a math guy: Do the math. There are thousands and thousands of students applying for admissions to your reaches, schools which typically reject between 80 and 90% of applicants. What exactly sets you apart?</p>

<p>Lots of kids realize sometime during their junior years that the Ivies and other of the most selective schools are extreme long-shots, and they wisely move on to more appropriate schools, most of which are terrific options, BTW.</p>

<p>Try to remove yourself from the equation for a moment, and ask yourself: What are the odds of another student with your stats gaining admission to your reaches?</p>

<p>Many schools look primarily at CR+M to evaluate and your CR is low. Take the SAT as soon as possible because, as someone else noted, until you actually get a higher score you are working with a 1300 CR+M. So I would make the list with that in mind. If you do score higher then throw in some reaches.</p>

<p>There are lots of state schools where that will be fine. Look for some schools where your stats are in the top 25% and you will have better chance and may even get money. I don’t know enough about CS to suggest specific schools.</p>