I don't even know where to start narrowing down [International Rising Senior]

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi,
I am living in Turkey and I will apply to colleges in US and Canada this fall and winter. I've created a list of colleges to apply but I can't narrow it down.</p>

<p>My intended major is Computer Science and I've numerous awards and experiences on CS as it can be seen from this thread: (stats & ECs)
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-washington/956282-what-my-chance-getting-international.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-washington/956282-what-my-chance-getting-international.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This is my list and I don't know where to start narrowing it down:</p>

<p>United States:
University of Washington
Washington State University
San Francisco State University
San Diego State University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (financial aid)
Virginia Tech
Virginia State University
University of Rochester (I got Xerox award)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Penn State
Rochester Insitute of Technology
University of MA Amherst
UMD College Park
Lawrence Tech
U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Georgia Institute of Technology
Florida Institute of Technology
CalTech (far reach but there is no reason not to try)
U of Michigan
Washington University in St. Louis</p>

<p>Canada:
University of British Columbia
University of Toronto
University of Waterloo
McGill</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

2

<p>Cal Tech would be a far reach as you know. U Mich and WUStL would be reaches too. The four Canadian schools and U Roch would be high match, low reach. All the other schools would be matches with SF State and SD State being safeties perhaps.</p>

<p>I never heard of Virginia State.</p>

3

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>What do you think about my chance with University of Washington? Which universities should I cross off the list, if I apply all of them, it will cost too much. :)</p>

4

<p>I am also planning to apply to Carnegie Mellon. It is a reach and maybe a far reach but I will try.</p>

<p>I really need to narrow this list down, I can’t apply them all. What are your opinions? Which colleges should I add or remove?</p>

5

<p>Your achievement in Turkey is impressive. Many successful business persons do not do well acadamically and score badly in standard tests. In your case, its maybe a language problem. Have you thought about stay in Turkey and goes to the best CS school there, if you can? The advantages are, on one hand you can pay attention to your business, on the other hand you may perform much better in your own language and in your own environment.</p>

6

<p>Turkish educational system and Turkish university entrance exams are quite messed up. In order to get into a decent university, you have to score really high and be in 2-3 percentile. Universities here don’t even look at your GPA and ECs. They don’t require an essay. They only look at your university entrance exam score and if you exceed their specified limit, then you are in. </p>

<p>The main problem is that every year, over 1.5 million students are tried to be placed into universities in Turkey with an exam which doesn’t measure the skills or the intelligence of the students. Only thing this exam requires is memorization. Also, the best universities here aren’t better than a over mediocre university in US and Canada.</p>

<p>I have been studying in an American high school in Turkey for three years and I think my English is more than adequate to communicate and understand courses and academic texts. Of course, demonstrating this in SAT is another deal and I think that my SAT is not low (also not high) for an international student.</p>

<p>I agree that I can spend more time on my business if I stay in Turkey but I want to study abroad in order to achieve my goals.</p>

7

<p>UMich would be a reach, but not as much as other reaches simply because they love diversity. Good luck!</p>

8

<p>I say you should impove your Tofel scores, if SAT is too hard for you. Your Tofel scores indicated that you have a language problem, whether it is real or not. When you apply, you can show only one, perhaps it is better in your situation. </p>

<p>Pick the city you like and apply a few far reaches, a few reaches and one or two safeties. If RU gave you money, you should be content with, it is a great school. Remember, it is individual that counts in a school. You want to learn and challenge yourself, RU can provide that environement just as good as Caltech. So get all A+ in RU for yourself and go back be the Bill Gates or Dell in Turkey.</p>

<p>BTW: Dell was a mediocre Dealer in Stamps for collectors</p>

9

<p>You are not a typical undergraduate candidate. Your professional experience makes you much more like a grad school candidate, and you should approach your process in that fashion.</p>

<p>Try to identify which universities have the specific people you want to work with. You should be able to identify them from their professional contacts and publications in the professional journals. Then email them directly and ask about their programs.</p>

<p>Your CR and W scores are low because you have only been studying in English for a few years. Your TOEFL is decent so you might not need to worry just yet about the CR and W score impacting your college application process. Just be sure to let the professors that you contact know that you are willing to take any advanced ESL courses that their institution offers you in order to improve the specific English skills that you need in order to perform your best.</p>

<p>If you haven’t visited the closest office of EducationUSA to get their advice on your situation, you should do so. There are offices in Ankara and Istanbul [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Turkey]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Turkey) but don’t be too surprised if they aren’t quite certain what to do with you. As I wrote above, you are not a typical undergraduate candidate. If you wanted business rather than computer science, I would say that you would be a good candidate for Babson. You might want to take a look at them anyway [Babson</a> College - Home](<a href=“http://www3.babson.edu/]Babson”>http://www3.babson.edu/)</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>I am sorry I did not read your profile in detail.</p>

<p>With so much knowledge in software and you have put so much time in programming, I am amazed that you have the time to study highschool material.</p>

<p>Normal college course in CS will be so boring to you that you should not take. My D wemt to a computer camp in UCBerkeley (highschool level) and what she did in pacman game was no where near to your caliber.</p>

<p>Instead, as the previous poster indicated, you should directly contect the professors in MIT, CMU or Caltech with your work and see what they can do. </p>

<p>Perhaps, a business education is what you needed right now.</p>

11

<p>Hi,
As you have said, I will contact the professors at universities that are prominent with their CS program. Even though I have quite lot experience and knowledge in the field of computer science, I am aware that there is much more to learn.</p>

<p>I may need financial aid; which schools with good computer science programs have high chance of providing me financial aid?</p>

12

<p>It is extremely difficult for international students to get financial aid. Figure out how much you can pay, and find out if there are any scholarships from your home government that you can use to study in the US.</p>

<p>That said, your profile is unusual. You need to be communicating directly with the professors and departments that are interesting to you. In your particular case, there may be money available if a particular department really wants you.</p>

13

<p>happymom said it right… from traditional point of view, there is no chance for FA in your case. merit scholarship will not come to you based on your grades and scores.</p>

<p>I think in your above mentioned resume, the most impressive experiences are: the reverse engineering and those games. You should make up a profile with cover letters and make sure put the best foot forward on your achievements, cd rom with sample source codes and run moduals inside and audited financial statement included, lots of photos from the factory and product lit. I am sure some department or professor will take you in as a TA or some thing, then you are home free.</p>

14

<p>As applying for financial aid will hurt my chances and it is not really necessary; I won’t apply for financial aid.</p>

<p>By the way, tomorrow (it’s getting late here :)) I will research the professors working in CS departments of universities with prominent CS departments and contact them.</p>

15

<p>You might consider applying to a community college. De Anza college here in Silicon Valley is relatively inexpensive, and if you make good grades you can transfer into the UC system as a junior. All the UC’s have decent computer science classes and you will learn more about which ones will be best for you from talking to other students at De Anza. There are also lots of foreign students at De Anza and you will have help with your English and will make friends who have similar goals. Lots of kids who can’t get into the UC of their choice, go to CC and transfer. Lots of kids also do it to save money so there are plenty of talented students.</p>

<p>However, to answer your question, I would eliminate the following 3 schools:
Penn State: offers nothing over Univ of Wash and is harder to get into
WUSTL: not known for CS and very hard to get into
SF State: not known for CS</p>

<p>I think you might have your best chances at RPI or maybe Case Western (which isn’t on your list).</p>

16

<p>I don’t want to get into that community college->transfer->college method. It seems like I will be able to manage without financial aid in state universities and some private ones.</p>

<p>I crossed SF State and WUSTL off my list. Which universities do you recommend with a good computer science program and high chance of accepting me?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

17

<p>I’ve been working on my list and here is the updated one:</p>

<p>I am aware that there are lots of far reaches like MIT, CMU and CalTech but I want to try my chances. I now need safeties with successful CompSci programs; I am looking for safeties with students interested and talented in the field of CompSci who I can work with.</p>

<p>Also, can you comment on my current list? What are my chances with number 4,5,6 and 11?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Priority Name
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 Carnegie Mellon
3 California Institute of Technology
4 University of Washington
5 Georgia Institute of Technology
6 Virginia Tech
7 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
8 Rochester Institute of Technology
9 University of Rochester
10 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
11 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
12 University of Maryland: College Park
13 University of MA - Amherst
14 University of Michigan
15 Lawrence Tech
16 University of Virginia
17 Pennsylvania State University
18 Illinois Institute of Technology
19 Wentworth Institute of Technology</p>

18

<p>Any suggestions for safeties with prominent CompSci programs?</p>

19

<p>Sorry for bumping the thread but I really need your opinions on this.</p>