Hi everyone! I’m having a bit of a hard time deciding which colleges to apply to, and I’d appreciate some help! I’m an Asian male from South California with a 1580 SAT and a 3.95 unweighted GPA, and extracurriculars in mainly creative writing (~10 national awards, small and large, various publications), as well as computer science (summer research + USACO), tutoring, and DECA (minor awards). 5’s on AP Biology, Chemistry, Calculus BC (AB: 5), Computer Science, US History, European History. My UC GPA is a 4.0.
My school is very much a STEM-oriented school, and I know that most people will be applying to Stanford / MIT / Caltech / Berkeley so I’m not sure if I have much of a chance there. I think my list is very reach-heavy and I might remove a few reaches, and I’d like to have more matches and safeties (and I have no idea how to categorize them, so I’m sorry if the list doesn’t make sense). I’d prefer schools with a strong computer engineering department, as well as the flexibility to let me take additional classes outside of my major / switch majors, if needed. Also, apologies in advance if I’m posting in the wrong category. Thanks!
Reaches:
Stanford
Williams
Pomona
Brown
Carnegie Mellon
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Matches:
New York University
UIUC
University of Michigan
Safeties:
University of Iowa
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
Why Iowa?
Have you run the NPC and do you know that you can afford all of the schools on your list?
@DadTwoGirls I attended the Iowa Young Writers Studio a few years ago and loved the feel of the campus and the interest in literary arts – it’s not very STEM-focused, so it’s a tentative school on my list. My parents are fairly well-off and we can afford the schools, but I’m hoping to go to an in-state UC for my matches / safeties, where the costs are cheaper.
"I’m hoping to go to an in-state UC for my matches / safeties, where the costs are cheaper. "
I think that you have an excellent chance for the “very good” UCs on your safety list, and some chance at the two top UCs. I am very sympathetic with your desire to save some money for undergrad, even if strictly speaking this is not absolutely necessary. Good luck!
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is worth checking out. It offers good scholarship packages to top out-of-state students, which can make it more affordable than it appears.
Pomona and Williams do not offer Computer Engineering (or any other form of engineering).
If you are looking for smaller, more “liberal artsy” schools that offer Computer Engineering consider:
Tufts (reach)
Bucknell, Lafayette, and Union (matches)
Also, UMass Amherst is strong in this area and tends to offer some merit aid to out of state students
Smith College is an artsy school with a engineering program and flexible requirements.
@smithie21 Isn’t Smith College only for women?