Hey guys,
I really want to Major in Computer Science, so can you guys tell me if i have a reasonable chance or I’m just wasting time?
PS. I’m an Indian.
Colleges:
Princeton Cornell ED
Brown
Dartmouth
Vanderbilt
Rice
Harvard
GPA:4.0 (converted from 97%)
Rank: Top 5%
ACT: 31 Composite (27-ENG 32-MATH 32-READING 32-SCIENCE)
SAT SUBJECTS: MATH 2 : 780 PHYSICS :800 CHEM:800
Extracurriculars:
(In no specific order)
-Robotics w/ Arduino and Raspberry pie. Built security system for science project. Won 1st place.
-School Animation/Film Making 1st place.
-Video Editing.
-(Business)Built Computers for people/businesses.
-(Business)Made and managed websites for small/local businesses.
-Captain of DOTA 2 Gaming team. Won a few tournaments.
-Organized School Gaming Competition.
-Head of some clubs. Robotics Club/Gaming Club.
-Student head of Computer Department.
-Taught a Assistant/Peon computers so he could teach children and get a better job at school
-Volunteered as a scribe for a paralyzed student during his final exams.
-Made “Making of the Musical” video, and was Technical support for Schools biannual musical.
-Tennis.
-Volunteered to conduct robotic classes for school in summer for kids.
-Interned at Software Company and helped out a team at hackathon.
-Participated in multiple Olympiads.
-Designer/Editor of School Yearbook and Magazine.
-Wrote music Theory exams till Level 3. Passed all in distinction.
-Member of the student council(Head Boy)
-School Merits for Excellent grades.
-Volunteer at School Carnival.
-Avid Debater.
-Web Designer/Editor and Technical head at a website that lets people submits ideas and we get them in contact with Investors.
I have a few more EC's that arent that great so I'll just leave them out.
Essay topic(Most probably): How i got into computer coding when i was young and i wanted to hack into my friends facebook account so i could send myself some items from the game we used to play (Pet Society).I was in 5th grade.
I read some comment in a youtube video abt Python something and from that point I started learning coding without knowing much and that really influenced me and gave birth to my love for Computers.
Your ACT score is a concern - especially the 27 in English. I would retake it if you have the time to study for it. Otherwise, you have some good EC’s. I’m sure you know how brutal the competition is for the limited amount of spots each Ivy allocates for internationals so make sure you have some safeties. Best of luck!
@Falcon1 Hey! Other than my ACT’s is everything else good? Am I lacking anything? Do you think I have a good chance at Cornell if I apply ED? I’m really tensed so anything would really help me out
Since each Ivy only matriculated a few Indians each year and many of them have international level awards, it’s hard to say that any applicant from India has a “good” chance. Just focus on what you can control (i.e. raising your ACT score)’ send in your applications and hope for the best. Someone has to get in, so hopefully, it will be you! Again, make sure you have solid back-up plans in place.
Can’t really comment on your essay topic although starting something because you wanted to do some illegal hacking doesn’t sound like a great way to talk about your character to me. (I guess I did comment on your essay topic.) With respect to improving your ACT score, I see no reason why your math score wouldn’t improve to the 35 -36 range given your other grades and scores. The same goes for your Science score which in my opinion is the easiest to improve since it requires very little actual knowledge of science and is mostly about interpreting charts and tables. The scores go up proportional to the amount of practice tests you take. You will need to really work on your English score, however. Finally most kids have trouble with managing their time on the ACT so I recommend setting a timer for 5 minutes less on each section when you practice and really trying to stay within that time limit. It takes the pressure off when you do the actual exam. Good luck!
“Peon” is not a word I would use to describe your assistant. It has a negative connotation in modern usage. Other than for us to tell you to get your ACT up there’s really nothing more anyone can say. As an international Asian male interested in CS you’re in the toughest demographic group by far so you just have to do everything you can to outshine your competition. That’s it in a nutshell.
Harvard only accepts a couple of students( in some years perhaps as high as four) from all of India each year. Are you one of the top two kids from India? With an ACT of 31 I think you know the answer to this. The other schools on your list pretty much have similar acceptance rates. If you don’t need financial aid then at some of the need aware schools on your list you have a better chance at being accepted but the odds are still not very good.
@Falcon1 How does everything other than my marks stack up? I’ll refine all the extracurriculars and try writing apt 150 word descriptions about them, Any thing that u think most of the people that are apply miss out on? that i can catch and use to my advantage? Are my extracurriculars good enough? Do u think im missing some quality or achievement that might make me seem less competitive? Literally any word of advice is golden for me. Even the smallest bits because those bits are going to determine the rest of my life. So I would like to hear anything that comes up in your mind. Anything at all.
Thank you
OP, even if you got a 36 on the ACT, even if you wrote amazing essays and wrote amazing descriptions for your activities, you might still be rejected at all of the schools listed as the international competition is so tough. You could do everything right, your application could be near-perfect, and you could still be rejected.
As @Falcon1 said, those schools accept a handful of Indians each year. A few students in a country with millions of high school seniors graduating each year. Your odds are really bad (as for anyone else applying from India), a lot will come down to luck.
And remember, not going to a prestigious undergrad is not the end of the world. Don’t set your hearts on only those schools. Also, make sure to apply to some safety schools as well.
OP, the thing is you list 24 EC’s and say you have even more. They range from everything from editor of the school newspaper to avid debater to head houseboy to this and that. Unfortunately, adcoms can’t really verify anything you put down except major national or international awards of which you have none. The tangible things they see are grades, test scores and major documented accomplishments. The rest, unfortunately, many internationals embellish on (trying to be kind and not say totally fabricate) so they have to take these long lists with a grain of salt.
Your first priority should be to get your test score up to a more competitive number. Your second should be to develop a list of schools that don’t have a 1-3% acceptance rate for Indians. Idk, schools like Virginia Tech etc. If you can’t afford to go school in the U.S. without a lot of financial aid, you should be planning on attending a school in India. By all means, apply to top schools here in the U.S. but just don’t expect much. If you win the lottery then great!
@Falcon1@soze@rdeng2614
Thank you guys so much xD I know having your hopes up and then having them brutally crushed isn’t a very nice addition to the added rejection from a college. So having realistic hopes is a very good thing at this point. To be honest I did have a small smother of hope that I stand a good chance xD. It is slightly discouraging though and it does slightly take ur breath away and make you feel kinda lost, but hey I guess life ain’t just that easy xD
I am kinda perplexed at this point. It feels like an easy decision to just give up at this point as it seems so pointless.Well I’ll figure stuff out xD Maybe I’ll just do my undergrad in India. but the main reason and the driving force that drew me towards american universities is mostly the freedom and the control you possess over your education, choosing the classes I would want to attend, make my own time table maybe dab around a little in game design… so many possibilities xD. It would also make me force myself to be more independent, it would give me exposure to so many different experiences like huge fests and crazy events and let me meet so many different people from so many different places. I dont know. It’s just this feeling of yearning that I honestly haven’t felt before.
Well I’m just rambling on at this point xD Thank you guys again. Ill re evaluate my options and If it isn’t a huge pain in the ass It would be amazing if you guys could recommend any safeties to me.
It’s actually good that you know how tough these schools are.
I would recommend that you still apply though. Even though they accept perhaps less than a dozen Indians a year, it’s not necessarily the highest-scoring Indians. It’s the Indians that they think will add something, make an impact on their campus, so you’re definitely not out of the running.
We’re just here to remind you how competitive these schools are and how that nobody can guarantee that they’ll get into even one of those schools. So many people, once including me, thought that these schools shouldn’t be that bad. I would have been in for a rude awakening if my mindset didn’t change and now I know to apply to a healthy balance of schools (couple reaches, some matches and always a safety or two).
University of Alabama would give you a full ride if you have a 3.5 and a 32 ACT and it’s available for internationals as well. If you want to go to grad/med school, it’s a good alternative as it saves you money.