My D has 3.74 cumulative GPA so far in her Junior year and a SAT score of 1500 (and super score of 1540). We will be applying this fall. She is interested in Computer science major. Our counsellor is discouraging us from applying to Ivy league schools and says chances are slim. She has a good extracurricular. Anyone here got admitted into Ivy league schools for Comp. Sc. with 3.7 GPA?
Acceptances to the Ivy League schools are very very competitive and are a very very low %age of students who apply. CS is a most competitive major at schools which offer it.
Everyone’s chances of admission to the Ivies are slim. 90% or so of applicants are not accepted.
So…your daughter can apply and see. Extracurricular activities will not make up for a her GPA if that is what you are thinking. It’s a very fine GPA, but not perhaps for Ivy League schools.
I do have a few questions…
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Has she taken the SAT or ACT and if so, what is her score?
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Why the Ivy League. I hope you understand that there are some colleges with much higher ranked computer science programs than some of the Ivies.
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Chances are slim for everyone at Ivy League schools. Unless your daughter’s 3.74 is from an elite high school that regularly sends kids to the Ivy League, her chances are extremely slim. Especially in CS. Sorry. You can still apply to these schools, but manage her expectations.
And the Ivy League is just an athletic conference of 8 schools, some of which aren’t the “best” CS schools.
The good news is that there are lots of schools out there for your daughter. A 1540 superscore is great!
There are lots of people here who can suggest a list of schools for your daughter if you share some of her preferences(location, school size, etc.).
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If the high school is actually one of those elite high schools, the college counselor is likely the most knowledgeable about the chances of admission, based on historical results and more-than-typical knowledge about what those colleges are looking for.
If the high school is not one of those elite high schools, a 3.74 HS GPA puts the student behind in the general competition for admission to those colleges.
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Only one person is applying. Your daughter.
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There are plenty of other colleges for CS.
Is that unweighted GPA? What is class rank?
What about rigor of curriculum? Any APs?
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Thanks. Her SAT super score is 1540 and 1500 highest in one take.
It is unweighted GPA of 3.74. It’s a private high school well known in the region though not at the top or elite levels. They don’t rank in her school. She has taken about 7 APs so far and 5 more coming up in senior year and also has 7 honors courses so far
Apply and see and have a balanced list. Neither the GPA or test on its face are elite but there’s more to the student.
There’s the Ivys and then there’s the Ivys of CS which don’t include the Ivys 
Don’t forsake a brand make of school with a top cs school of which there are many.
With those #s, the student may or may not get into a top 30 ish but lucky for you CS is great in many places.
And don’t forget it’s for your kid, not you. And if they end up at a solid great state flagship that’s good too.
Good luck.
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And again I ask…why the Ivies? If your daughter is really interested in computer science…there are tons of other colleges with higher ranked computer science programs.
She is a strong student…there are many strong students applying to Ivies. Where else does your daughter plan to apply?
But back to your OP. Your daughter’s school counselor at her private high school likely has a good sense of where students like your daughter have been accepted. But if your daughter wants to apply to an Ivy then she can apply (assuming the school will send all the required materials). If she does or doesn’t get accepted, you will never know why. So…go for it if you’d like.
Does your daughter already have some sure things for acceptance and affordability that she like chosen for her college list? If not, I would strongly suggest she get these chosen FIRST. Build your list from the bottom up. Make sure you have two sure things that your kid likes and are affordable. Then find some schools where it’s likely she will get admitted. Then choose a some of those reach schools (like the Ivies). A balanced application list is important.
If your daughter can identify a school with rolling admissions that is nice because it sure feels good to have that first acceptance to a college a student really is happy about (I’ll suggest University of Pittsburgh).
I’m linking a thread I would suggest you read. It’s older but is a must read for any student who plans to apply only to elite schools. This student was a NMF, top in his class, excellent ECs and LOR…and no one expected he wouldn’t get accepted someplace but that is what happened. Read the whole thread, because it provides some very sage advice. Admissions have only gotten more competitive since the student in this thread first applied for admission in 2005. He did get accepted after a gap year, and to a terrific school…but his senior year spring and summer were not fun.
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To be blunt, the chances are likely much lower than the published acceptance rate for the ivies(which is 3-7% for RD typically). Even if the HS doesnt rank, there will be a school profile that will list some sort of GPA distribution, and /or the counselor letter will reflect the general rank. The colleges definitely can figure out general rank . The college counselor may tell you decile or quintile if you press. You say the HS is not known to elites: do you mean very few unhooked kids get in to top10/ivies each year? If so, those kids are likely at the very top of the class with regard to rank and course rigor and scores. For unhooked kids, all three factors plus great recs plus impactful ECs need to be in place to have a reasonable chance at ivies/elites. A 3.74 uw could be the bottom half easily, or it could be higher. It is not likely to be near the top of the class. Ask the counselor for an approximation of rank, and ask the counselor for details about what gpa has been successful getting in to the schools you are looking at. Have a realistic conversation with your kid and have a broad list. In a private school, the counselors are typically well aware of chances and also very helpful at creating broad lists with reach/match/likelies. There are so many less -competitive schools out there that provide a great CS degree that are not ivies or T10 or 50 or even 100.
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I think you are also getting into why school counselors who have a lot of experience in placement often actively discourage students from applying to certain schools that they consider practically out of reach.
At first that idea can seem harsh, but these counselors understand that both they and the teachers at that school will be writing recommendations for their applicants. And only so many applicants can get the sorts of recommendations they will need for the most selective schools without trashing their credibility.
As in, your school can’t write 20 recommendations each year to the same college claiming each of those applicants is one of the top few students your school has ever seen and expect that to help all of them, or really any of them. For any of them to have a really good chance, they need to get the full, credible support of their high school, and that is not an unlimited resource.
But these counselors also understand it isn’t actually a zero-sum game. There are going to be great colleges out there which are both achievable and a great fit for a given student.
So if all their students apply to the same few “dream” schools and only a tiny fraction get in, that is not so good. But if every student comes up with a really well-considered “dream” list of their own, a list of achievable schools that in a variety of ways would be great fits for them, then basically everyone can end up excited about where they go.
And so sometimes they have to tell kids bluntly that to get a great result, they need to be looking at different schools.
And their parents. Maybe even more so their parents.
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The school counselors at these schools also want to make sure that everyone gets accepted to a great school…that is reasonable for that student. It doesn’t look great if any of these schools had to publish data that said that any %age of students didn’t get accepted anywhere.
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Why do you ask about “Ivies” as opposed to “colleges with excellent CS programs whose students go on to excellent jobs and graduate programs”? The two groups of colleges are not the same.
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