Junior, chance me please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics: While male, public high school

Academics:
ACT: 36, 8 writing
SAT II: None yet, waiting on Math II scores, will take Chem
Class Rank: 1/509
GPA: 4.0 UW
AP Tests: AP Calc AB (5), AP Calc BC (5), US History (5), Computer Science (5, Perfect Score)
National Merit: 1520/1520 PSAT

I’m participating in dual enrollment at a respected state university this year and next year. I’m taking further programming and math courses.

Extracurriculars:

Speech:
National qualifier freshman and sophomore years in extemp speaking, hopefully this year as well. Good prospects for captainship next year.

Debate:
State quarterfinalist. Very good prospects for captainship next year.

Quiz Bowl:
Our school doesn’t do well, I just do it for fun. Unlikely but possible captainship next year.

Programming:
I’ve been programming since around fourth or fifth grade, I’ve made several small projects I’m compiling into a portfolio. This is my major hobby, and it’s something I really enjoy. I’m very interested in game design, not just for video games but also for board games, tabletop rpgs etc.

Community Service:
I haven’t done all that much until this year. I’ve been working with a presidential campaign doing calling and canvassing. I started, organized, and taught an after-school Python programming class to kids at the middle school near me.

Schools:
I haven’t explored my options fully yet. Right now, my top choices are MIT, Caltech and Stanford and my second choices would be Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, UChicago, or UW Madison. If anyone has suggestions for other places to look, I would appreciate them!

2

For MIT, Cal, Standford, and UChicago, the most anyone can say is that you’re competitive. But so are tens of thousands of other applicants. Apply and see what happens.

I think you’re probably in at Carnegie Mellon, but i know their CS programming is extremely selective, so I’m not sure of your chances if you plan on applying to it.

I would call GA Tech and UW Madison low matches. Assuming you’re OOS for both GA Tech and UW-M, can your family afford ~$250,000 for your UG? Those schools will not give need-based aid to OOS students, and I don’t think either one gives a whole lot of merit.

3

With your perfect stats, best we can say is you are competitive. Write good essays, get good recs, and enjoy High school :slight_smile:

4

You’re competitive, but I think you know that already. MIT, Caltech, and Stanford are all crapshoots. For UChicago, you’re in if your essays are stellar. Carnegie Mellon Computer Science is another crapshoot, as it’s the most competitive computer science school in the country. You probably will get in based on your stats alone to Georgia Tech and UW-Madison. You could get into all of your schools. No one can really chance you. You’re competitive, and that should be enough.