<p>im a grade 10 student in Canada and i have been fascinated with cs since a young age, the last past year i really studied it alot and now I'm fluent in Java and I'm going to publish a few apps on the app store.
my family is not wealthy and in order for me to go to a US university I would have to go to one with very generous international financial aid, so basically the "big" ivies such as harvard and yale(Correct me if im wrong) </p>
<p>My question is: what is the level of mastery i have to achieve in CS to be accepted into one of these top US schools? What do the CS students in these schools already know before entering? And is there anything I can do as to prove my knowledge in programming, such as working as an intern in a programming company, publishing apps on the play store....
My final question is: during the application process would they check the apps ive published, or even ask one of the CS professors to take a look at it?</p>
<p>Have you spent time at the Harvard and Yale admissions websites? Overall academic excellence and potential. The fact that you’re particularly strong in one area doesn’t exempt you from needing to be strong everywhere else.</p>
<p>" what is the level of mastery i have to achieve in CS to be accepted into one of these top US schools?" This is not a litmus test for entrance, you know</p>
<p>CS mastery will barely matter. They don’t care how much you know. However, if you can spin it as an extracurricular and possibly write essays on it, it can be a plus. I used the Additional Information section on the common app as a Technical Resume, and one college specifically mentioned something off it in their acceptance letter. Some colleges may look over it, but it can’t hurt. I also mentioned some of my CS experience in my common app essay.</p>
<p>So, while it can be a positive, it won’t mean anything in terms of how “qualified” you are for any college.</p>
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<p>While many enter with lots of experience, a significant amount enter with no experience at all. Personally I think this should and will change in the future, it is how it currently is. So you will be ahead of many by the time you get to any college, in the US or anywhere really.</p>
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<p>There would be very little chance of this. It is possible they would look at the front end of an app if you made it very accessible, but even that would be maybe a 25% chance at best for some of the schools who have less apps to go through, and very unlikely at the ivies.</p>
during the application process would they check the apps ive published, or even ask one of the CS professors to take a look at it?
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<p>No. This will never happen. </p>
<p>Also, be aware that app development and Computer Science are two different things, no CS professor is going to care about your app because even the best app in the world has nothing to do with “CS mastery” as you put it. </p>
<p>Learning Java at a sufficient level so you can write functional code by itself is on the same league as learning to drive, or take competent photographs, or to get a B or higher grade in AP Studio Art. It’s the “trade” part of computer science. And in many universities it is part of a one semester introductory course to computer science. it’s good that you have this skill and that you picked it up on your own initiative but without knowing the depth and novelty of what you’ve done I am left with the impression that it is something to note on your application and it may make a slight difference because it shows initiative and not because it is a Java program.</p>
<p>More importantly, why would you go to an Ivy for CS. They are not the best option if that is your passion. If you have the academics and finances to do that, got to Carnegie Mellon or one of the many other better cs programs.</p>
<p>Check out this guy’s CS-related credentials. (Yes, I know that’s not real CS, as a user above points out, but it demonstrates some degree of initiative in the same area).</p>
<p>He didn’t get in. Even at CMU SCS, they don’t care about your CS credentials as much as they do about solid math skills and logic/reasoning. There is no real requirement for CS mastery- one of my friends got into a HYP CS program with a weak CS background but reasonably strong math (not AIME-level) and science. It’s just another way to demonstrate initiative, but Ivies in particular aren’t very CS-oriented.</p>
<p>As Torveaux points out, the Ivies are a particular type of CS and not really the best at it- you don’t go to an Ivy for straight-up CS but for a particular flavor of CS mixed with liberal arts, business, etc. Are you sure an Ivy CS program is the sort you want to go to? I’d look at MIT and Stanford first- they’re the Big Four schools that offer aid akin to the sort you’re looking for and their CS programs are more in line with what you’d expect, with a CS program that’s actually strong.</p>
<p>But a cautionary tale: another one of my friends, a renowned app developer whose credentials are ridiculous, didn’t get into Stanford or MIT- but is headed to Berkeley EECS, which is on the same level but probably doesn’t provide the same amount of aid.</p>
<p>OP, I have a background in software design and have a great many friends still in the software development business. If what you want to do is development, a degree from a top school may not even be the best option for you. Many (most?) of the developers I know have ‘some college’ but few ever bothered to finish. The business moves much more quickly than program developers at universities. Software developers are using languages to make the next great app or program. CS types at university are making the next great language or designing hardware or some bio-electrical hybrid that will revolutionize computing as we know it.</p>
<p>@dividerofzero Berkeley provides very good aid for low income instate but they do use federal and state aid and loans.</p>
<p>OP those universities you mention don’t admit by major, but if you have an exceptional talent in a particular area they will take note, it doesn’t matter too much what area. If you are intending a CS major, they will likely look for strong math skills, not necessarily CS skills but it won’t hurt that you know something about your intended major. Doing internships and other activities that you are interested in is all part of your ‘resume’.</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t attend one of those but went to Brown. She didn’t intend a CS major but ended up doing math/cs because she discovered it there. So she had no experience with programming or anything. She did science research in high school. Many of her department went to industry, mostly the usual big names, some research. Some, like her went to grad school. She went to a funded PhD program. I just give this as an example of someone with no background doing very well in the major.</p>
<p>@BrownParent: Yeah, their MCAP is solid- although I’m literally 2k away from its benefits and would’ve had to pay a ton more. In any case, a Berkeley EECS education is always worth it.</p>
<p>Also, I can second you on the Brown CS part. From my friends’ experience, Brown is really solid at CS compared to most of the Ivies- at least Yale, although it’s not quite on Cornell’s level.</p>