[Match Me] Junior with decent academics looking for strong CS/Math Uni's

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics

  • US domestic (US citizen or permanent resident)
  • Western PA
  • Middle-smallish public HS
  • Male/Asian (Could put undisclosed, but essays and ECs will most likely betray that anyway)

Intended Major(s)
CS, Math (+ interest in data science and AI)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
if all goes well

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.9
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.52 (4 reg, 4.5 Honors, 5 AP & Dual En.)
  • Class Rank: School does not rank - Probably top 5% and above
  • ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1580(800M 780 E) taken once | ACT N/A | PSAT 1460 (smh)

Coursework

Freshman:
No AP’s provided by school, took Honors where possible and required classes otherwise
UW/W GPA: 3.6/3.867 (was still a child :joy:)
Took AP Mandarin test for free 5 because why not

Sophomore:
AP Calc AB - 5 AP
AP CSA - 5 AP
AP Seminar - 3 AP :pensive:
AP World History - 5 AP
Dual En. Discrete Math
Honors Eng and Chem + Reg Foreign Language
UW/W GPA: 4.0/4.75

Junior ( You Are Here :round_pushpin:):
All AP Test Scores are anticipated, I feel pretty confident about them, though.
AP Calc BC - 5 AP
AP CSP - 5 AP
AP Lang/Comp - 5/4 AP
AP Physics I - 5 AP
Dual En. Intro to Matrices and Linear Alg.
Dual En. US History
Honors CS Continuation Course
UW/W GPA: 4.0/4.929 (On course at the time of writing)

Senior:
AP Lit
AP Econ
AP Psych
AP Stats
AP Physics II
Honors Chem + CS Course
2 Reg Required Courses

Awards
Aw, darn.
Multiple Regional Piano Competition Awards - 2 Performances at Carnegie Hall
President’s Service - Silver('21) Gold('22) (Cumulative hours: ~250)
Regional Science Fair 2nd place way back 7-8th grade (Hope this year’s will net an award)
One of the AP Scholar awards?
National Merit maybe

Extracurriculars
Organized and volunteered to teach coding at multiple regional elementary schools
Chess Club organizer at community center
Senior Member of Asian Community Student Council, frequently organizes/attends events
Piano
Summer Programs:
YYGS (Accepted)
CMU AIS/SAMS (fingers crossed)
Internship at Princeton’s research (fingers crossed but less confident)

Am lucky to get in contact with a CMU Prof. for a short research opportunity.

Essays/LORs/Other
I have some topics in mind that would (in my mind) make for a 7+/10 essay
No LOR’s nailed down yet, though I have good relations with CS & Math teachers and Counselor. Prof mentioned above would probably write me a LOR, too.

Cost Constraints / Budget
Can’t give a definite answer here, probably half parents + half student loans/financial aid if expensive, otherwise full coverage

Schools
Here’s where I’m guilty of not doing my research haha, please help!
A school close to home would be preferable, but it’s not on the top of my list for constraints. Speaking of a list, I really don’t have any. I would love to experience something new for college, whether it be large urban or small countryside. Definitely want to go to a strong school though.

Would be amazing if I could get into CMU. I also looked at nearby schools such as Pitt and Penn State(no strong opinions on either yet), and maybe UPenn. Would love to get your input to help me build up a safety/match/reach list :smiling_face:

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These are hoped for (future) achievements right?

This is super important. Ask your parents how much they are willing and able to pay for your college. It may knock a whole bunch of colleges out of contention, or might require a merit seeking strategy. So find out and post here.

Research online and find out which schools have the strongest CS and/or math programs (hint: they’re not all Ivy League schools, or the most famous/elite schools). Then read up on each to get a deeper understanding of what they offer, what the campus culture is like, etc. That way you can start building a list.

It’s very important to create a balanced list of schools with varying degrees of selectivity, because admissions to the highest ranked schools is very unpredictable.

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Yes! In fact, CMU’s decisions should be out in a week or so.

I will post details here asap, they’ve expressed a few times before that they’ll be willing to fund as much as they’re able to. I think we’re pretty standard middle class, something that I forgot to put up there.

Do you have any advice on where to research colleges? First to go to US colleges in my household here(immigrated here). Since you mentioned elites and ivies not necessarily being top choices, I don’t know if simply looking at rankings will suffice.

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You need to pin down what your parents can afford. Run the NPC for each school.

I would recommend applying to Pitt, PSU and possibly Temple. You would be competitive for the Nordenberg at Pitt. Also Schreyer at PSU. Temple would probably give you a lot of merit but it’s in a not so nice area. Apply early. I actually liked Temple’s data science setup the most when S20 applied.

If you want to stay close Ohio State offers merit. You would be competitive. CMU, Case, Cornell, and Lehigh would work.

After that you’d be competitive anywhere but odds are slim for everyone that applies.

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For these interests, you may want to emphasize colleges with an available major in data science.

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When looking for CS rankings, this site might be helpful: computer science open rankings. It lets you select which areas within CS are of particular interest and then sorts accordingly. Of course, there are flaws in all sorts of rankings, but it could be a place to start.

Make sure you apply early to Pitt…like August. They have rolling admissions so you can get an acceptance early in the year which is a great source of security…and they’ll still have their full pot of merit money to try and woo you.

Some other schools that may want to consider include:

  • U. at Buffalo (NY)
  • U. of Maryland
  • U. of Massachusetts
  • Binghamton (NY)
  • George Washington (D.C.)
  • U. of Rochester (NY)
  • Lehigh (PA )
  • Case Western (OH)
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY)
  • Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
  • Johns Hopkins (MD)
  • Cornell (NY)
  • Princeton (NJ)
  • Columbia (NY)

There’s an array of schools from other large publics (if you want to leave Pennsylvania, but you’ve got some awesome in-state options that will be hard to beat) to medium or medium-large privates. Some are VERY urban while others are more suburban and others not even that. Most offer merit aid, but the last ones only offer need-based aid (have your family run the Net Price Calculator at Princeton and another one to see what the schools consider your family’s Expected Financial Contribution to be…and whether you and your family agree that the EFC is affordable for your family. (For many families, it’s not.) Some schools are big into intercollegiate athletics, while others are much less-so. Some have an active Greek scene while others might not have any Greek life at all. So various options to see what interests you.

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Two things about CMU: First, they only look at grades 10-12, so your lower 9th grade GPA won’t be an issue.

Second, CMU offers a BS in data science through the Department of Social and Decision Sciences in Dietrich. I have to imagine that the acceptance rate for this program is higher than for a student with your profile for computer science. Look at both programs carefully to see which is a better fit for your interests. Don’t apply to data science if it isn’t what you want because they will suss out people who actually want CS. But if data science is your preference, that could be an ever so slightly easier admit than CS.

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What level of foreign language have you completed?

Some colleges may be satisfied with an AP 5 in a presumed heritage language, but others may prefer to see a non-heritage language learned in school to a high (for high school) level, or a heritage language continued to an even higher level than AP 5 level.

If you do go on the PhD study in math, French, German, or Russian is typically considered a useful foreign language because math research papers may be written in those languages.

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Great profile and great work putting in the effort to achieve it up to this point!

Some reach (and super reach) schools: CMU, JHU, Stanford, Cornell
Fit schools: UNC, UCSD, Georgia Tech, Rochester, UMich
Safety: Purdue, OSU, UIUC

All of the schools above have super stellar CS and/or Math programs. Going forward I would recommend you 1) get some more substantive research experience, 2) get that LOR from the CMU prof, 3) do something punk rock/cool to showcase your personality beyond the standard EC list that AOs always see.

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This student wants to major in CS. Purdue and UIUC are no one safeties anymore for CS, especially an OOS applicant. OSU would be a match.

And UNC, GT and UM are reaches.

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FYI. Georgia Tech’s OOS acceptance rate was 12% this year. And they really do take a holistic approach for admissions.

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I agree with @momofboiler1. All of the “fit” schools except Rochester are reaches, as is UIUC. The others are matches. There are no safeties on these lists.

To the OP, even with your accomplishments and scores, admissions to top programs will be a challenge. Carnegie Mellon’s admitted CS students have an AVERAGE math SAT of 800 and an AVERAGE reading/writing score of 780. As crazy as it seems, your incredible SAT score will be average for most of the schools on the list. It will keep you in the admissions conversation, but it will not differentiate you. Schools will be looking for differentiation from other areas of your application.

There are few safeties for CS applicants, so get your application in early (August or very early September) to Pitt and apply EA to Penn State. Make sure all of the required documents are in on time. Both schools require official SAT score reports from the College Board. If you apply with scores, Pitt won’t start reviewing until they are received and Penn State will bump you out of EA if they aren’t received by the deadline. The same is true for the SRAR.

Both schools should be safeties as long as you get everything submitted early. I am not as familiar with Penn State, but CS majors at Pitt — even ones with 1550+ — have not received merit the last couple of years from Pitt.

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Middle class means different things to different people. Please ask your parents to run the net price calculator at some of these schools to see if the cost is acceptable for them. If you don’t qualify for financial aid, 4 years at a private college can cost $330k. Make sure they understand that.

@AustenNut has given excellent suggestions above.

I’d add Rutgers and Purdue to the list of schools you should consider.

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Also, a program like YYGS will not be helpful to your college application. It may be a good experience for you, but it is a pay-to-play program and will be viewed as such by admissions. It doesn’t help an applicant stand out.

SAMS At CMU is different. It is fully-funded and far more selective.

Even so, any of these colleges like CMU’s CS program with acceptance rates under 5%, will be looking for intellectual curiosity that is pursued in unique, even self-directed ways. I don’t know CS well enough to give specific suggestions, but consider your application in the context of ones that will have identical stats/demographics, and think of ways that you could positively stand out.

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Hello, I am also a pa junior, albeit with lower stats (1540 and 4 uw)
I would say to check out temple. They have a math/cs joint major which seems pretty solid and our counselor has said that most with a 1530+ and 3.9+ have gotten a full tuition scholarship.
I agree with others that purdue is not a safety anymore, more like a high match to a low reach.

Some safeties to check out:
FSU (R1 school, can be cheap with oos waiver, has many research opportunities for underclassmen)

Temple (Mentioned Above)

Pitt (Expensive, even in state and low chance of merit in cs, but there are many opportunities. Availability of undergrad research degree, BPhil. Ability to take one course per semester at carnegie)

Penn state (research programs like Millennium Scholars, has strong industry connections and alumni network as well. Strong Honors college)

UT Dallas (2 full ride programs to apply for, computing scholars and mcdermott. Strong chance of being under 30k, as you get in state tuition if given like $1000 in merit which is likely. Regarded as strong in stem programs)

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Actually, there are lots, but they are typically less selective schools that most on these forums would never consider. In Pennsylvania, many PASSHE schools offer CS, so if they are affordable, some of them may be safeties or very likely. However, there may be other (non-prestige/ranking) constraints (e.g. breadth/depth/rigor of upper level CS and math courses) that may apply to them as well as other schools.

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Yes, true. I guess I should have said there are few target or low target schools. Most kids with a 1580 SAT who understand the competitiveness for CS will consider Pitt or Penn State, but not Slippery Rock or IUP.

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In California, we have the analogous situation, where high stats (meaning HS GPA in California) CS aspirants mostly want the same 6-7 UCs plus the same 2-3 CSUs, even though there are 14+ CSUs and 1-2 UCs that should be easy for them to get admitted to. A student with a realistic chance at UCLA is unlikely to consider CSULA, for example.

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I suspect that any school that offers a PhD in CS and a PhD in math would be able to provide sufficient academic offerings for OP. For schools that aren’t too far from the middle of Pennsylvania:

  • Kent State (OH)
  • Michigan State
  • George Mason (VA)
  • West Virginia University
  • SUNY Albany
  • and…mentioned above…U. at Buffalo

Most of those schools have very generous acceptance rates. They’re just not the most popular colleges in the country.

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If you would like research opportunities, then you may want to consider purely undergraduate-focused colleges with strength in your areas of interest. Hamilton, for example, offers a data science major as well as one of the country’s stronger mathematics programs. Hamilton makes its CS program open to any interested student. Here you can read about what type of research activities you might expect there: