Match/safety with good comp. sci. program. 1920 SAT, 88% avg, outstanding ECs in CS

<p>I'm looking for schools with a good computer science program, preferably near LA or San Fran. I will consider other locations as well, though.</p>

<p>I'm from Vancouver, Canada. An "A" is 86%+</p>

<p>SAT: 1920
Writing - 620
Math - 660
Reading - 640
Re-taking in December.</p>

<p>Subjects:
Took Physics + Math II in November, waiting for scores.</p>

<p>Junior Year
Chem 11 89%
Independent Studies 95% [This is essentially a course that I requested; I am the only person in this course. Material is that of 1-2nd year college IT courses]
Physics 11 92%
Physics 12 92%
Math 12 (Pre-Calc) 88%
English 83%
Socials Studies 82%
Spanish 83%
Hockey</p>

<p>Notable ECs
- Maintainer of an open source project (node-apac)
- A project in advanced hockey statistical analysis. (think moneyball for hockey) This project has received some really great comments by those familiar in the field and even from a professor that has published multiple outstanding studies in the field. Everything I learned to work on this was 100% self-taught, not sure if that makes a difference.
- Web design for a non-profit org. ~ 80 hrs
- Organizer/Creator of the floor hockey club at my school
- Blog with other misc. hockey statistical analysis.</p>

<p>Hooks- First gen college</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Price limit? International students are unlikely to get much (if any) financial aid.</p>

<p>What about going to UBC, McGill, or Toronto?</p>

<p>In the US, an 86% isn’t usually considered to be an A, so unless your transcript says A, I think colleges here will consider anything below a 90 to be a B or below. </p>

<p>How much will your family pay? That will largely determine where you should apply. You’re an int’l, so you’re not eligible for aid at most schools.</p>

<p>I see in another thread, you are a US citizen. That makes somewhat of a difference, but not much for state schools since you’re OOS for all of them.</p>

<p>Financial aid is not that big of an issue that I would switch schools for.</p>

<p>What does that mean? Does that mean that your parents will pay all costs no matter what? You can’t borrow much. You can only borrow $5500 for frosh year.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>

<p>@ucbalumnus I would like to go to school in California, but I haven’t absolutely ruled out any other places except I would not like to stay in Vancouver(for many reasons). I think the schools you mentioned will all be reaches; I already have a good list of reaches I really like and I’m looking for matches/safeties right now.</p>

<p>@mom2collegekids I’ve mentioned the issue of grade discrepancies to the admission officers and they all recognize the difference between Canadian and US school system. Even if my transcript doesn’t mention 86+ for an A I believe my counsellor will have a good school profile and let colleges know that a 92+ will make you top 15% of the class in my school and 95+ will make you top <5%. Not that I could do anything about it anyways.</p>

<p>As for financial situation, if I got into a reach w/ no FA vs a average school w/ FA, I would go to the reach school, but obviously I would like as much FA as I can get, especially if I am going to a safety. I should be able to afford any school, though, with a mix of my parents’ help (thankfully) and loans/work. </p>

<p>Thanks for noticing that I’m a US citizen, I forgot to mention it in the main post.</p>

<p>California schools include:</p>

<p>UCs: ~$50,000-$55,000 non-resident list price, limited financial aid for non-residents (no financial aid coverage of the $23,000 non-resident additional tuition). Minimum net price even with maximum financial aid for a non-resident is over $30,000.</p>

<p>CSUs: ~$30,000-$35,000 non-resident list price, no financial aid for non-residents. Probably the Cal Polys and San Jose State would be of most interest for a CS major.</p>

<p>Private: The ones with the best CS reputation are Stanford, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, and USC; Santa Clara has a great location. They all have high list prices; check the net price calculators for financial aid. They are all very selective (especially the first three).</p>

<p>You may want to expand your search to other US states and schools in Canada.</p>

<p>I am willing to consider any location that has decent weather and opportunities. One of the biggest reasons I want to go to school in California is b/c of the amount of opportunities available in CS careers.</p>

<p>I think the UCs are selective enough to be considered reaches. Cal Poly and San Jose State looks like good matches though.</p>

<p>Any thoughts on UW and UT Austin? Would they be matches?</p>

<p>Which UW? If you mean the one in Washington, be aware that direct frosh admission to the CS major is probably a reach for everyone, while the competition to get into the CS major after entering undeclared is extreme. Ask on the school-specific forum.</p>

<p>UT Austin is probably a reach for anyone outside of the top 7% class rank students in Texas high schools (these students are automatic-admission and take up about 75% of the spaces in the frosh class).</p>

<p>If CS at UW is a reach I probably won’t apply. My reaches right now are USC, UCLA, UCB, and Harvey Mudd. For UT Austin though, it looks like I’m about inline with the average SAT scores for out of state applicants. [Out-of-State</a> Students | Be a Longhorn](<a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/profile/outofstate]Out-of-State”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/profile/outofstate)</p>