MIT, Brown, Harvey, Carleton: CompSci

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Minnesotan Scandinavian/Native American Male
Homeschooled K-8, small public high school 9-12</p>

<p>UWGPA: 3.99 (A- in 9th grade physical science (If I take just a few more college classes it will literally round up to an even 4 on my transcript)).</p>

<p>Rank: 5/145</p>

<p>ACT 35 (36R, 35M, 33S, 32E)</p>

<p>SAT: 2180 (750CR, 710M, 720E) (Taking again in October. Predicted 2340, not sure what happened first-go-round)</p>

<p>SAT II: 800 Math, 770 Chem, 750 Lit</p>

<p>Classes</p>

<p>AP or Honors NOT OFFERED at my high school. There's a Minnesota program called CITS that is similar. Taken all possible CITS classes at school, plus 4 online college classes in Spanish and programming.</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Tennis - Varsity 8-12, team captain 11-12, assistant girls' manager, assistant community ed instructor. High School section Semifinalist.
USTA Jr. Tennis Traveling Team: Won sectional championships, placed in regionals.</p>

<p>Robotics: Co-founded club in 11th grade. No formal achievements but will make for an excellent maker portfolio</p>

<p>Knowledge Bowl: Varsity 9-12. Won JV Sectionals, not much else.</p>

<p>Math League: Varsity 11-12. Team Captain. </p>

<p>Speech: Varsity 10-12. LOTS of medals, ribbons from individual meets. 6th place in sectionals.</p>

<p>NHS 11-12 - Hopefully officer this year. Ran an electronics recycling drive at my school last year.</p>

<p>Piano (1-7): Won a Wisconsin State Keyboard competition in 7th grade, then quit. I still play recreationally, but only that. I've written some of my best essays about this.</p>

<p>Not really an EC but I've been a 'Technology Assistant' for the last two years. It means I'm backup tech support/assistant to the admin for the school. I have a lot of experience troubleshooting and maintaining my school's computer labs. Considering a supplemental rec from the admin, who is also my speech coach.</p>

<p>Did a cultural immersion program in Mexico last spring for 10 days. Volunteered at orphanages, etc.</p>

<p>I've been canoeing in the Boundary Waters 3+ times per year for 10+ years. I'm part Chippewa, and it shows. My grandpa makes his living trapping beaver and fox and selling their skinned pelts, and I help him often on his trap runs. Not sure what "Skinned a Beaver" will do for me on an application, but, hey, it's diversity.</p>

<p>Potential National Merit Scholar (PSAT was near perfect, can't remember off the top of my head)</p>

<p>Recs are average/solid and essays will be creative.</p>

<p>Looking to major in Computer Science with minor in econ or math. Top Schools:</p>

<p>MIT (Unlikely? Yes. Would I ever forgive myself if I didn't apply? No.)
Brown (I need help chancing this one.)
Harvey Mudd (Match? Low Reach? Help me out.)
CMU (meh... considering tossing it out. If I get into CMU I'd get into Harvey, which I like better... or is that bad reasoning?)
Carleton (High Safety?)</p>

<p>Any other similar schools I should consider? I'm looking for small (<5000) and pretty academically-oriented. But a tennis team (at least intramurals) is a must. Preferably a reeeeeally poor tennis team. </p>

<p>My ECs are weak. Yup. But they are literally all my school offers (and I even started the robotics club). Will this affect my application much?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>MIT: high reach
Brown: high reach
Harvey Mudd: low reach
CMU: high match
Carleton: high match (definitely not a safety) </p>

<p>For MIT and Brown, try to bump up your SAT to at least 2200. </p>

<p>Also, you have very strong ECs, so don’t worry about that :)</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>How would going ED to Harvey affect my chances there? I’ve heard that they reserve 25% of their admits for EDs.</p>

4

<p>If you ED’d Harvey, I could see you probably getting in if your SAT score improves a bit (2200+). Our lists look pretty similar, so I know about most of these schools.</p>

<p>Keep CMU. With high matches/low reaches, you can’t bet on getting in, but you’ll likely get into one or the other.</p>

<p>Would you rather go to Harvey or MIT? You seem like you’ve made the most out of your experience, which MIT will like. However, you know the deal, it’s a total crapshoot. If you just want to apply for the sake of applying, you could EA MIT and ED Harvey. That way you’d know. </p>

<p>Add a solid safety school (get in with your eyes closed), and more mid-match schools (1 or 2) because you really never know. Just being the best in your school isn’t necessarily enough with college admissions. That said, I really think you’ll get into at least one of your top schools. Especially if you ED Harvey.</p>

<p>EDIT: Didn’t see native american, haha you should try for MIT. Seriously consider the two paths: ED Harvey or EA MIT. I’m a white girl, almost decided to ED Cornell, but I decided I was too in love with MIT, no matter how unlikely. I realize that I now risk getting into neither, because I had a better shot at Cornell ED, but I decided to take that chance. It’s up to you at this point.</p>

5

<p>Yes, you are hooked (Native American). And you have good stats. I would say you have a good shot at all these schools, even MIT. By the way, my D is a freshman at Mudd this year, and absolutely loves it. PM me once you get to 15 posts (I think that is what you need) if you have any questions about Mudd!</p>

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<p>Is Native American really that much of a game-changer?</p>

<p>Also, Harvey has 2 ED tracks, I and II. ED II is due the same day as RD (Jan1) but it apparently has the same admit preference as ED I. Is that true? Maybe I’ll EA MIT and ED II Mudd.</p>

7

<p>OP. First of all…you don’t need to retake the SAT since you have an outstanding score of 35 on the ACT…second, since you are interested in CS with possible economics/math, I would add Stanford and Caltech to your list…third, since you are Native American, you will be considered highly competitive for all these schools…</p>

<p>…so, if I were you…I would apply to MIT and Caltech EA (early action) non-binding…so, you can get possibly at least one acceptance by December 15…and then apply to Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Brown, CMU, and Carleton in regular round…</p>

<p>…since, you are highly competitive with a major HOOK (Native American)…I would NOT apply to any school Early Decision (which is BINDING)…</p>

8

<p>Your EC’s and grades are fine, if not flawless. I wouldn’t bother with retaking the SAT, since your ACT is already so high. </p>

<p>MIT: Reach (you’re American Indian, so that’s gotta help at least a bit)
Brown: Low Reach
Carleton: Match
Harvey Mudd: High Match (I’m not convinced the Claremont Colleges, aside from Pomona, are THAT hard to get into)
CMU: High Match</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

9

<p>You’re act score is definitely 34, but either way you’re chances are pretty good for all those schools!</p>

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<p>@23THEMAN23
Whoops! The ACT score should read 35 (36R, 35M, 34S, 33E). My bad.</p>

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<p>Yes, it is a game changer. Also, are you looking for financial aid? That would be another reason to RD vs. ED so you can compare packages. You are likely to have some very good choices.</p>

<p><a href=“I’m%20not%20convinced%20the%20Claremont%20Colleges,%20aside%20from%20Pomona,%20are%20THAT%20hard%20to%20get%20into”>quote</a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>From the Common Data Set for Harvey Mudd for 2012-13:</p>

<p>Male student applications: 2,447
Male students accepted: 311</p>

<p>That is a 12.7% admit rate.</p>

<p>SAT 50% range for the incoming 2012-13 class:</p>

<p>Math - 740-800
CR - 680-770
Wr - 680-760</p>

<p>They are not slackers… however, the OP has a strong hook. So his odds are going to be higher.</p>

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<p>Yes, I am looking for financial aid. My parents can’t pay anything for college so its up to scholarships and aid packages. It’s also a tradition among my 3 siblings (MS from UW Milwaukee, MS from UH Honolulu, PhD from Mayo) to not take out loans. Ever.</p>

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<p>So that is a very good reason to apply in the RD pool to all of these schools vs. in the ED pool. You can then compare financial aid packages. EA is okay, of course.</p>

<p>I will say that you will be very well positioned from most of these schools with your proposed major to pay off federal loans. The max you can borrow in federal loans as a student is $27,000 (total for all four years). But you may get packages that limit the loans if the schools want you enough. Given that Mudd, for example, tops the Payscale rankings for return on investment in 2013, and MIT is fourth on the list, you should not have any trouble paying off that amount of loans from those schools.</p>

<p>[College</a> Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2013 College ROI Report](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-education-value-2013]College”>College Education Value Rankings - PayScale 2013 College ROI Report) </p>

<p>In your case it might be penny wise and pound foolish to pass up colleges like these and the future earnings power of a degree from there over federal student loan amounts. But at least apply and see how the packages look.</p>

14

<p>you aren’t smart enough for any mwahaha</p>

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<p>Hey… people come out here for serious advice on a serious subject. Trolling is frowned upon…</p>

16

<p>“you aren’t smart enough for any mwahaha”</p>

<p>Oh, OK. I’ll just give up then. Community College, here I come!</p>

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<p>bump…</p>

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<p>Okay. With your hook taken into account, I would say:</p>

<ul>
<li>MIT, Brown, Mudd, and CMU (assuming you want CS at CMU, which is a very difficult admit) - I would say for you they are low reaches. Because they are reaches for EVERYONE, even people with hooks. But your odds are a certainly better than the average applicant.
Carleton - Probably a match for you.<br></li>
</ul>

<p>A safety is someplace you are pretty much guaranteed to get into AND know for certain you will be able to afford. You don’t have any of those on your list. You probably want to add another match and a safety at least.</p>

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<p>I agree that you should apply to Caltech and Stanford. You should also think seriously about applying to Princeton. The campus is idyllic and the CS dept. is really pretty good. I believe I saw in their admitted students profile sheet that they didn’t have any Native Americans in this year’s class. I’ll bet they would like to remedy that. Plus, in terms of financial aid, they are always among the best. Good luck!</p>

20

<p>Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your responses! Subtle bump!</p>