<p>That depends on the school within CMU that you’re applying to. Based on the other colleges you listed, I’m assuming you’re going into engineering or comp sci? If so, then I’m afraid CMU is also out of reach for you, because even their engineering school is as competitive as Cornell (and their comp sci school is as competitive as Stanford). And I’d assume that they do look at essays; all the top schools tend to focus a lot on the “subjective” parts of the app, simply because the stats are so similar for most students. So I have to second the previous response. NYU and GA Tech are the most realistic ones for you, simply because the rest of the schools you listed are out of reach.</p>