Hi all! I am considering applying to NYU, Northeastern, CMU, USC, UIUC, UW, and UMich as a CS or applied math or data science major (somewhere in the general realm of cs and AI).
My UW gpa is a 3.6 and my W gpa is a 4.26, which I might be able to get to a 4.3 with some summer courses. I have taken 4 AP’s, 5 Honors, and at least 7 college courses. My SAT score is a 1550 with a 760 in english and 790 in math. I have so far taken the APCS A test, which I got an A on, and the AP European History test, which I got a 4 on. I will be taking the APCalc BC, APUSH, and AP Physics 1 exam in the spring.
My EC’s include:
Internship as a research intern at an AI-related startup (~1.5 years by app. time)
Internship doing research with a professor from USC (~3/4ths of a year by app. time)
Started my school’s AI club (Since June 2020)
Own an AI blog on Medium which is part of a couple popular publications (Since August 2020)
Mentorship with Stanford students (~1 year)
Organizer for my school’s annual hackathon (~1 year by app. time)
Written and submitted two academic research papers
Here are the issues: I love CS but in my first semester of APCS, I got a C because of some personal struggles at the time. I have since tried making up for it by getting an A in a college CS course and getting a 5 on the APCS exam. Additionally, my grades my first two years were about straight B’s with some A’s, but my junior year I have received straight A’s and taken dual enrollment courses to boost my gpa and get ahead in math. I don’t know if I have a shot at these schools because of the mistakes I made along the way. Additionally, I don’t know if I should apply to NYU and Northeastern with ED or not. Anything is appreciated!
You are applying in the fall, right?
It is always helpful for me to see a student’s transcript, but in your case - it’s a “must see.” I am having trouble getting to a 3.6 UW (lots of strange grade valuing i am learning on CC), but more relevant is whether I would look down and see more B’s (and C’s) than A’s. Anyway, Northeastern and UIUC (and Wisconsin) are reaches, but you might apply ED to Northeastern (not NYU please). They have a freshman abroad program that they put some kids into and I think the odds are that, if you get in, you would be part of that group. Your activities are interesting and show dedication to CS and your tests are strong, but nothing is more important than your academics, as you probably know.
UIUC and CMU for CS are out of reach. The rest are reaches, even Wisconsin (unless you meant U Washington, which would be out of reach).
I encourage you to spend relatively more time identifying match and safety schools…it’s easy to find reaches.
Please calculate your unweighted GPA for core courses only on a 4 point scale (Math, science, English, language, Soc studies). You will need this to categorize schools.
Your current list looks like it is based on prestige. What preferences do you have with regard to location, number of undergrads, etc?
Lastly, what is your budget for college? If you don’t know, now is the time to talk with your parents.
Yea, my grade weighting is a bit strange, but I’m confident that I can maintain straight A’s through junior year and probably senior year too. May I ask why I shouldn’t apply early to NYU? Ty
I don’t understand how your unweighted GPA can be that high 3.7-3.8 , based on your OP that said the above (straight Bs the first two years with some As). Realize that you will be applying to colleges based on the first 6 semesters of grades, so even though you have brought your grades up dramatically, 2 of the 3 years sound like you had mostly Bs.