Hello, I usually do not ask questions like these but lately, I have been stressing a lot about college admissions so I thought I’d make a thread about it.
I am a Washington resident, which I guess is good for UWash, but my family can afford to go to any college as long as it is not crazy.
Please be brutally honest
Intended Major: Computer Science
Stats:
Academics:
AP’s (15): Human Geography (4); World History (4); Statistics (5); Chemistry (5); Language (4); US History (4); Calculus AB (5); Computer Science Principles (5); Computer Science A (5); Psychology (5); Literature (4); Government (5); Calculus BC (5); Biology (5); Environmental Science (5)
Honors: Literature 9; Literature 10; Physics (No AP)
ACT: 35
Subject Tests: Math II (800); Chemistry (800); Physics (800)
GPA: 4.52 (W); 3.975 (UW)
Extracurriculars:
Camp Counselor - Kiwanis Camp Casey (576 hours)
Varsity Tennis (3 years); Captain (1 year); Districts Champ + State Competitor
Received an online certificate in CS50 Harvard Course
Did an internship at a local technology company
Worked on independent open-source programming projects (nothing big)
National AP Scholar
National Honor Society
Worked as a math tutor in Best in Class ← NOT HIRED YET, IDK HOW IT WILL TURN OUT
My dream school: Stanford CS, UC Berkeley CS
My lower dream school: University of Washington CS (<5% acceptance)
Please give me feedback on how good my chances are for these three schools and possible other good CS schools that you think I have a good shot at. Also, I still have some time before college, so if you have any suggestions for EC’s, that would really help.
Stanford and Cal are going to reaches. Especially for EECS. And you are OOS for Cal, which may make it unaffordable depending on whether you need financial aid.
Nothing wrong with UDub for CS. Likely in as a general admit but as you say a direct admit to CS is going to be hard.
I would suggest more CS/math related ECs. Hackathons and math contests come to mind.
Thanks for the reply @Hamurtle,
for UW, do you think I’m below or above the average applicant? What do you think my chances are?
Same goes for UCB, is that too high of a goal? I know Stanford is just a crapshoot for me.
Also, will doing CS/math related EC’s raise my chances significantly?
Thanks again!
I believe you are competitive for UCB, but if $65K/year is unaffordable, not worth the time to apply. EECS as stated is a Reach but still a possible Reach.
@StressLord It doesn’t matter whether you are “above average”, if the average acceptance rates are lower than 20%. What those stats mean is that the vast majority of the kids with the profiles that the college likes best are going to be rejected.
Another result of applying to a college like Stanford with a 5% acceptance rate is that nothing except a major award (I mean national level, only 5 awarded a year) will raise your chances significantly. Well, to be more accurate, things may increase your chances by 30%. What that means, in real life, is that you will have the profile of kids of who 6% are accepted instead of having the profile of kids of who 5% are accepted. This means that you will have a 94% chance of being rejected as opposed to a 95% chance.
Moreover, one AO may really like these ECs while another may find them boring. Next year you may be one of 700 kids with these ECs, or one of 150 kids. There is no way to know whether a particular EC will have any substantial positive effect on the attractiveness of your application.
Furthermore, just having particular ECs checked off on your application will not help, and can actually hurt. AOs at any college with holistic admissions don’t look and say “this one did ECs A, B, and C, so they’re good”. They look and see what you did in your ECs. It is very obvious when a kid is doing “the right ECs” to check the right boxes, and these will not help. Doing a couple of math/CS-related ECs only in your senior year definitely looks like somebody who is looking to check a box or two.
Finally, you want to major in CS, yet you have not yet seriously engaged in any CS, math, engineering, or robotics ECs. Aside from the fact that you are already behind almost every single one of the kids who will be majoring in CS next year, you also do not seem to have the level of interest in anything related to CS that is likely to allow you to sustain the levels of math and CS required for a CS undergraduate program.
Sorry, I forgot to mention this. @Hamurtle@Gumbymom@MWolf
I am an incoming junior. so a few of my AP’s and my internship are predicted. The other stats I have already done. I do still have more time to add valuable EC’s, so I thought I’d just point that out.
MWolf, I don’t really get what you’re trying to say in your fourth paragraph. I understand that I should delve deep into my current EC’s, but shouldn’t I focus on getting some more CS/math related EC’s as well? Also, regarding your fifth paragraph, when you say that I am behind almost every kid majoring in CS, does that really matter though? I thought that you didn’t need prior CS knowledge for majoring in CS besides just showing interest in CS through CS-related EC’s.
Your stats are good, but you have to understand that everyone else will have the same stats and equally as impressive extracurriculars. My question to you is, how are you going to differentiate yourself from the pack? What are you going to do to stand out?
@StressLord I’m saying two things, the first is that you are competing against people who have ECs which demonstrate a long and deep interest and engagement in math and CS, while your profile seems to demonstrate more of an attitude of “I’m a smart rising Junior with good stats, and CS looks like a lucrative major, so now I’ll do some that ECs will help me be accepted”. My second point is that, if you are accepted to an extremely competitive CS program, your classmates will be far ahead of you in math, since they did not limit themselves to the classroom courses, but have done all sorts of math and CS-related activities outside of the classroom. Have you done AP Calc or AP CS yet?
Why do you want to study CS, and how much do you know about what studying for a CS major entails? There are many majors in which the most difficult part is being accepted, because they are popular, but not particularly difficult (like law). That is not true for any engineering field. It is extremely difficult, and, unless you have top-notch math skills, you will not succeed. Unfortunately, there is little in your profile which says that you have that level of math skills. I’m not saying that you do not have such skills, just that your profile does not demonstrate them.
Your profile is good, and you would be decently competitive for many selective colleges and programs. However, I do not think that you are all that competitive for the CS programs with the lowest acceptance rates, which are the ones you are asking about, except UWash.
That is the good news for you - the acceptance rate to UWash CS for Wash residents is much higher than 5% (according to their own website, in 2019 it was 28% for Wash residents), and, even if you aren’t accepted directly to CS, if you are accepted to another department (which is pretty likely), you will have the opportunity to transfer. However, it is just as difficult and competitive as any of the other most selective CS programs, and you will be studying alongside kids who have been focused on math and CS since elementary school.
Thanks for the reply @MWolf,
If you look at my thread, I mentioned all the AP’s I have taken or plan to predict, with AP calc ab, bc, apcsa, and apcsp already taken. I don’t know any other good ways to show my math/science skills (in academics) except for my 5’s on all my stem-related ap courses and 800’s on all my math-science subject tests, with the 35 on my act.
I am not worried about how I’ll hold up in those CS programs; I am pretty confident in my abilities. I am just making this thread to know how my stats (mainly EC’s) will hold up against everyone else.
In your 3rd paragraph, you mention that I am not that competitive for the CS programs with the lowest acceptance rates, and in the first paragraph, you mention that I lack a long and deep interest in engagement in math/CS. I am assuming that my lack of engagement is the reason for my non-competitiveness unless I am wrong (please correct me).
I know it’s a bit late to start a “long and deep interest in engagement”, but how would I go about showing those admission officers that I am passionate about CS/math through my EC’s? What types of activities will help me show that interest? I am not just looking for boxes to check off for my EC’s, but, rather, want to pursue meaningful EC’s that will benefit both my skills and my chances for admission. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Exactly what parts of your post are “predicted”? Asking folks to chance you on what you hope to do and scores you expect to get is a waste of time.
You said your internship is “predicted” and you haven’t been hired yet as a math tutor, which means you don’t have any math or CS-related ECs, is that correct?
MWolf has given you good advice, but no estimate of your chances will be accurate if we can’t separate what is made up and what isn’t.
@StressLord the hard fact is that your chances are very small. You already know that. They are not nil, either, b/c of all that you have already achieved. You already know that also.
But: all the drive and determination that has gotten you this far can turn into unhelpful anxiety, tearing you up about trying to move the needle from a theoretical 5% chance to a (theoretical) 6% chance. One productive thing you can do with that nervous energy is to work on learning more about CS programs, and which ones are the best fits for you.
I know: you are in love with the 2 fanciest names in your neck of the woods- that’s easy, and has a lot of bragging rights, which always feels good… But how much do you know about the nuts and bolts of CS programs? Do you know which programs are more theoretical than others? which programs have deep / meaningful links with other departments, and how that affects the undergrad options? Do you know what end of CS suits your strengths & weaknesses & personality? Do you know which colleges fit that? The more you figure out who you are and how you work, and then learn about the CS programs at different colleges the better able you will be to find the right fit for you.