Me: 1520 SAT, 3.4 UW GPA (partially due to health issues 9-10th grade), 3.86 UC GPA, 770 Math 2. Good ECs
(<1% acceptance rate engineering internship, research at major institute, developed popular/award-winning apps, started small online business, blogging, competing at selective collegiate hackathons, music stuff). Asian/white female interested in CS.
I’d like somewhere with strong computational biology/genetics research. Also somewhere with nice music facilities where I could be involved/minor in music without majoring in it. Prefer mid size (~5-10k), somewhere with lots of things to do, flexible/open curriculum, entrepreneurial culture, prefer that Greek life doesn’t dominate the social scene, not too hot of weather. Obviously no school will fit all those categories but if anyone has suggestions, that would be so helpful.
Currently considering: UCSC, UCSD, UCB, Brown, Stanford, URochester, Northeastern, UWaterloo, WPI, RPI, RIT, UW, some CSUs (I know some of these are super reaches but let a girl dream)
By personality, how “tech” are you? (Would you prefer a predominantly technology-focused environment or a school at which strong science and math programs exist within an academic context that includes a substantial range of social sciences, humanities and fine arts?)
@merc81 I’d prefer the latter, a well-rounded school that will allow me to pursue interests outside of engineering. Strong research in science is important to me, though.
URochester, already on your list, would be an excellent choice with which to begin. Northeastern, among some of your others, seems to fit most of your criteria as well. You might also want to consider CWRU.
As good as RPI, WPI and RIT can be for some students, their degrees of academic balance may not suit your preferences.
For strength in bionformatics and CS in general, excellent music facilities and a flexible curriculum, Hamilton should be among the schools you research. Smith and Mt. Holyoke might be other good options along these lines.
You seem to have a great list going. Given your EC’s, I think you’ll have a shot at the big name CS schools despite your GPA, and health issues can be explained by your counselor in their recommendation, etc.
Boston University is not as strong in CS as many of the others listed here but it fits most criteria.
@pleasgod, Hamilton seems like a great fit as it does a great job of balancing STEM, social sciences and fine arts -Ih have twin DD’s with similar scores that are Freshman now and both are really enjoying it, albeit with completely different right and left brian focuses.
STEM is a very large portion of the student population with the 280,000 SF Taylor Science Center as the largest building of the 130 on campus - many schools 4x its size have similar sized or smaller science facilities.
For your pursuit of music, the Hans H. Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts contains the 700-seat Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall, two large rehearsal halls and 15 practice rooms so very robust facilities for a school of its size as well.
@pleasgod, you are very welcome. There are a bunch of great schools out there for student s that have worked as hard as you and they all have their own fit/feel - my DD’s had the same good problem.
While some is nuanced, other aspects aren’t. Its no wonder the alumni donate $100’s of millions to ensure that the sense of purpose continues.
Feel free to PM if you have any questions that my DD’s can answer.
Wesleyan checks a lot of your boxes and is known for strength in the sciences as well as the arts. It’s also one of the bigger lacs. It’s reachy for everyone though. I do think you are getting to need to apply to a range of schools, became while your SAT is excellent, your GPA is low for some on your list. Great luck
@wisteria100 Thank you! I was interested in Wesleyan’s open curriculum but the NPC says it’ll be way out of our budget yeah, I’m planning to apply to a couple dozen in hopes one will take me despite my transcript
JHU, Wash U, Hamilton, Case, URochester, Wes and Barnard are good additions (among others mentioned).
I too think that if you want a balanced school (STEM/Hum/SS) you might omit RPI, WPI and RIT.
I would say, though, that the 3.4 GPA makes most of the schools mentioned in this thread reaches or low reaches. Most schools give more weight to GPA than to test scores. I think the UCs you listed will be tough to get into with the GPA where it is, as will Washington or Wisconsin OOS – not sure which you meant, but they are similarly selective.
So right now your safeties are the CSUs – if you would be happy at one, I think you’re fine, but you might go after some true matches. I’m not sure you have one on your list except for maybe WPI and RIT, and those are very tech-heavy. Case Western might be, but I would consider it a high match.
So what might be some true matches for 3.4/1520?
Universities:
U of Miami
SMU
Pepperdine
Villanova
Fordham
LACs:
Union
Franklin & Marshall
Skidmore
Whitman
Occidental
Trinity (CT)
All of the above are very solid and are, I think, true matches for you. It wouldn’t hurt to find a couple you like, and that fit your preferences, and add them to your app list.
@prezbucky Yeah, I was surprised that people thought my list was reasonable because I do agree most those schools are reaches. Last time (im reapplying after a gap year), I was waitlisted pretty much everywhere I applied. Case rejected me. Granted, my application was much weaker back then, but I’d like to avoid repeating that. So thank you so much for giving me some more realistic choices. I’ll do more research on those schools.
@pleasgod, I misread your posting as I thought you were a Junior as you referenced GPA issues in 9-10th grade. A gap year is usually associated with a deferral after an acceptance to pursue EC’s that will add to your college experience upon matriculation - what have you done since you graduated?
Well, you might still get into some of the other schools in this thread – don’t give up on them if they fit you and you can afford them – but it is usually a good idea to apply to a mix of reaches, matches and safeties. You can still apply to reaches; just don’t forget matches and at least one safety (and you already have multiple potential safeties in the CSUs…).
@chembiodad Internships (research and CS) and I plan to use my internship money to travel during spring. Also most of the ECs I mentioned in my post I didn’t put down on my app and my interests in schools have shifted, so I’d like a second chance at applying
yeah, I’m planning to apply to a couple dozen in hopes one will take me despite my transcript