Hello,
My Daughter is interested in Computer Science major and business minor. She is interested in Stanford, Georgia Tech, UT Austin (Touring), UCal, CMU. We are from Texas.
Here metrics are:
SAT 1580/1600 (780M, 800CR); Her writing is low 15/24 (pretty low); this is the reason she is thinking of writing SAT again; but again she is not one who enjoys writing and wants to do CS doesn’t see the need/value of writing excellence.
SAT Math II: 800 (Math)
PSAT: 1500/1520
AP Courses: By the time she finishes senior year, 15 courses.(including AP CompSi(5))
Some leadership positions in her school clubs. Other than online CS courses, not much CS related ECs (like coding competitions) as her school doesn’t have CS related interest. She is not interested in coding competitions as she is interested in data sciences and AI.
Ethnicity: Asian - Indian - Female
We are not qualified for financial aid.
Please help us with two questions:
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Doe she need to SAT again to improve on Writing section? It all depends on if these Universities need writing or not. It looks like Stanford needs it, does CMU need it too?
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How these universities map to CS major and Business minor for her scores.
Thank you very much for your help
Are you sure CMU doesn’t need it? You should double check from their website. I don’t remember such things. For CMU, 50% of the people who are accepted had perfect score on SAT. CMU does value math a lot. Then again, it think the score is close enough that it doesn’t matter. As long as you shown that you have strong math abilities from other things.
In terms of the second question: First, you don’t declare a minor until you get admitted into the school (at least in most cases), so aiming for a business minor doesn’t really matter.
Second, your daughter has a high score and maps pretty well with these universities. I think in terms of public schools like UT Austin (make sure to apply early), UCal, and maybe Georgia Tech, you have a good chance at these schools. However, when it comes to Stanford and CMU, the score alone will not get you into the school. You need to have great ECs as well. They reject a lot 4.0s and perfects scores every year.
CMU definitely does not need the SAT essay.
@HoustonTxDad re " but again she is not one who enjoys writing and wants to do CS doesn’t see the need/value of writing excellence."
You might counsel her to reconsider. Strong communication skills are of vital importance. And CMU is very aware of that…
I shuddered when I read that comment.
writing skills are important, but my no means should you force her to retake the SAT just for a higher score. let her develop her communication skills independently through reading + writing. those application essays are what will make her stand out from the crowd.
Whether/not to retake the SAT is moot. But I stand by my point re importance of real-world communication skills (as opposed to an essay that can be honed over months and potentially w third-party assistance).
I know anecdotes are a sample of one, but I’ll share one anyway:
Older daughter (non-CMU grad – youngest is at CMU) was working on a major international data gathering/interpretation. Teams of students from Stanford and CMU participated.
The Stanford students were personable, asked good questions, communicated well and shone.
The CMU team were socially awkward, spoke in jargon, didn’t adjust to the audience and well, didn’t particularly distinguish themselves. “CMU Nerd” is what my youngest calls it and shudders. She also notes that from her perspective CMU is trying to remedy the issues.
Take a writing course at a local college & write about it in her college applications. Recognize a weakness, realize the importance & take action to improve in that area.
Thank you all for sharing your time and thoughts.
My suggestion to her is NO on SAT retake, UT Touring program is my preference, but will get behind her decision.
She would be eligible for automatic admission into UT Austin as she is in top 3 students out of 200 in her class. Her unweighted GPA is 4.0