<p>Hi Everyone,</p>
<p>My son is a rising senior and has is interested in applying for CS in 2015.
Please can students from class of 2014 share their outcomes of college admissions based on whether they had summer research or internship experience.
Thanks</p>
<p>It’s hard to say what affected each decision, so I think past experiences will not do you much good. The bottom line is that internships/research will be a notable positive, but it will not carry an application any more than other factors.</p>
<p>If the question is if he should do it, I would say 1000% yes, this one for past experience. Many aspiring programmers know how to code, but a lot less get a workplace experience, and that is a great thing to have on your resume, even if you could learn a bit more about CS on your own.</p>
<p>From personal experience with the college application process, I can’t say if it was a factor, but I fared well in the college admissions process. I had a 3.7-3.8 weighted GPA, probably a 3.3 Unweighted (very rigorous schedule), 33 ACT with 34 Superscored, year round sports and then CS extracurriculars (website created and run, robotics, etc) with the internship. I got into multiple Top 50 US News schools and only received rejections from Stanford (legacy, took the lottery ticket despite my GPA) and Harvey Mudd. With my GPA, I think that my concentration on CS (with help from the internship) had some role. But, once again, there is no way to tell for sure.</p>
<p>Either will be good as it shows interest outside the classroom. </p>
<p>I did an internship, but I imagine that research would be looked just as highly upon, perhaps even more so depending on what it is. Research shows quantitative evidence of work, while internships can be more subjective while providing valuable job experience, especially in a field of interest. The value of these differ obviously depending ont the field yet generally speaking they are both treated relatively equal assuming they are the same caliber. (An internship with Google or research on cancer cells might be an example to pick one over the other)</p>
<p>Hi PengPhils ,
Thanks for your reply. My son has robotics EC and has good SAT scores and a rigorous curriculum as well. GPA weighted is around 4.4
There seems to be so much anxiety tied to the what seems like random results in the admissions process.
Therefore, we wanted to understand the process more from real outcomes in CS.
Do you mind sharing which CS colleges you got admitted into and where are you planning to attend.</p>
<p>Sure! I actually recieved a PM from another parent asking for just that. The answer there is a lot more in depth, and if you want I can send you more over PM. Here are my admissions results as stats though.</p>
<p>Accepted: U of Rochester, Boston University, Northeastern University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology</p>
<p>Waitlisted: New York University (declined spot for NEU)</p>
<p>Rejected: Stanford(legacy, applied with no expectations), Harvey Mudd</p>
<p>Attending: Northeastern University - NEU was a perfect fit for me in every way, and was my #3 option after my two high reaches. Especially in CS, its academic philosophy of experiential learning is key. Co-ops for CS students are great experiences, and thanks in part to the program I will graduate with 18 months work experience from 4 different tech companies. NEU also has an entire CCIS college, and the courses and faculty are all top notch and have studied at the top CS colleges in the US. This is all very recent, but shows the commitment to the program. The course catalog is balanced yet extensive, and will have you ready for the industry. I may be slightly biased because the school fits me in many other ways, but I can honestly say you will find few places with this academic philosophy built into the school and its students so significantly paired with high level academics.</p>
<p>In your situation, you will have many more options with that higher GPA. Due to my GPA, I was realistically kept out of the top tier CS schools and was perfectly fine with that. I am guess however that when you refer to “anxiety tied to the what seems like random results in the admissions process” you are talking CMU, MIT etc. Just know that there are many great CS schools out there that will be very good safeties for your son. I would highly recommend RPI / WPI if he likes those schools as safeties?</p>
<p>What schools exactly are you looking at? While I didn’t apply to the schools, I did do enough research to have a good grip on acceptance chances. While it can be a bit random at the top tier, there is no need for anxiety because there are so many great schools out there with great CS programs. Attending a top tier CS school, while helpful, is not life or death for any student. Not only that, but the difference between an internship and research won’t make or break an applicant. Either will do fine.</p>