I am an Asian male majoring in computer science in Florida. I have a 36 composite ACT as well as a 800 on math 2 and biology m subject tests. My unweighted GPA is a 4.00 and my weighted GPA is a 6.62 / 7.00.
I’m currently taking all IB classes (English HL, History HL, Biology HL, Math HL, Physics SL, Spanish SL), and have taken 4 AP classes in the past. I’m currently also enrolled in AP Computer Science A and AP English Literature.
Human Geography - 5, World History - 5, Psychology - 5, Calculus AB - 4.
Placed at State Science Fair every year since 6th grade -- 5th place in 9th grade, 4th place in 10th grade, I will compete in March in 11th grade (along with a variety of special awards at the regional and state level)
Won at ISWEEP (an international science fair) -- Bronze medal in 10th grade, I will compete again in May in 11th grade
Davidson Fellow
4th place at my state's JSEHS (science honor symposium -- a speaking science competition)
Finalist at the National Science Honor Symposium
I may have a chance to attend ISEF this year
My representative gave a speech about my research to the House of Representatives (which is now public on the Congressional Record)
2nd place at ACM Mobicom App Contest (a prestigious technology conference with a <10% acceptance rate for papers submitted to their journal)
Sunshine State Scholar (the most high-achieving student in STEM is picked from each county in Florida to represent the county at a statewide conference)
I scored a 217 on my PSAT, which unfortunately may not be enough to be a National Merit semifinalist, but I definitely will be commended.
I’ve volunteered for about 100 hours at my local library teaching STEM and programming classes to kids and adults. I’m also applying to quite a few selective summer research programs. My parents earn about $120k a year, but are paying for my sister to go through medical school, so they can only afford to pay at most $10k to $15k a year. I’m an AP Scholar with Distinction but I know that doesn’t really mean anything lol. I’m active in some science, math, and entrepreneurial clubs at school. What schools would be a good fit for me? I’m looking at UCF, UF, MIT, Caltech, and Carnegie Mellon. that’s just a basic list so far though.
@jamesk2014 Thanks for the response! I’ve been looking into Georgia Tech, but unfortunately, they don’t seem to offer that much aid for OOS students. Either way, I’m planning to do research this summer, so I think that should help my application to the elite colleges.
U Minnesota-Twin Cities has a great CS program and offers scholarship packages that can cover full tuition plus much more. UT-Austin also has a great CS program and scholarships. The Ivies will typically cover full need (based on both parent incomes). U Washington in Seattle also has a great CS program.
The financial aspect will make this tough. Case Western offers some good merit, so check there. I agree with shooting for some Ivy’s and the like, which may give you enough aid due to their endowments. Cornell, in particular, is best known for CS. With your profile, throw in a lottery ticket for Harvard/Stanford as well.
UF is a very good value option with a very solid CS program, so don’t overlook them fully in chasing prestige. A motivated student will have no issues there.
Even at selective private schools with the most generous need-based aid, there may be a big gap between your $10K-$15K budget and the Expected Family Contribution. You may need a full-tuition merit scholarship, which could mean that your reaches need to be less selective than they otherwise would be (based on admission chances alone). MIT does not award merit aid; Caltech awards almost none; CMU gave merit awards to only 31 incoming first year students for this year and the average amount was only about $12K. The University of Southern California seems to have a strong CS department and also awards relatively much merit money (compared to other T25 national universities).
It’s hard to judge which ones might be a good fit, because you don’t indicate preferences for size, location, atmosphere (politics/sports/fraternities) etc.
