School search, narrowing the list...

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey all, glad to see a nice site for college talk. I'm new here, and hope that I can learn something and clarify my direction with your help.</p>

<p>A little about myself... I'm a junior in high school right now, and I have come to the realization that I should really start thinking about colleges NOW instead of waiting until senior year. I'm not sure if I'm behind the game or ahead of the game; I've asked a few friends and have received varying responses in terms of where they are in the college search process.</p>

<p>As far as academics and extracurriculars go...
I'm at a standard public high school.
I've always tried to challenge myself as much as possible - I took 1 AP class last year, 3 this year, and will take 5 next year.
My GPA's somewhere around 3.9.
I took SATs and ACTs last year to see how I'd do on them. I got 2170 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT. I took SATs again in May (results coming in one week), and will take ACT and SAT subjects in June on the respective testing dates.
My primary extracurricular activity is FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. I am a programmer and webmaster on my high school's FRC team and have been a member since I was in the 8th grade. It's truly an amazing program and I really have a passion for it.
Other extracurricular activities include chess team (2 years, but currently not an active member), National Honor Society (1 year), track & field (1 year), all with my school. I also have taken the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) test for two years, and both times have qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME). I am thinking of also joining cross country senior year and will continue the above activities as well.
On Saturdays I volunteer at a nearby Chinese School as a Teacher's Assistant - grading homework, helping kids with Chinese, that kind of stuff.</p>

<p>I think that describes the things colleges generally consider when evaluating a student. With that picture in mind, I have a few questions for anyone willing to help.</p>

<p>There are so many colleges out there, and trying to narrow down to 6-10 that I'm going to apply to in the fall seems like such a daunting task! My thoughts on this right now:</p>

<p>My friends, teachers, counselors, family all tell me I can get into some great places with my performance. And I really feel like I can too! So I want to aim high. But I also don't want to aim too high and overstretch myself in the process, and I don't want to pass by some schools that do not have national prestige but also are great schools!</p>

<p>I'm pretty much set on majoring in Computer Science. I've always loved computers. I have 6 years of programming experience (though most of it is sporadically used and self-taught), and though I know Computer Science isn't all about programming, it does play a role. I love math as well, and that fits in well with Computer Science too. And my four years in FIRST Robotics have solidified my love for programming and engineering in general. Computer Science... just seems right for me.</p>

<p>In addition, I would prefer not to get inundated in an ocean of 20,000 undergrads. I would like a school smaller than that. It doesn't have to be really small like, say, Harvey Mudd, one of the colleges I have looked at - I have no problem with a small or middle sized school. But the really large ones are not appealing to me.</p>

<p>With that in mind, I can narrow down my college search by searching for colleges that have strong Computer Science programs, as well as strength in engineering in general. Strength in math and the sciences would be absolutely great as well. So that's what I have in mind when I consider colleges.</p>

<p>I am loathe to choose colleges solely on the basis of rankings, because I have seen enough discussion to believe that rankings can easily be gamed. Nevertheless, I figure if a college is good enough to get "ranked" in the engineering fields, it should have a strong program. So I have been using those ranking lists solely as a source for names, and I do further research from there in an attempt to see if the college looks good.</p>

<p>I don't know if I'm looking at all the wrong things though. I mean, sure, the strong engineering programs and the strong computer science should be solid things that make a college fit for me, but the ultimate test of whether a college fits me is a visit to the college, and I do not have any college visits lined up. And yet, these visits take time and money, and I think I need to choose the colleges I want to visit wisely.</p>

<p>As another note... I have a friend who is strongly encouraging that I consider HYP. Now, while I have looked at Princeton according to the above criteria and really liked it (Undergrad focus, nice CS, etc. etc.), I think Harvard and Yale are less fitting. Sure, they're part of "the big three" so they'll have good programs no matter what. I doubt their overall fit for me on the basis of what I've heard - these two schools focus more on the graduate programs (and IMHO its CS is, although still impressive, slightly not as good), and it is not necessary to seek an education there just because it's Ivy League. I think prestige should be a secondary condition, subordinate to my judgment of how well I think the school fits me.</p>

<p>Anyway, the whole gist of it is, tell me if I'm on the right track. Are my decisions to seek strong CS/engineering programs, a small to medium sized school, and a decreased emphasis on "rankings" and "prestige" sane decisions? This is what (to use a cliched expression) my heart tells me to do; I just need to know if my heart is insane and misguided.</p>

<p>If it is of any use, the schools that have made the cut...
Cal Poly, Cal Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, MIT, Princeton, Rensselaer, Rose-Hulman, Stanford, University of Washington, Yale</p>

<p>Any other advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think you are on the right track with these schools. Some though are reaches for everyone, but I think you have a good list. Also, Rice and Case Western might be worth a look. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Your list is rather top-heavy. You'll surely get into Rose-Hulman, Cal Poly, GTech and RPI though.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
Your list is rather top-heavy.

[/quote]
...which makes perfect sense since you only need 1 safety if it's truly a safety whereas you may need several reaches since the whole point of a reach is that you may get lucky and get in.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
Your list is rather top-heavy

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Hm, my thoughts on that - I'm told I am almost guaranteed admission to UW (in-state public university, great CS program :) ), and for good measure I also added a few schools that I also like but are not as selective as the uberselective ones up there. I think with my safeties and matches covered, I should focus on the reach schools since I actually have an okay shot at some of them, and I would love it if I could get into them. There are a lot of variables I can't control, but I will send strong applications to these schools, and hopefully I can get into some of the ones at the top.</p>

<p>Also, looks like I am too late to edit my first post, but I should add on the ECs that I am a participant in American Cancer Society's Relay for Life - started last year, continuing this year, and likely will continue next year as well. It's good stuff!</p>

<p>My primary concern is that I have the academics, but the ECs and leadership might not be strong enough. What do you all think?</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I'm not going against the list - if you'd be happy at all your safeties (in case you need to attend them), then it's cool.</p>

7

<p>You are a great candidate, and I think that your list is reasonable. You did not mention financial aid, but if you need it, seriously research what types and how much you are likely to get. There are FIRST scholarships at some schools. I believe that Worchester Polytechnic, University of Rochester, and Case Western have them. I don't think that you need more safeties, unless there are financial considerations. You could look at some schools like Johns Hopkins, WUSTL, Northwestern, Rice. No, I don't think that your ECs are weak at all, because you are doing very well in FIRST.</p>

8

<p>Personally, I'd drop Harvard, Princeton, Yale - the top Ivies are awesome, but they're not really big computer schools...not in the same way your other schools are. </p>

<p>Rice, Rochester, Johns Hopkins, etc. could be good replacements.</p>

9

<p>Is UW Wisconsin or Washington?</p>

<p>You should place more trust in rankings and prestige.</p>

<p>Computer Science rankings from Gourman Report:
MIT
Carnegie Mellon
UC Berkeley
Cornell
U Illinois
UCLA
Yale
Caltech
U Texas Austin
Wisconsin
Maryland College Park
Princeton
u Washington
USC
SUNY Stony Brook
Brown
Georgia Tech
U penn
U Rochester
NYU
Minnesota
U Utah
Columbia</p>

10

<p>OneMom: Good point, financial aid would be very helpful. So I will be looking at that. And in addition I am looking around at other schools that might make the shortlist of schools to apply to, but that process should take a while.</p>

<p>World Changer: I am dropping Harvard and Yale from the apply list because I can agree that their engineering programs are not as strong (although it seems their computer science are passable), but it looked to me as if Princeton's engineering was good and on par with some of the better engineering programs out there (though admittedly not as much as Cornell, which definitely looks like the Ivy with the strongest focus on engineering)</p>

<p>collegehelp: Sorry, should have been more clear. I'm a Washington resident, so UW means U of Washington. And really, I like the fact that rankings can provide me with a good list of names for colleges, but I use them with moderation. Seems like the smart thing to do.</p>

<p>In other news, in addition to Harvard and Yale, Rose-Hulman also got booted from the list. RPI might get removed too, but that decision isn't final yet. And Northwestern might get added, pending further consideration. Obviously the list is a work in progress, because I still have a few months before I need to start cranking applications out.</p>

<p>What I really need to do is visit some schools, especially the ones in California. In particular I need to check up on Caltech and Harvey Mudd to see if the small class size really is something that appeals to me. </p>

<p>I was talking to a senior friend today and he estimates I have a 60% chance of getting in Cornell, Northwestern, Caltech. Seriously, no matter how stellar others might think I am, there are going to be tons of stellar students applying to these same colleges. I know I would never feel comfortable calling Cornell or Caltech a "match" school under any circumstances. Thoughts on that?</p>

11

<p>I agree with your senior friend. You are pretty solid for schools on that level, so if you do a good job on the applications and apply to enough of them, you will be in at some of them. Worchester, Case, Rochester, RPI, and Rice are known for good aid. USC and Tulane give great aid and may be worth investigating.</p>