TURING SCHOLARS ACCEPTED PROFILES

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

Hi everyone. I got into Turing and was just curious about the stats of other who got in:

in-state, auto-admit, applied end of november, heard back on 1/21/2016

SAT: ~2050 (640 CR, 730M, 700W)
SAT SUBJECT TEST: DIDN’T SUBMIT, PERFECT SCORES
AP TESTS: 5 CALC BC, 5 US HISTORY, 5 CS, 5 CHEMISTRY, 5 PHYSICS I, 5 ENGLISH LANGUAGE… FORGOT THE REST(ALL 5’S SAVE FOR EUROPEAN HISTORY)…
CLASS RANK: SUBMITTED: 19/786
OTHER STUFF: MATH THROUGH LINEAR ALGEBRA, PROGRAMMING INTERNSHIP IN THE THIRD WORLD, WEB-SERVER FOUNDER AND ADMINISTRATOR, CLASS THROUGH HARVARD(CS50), SENT A HOT AIR BALLOON TO 100,000 FT(SCREWED UP THE ATTACHED AIRPLANE AND DIDN’T BREAK WORLD RECORD)…

RECOMMENDATION: 7/10

TRIED UIL COMPUTER SCIENCE BUT QUIT AFTER 2 MEETS

Graduating with about 18 or 19 AP credits… Had a C in math freshman year, and B’s in history and english…

that summarizes my application…

2

I am also an in-state auto-admit that applied at the end of November.

SAT: 2170 (700 CR, 800 M, 670 W)

ACT: 34 (R: 32 M: 36 E: 31 S: 36)

SAT Subject Tests: Math II: 800 Physics: 770

AP Tests: 5 Calculus AB and 5 in Computer Science (that’s all of them)

Class Rank: 3/~120

Highest Math Class: Calculus AB (I took this last year but this was the highest math class that my school offered, so my school just though it would be better to put me in a remedial math class my senior year, I argued with people for about three weeks about this but oh well)

UILs: Number Sense (3x District Champion, 2x Region Champion), Computer Science (1x District Champion, Got 2nd at state as a team), General Math (2x District Champion, got 9th at State), Science (District Top Physics Score), and Calculator Apps (2x District Champion)

Other Competitions:
Was the programmer/leader for a video game design team that placed 4th at the national level in TSA’s Video Game Design Competition.
Competed in Zero Robotics (A world-wide programming only robotics competition) hosted by MIT and made it to the ISS Finals twice. So I have technically have two programs I helped write fly aboard the International Space Station.

-Good Luck to anyone who applied.

3

SAT: 2340 superscore (#1 800 M, 800 WR, 690 CR, #2 800 M, 740 WR, 740 CR)
ACT: 33 (one time)

Subject tests: Math II 800 Chem 800 World History 800
Rank: 1/880

Awards: Siemens Semifinalist, Published compsci research, Boys Nation Senator, FBLA Network Design National Qualifier 2nd at State, FBLA State Business Math Finalist, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar, Science Olympiad State Finalist - Ranked very high out of 300+ teams statewide (many SO awards at district, regional, and state), 4th Place Computer Science Team regionals, Number Sense UIL Regional Finalist x3, Lots of NS and CompSci UIL Invitational Awards, Presidential Service Award Gold x2, Several Piano Regional Championships, Volunteer of the Year at my Chinese School, Hugh O’Brain Leadership Award Winner

Extracurriculars:
• Computer Science Research at local university (10,11)
• Key Club (Class Officer, Webmaster , VP, won several major state awards and leader in 10+ very major service projects)
• Science Olympiad (9-12, Team Captain)
• Computer Science (10-12 President)
• FBLA (9-12, Co-founder of charter and treasurer x3)
• Math UIL (9-12, President Math UIL Captain)
• Chinese School Regional Head Director
• Piano (13 years)

Misc:
Volunteering- 900+ hrs
Asian male (ha)
Large Public School

Also got Deans Scholars. Now just hoping UT gives me some $$. Good luck to all! Looking forward to seeing my fellow Turing scholars in February!

4

Today I attended the reception held for students admitted to the Turing Scholars Class of 2020. For future reference, Dr. Lin stated that admission to the program becomes more competitive with every passing year as the program’s reputation continues to increase.

The median composite SAT score for this year’s admits was 2330 with 800 being the median math section score. The median rank was 6 out of an average class size of 600+, so it is the top 1%. That being said, they are not just looking purely at numbers. He stated academic rigor in math and science, letters of recommendation, extracurricular accomplishments, and leadership are also highly considered.

UTCS faculty actually read the applications and decide which students will be admitted to the program. I believe that Dr. Lin stated that they had over 700 students apply this year. I also want to say that around 80 students were admitted, but they only expect to have 40-50 per class actually enroll.

5

Thanks @3Pagodas for writing about the reception and the stats of the accepted students. Congratulations to yourself and to the other candidates. Unfortunately, my DD was not accepted but at least I understand why - her math SAT score. She did not have a perfect score. She was in the running with everything else. I guess that shows the importance of that one score. Congratulations again.

6

Also at the reception but, missed the stats as we were in the late arrivals from Dean’s presentation. So, thank you @3Pagodas for filling in the gaps.

Very impressed with Dr. Lin! He specifically remembered something from DS application- so, yes they take the time to read them carefully before making the decisions!

Also, remember if you were not admitted- & you attend UT, you can apply again (I think after freshman year).

7

To be honest, with her not getting into honors I do think she will go elsewhere. She has other universities, not as highly ranked in CS, that are showing a lot of interest in her and I think that is important. Out of my older DD’s friends majoring in CS both at UT (not Turing) and at other colleges, her friend at Trinity in SA is doing best. Her third internship at Google this summer and in London because the school promotes her. I think that extra attention is worth a lot, but that being said, being admitted to Turing means you are the best of the best so congratulations again.

8

Hello, Turing is great, but definitely not for everyone.
I felt very out of place in the reception. You see, although I am an Asian myself, and I knew two other Asians(like REALLLY WELL) in that program, I just couldn’t see myself studying in that cohort… There were literally like 3 or 4 white kids… The rest were ALL Asians… I value diversity… a class comprised of almost all Asians,… definitely want to reconsider…

Anyways, the faculty kind of compared UT to Stanford and other top schools and said how it would be more cost effective to do undergrad at UT and to go for grad somewhere else… well, this is not something a Professor should be saying, IMO… he should be talking more about research opps.(which he did, but he didn’t highlight research nearly as much as starting salary and job offers)…

Honestly, turing doesn;t feel like it’s for me… it’s a great program for some people! Definitely not one I would thrive in!

I am not trying to offend, but Turings seemed kind of… really into their stuff… which is great, but I am not THAT into CS…

No clue how I got into Turing… those other students were all so much better than me… TURING IS A GREAT PROGRAM!!!

just not one for me, and many others like me.

9

By the way, Stats really THAT important… I only got a 730 on the Math, and blew the other sections…

Lol… no clue how I got in… i had some a C in math, and some B’s in my transcript… leadership: none… ah well, hopefully, I’ll get accepted by some school whose culture I actually like… I REALLY didn’t like the culture at UT… it was a great one, but not one for me.

Anyways, I don’t know what Prof. Lin was looking for, but he is DEFINITELY A GREAT PERSON!!! u could see his zeal for CS in his eyes!!! he cared a LOT ABOUT the students!!! I mean, during lunch, he was hanging around Turing accepted students like me!!! WOW!!! it’s a great program FOR SOME PEOPLE!!!

Too many Asians(like 90-95%… not an overstatement) though…

10

Wait, so were u in the reception? We should have talked…

11

@peanut10 What were you expecting that is different than your experience?

12

Just out of curiosity - how many or ballpark % of girls were there? It was interesting that you were saying it was almost all Asian and I’m just curious if it was about 20% female which is the ratio of the CS dept outside of the freshman year.

13

@GTAustin I have no exact numbers on the number of girls admitted. Most students did attend with some of their family members, so some of the females in attendance may or may not be actually part of the admitted students. If I were to make a guess, I would say maybe 15-20% were female. There were some female Turing Scholars that spoke on the student panels and described their experiences in the program. UTCS has many resources and organizations for women in the department.

I really believe that all the admittees are chosen for their merit and qualifications and are not chosen to fill certain quotas whether it be race or gender. The students there deserved to be there. They all seemed to have extremely strong backgrounds in math and computer science. Many of them have won computer science programming compititions, prestigious science fair awards, created their own games and apps, etc. These talented students clearly have already demonstrated their potential to do great things, which is why I believe they were chosen.

14

My son was there and he didn’t feel that the attendees were all Asian. Definitely not that many URM, but about even white/Asian? Definitely skewed more boys than girls. I tried to get him to give me a guess and he thought maybe 20% female but says he wasn’t really paying attention.

He liked it, feels like it is a great option, but will probably go out of state. We’ll see what all his options are in about a month.

15

@peanut10 - Congratulations. I am a bit surprised by your profile - you have 5s in both Calc BC and English but your SAT score does not seem to be that high.

16

@3Pagodas, thanks for writing back. I was just curious. I did not think they will be filling quotas but almost the opposite. It seemed that almost everybody that has been posting here, which is a very small sample, has been male with one exception, so I am glad to hear that. And yes, their resumes have been very impressive and I do believe they were chosen based on deserved merit.

17

Thanks @piesquared for writing. At my DD HS, there is so few girls taking CS, less than 10%. I know they say you don’t need a background in CS to get accepted for Turing but that seems to be outdated. So, again, I am glad to hear that other HS are doing a better job of appealing to women and getting them prepared. And good luck to your son where ever he decides to go.

18

@GTAustin Good luck to your daughter! My son’s very good (female) friend also did not get in, but she did have the perfect math score. She also had more well-rounded ECs, ie., some very good English and non-science activities. So my son is more pointy (his ECs are all math/science/engineering/CS related with some national level awards) and his friend is more evenly distributed (she also has national level stuff but not in science). I do not know if that matters. She is disappointed and although auto admit to UT, waiting to see where else she gets in, as she was deferred from her SCEA school.

19

I know the Turing page on the UTCS website does say that a background in CS is not required to be admitted, but that did not seem to be the case. Dr. Lin was joking with the students by telling them that their AP CS credit would not count toward their Turing degree, but it did probably help them get in. I really think that they want to see kids heavily involved in science, math, and computer science related activities that have taken AP CS, Calculus BC, Physics, etc. or other advanced classes. If you do not have experience in JAVA, you have to catch up the summer before entry or you may easily fall behind your first semester as the courses for Turing are not really entry level classes. They are very fast paced and cover a lot of material right from the get go.

20

@peanut10

Actually Turing is much more diverse, no way there are 90-95% Asians in the actual program.

The main purpose of any reception in the middle of February, before finaid letters and May 1 commitment, is MARKETING & ADVERTISING. They invite you to tell how great the program is and why you should choose it over any other. The visit is not mandatory, so some people don’t come due to lack of money, lack of time, or lack of interest, especially people who have been on campus many times or have several relatives as UT alumni or current students.

This also explains why “the faculty kind of compared UT to Stanford and other top schools and said how it would be more cost effective to do undergrad at UT and to go for grad somewhere else…”.

Stanford and other top schools are private and more expensive for the majority of students, and from financial point of view for the majority of students (those who don’t have big need-based grants) UT Austin is much better choice than anything else, especially if you go to graduate school and obtain more debt.

The majority of HS seniors don’t understand what debt means, it something that’s going to happen years from now, why should we worry about it. None runs debt calculators to see their monthly debt payments, none runs salary paycheck calculators to see how much money they are actually going to have after taxes. They are usually not concerned about money, why, right now parents are taking care of everything, they are more concerned about table talk at school, whose college is better and more prestigious.

So the professor, being a responsible adult, just pointed our some obvious (for adults!!!) things.
Finances matter. :slight_smile: