UIUC Computer Science Engineering Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
1

<p>Hi,
I'm currently a junior in high school, although this school year is almost over. I am interested in applying to Computer Science programs throughout the country. UIUC is my first choice and I was wondering if anyone could give me an honest opinion about my chances of being admitted into this major. </p>

<p>ACT: 32 Composite (32 Math, 34 English, 32 Reading, 29 Science)</p>

<p>UW GPA:3.9
Weighted GPA: 4.3
AP classes: 9 by the end of next year</p>

<p>I have an A in every math and science course I have taken so far ( Don't know if that affects admissions)</p>

<p>Senior year schedule: AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature, Adv. Physical Education
I am SELF-Studying AP Computer Science and taking the test next year
Have taken:
AP Stats
AP English Language
AP US History
AP Human Geography - 5
AP World History - 5</p>

<p>I am still waiting on the scores of some AP tests.</p>

<p>1st Choice Major: Computer Science in Engineering</p>

<p>2nd Choice Major: Computer Engineering </p>

<p>Extracurriculars: </p>

<p>DECA (Volunteering Coordinator Secretary of DECA Chapter at School)
Math Team (Regional Qualifier, State qualifier and placed 26th in State)
Varsity Tennis (7th in conference)
Varsity Scholastic Bowl
Volunteering at Bio-diesel plant in Chicago
Volunteering at Hospital (100 hours)
NHS
Future Leaders in Planning at Chicago Metropolitan Agency of Planning (Help to develop transportation system of the future for the city)
Helped Develop river purification system in India which helped purify water for thousands
I am also developing an app for Android currently
HUGE Internship over the summer at an Aerospace company and laboratory (will be coding and developing network for the company) 40 Hours per Week
Certified Technician for Repairing Computers</p>

<p>Awards:
CompTia A+ Computer Repair Certification
Illinois Mathematics Council of Teachers Award
Mathematics State Award
Math Team Regionals Award
3rd in Economics Exam DECA Area
2nd in Economics Exam DECA Area
DECA State Qualifier
Top 10 State Finalist in Economics Exam DECA State
Top 10 State Finalist in Business Role Play #1
Top 10 State Finalist in Business Role Play#2
Future Leaders in Planning Award
Varsity Letter for conference placement during Tennis</p>

<p>Other Details:
State: Illinois (Northwest Suburb)
Race: Asian (South Asian)
Gender: Male
First Generation (kind of)
School: Decently Competitive High School
Income Bracket: $100,000</p>

<p>I have a passion for computer science and I will convey that in my essays. While teachers at school think I will get in, I wanted the opinion of others. My school sends about 8 people to UIUC every year and the majority of these students are into engineering. 2 of the 8 this year were studying something else in LAS, but the other 6 were studying mechanical, electrical, or civil engineering. </p>

2

<p>bump… please</p>

3

<p>I think you have a good chance. You have a good gpa and test score and although a lot of your extracurricular activities are not directly connected to computer science, the ones that are look strong. In addition the fact that your high school send many kids to UIUC will help. I would recommend that you do finish that app and put it on the app store before applying. It wouldn’t look very good if you said developing an app and had nothing to show for it. Also I’m not sure about self-studying for the AP Test. Just saying that you are self studying for something that hasn’t happened yet won’t really benefit your application because you don’t really have anything to prove that you’re studying. If you had taken it this year and had the AP scores to prove it that would be a different story. However I’m not trying to deter you from doing this. I know UIUC accepts credit for CompSci so it would be beneficial. I wish you best of luck in your application next year!</p>

4

<p>thanks!
I decided to take Computer Science classes at a nearby community college instead of self-studying it. I’ll have credit for those by the end of this summer. I was just worried about my chances because I had heard of students out-of-state (thankfully I’m instate) who were denied from CS into a secondary engineering major with 33 ACTs. I’m taking the ACT again, this time with preparation. I know the average ACT for CS is a 32, but I guess my paranoia causes me to worry still.</p>

5

<p>Your stats are phenomenal. If you’re in-state I’d say you are almost guaranteed to get in. Even if you didn’t and got placed into CompE, you can transfer if you get good grades in CS 125/173/225 (they say the minimum is a B, but I think you really need at least an A- now because of the overcrowdedness)</p>

<p>If you still want to improve I’d say take the ACT again and score a 35 or 36 on the math part.</p>

6

<p>thanks for all of the posts! Anyone else is welcome to chance me on admission to UIUC Computer Science in Engineering.</p>

7

<p>I got in with 4.0 UW, 33 ACT, practically no ECs, no APs. In-state, first gen to attend college <30k/year income. So I would say you have a good chance.</p>

8

<p>I just got back my ACT. I got a 33. I guess this improves my chances a bit. And thanks for all the input guys! I appreciate it.</p>

9

<p>how do you know that the average ACT for CS is a 32?</p>

10

<p>The ACT average is in the link below:
<a href=“http://cs.illinois.edu/about-us/cs-statistics”>http://cs.illinois.edu/about-us/cs-statistics&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I also spoke with an admissions counselor at an information session and she said the average is 32.</p>

11

<p>ok thanks. do you know acceptance rate for CS by any chance?</p>

12

<p>For first choice major, CS in COE was roughly 15-20%. They do not publish the exact number, but they will give you ballpark figures on apps if you call. There are about 200 spots available, and I’ve been told as many as 3,000 apps last year although that may include CS in LAS. Not sure about yield.</p>

<p>Number of apps has been going up rapidly in recent years. Acceptance rate will continue to drop and avg ACT will continue to go up. That 32.3 number included CS in LAS majors. The Engineering school only number was higher, and is higher still this year as number of apps went through the roof. </p>

<p>I don’t mean to be discouraging, but you should know what you’re up against. They do weight Math and Scuence sub score higher than English and Reading.</p>

13

<p>@YZamyatin‌ wow I did not know UIUC CS is that competitive. I thought of UIUC as a match or safety school for me since acceptance rate for entire school is above 60%. I guess it will be a reach school.
Weighing math and science higher is better for me I guess because I have a quite low reading score and 36 on math and 35 on science</p>

14

Hey guys, I know this is slightly different from the thread but what are the admission stats for UIUC in engineering? specifically chemical engineering

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CS is going to continue to get more competitive. It is the fastest growing major and the classes here are consistently crammed and there just are not enough spots for the demand. The average ACT for last years admitted class was ~34.5. (source: CS prof told us this at orientation)

OP: If you’re in-state I am sure you are in, otherwise anything could happen.

16

Thanks for all of the input. I was admitted to Computer Science! However, I chose University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in the end.

17

two of my friend act 31,32, gpa weighted around 3.8. they don’t really do that much extracurriculars as you do. they are twins, they both got in.

18

Hey can anyone give me insight into whether my stats are good enough to get me into UIUC Engineering Computer Science? I am an incoming senior.

GPA: unweighted - 4.00 weighted - 5.00 (straight As with always honors or APs)
Class Rank: School does not rank

ACT score: English: 36; Math: 36; Reading: 34; Science: 34 ; Composite: 35
SAT: 1560/1600
SAT Subject Tests: Math 2: 800, Biology: 750, US History: 760

AP’s:
Calc BC: 5 (AB sub: 5)
United States History: 5
Macro Economics: 5
European History: 4
Physics C Mech: 3
Physics C E&M: 2 (i am really bad at physics)
Will be taking AP Psychology, AP Language and Composition, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and self-studying AP Stats senior year

of LORs: will have 4 (2 from teachers, 1 from counselor, 1 from research mentor)

Applicant Pool: In-state
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian

High School Activities and Leadership
Science Olympiad (11, 12): Founder/President
Math Team (9, 10, 11, 12): won several awards within this
Academic Resource Center Tutoring (10, 11, 12): Senior leader in this, basically I tutor fellow students
Badminton (10, 11, 12): Junior Varsity, 2nd Place in #4 Doubles at Conference (11)
Inducted into National Honors Society (11), World Language Honors Society (11), and Spanish National Honors Society (10)
Interact (10, 11, 12): service club
Advanced Honors Research Program (11, 12): school accepts select students into 2-year independent research program
Bollywood Dance (9,10,11,12): advanced dancer, all-star dancer award twice
Illinois Math and Science Academy’s Rise Research Program (10): Gold Award by Illinois Junior Academy of Science/Semifinalist/State Qualifier
School Magazine: Staff member, NCTE “Excellent” Award in Student Literary Magazines

Out-of-School Extracurriculars
Volunteering at Hospital (111 hours)
Research at lung cancer research lab for two summers (roughly 350 hours)
Shadowing physicians (not sure how many hours yet)
Hospice Volunteering (not sure how many hours yet)

Awards
National Merit Semifinalist (i got a PSAT score of 1500/1520 so I am hoping i will be a semifinalist)
AP Scholar with Distinction
Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search Outstanding Achievement Award
Science Achievement Award in Physics (9,11) and Biology (11) - school level
Class Act - Student of the Semester (recommended by teacher for academic integrity)