I’ll quickly list stats just to give a baseline of where I’m at. I’m looking for a ballpark of whether or not I have a good shot at going for CMU as a target school.
(Probable) Majors: Physics or Mathematics
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.135
SAT: 1520 (I’ll likely be retaking; hopefully with some more studying I can get around 1530-1540, at best.)
Classes: (I’ll list the notable ones pertaining to my probable areas of study)
AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, Quantum Physics, Discrete Mathematics, Multi-Variable Calculus (planned). (Still have the option for AP Chem senior year; I’m not sure whether or not to take the class)
The rest of the classes are all honors level.
Now for the hard part, the ECs. This is where I really struggle, and I don’t really have much of anything to put down.
Track & field, DECA, and competitions for the trivia team are among the notable ones.
I have some decent community service hours, nothing special.
Additionally, I have a summer job of 2 years.
I’d be open to suggestions for other ECs, but really struggle in this area overall.
Regardless, I’m not sure whether or not to consider CMU as a target school. Just looking for people to give insight on my chances at getting in.
My daughter was accepted to MCS for math five years ago (also for Information Systems, which was her preference) with similar stats, similar ECs and fewer APs. She also had a job through HS and even made a point of that in her essay, tying it to the school motto and explaining what she learned from working.
The math program at CMU has gained more prominence since then but I don’t see any harm in applying if you can afford to.
Your stats are good - your non-AP classes (Quan. Phys, Discrete Mathematics, I’m assuming those are some dual enrollment/college classes?) look really good - you’ve built up a good “spike” (as opposed to a well-rounded vibe), your passions are more clear this way. I would say your job looks good, but try adding some work during the school year? It will look really good if you can work in the school year as well (even 10-20 hours…) also, hopefully you’re working a lot in the summer as well? I know that looks good. Also, your SAT score is really good… and it’s really good that you’re going for an even higher one. A lot of people don’t have SAT scores like that, even at a place like CMU.