Looking for chances at high-end computer science programs (MIT, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, UTexas Austin, Cornell, etc.) I’m not applying this year and there’s quite a few things I haven’t done yet (Class of 2020), but I want to gain insight into what I should do to maximize my chances before I really apply.
Ethnicity: Asian
Scores: I got 1470 on the PSAT and can safely score 1520-1550+ on the real thing. I have no subject tests right now.
GPA: 4.0
WGPA: ~4.81
APs (Taken or will take Junior year): Government, US History, Computer Science Principles, Computer Science Java A, English Language, Spanish Language, Physics 2, Calculus BC
Extracurriculars:
Cybersecurity Club, Linux Club (Currently)
Varsity Cross Country and Track and Field athlete
Cross Country/Track Team Captain next year (Something would have to go REALLY wrong for this to not happen)
2nd Place in large team programming competition (Specifying it would reveal too much information)
National Honor Society
National Math Honor Society
National Science Honor Society
Computer Science Internship next year (School Requirement)
100 Hours of Community Service at nursing home
Over 300 Hours of Voluntary Community Service
Possibilities in future:
Possibility of D2/D3 worthy times junior/senior year, could attract interest from lower-level coaches
Math Team, Science Olympiad Team (Planning on joining)
So far, the problems I see are a lack of some test scores (SAT Physics, SAT Math II, SAT Spanish, ACT) and a lack of some extracurriculars. I’m thinking of joining some more clubs next year to fill those holes, and I hope that a good internship will get me somewhere too.
I thought about picking up AOPS vol1 and trying to qualify for AIME, but I’m not sure how realistic that is since it seems like everyone who makes it has been doing math since they were 10 years old. I’m also not sure how big of a boost it will give me for the effort. Some of my teachers say I should try it because they think I’m talented at math, but I’m not sure how it would translate in an actual competition. Thoughts on things I should do next year? What are the chances given just the extracurriculars and stats listed, and what would really help me out? Thanks.
I would say you have good chances as long as you get good scores. And about ECs, it is not as important for CS and most of the kids who went the CS route and went to top schools such as Berkeley had weaker ECs than you but just had great scores. And for your ECs, I don’t think you should diversify, but rather focus more on what you are already doing. If you apply to schools that are great overall such as Cornell or Stanford you will have a tough time but you can definitely get into some programs that specialize in CS and stem such as Georgia Tech, RPI or Harvey Mudd.
MIT Carnegie Mellon and all those schools you’re going to have to really stand out as one of the best computer scientists in the nation. If the programming competition was national and 1,000+ people, then you might stand out more, but you really need something unique in com sci besides just clubs and an internship.
What I think is really good:
Created an app that’s really innovative and popular
internship at a big com sci corporation (Intel, google, etc.)
publishing research in com sci
doing good in national/international competition
What I think is good but a lot of applicants will have:
doing good at some state/regional level competitions
internship at small comapnies
small apps
computer science clubs/leadership
volunteering/teaching computer science on a small level
I think your best shot is if you get recruited from XC, that’s what seems to make you stand out from all the other computer science applicants
If I were you I would drop whatever AP CS class you haven’t taken, assuming you’ve already taken one of them already. Principles is a joke class and A is a really beginner level class. You should try and find some CC or University level CS classes whether it be programming language or OS classes, or Data Structures.
For UC-Berkeley the acceptance rate for EECS is incredibly low, and you probably want to shoot for 1550+ for SAT just to get into a coin flip’s chance of getting in.
@pieguy54321 Definitely the type of feedback I was looking for, thanks. I’ll continue to do XC and see if it brings me anywhere, but I’m also interested in doing something meaningful in computer science. Do you have any advice for finding a big science internship/publishing research/getting in competitions? Any other things for really good?
@ProfessorPlum168 I’m taking another non-AP but weighted programming course (after Java A), but with good reason; the programming classes in my school are the hardest classes in the school, with a good 10% of people dropping the class after the first month. The teacher grades harshly based on efficiency/conciseness and goes really far past the curriculum, so I think it would be good for me to stay in.
I agree with @pieguy54321, as a recruited athlete you could get into ANY school on your list, you have the stats (minus scores) so if you had a coach at one of these schools recruit you, you would be almost guaranteed admission.
You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are good. Continue building out your ECs related to computer science to further demonstrate your interest in the subject. Write great essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools
IMO you are a competitive applicant. Definitely take at least three of those SAT II tests. The earlier the better so you can retake if needed.
Stick to ECs you have already done/are doing. Try to get into a leadership position in a club or XC.
Any more community service you do should be tech-related.
Make sure you have a “likely” school or two you’d be happy to attend. Some of your schools are already heavily Asian and many are reaches for even stellar candidates.