17 Yo male from Chicagoland, in top 30 high schools in country. I’ve been pretty dumb all my years but this past year I tried my hardest. My gpa is 3.15, 3.25 last year. I’m a senior this year. I’ve taken a few honors, more honors next year and 1 AP next year.
I am in boy scouts, working on my eagle, I’m taking two summer classes at one of the colleges I’m interested in.
I’m looking at UIC, IIT, Purdue, UWM, MSOE, Mainly the first three though.
Thoughts? What are my chances? Thanks
Depends on your test scores and your intended major…need more info.
Copy and use this Template. Feel free to add or subtract any sections you would see as relevant.
Fill this out, and then we can help you a lot more.
Bio:
-Citizenship:
-State of residence
-Class:
-Race:
-Gender:
School:
-Type (Public/private & size):
-Graduates (How many go to Ivy’s/top 20):
-AP’s Offered:
Academic Profile:
-Unweighted GPA:
-Weighted GPA:
-AP’s:
-ACT:
-SAT:
-SAT II:
-Rank:
-Course Rigor:
***The list is more or less in order of preference
Intended Major:
Intended Minor:
We need more information. Is the 3.15 weighted or unweighted? Do you SAT or ACT scores?
Either way, I think that you need to think about safety schools. You should be able to get into somewhere decent with a 3.15, but there will be limits. My understanding is that the first three on your list above a relatively competitive for admission.
Ok will do the template thanks.
Bio:
-Citizenship: White American, Italian, French
-State of residence Illinois
-Class: Upper class (father is a lawyer)
-Race: White
-Gender: Male
School:
-Type (Public/private & size): Public 1312
-Graduates (How many go to Ivy’s/top 20): LOTS (not sure exact)
-AP’s Offered: A lot.
SCHOOL: Not sure all that info exactly but it is #15 in Illinois High Schools
College Readiness Index 54.5
AP® Tested 57%
AP® Passed 94%
Mathematics Proficiency 40%
English Proficiency 46%
Academic Profile:
-Unweighted GPA:3.15
-Weighted GPA:3.15
-AP’s:1
-ACT:not taken it
-SAT II:1250 on the REDONE SAT
-Rank: Unsure
-Course Rigor: Moderate
EC (In order of importance/commitment):
-Boy Scouts working on my Eagle
-Comp Sci Club
Other Notables (College courses you’ve taken, papers published, created own website, TAing a class, ect):
Honors:
-Spanish 3
-Comp sci
-spanish 4
Schools I’m looking at:
***The list is more or less in order of preference
Intended Major:Computer engineering or computer science
Intended Minor: The other major that doesn’t get chosen as the major, EX computer engineering or computer science (dependant on the major choice), OR business, or electrical engineering. Not sure.
You have very little/no hook in that field.
This actually is a bit of a bad thing. 1 AP class usually isn’t an issue, but when your school offers a lot of AP’s but you only take 1 AP in all 4 years, that means your counselor probably isn’t giving you a “very rigorous schedule” classification.
Again, this is a bit worrying. You say you go to a top high school that offers many AP’s, yet your unweighted GPA is a 3.15, as is your weighted GPA.
Again, not to be repetitive, but 3 honors classes??? Not to bash on you, but if you want to go to a place like Purdue, that’s a serious worry.
I think you mean the SAT I (and not the SAT II-the subject tests). Your relatively low scores is also a bit worrying, but I think you still have at least 1 more chance to take the SAT (or ACT).
UIC - High Match
IIT - High Match/Reach
Depaul - High Match/Reach
Purdue - Don’t bother wasting your money
MSOE - Not sure
UWM - Not sure
The main things holding you back are GPA/Class rigor (too late to worry about now), Standardized testing scores (still at least 1 more chance), and choice of major (CS is pretty competitive).
If you can at least get your SAT to 1450+ range, you can greatly improve your chances. I’m not trying to bash you, just adding a touch of reality.
UIUC!!! It’s a fantastic tech school, and I would highly recommend applying. It will be a reach, but I think it’s a reach well spent.
Honestly, your numbers are falling short in terms of GPA and Scores. It kinda sucks, since there’s so little you can do now. Honestly, looking back on high school, do you think you could have done better? Did you really struggle with the material, or do you see yourself as the smart slacker.
If you think that you are in the second category, your essays will have to be about maturing and becoming a better student, and what changes you will make for college
If you feel like you were genuinely struggling, maybe it was because of classes like english and history that you had no use or motivation to work in them. You would have to talk about how computers are super interesting, and you believe that you will do great things with them, and if you were given the chance to study what you love, you would be a great student.
Every applicant will have a weakness. What separates that great applicants from the average applicants is the ability to address that weakness and turn it into a strength
Just a wild guess: UWM looks relatively safe to me. MSOE a match or high match or low reach. Depaul a slightly high match. The rest are reaches or high reaches, but it is probably worth applying to the two that are in-state.
I think that your GPA is the main issue.
OP, You are talking about University of Wisconsin, Madison, NOT University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, right? If it is UW-Madison, then it is nowhere safe for you. But if you were referring to UW-Milwaukee, then don’t even apply there; it has a poor CS program; it’s not worth paying OOS tuition fees. Honestly, UW-Madison’s undergrad CS program isn’t that notable either; only its grad CS program is reputed, so I recommend choosing in-state if you have to choose between this and in-state colleges.
Unlike what @RMNiTz said, I recommend you to apply to Purdue for CS. It has an excellent CS program, and, yes, it is very tough to get in as @RMNiTz said. However, Purdue have Rolling Admission, so if you apply early, you may get in. I believe Purdue starts taking applications in early August, so I recommend you to finish all the essays for Purdue ASAP and submit as soon as it starts opening. RA’s one main advantage is that if you apply early, you can get in even with sub-average stats if lucky. I recommend reading about Rolling Admission if you do not know about RA yet.
UIUC is an utter reach school for you, but it takes a high number of in-state students, so I would give it a try if you want. But don’t forget, its difficulty is on a par with that of Carnegie Mellon.
I won’t chance you for each school because I don’t know much about each school you listed, but I will tell you its CS prestige/program quality (I’m a CS major student).
0 being least prestigious, 10 being most.
UIC - 4
IIT - 5
Depaul - 3
Purdue - 7
MSOE - 4
UWM - 6.5
UIUC - 10
I think you are giving this poor guy false hope by telling him he can get into Purdue CS with a 3.15 GPA/1250 SAT while being an upper class white male (no hooks). He EC’s aren’t exactly terrific for a school of that caliber either.
Even if he applies early, Purdue still has extremely high standards.
Maybe you are right. But I won’t say it’s “false hope.” I have two friends (OOS, applied before priority deadline) who got into Purdue with the SAT scores of 1310 (new) and ~1750 (old) and GPAs of both within 3.3-3.5 who got into Purdue Engineering and Computer Science, respectively. Perhaps OP stands lower chance than they do as he has lower GPA and SAT; however, I won’t say he is out of hope for this school as there are already people around me who got in with near stats.
@RMNiMiTz What do you mean by hook?
And yes I know my courses aren’t rigorous but I have improvement. I was taking easy classes first 2 years, my grades and class rigor clearly have improved if you see my transcript. There’s so much to say, but I just want to get across that I wish I could redo my first 2 years of high school.
The number one worry I have is that I can’t get into ANY of the colleges I want. The list I made was a list of colleges I’m looking at but the schools I’m looking at most, really wanting to go to and seriously considering are IIT, UIC, and purdue (which you say is “not worth my time”.)
I am applying to every school I want, I can afford it and I think it is money well spent. Like why not apply, obviously I won’t be applying to any ivy leagues.
Also, why is my SAT score relatively low? I’m 85th percentile… which is pretty decent if you ask me. I wish I could have gotten higher, everybody does.
Also, everybody I’ve talked to that has been accepted into college, also I even talked to the admissions dean of Purdue for my state, they all say it’s about out of school stuff, they say yeah grades are important, but don’t stress too much about low test scores or GPA. I personally feel Eagle scout and what I achieved and what awards through Scouting are great… No offense but people outside of scouts kinda look at it as a joke. My friend from scouts got a $20,000 scholarship from Iowa university I believe.
The first time I took SAT I got a 1230, second time 1250 so I doubt my scores will improve. It’s near impossible to improve by 200 points…
And is CS really competitive? I’m looking at CS and Computer Engineering. I just want to do computer work… I’ve been building computers by myself since I was in middle school. (Is that something I put on the “accomplishments” thing?)
@ConcernedRabbit I can say that yes I was a “smart slacker”. The teachers at my school are so biased and it hurts me greatly. I’ve never gotten higher than a C in any literature class (except for this year because I luckily matched with my teacher) but fresh and sopho years I was graded poorly. I put my entire effort into everything I did in those classes. My reading scores (lexile I guess?) are top percentiles, and they have been since kindergarten. I have been in gifted reading and writing in my early years and I feel the reason I was graded with bias was because my school is all minorities. White is the minority in this school, the “minorities” are the MAJORITIES at my school, hence why I am graded based on the fact that I’m a “rich white kid”. It’s unfair.
UIUC is an awesome school! The only problem is the engineering is SO competitive and difficult. I’ll apply obviously, but it’s hard
I really like this: “Every applicant will have a weakness. What separates that great applicants from the average applicants is the ability to address that weakness and turn it into a strength”. Thanks.
@DadTwoGirls What you said is perfectly conflicting with what @RMNiMiTz said. What you say are reaches he says are perfect matches and vise/versa.
@HardOREasy Thanks! Yes I meant madison. Those were just fallbacks if I couldn’t get into anything. Not really fallbacks since they are also hard to get into. I do know about purdue’s rolling admission, I need to take a look at the common application. I have had no help with this process whatsoever. It’s cool to get a response from a CS major. I love computers, computer everything, science, engineering. Would you recommend CS or CE? I am in favor of CE because it’s hands on and I love computer parts, engineering, etc.
My main question is do you guys think I have a chance for IIT/UIC/DePaul? Those are my main 3 concerns. Purdue is great because it’s super prestigious like you guys said, but I’m trying not to over stress about not getting in.
One of the main reasons why I have poor scores is I have diagnosed anxiety… it’s very severe, I’ve convinced myself I have had heart conditions. I’ve been to doctors to find out of course there is no heart conditions, it’s just all in my head. I had a breakdown somewhere about a month before I took my SAT in April, and I couldn’t deal with the stress of everything. Either way I can’t manage my stress (or I couldn’t, never have been able to, but now I’m seeing someone and I can get it under control) which explains my poor test scores.
I have no idea how to apply, I don’t think I could get into the rolling deadline. It’s so weird getting recommendation letters now, like there’s no school now. How am I supposed to ask for letters a month before I have to apply, from teachers I haven’t seen in 2 months???
If you like hands-on stuff, then I’d say go with CE, but I went with CS because I didn’t like stuff like that; I hated all the science labs in high school, and I am really lazy. Don’t forget that CS is not just programming and is heavily math-based.
Regarding IIT/UIC/DePaul, I can’t really answer your question b/c I don’t know much about those schools. But for Purdue, if you are already certain that you won’t be able to apply very early, then I wouldn’t apply.
Applying is quite simple:
If the college uses common app…
-Get letters of recommendation from two teachers and your counselor.
-Write one Common App essay (http://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/application-updates/common-application-announces-2017-2018-essay-prompts)
-Make a Common App account → Go to “Common App” Tab → Complete all the sub-tabs (Profile to Writing)
-Copy and paste your written common app essay in the “Writing” sub-tab.
-Go to “College Search” tab → Find the college of your choice → Add that college to your My Colleges List.
-Go to “My Colleges” tab → Click on “[your college name]” sub-tab → Complete the application for that college (Usually the college application consists of “Questions,” “Recommenders,” and “Review and Submit” tabs.)
-Done!
If the college doesn’t use common app…
They will either use coalition app or their own website portal. Coalition app application process is pretty much similar to that of common app. If they use their own website portal, then just follow directions. It will be written there.
As far as recommendation letter request goes, you usually ask teachers near the end of the school year (junior) or in the beginning of the school year (senior). It’s usually lot better to choose the former one as you can expect to get the letter as soon as the school starts. If you go with the latter one, then you should expect to get it at least four weeks after the day of request as teachers are busy in the beginning of the year with all setups (also you aren’t the only one asking for LOR). Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the school starts to ask for LOR, unless you have the email address of the teacher whom you would like to request. When choosing the teacher, I recommend you to ask the one who knows you well, has taught the subject you excelled in, and, most importantly, teaches the subject you are planning to major in.
@HardOREasy What are some things you would do in both comp sci and comp eng?
I do like the hands on stuff like building my PCs. I also feel there’s more competition in CS because it’s just coding and math right?
And how hard is the math in Comp Sci?
Would you recommend a major in Comp Eng and a minor in Comp Sci? or vise versa?
I will probably apply to purdue next year. After I have my eagle, and hopefully some more requirements.
Because it will be in August and sort of a last minute thing. The thing I’m worried about is my education. Like am I ruining my life by not going to purdue? Will I not be able to get a job out of college if I don’t go to Purdue? Also I know purdue is good for comp sci, but what about comp eng? Do I have to do 2 teachers 1 counseler? I was hoping to do like 1 teacher, and a few people outside of school.
And yeah, i can’t really get my letters of rec now. The one teacher I am planning to get one from I am taking his class this year, I haven’t taken it yet. I don’t want a letter of recommendation from a teacher whose class I had no interest in, or didn’t really care about. Like a lit teacher or something. Why? Are they going to say that I had passion for the class when I had none? There’s nobody I could have asked for a letter last year so I’m hoping I can get the comp sci teacher this year and MAYBE math teacher or my tech teacher (tech being my electronics, CAD, graphics). I just wish that I had all these letters early. How skewed are my chances if I’m getting the letters later on in the year and applying later on? I would love to be the first to apply to the rolling application through purdue but there’s no way I’ll get in.
Also am I allowed to use the same essay for each college I apply to?
It doesn’t matter if you are 85th percentile, most of the people below you aren’t going to college, and the ones that are aren’t aiming for top 100 schools. A 1250 is considered “low” for some of the schools (like Purdue) that you are aiming for.
For example, low income, black kid = good hook. Colleges want those sorts of kids for many reasons. A way to explain it would be for example, a girl trying to get into a CS program. Because of the vast amounts of males in Computer Science (or any sort of engineering), colleges are likely to cut a bit more slack for a female.
It was a rhetorical joke (telling you to save your money).
Yes, EC’s are important. The reason EC’s are important is because many good applicants have similar grades/test scores, and it is the EC’s that shows the candidates that shine.
However, having adequate grades is still very important. What you have heard people say is “don’t focus everything on grades or test scores, you need to remember EC’s”. I think you have misinterpreted it to be “test scores/GPA isn’t as important”.
That still won’t make up for poor GPA/test scores. Other than scouting, all you have is CompSci club. Those aren’t enough EC’s to make up for poor academic performance.
It actually is pretty competitive, around/above the level of engineering.
I built one too in middle school (and I even know a few elementary school kids that also build custom PCs). With all the youtube tutorials and online guides, it isn’t that hard to figure out what goes where. Sure, you can put that as your EC, but don’t expect it to be what pulls you above the rest.
What about the software field? What languages do you know? What software do you know (AutoCAD, Blender, etc.)?
Here’s a tip (a bit useless now that you’ve already pretty much finished high school, but I will give it to you nevertheless). If you take higher level courses (honors/AP) you are much less likely to encounter the minorities. For instance, at my school, whites are a minority (with many Hispanics/black students being the majority). However, I have had only a few black/Hispanic kids in my classes. Of all my 7 classes (maybe 100-120 kids total, since there is some overlap), I have only had 2-3 black kids and maybe 10-15 Hispanics in my classes. The easiest class I had (AP Psychology), had several black students and a couple Hispanics, yet my hardest class (AP Computer Science A), had not a single black or Hispanic student.
The major reason colleges take those with hooks is that they want diversity in their college. Diversity-supporting colleges are more common among public schools because public schools are funded by the citizens of the state the college is in, and they cannot just take asians with best stats as they aren’t the only ones paying taxes and thereby funding the school. Of course, as you said, there are many more reasons behind why they promote diversity.
What are some things you would do in both comp sci and comp eng?
//I don’t know much about comp eng, so I cannot answer. I recommend you to google it as they will provide more accurate answer.
I do like the hands on stuff like building my PCs. I also feel there’s more competition in CS because it’s just coding and math right?
//Doesn’t matter if there are more competition although I’m not sure what you mean by “more competition” because most of the times you can join competitions only through clubs (e.g. Hackathon), which are open to all regardless of major: what you need instead is your skill. If you lack skill, then there is no point in joining competition. Also, almost no one joins every CS competition there is because of schedule conflicts, even if there are “more competitions.” In addition, if you major in CE, because you have a knack for electrical engineering, you will be able to take part in competitions that CS students will not have talent for. If you truly like coding and math ONLY, then go with CS.
And how hard is the math in Comp Sci?
//It’s less difficult than Math major but still it is very tough, especially if you lack interest in Mathematics. In my school (University of Maryland, College Park), it covers Calculus 1, 2, Multivariable, Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics, and some more difficult math. But these are just “Math” classes, not “Computer Science” classes; computer science classes per se are math-based, so “Computer Science” classes get harder as you go on.
Would you recommend a major in Comp Eng and a minor in Comp Sci? or vise versa?
//You cannot major in computer engineering and minor in computer science in most of colleges. Don’t forget that computer engineering is a marriage of computer science and electrical engineering, so taking computer engineering already means learning computer science. Also, I believe you cannot dual major in comp sci and EE, either, in most colleges. Most common dual major and major-minor is Comp sci and math dual major, and compsci major-math minor, if you want to major in computer science. I don’t know about comp engineering major much, so I can’t say. But I want to let you know that ending with a better GPA helps you get a job better than getting dual major or major-minor degree. Honestly, based on your stat, I wouldn’t recommend any of the two; I think it’d be best if you just go with one major. I am majoring in CS only FYI.
I will probably apply to purdue next year. After I have my eagle, and hopefully some more requirements.
Because it will be in August and sort of a last minute thing. The thing I’m worried about is my education. Like am I ruining my life by not going to purdue? Will I not be able to get a job out of college if I don’t go to Purdue? Also I know purdue is good for comp sci, but what about comp eng? Do I have to do 2 teachers 1 counseler? I was hoping to do like 1 teacher, and a few people outside of school.
// L O L, you are not ruining your life by not going to Purdue. You really are overly worried about this. You see how huge number of people succeeded without going to such prestigious schools – even just with high school diploma, honestly. There are tons of reputed programmers who didn’t go to prestigious schools but still succeeded in life. You go to college to LEARN. Even after going to MIT, if you fail to take in everything they taught you and lack the skill in the major you chose, you are no better than someone with a sole high school diploma. When getting a job, employers test your knowledge; that’s when attending college comes in handy. You can still succeed with going to any of the colleges in your state you listed. Your future is decided on how you perform in college.
And yeah, i can’t really get my letters of rec now. The one teacher I am planning to get one from I am taking his class this year, I haven’t taken it yet. I don’t want a letter of recommendation from a teacher whose class I had no interest in, or didn’t really care about. Like a lit teacher or something. Why? Are they going to say that I had passion for the class when I had none? There’s nobody I could have asked for a letter last year so I’m hoping I can get the comp sci teacher this year and MAYBE math teacher or my tech teacher (tech being my electronics, CAD, graphics). I just wish that I had all these letters early. How skewed are my chances if I’m getting the letters later on in the year and applying later on? I would love to be the first to apply to the rolling application through purdue but there’s no way I’ll get in.
//If you ask your new teacher for this year, he/she won’t know much about you, and therefore won’t be able to write you a good letter; moreover, they tend to refuse to write LOR for you as they don’t know you well. Try to ask teachers in the past who taught you full year. Purdue’s Engineering and CS applications tend to be submitted at a fast rate, so I can only say your chance of admission will decrease exponentially. I got into Purdue CS after submitting the app in late October, but I am a different story than yours.
Also am I allowed to use the same essay for each college I apply to?
//For common app schools, they all have one essay they lets you use in common.
I’ve been building computers by myself since I was in middle school. (Is that something I put on the “accomplishments” thing?)
//Building a computer is not hard; very many people (including me) know how to do it, so it won’t boost your quality up.
Also, I thought I saw somewhere in the thread about your asking if you really need 2 LORs from teacher and 1 from counselor, instead of 1 from teacher and a few others from people outside. Each school has a set number of LORs they require (+ additional optional) from applicants. It varies, but many of them want one/two teacher LORs and definitely one counselor LOR. Some schools let you get LORs from people other than your teacher or counselor, such as your EC sponsors, but they are nearly always optional, meaning they are not worth and effective as much as teacher LORs and counselor LOR are.
But to some degree, it does still exist in private schools too.
Of course, many public schools deny this by saying things like “race is not the sole determining factor” or “race does not disqualify a student from admission” to skip around the question of whether some students get an advantage due to race.
@RMNiMiTz your comments have been a little racist and inaccurate. In many of my AP and honors classes, I have been in the minority as a white person. It’s inappropriate and untrue to imply that only white kids take advanced and accelerated classes.