Try to expand your possible major beyond CS (Ist and other technical majors, perhaps?) - look at the various colleges within a university to see what they offer. CS is going to be significantly more complicated than many other majors.
Njit would be a safety, perhaps Rowan. Apply as soon as the app is up.
Look into WPI, SUNY Buffalo or Binghamton, NCSU, Penn State, UCincinnati (co-ops!).
If you could consider them, private colleges such as Muhlenberg, Elon, UPuget Sound, would be in play.
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You need to give more - your overall GPA, how many APs, etc.
I think, like most kids, you are overrating your chances - sure thereās a 5% chance to get into Columbia because they admit 5%ā¦but youāre unlikely to be one. Nor do you have a 65% chance at UIUC or 80% at UMD.
You may be a great student and I hope you get into a great school. But your safeties arenāt safeties - you need to go lower - Arizona, UCONN (if in NE) - that type school. Good luck.
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I donāt think itās so much a matter of āslidingā as contextualizing. A bad freshman year isnāt the end of the world - colleges will see the improving trend, and how youāve grown as a person and gotten past whatever challenges caused the bad year in the first place. OTOH, a hypothetical candidate who has all the same strengths as you, and does not have the weakness of the bad freshman year, will still be in a stronger position, generally speaking. The impact isnāt zero, but the way the rest of your application frames it can minimize the impact. Plus, youāre looking at schools and programs that reject thousands of applicants with near-perfect transcripts, every yearā¦ so thereās no way to ever know how much of a factor your freshman grades were or were not.
Basically, Iām not saying that you arenāt a viable candidate for top schools that consider all four years of grades; Iām only saying that the recalculated GPA at the UCās would be one factor in your favor, given that youāve already expressed interest in those schools anyway. And itās all one application, so as long as youāre doing it, make sure youād applying to all campuses that might be of interest. (One UC program that a lot of OOS students donāt know about is the College of Creative Studies within UCSB, which has a Computing major - could be worth a look to see if their approach appeals to you: Computing | UCSB College of Creative Studies )
You seem as if youāre also interested in business and entrepreneurship. The Raikes School is a highly competitive and innovative honors program at UNL that blends CS, Management, and Design. Students still choose a specific major (which is to say that you can get a CS degree within the program) but they all collaborate on the interdisciplinary aspects of the cohort program. https://raikes.unl.edu/
Anyway, youāre on the right track in terms of looking to build a list that includes true safeties that you could be happy with, as well as match and reach schools. And it seems like youāll have a very interesting and compelling application. You just canāt count on the super-reaches that have ridiculously low acceptance rates for CS - nobody can. It might happen but it may well not. And you can have a phenomenal CS career without going to one of those schools. Sure, try your luck at those schools too, but build your list such that you have other options you can be happy with, as well.
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Thx
Thanks. Yea, I need to rework my safeties because I didnāt consider CS admission rates are different
Thx for these words man. Iāll take a look into the Raikes School. The college of Creative Studies sounds interesting, Iāll research more about it
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There are many OUTSTANDING public schools. Many have well respected Honors - i.e. ASU, Penn State, Clemson, U of SC, etc. These schools are taking Ivy-League caliber students. UGAs Honors class has over a 1500 SAT on average. There are brilliant kids everywhere.
If you read the CS chains on CC, other than a few schools, most recommend the cheaper schools. Many folks who recruit CS grads have posted - where you went is less important than what you know, what you can deliver, etc.
You might read some other chains.
But trust me - you have many a kid going to Nebraska (as someone mentioned) who could go to any school in the country. Some want pedigree. Some want merit. in the end, itās about you. If you work hard, youāll find a great internship, get great experience, and be successful no matter where you go.
But you need to give your cumulative GPA because most schools look at that.
You also say thereās no cost constraints - but let me ask you this - if you could go for $30K or $40K, would that matter? In other words, you can afford $80K, but do you want to spend $80k?
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FYI the UCs especially UCLA and Berkeley consider uncapped as well as capped UC GPA.
I donāt think UCB/UCLA are in play, but certainly UCSC, UCD/UCSB are worth a try, CPP perhaps?
Top Canadian universities would totally be in play because they (mostly or only) look at 11th-12th grade. Waterloo, UBC, McGill,ConcordiaMontreal, Simon Fraser?
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What is your cumulative uwGPA, core courses only (E,M,Sci,SS,FL), on a 4.0 scale where A+\A\A- = 4, Bs = 3 and so on?
Calculate your UC GPAs here: GPA Calculator for the University of California ā RogerHub
In addition to the good suggestions above, for likely schools for CS look at VCU, U West Virginia, U Dayton, DePaul.
Regarding cost, you say you donāt need financial aid, but can/will your family pay $75K per year at some of these schools?
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Additionally I think Cal Poly (the original 
) is out of play because the factor in freshman grades and GPA is the number one factor in the algorithm. The 25th percentile of students admitted to the CENG was 4.12.
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So for UC GPA wise, Iām out of state. If I include honors and AP courses, my GPA goes as follows: 3.92 UW, 4.5 W, 4.25 W&capped. But thatās unfortunately not how it works for OOS students cuz honors donāt count. With only APās, my GPA goes as follows: 3.92 UW, 4.08 W, 4.08 W&capped. My family has saved money for me for college, but I mean I would prefer it to be cheaper so that they can save for my brotherās college fees.
^Hm, yes. What kind of big brother would use up the college funds for himself AND his siblings? (And, yes, it happensā¦ and let me tell you the younger siblings are NOT forgiving). Ask your parents what your budget is. Not total for all kids, but yours, for 4 years, they can afford to pay ā¦k out of pocket (from income and savings).
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For both of us, they will have saved around $200K each, but there are still colleges more expensive than that. I want my bro to go to the best college he can so Iām willing to give up some of that money
I will let others weigh in on your chances for CS at the UCs.
What is your unweighted, cumulative GPA on a 4 pt scale (not UC)? If I just average the 3 annual GPAs you list in your OP, thatās 3.5, but might include electives. If itās in that neighborhood, some of your reaches are probably not realistic.
Sounds like potentially $50k/yr budget? Although do confirm with your parents. If, so the UCs may not be affordable. At all schools, run the net price calculators on each schoolās website with your parents to get cost estimates. You might also want to focus on schools where you can receive merit aid.
You can get a VERY good education for $200k or less. We set that as a hard barrier for our son, not because we couldnāt afford more, but because we found the rapid escalation of tuition ridiculous and didnāt want to play along.
The question becomes, what if you choose something thatās dramatically less? What will they do with the savings?
Our son got a great scholarship (first year free followed by three at very inexpensive instate tuition) at a school he was quite interested in. Because it was so much less than his other options we said weād take the difference between that and his next closest school and split it with him. That way he had some skin in the game in the decision. He didnāt end up there, but it helped him see the value of the money.
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Yep, itās a 3.5. But donāt colleges look at improvement? I mean, I literally got all Aās in 11th grade and only one B in 10th. Thatās a 3.92 GPA cumulative in 10th and 11th! A student who has good grades all 3 years might have a leg up on me but I should still have a chance right? 3.5 or not, itās just held back by my freshman year, otherwise, Iāve pretty much got straight Aās.
Yes, an upward trend will matter, but the competition is fierce from students who have nearly all As for 3 years. Iām not saying donāt apply to any reaches, pick 2 or 3 of the 15 or so reaches on your list.
Then, take a much longer time identifying two affordable safeties that you would be happy to attend, as well as 5-7 match schools. If you are merit hunting you may need to apply to more schools.
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A chance at what is really the question. You have to understand the competition you are facing.
There are close to 30,000 high schools in the United States. That means there is a minimum of that many Valedictorians. Because of the rankings fiasco, they are all applying to the same handful of schools. As a result, the most popular schools are rejecting thousands of Valedictorians every year.
Cal Poly rejected 12,000 students last year with 4.0+ weighted/capped GPAs (they include 9th grade). The 25th percentile in the College of Engineering was 4.12!
Too many students are applying to too few schools.
So, do you have a chance? Absolutely, if you construct your list properly. I donāt think you have a realistic chance at places like CMU, Penn, Cornell, Princeton, etc. Pick one if you want, but know the odds are stacked against even students with stronger records. Think more realistically about UIUC, Texas, the UCs, GT, Purdue and UMD. They are VERY competitive for CS/engineering, especially for OOS applicants.
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Every college is different. Of course you have a chance.
By the way, you want your bro to go to the best college. Thatās admirable.
The mistake, however, you are making is that you are applying rank or perception to better.
For example, is UCLA better than, say, Arizona State ? Or is it ranked higher And society says itās better. Most kids are getting similar jobs at similar pay.
My son goes to Alabamaā¦heās interning this summer. His roomies are both from Ga Techā¦engineering.
Iād say, you can spend $30k, do you want to spend $50k?
Keep working hard, doing better. First year will hurt you at most schools. But who cares. You can only do what you can do. You canāt fix it. On common app, you will have a chance to explain what happened. Many kids had struggles during different parts of HS.
There are great colleges out there. Many you may not be familiar with. You simply need to find the right fit. You are too focused on only the perceived best. You will work for people one day who went to unknown schools where a 900 SAT and 2.5 gets you in. You can do great from anywhere and not great. YOU are the decider.
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