What are my chances for Ivy's, top tier technical schools (MIT, Caltech), UC's, UT Austin

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Sorry for the long list of colleges. I saw many of my friends do these forums, so I kinda wanted to try it out lol. It would also be nice to get an outsider’s perspective.

Please keep in mind that I am planning to do a computer science major

About Me: Asian (Indian) male, I was born in good old Texas; I am a current junior in a competitive public high school

Stats: 3.85 UW and 4.53 W.
I am an IB + AP student, IB is only a two-year program at my school
By the end of senior year, I would have taken 9 AP classes (World History, Human Geography, Bio, Physics 1,
Computer Science A, Statistics, Physics 2, BC Calculus, and Physics C)
I am planning on taking 4 HL exams (Math, English, History, and Econ (or Chem I have not decided))

       I am ranked within probably 6-7% of my class
       SAT 1: 1480 (M: 800, V:680) - Should I retake?
       Planning to take SAT 2 in Math 2 and Physics

        I took the April ACT and might update later

EC’s (I am probably lacking here lol)
Computer science club and an active competitor for 3 years (I plan to run for vice-president next year)
NHS
Help the Environment Club
The American Heart Association - I have an officer position here
I play piano and guitar for 12 years

I’m pretty sure this means diddly squat as of right now, but I plan to start a major project in order to expand my use of computer science in the outside world in the summer.

My parents’ income is most likely around the $200,000 + range.

Also, please be as brutally honest as possible. Roast me.

2

I will give detailed feedback later on. As for your school list:

Reach: Caltech, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, All Ivies, (maybe UT Austin but you come from Texas so this can be a target), UWash, borderline UMich (could be a target idk)
Target: UCSB, UCSD (could be a reach), UCD, Georgia Tech (could be a reach), NYU,
Safety: WPI, RIT, RPI, UCSC, UCI (maybe a target)

3

If you are an OOS for the UC’s, did you speak with your parents about being a full fee student? That would be $65K per year if you were to get in. Priority admission goes to California residents.

4

You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are decent. Aim for 700s+ on those SAT subject tests, as your 1480 is not too high for top schools. You also want more leadership in your ECs and more awards if relevant. Write great essays and you could get accepted to several of these schools

5

Are you still in TX (i.e. who are you in-state for ?). Are your parents up for 70K/yr? Spend some time developing a longer list of safety and match schools… for your stats, pretty much everything you listed already is a reach (not sure about UT Austin but if they admit by major I’m guessing CS is more competitive). Not to say you can’t get into any of your list, but the odds are low and you should find some places you’d be happy to attend that are more likely. Check out Case Western, Colorado Mines, RPI… I’m sure folks here can recommend a few more to look at.

6

@animelover14
This year there were many surprises in the admissions results at schools which used to be safeties for outstanding students like you. Because this is a fairly recent development and because CS is a very popular major, you may want to add some schools in the safety area.

If you are a Texas resident, consider Texas A&M “honors” program @ https://honorsprograms.tamu.edu/

Clarkson University (about 3,200 undergraduate students) is an underrated University in the country of upstate NY. Their seclusion is probably holding the application pool down. The faculty and programs are strong and respected by employers. Student faculty ratio is 14:1. See https://www.clarkson.edu/

For a larger University you might consider Syracuse University with almost 22,000 students in Syracuse NY (about 150,000 residence). Student faculty ratio is 15:1. See https://www.syracuse.edu/

If you are sure you want CS and not engineering, consider a remarkable little public “honors” college in MD with a 10/1 student faculty ratio. Only 10% of the students are from outside of Maryland, but your data should get you in. Look at the graduate schools attended by their CS graduates @ http://www.smcm.edu/mathcs/academic-offerings/after-you-graduate-cs/graduate-school/ and poke around the website.

I am very biased about my university, WPI, because of its highly developed project based program. Judging from the data on this year’s wait listed students, I would not count on WPI or RPI as a backup for any student. For WPI see https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/wpi-plan.

For RPI see http://www.rpi.edu/. For RIT see http://www.rit.edu/.

Except for St Mary’s and Texas A&M, the discussed schools are private so residency is not as large a concern.

Case Western and Colorado School of Mines are also outstanding

7

Thank you to everyone who replied. I now understand that applying to UC school OOS would cost me a lot of money. I am still a resident in Texas, and I was planning to retake the SAT, however many people told for me not to because I am planning to do a math-related major and I already have 800 M. Should I retake?

Also is there any tips for EC I could do for a junior? I am planning to continue my passion by creating games and hopefully upload to them for the public to access.

8

My parents told me that they are willing to pay tuition for any top tier schools, however they would appreciate some form of grants, scholarships, etc.

9

I apologize for not adding any safeties. I am pretty sure that I can get into UTD and A&M.

10

The out of state schools are going to be nearly triple the cost of staying in Texas. You could go out of state, but it’s like going across state lines to pay $100k for a $40k BMW…because you like the color. You have far too many top tier CS options in Texas. The most obvious would be UT and A&M, which are equally ranked. Since you’re in the top 7% of your class, you’re guaranteed admission to both schools. Getting first pick of the major you want depends on how early you apply. UTD, Texas Tech, and U of H are also top tier schools.

11

The only schools on your initial list that are not reaches for CS may be UCSC (probably high match), UCR (probably match), and UCM (probably low match), if you can afford them at out of state list price.

Texas A&M and UTD are automatic admission safeties for campus admission, but check whether that includes admission to major. Texas A&M admits to pre engineering and has students apply to engineering majors based on college grades and essays (3.5 college GPA automatically admits to first choice).

UT Austin campus automatic admission will be top 6% for those applying for fall 2019 entry. So you may be on the outside. CS is additionally competitive.

12

What was your PSAT score? Do you think you’ll make NMSF? That can open some merit scholarships for you too. UC schools were very competitive this year - especially in CS.

13

Just to keep things interesting!

If CS and pure math are your only possible majors, you might want to check out Oberlin College and Carlton college. Bright students, super math programs with computer science options. They are less competitive than Caltech, MIT, UC Berkeley and Stanford. These LA schools will not have the range of applied math options that the STEM schools offer. They have very solid reputations in math.

Carlton @ https://apps.carleton.edu/academics/
Oberlin @ https://www.oberlin.edu/

No, don’t take the math SAT again. Focus on some ECs that actually interest you.

14

I am trying to be brutally honest because i Would want someone to do the same for me: especially since you are indian at a competitive school with lacking extracurriculars and the fact u want MIT and Caltech is already a hurtful factor. If you are interested in science and engineering you NEED to do more activities in the field and need more leadership positions in science to show you are genuinely interested. You also need to get your GPA up but still focus more on extracurriculars. You should definitely retake your SAT or ACT b/c esp since your school is competitive, the average SAT for caltech and MIT must be higher at your school. You are def fine for UT Austin and other UC’s. YOu have to make your self stand out more in science and at your school!! good luck!

15

@sanjanagupta1
Lol, thank you for the response! I understand that my SAT, even though I have an 800 M, is low. I took the ACT and will update when I get the score. I’ll also take your advice seeking more ECs to heart.

16

@MA2012
My PSAT is nothing notable, meaning that I am pretty sure I did not get National Merit.

17

To me, MIT and Caltech look like high reaches, as would be UCB. Many of the other UCs are also good at CS, but to me I don’t see how they would be worth the OOS price compared to UT Austin in-state.

I am not from Texas and thus can’t judge your chances at UT Austin, but from what I have heard about it, I would put it quite high on the list of preferred schools for a Texas resident, with the other UT’s not very far behind. I think that you have some very good choices in-state.

18

@DadTwoGirls
I am only applying to UT, UTD, and possibly A&M in Texas. After hearing everyone’s opinions so far, I am probably not going to apply to public schools outside Texas except for Georgia Tech.

Trust me, UT is very high on my list.

This kinda makes me sad because I hear that UCLA’s food is very good :frowning:

However, my parents told me that they are willing to pay for private schools if I get in.

19

Brutal honesty also requires that you understand EC and more test scores MIGHT not be enough to make a difference at the MIT/CALTECH/STANFORD admissions levels, Please see http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/there_is_no_formula.

BUT this does not mean you should not try if this is what you really want.

What do your parents define as a “top tier” university? What if they have never heard of the university before? Is that the metric? Define your goals. Is it graduate school placement? Is it employment opportunities? Is it a broad exposure to a range of cultures and perspectives?

Are your real goals to be able to talk about where you went to University or are your real goals to learn and develop exceedingly well in an area and in a direction that you really want to grow. Formulate those goals and specifics as though it were a project without a predetermined, fixed answer. WHY?

Sometimes you have to state the obvious. Admissions to a specific university is not assured. Plan accordingly. You will be surprised what is out there when you look. There are more than a few paths to reach your objectives. Define your career/life objectives.

In many universities and colleges, ECs have become important as they are seen as part of the educational community. Each student is a contributing participant where the students make up the team. Participants learn from their teammates. It is not just about test scores. This becomes even more important when there are plenty of applicants with very strong test scores. A great deal of modern science involves interdisciplinary teamwork.

Do you play piano very well? Send a recording! Design your computer project to reflect your positive interests and directions beyond just yourself, i.e., be creative!

20

Even if you are auto admit at UT or A&M, CS is super competitive to get into. Most top schools superscore the SAT, so there is really no downside to taking it again to raise that 680 subscore. But remember, even if you raise your SAT to 1550 plus, competition is brutal for the Ivies, MIT and Caltech and they would still be high reaches. Definitely consider less reachy schools, including some of the other publics in Texas where you also have a better shot of getting merit aid and getting into the CS department.