What are my chances into EE/CS

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I am an IB Diploma Candidate,
I made a fatal mistake of switching from a distant IB HS to a local HS right in the middle of Sophomore year.
Then I switched back to the IB HS during Junior year but my GPA dropped while at the local normal HS.
You would think that my grades would increase since I changed schools but it actually decreased because of my conscience.
I was actually forced to return to the local school by my parents who said that they would not drive me there anymore because of gas prices.
Little did they know that my GPA would drop faster than gas prices increased.
Because of the switch I got angry with my parents and didn't care about school. I, in fact, hurt only myself and it took an semester of poor GPAs to realize this.
I got 5 in AP Calc AB at 10th grade
5--AP Calc BC (11th)
5--AP Physics C: Mech (11th) (Studied Independently)
SAT 2100 (800 M, 700 W, 600 CR)
SAT II Physics (760)
SAT II Math LV2 (800)</p>

<p>Summer Program (2007): University of Toronto Computing Insights</p>

<p>I am planning to major in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science
Yet I made a some major mistakes during HS
I just want to know the extent of their influence on my chances
C in IB German (4 semesters)
C in IB Biology (2 semesters)
C in MYP Art (Middle Years Program) (1 semester)
C in US History (1 semester)
The reason why I took IB Biology is because my school doesn't offer any IB HL Science other than Biology.
IB German/US History was messed up due to switches in HS during Sophomore year
Currently I have an A in IB German 2/Biology 2/History (Global) (I'm not taking Art anymore)
Yet I have always kept A's in mathematics throughout HS
Currently taking IB Further Level Mathematics (Self-study)
For those of you that are IB literate, I am doing a Math EE in Numerical Analysis</p>

<p>IB Exams 2008:
IB Global Studies (History) HL
IB Biology HL
IB English HL
IB Math HL and IB Math Further Level SL
IB German SL</p>

<p>I'm taking the following in Spring of 2008
AP Computer Science AB exam (Course not offered/Self-study)
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism exam (Course not offered/Self-study)
SCJP (Sun Certification Java Programmer) (Self Study)</p>

<p>National Competitions:
USACO (USA Computing Olympiad) Bronze candidate 2007
ACSL (American Computer Science League) School Captain 2007
Physics Olympiad
Our school doesn't offer any Computer Science courses or AP Physics C classes.</p>

<p>EC:
Community Service (3 yrs) (Library/Tree Foundation)
Community Service (Tutoring Mathematics in school library 40 hours)
ROP Natural Resources Management (40 hours of research)
Founded and became President of Computer Science Club (2 yrs)
Chess Club (3 yrs)
Science Bowl (2 yrs)
Science Club (1 yr)
Math Club (4 yrs)</p>

<p>Taught AP Computer Science afterschool 2 days a week, training 15 students (1 yr) (No-credits but knowledge for AP test)
Introduced ACSL and USACO to our high school</p>

<p>What are my chances at the following colleges?</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cornell University
Stanford
Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science
Rice University
Brown University</p>

<p>Public State</p>

<p>University of California Berkeley
University of California LA
University of Texas Austin
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
University of Washington Seattle
University of Michigan
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of New York Stony Brook (SUNYSB)</p>

<p>More Info:
I went from 160 to 200 lbs when I switched schools.
I was extremely depressed during my 2nd semester of Sophomore year and beginning Junior year.
Now I came back to reality and fitness. I am currently at 154 lbs.
Is it reasonable to write about this weight change?
Hopefully the colleges will recognize this transformation of my character, because my earlier GPA was simply horrid. I wasn't a leader in society. I was just simply mad with my parents.
My freshman GPA was 4.2 weighted both semesters.</p>

<p>Please help me out!
Be honest, if you think I have no chance just tell me
But I expect you to give me a solution to this dilemma
I really want to attend Carnegie Mellon University because of their amazing School of Computer Science
Thank you for your help!</p>

2

<p>A very good topic is what you stated above: "Little did they know that my GPA would drop faster than gas prices increased. Because of the switch I got angry with my parents and didn't care about school. I, in fact, hurt only myself and it took an semester of poor GPAs to realize this." If I was you, then I would talk about this and how "it affected your life" blah blah blah.</p>

<p>Your chances however, aren't very good. Freshman year is taken into very little consideration and the C's that you got will hurt you. It would be easier to chance you if you listed your grades out instead of giving excuses for each one. I don't see you at any of the Private schools but you have okay chances at the public state schools.</p>

3

<p>Do you think that getting a 2300 on the SAT would help?
I'm taking it again in December
I know they sound like excuses but they aren't.
They are the truth.
Well thanks for chancing me.</p>

4

<p>Any other opinions???
Please post!
Thanks</p>

5

<p>Come on somebody help me out!
I really want some other opinions
Thank you</p>

6

<p>Well, the whole grade thing is probably something that will hurt you a bit, but in my opinion, a college that is worth getting into will look at more than just the quantitative parts of your application. If you let them see who you really are and why you'll be a great student, then that can make up for other parts of your application.
Your ECs will definitely help you. They show that you have a lot of experience and have done a diverse amount of activites.
I believe that you have a pretty good chance with the public state universities and a good chance with the others as well. If I were you, I would go and apply to whatever college interested you the most. After all, what's the worst that could happen? And not to mention, your chances are zero if you don't apply.</p>

7

<p>have you applied to all those colleges? </p>

<p>CMU CS is a separate application, right? i'd guess the CS students are extremely strong, and have demonstrated that with multiple pieces of evidence. you have your AP tests which impress me personally, but i don't know how much that is factored in. you didn't include your GPA, so... </p>

<p>what i would do if i were you is find the public schools that have the best areas you like, i guess that means just CS because physics is probably about the same everywhere. i wouldn't be disappointed about this at all. i know this is hard for high school students, and for good reason, but you should think about what you actually want to get out of the school. if you end up in a public school, you can definitely find your niche, find a prof to do research with early, perform well in classes, etc. the worst thing to do is to feel like you need to be at a good school, or that if you don't go to such a good school, you shouldn't try as hard. you should.</p>

8

<p>Thank you both for considering my chances
I haven't applied to those colleges yet but those are in my list
As natb22 stated there is 0 chance if I don't apply
Thanks for helping me realize this
GPA
Freshman year 1st semester: 3.17 (3.67 WT)
2nd semester: 3.67 (4.17 WT)
Sophomore year 1st semester: 3.67 (4.17 WT)
2nd semester: 2.33 (2.83 WT)
Junior year 1st semester: 3.0 (3.67 WT)
2nd semester: 3.33 (4.33 WT)
Senior year 1st semester (currently): 3.83 (4.83 WT)
As you can see there was a acute drop and then a gradual aggradizement
Hopefully colleges will see that and I will be sure to include that in my essay
Should I include the weight drop?
It was a factor in my bad grades and health in general.
Hopefully the poor GPAs during Sophomore/Junior year don't slay my chances in an instant.
Like sreis said, I have strong AP tests under my belt but how do colleges consider them?
From what I have heard most use them exclusively for course selection: not for admission. I hope that it's just a rumor since its one of my strong points.</p>

<p>I'm also having a Rice interview in 1 week could you give me advice?
Should I explain my change in personality/grades/weight/LIFE?</p>

<p>Thank you once again!</p>

<p>If there are anymore opinions that would be great</p>

9

<p>I don't really understand why you're so adimant about including your weight loss - I think that the fact that you got your life back together is something to note, but I don't think that going into explicit detail is the way to do it. I'm not a college admissions officer, but personally, I would find an essay written on "this was my challenge, this is how I overcame it and what I learned from it" more interesting than an essay of "I hated my parents, I gained weight, I lost it, this is why I had bag grades". One is showing that you take responsibility for your mistakes and overcame them, the second is using them as an excuse.</p>

<p>That said, I don't think that one bad semester will necessarily exclude you from a top university, especially one with a holistic admissions process like MIT. My best friend is currently attending CMU, and she had an off semester as well, but she is a brilliant artist and they admitted her because they knew that despite her calculus grade, she could do the work. My best advice is for you to do the same - don't not apply because you think that your grades are going to get you rejected! Take control of your past, write some amazing essays, and I'm sure that your recomendations will help take care of the rest!</p>