Hi! My name is Dhruv and I am currently a resident of Washington state. My major is CS and I would like to attend the best fit school considering my credentials:
ACT: 28 (32E 29M 23R 26S)
GPA: 3.86
18 community college courses (running start/dual enrollment), 1 AP (computer science) class and 5 honors courses
Class rank: I’m top 11 percent, but this doesn’t mean much for me because I’ve moved to different schools 3 times in my high school career. Plus, it’s the unweighted rank.
My essay is focused around how I want computer science to be a core subject in childhood education. I have quite a lot of extracurriculars. Main ones are 4 years of Varsity Tennis (3A Champions), robotics, and other focused on teaching STEM to younger students around me.
I think many people are going to tell me to try for University of Washington. I’m well aware that it has one of the best CS programs in the country, and I can get in state tuition. But the fact is, it’s so damn competitive. Even if I apply the regular route, by completing the prereqs, my counselor said I should have a 4.0 gpa in CC to get in. I have a 3.97 right now, but I haven’t completed any of the prereqs, and those are the most difficult (B+ currently in Calc 1 which is a prereq and one of the easiest ones!). I’ve even talked to a CS advisor, and she said that grades are the most important factor in admissions, and I don’t think I can keep them up for another year.
My dream is to work as a software developer on wall street (I have a strong interest in finance), or work in cyber security.
So far, I’ve applied to Umass Amherst, Purdue, and I will for sure apply to Penn State University Park. What would you say are the best fit colleges for me?
Based on your ACT scores (particularly your math ones) and GPA, I’d only recommend UW if you can get in directly. If you get direct admissions to UW CSE, go there by all means. If you have any trouble with the math or science pre-reqs, you unfortunately should probably forget about UW CSE. Among the better ones that are affordable are Utah (WUE), Arizona, ASU and WSU. Utah is the best of the four in my opinion.
All of the schools should be fine in terms of getting a GPA. UW CSE stands the tallest, by far, in terms of perceived quality and reputation. Once you get a job (or get into graduate school), nobody really cares about where you went to school. But it’s easier to get a fancy job from UW CSE and there are benefits to going to a CS program like UW and surrounding yourself with the more creative and hard-working students.
Do you think I’m eligible for schools like Purdue, Penn State and Umass Amherst?
Will you and your parents be able to pay the net price for each school?
Other Washington public universities with CS include WWU, EWU, and WSU.
Be aware that many other schools have high GPA or competitive admission to the CS major. Some examples:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19854939/#Comment_19854939
I’d say you have a shot at Purdue, Penn State, and UMass Amherst. I’m unsure if they’re worth the extra cost relative to the western schools. At these schools, getting into CS should be much less competitive (though much more competitive than the university overall).
I got in to penn state and umass so far, so super happy. Thanks for the advice guys @frontpage @ucbalumnus
@QuestionsMate Good to hear. They are excellent CS schools and very highly regarded in the CS industry and academia. If you work hard, you should do well, but it probably won’t be a cake walk. At these schools, most students will be as strong as or stronger than you.