Hey guys,
I am not exactly sure if this is the right forum for this kind of question but I’m just gonna go for it. FYI, I am an American senior studying in Dubai. I would like to major in Computer science. The schools I have chosen are as follows;-
REACH
Stanford
UC berkeley
CMU
TARGET (hopefully)
UIUC
UT austin
U of washington
SAFETY
Texas A&M (?)
Virginia Tech (?)
I realize that most of the schools on my list are crapshoots. I am aware that I have an extremely low chance at all of the reach schools. The safeties that I selected can be much better IMO. If someone could recommend some good schools that I have a high chance of getting into based on my stats, I would really appreciate it. Something better than Virginia tech but a bit lower than UIUC for example.
STATS
GPA - I did my 9th and 10th grade in a local Indian high school and we used the CGPA system (out of 10). My CGPA for 9th and 10th grade was 9.4. I switched over to an American curriculum for 11th and 12th. My 11th grade GPA was a disgusting 3.5. It was mainly due to a personal circumstance which I plan to elucidate in my apps.
SAT - 1560, SAT Math2 - 800, SAT physics - 790
SCHOOL RELATED
APs
11th - AP stats - 4, AP chem - 4
12th - AP physics C: Mechanics, AP Calc AB, AP CS A (currently enrolled)
Long distance running/ cross country - Been running for 10 years individual championships (no team in my old school). Varsity gold medalist cross country in American school.
Indian classical music (Carnatic) - 2 time scholarship winner (span of 3 years each) from my old school. Have performed in music festivals as well as National Indian TV.
Strong letters of rec (I’m pretty sure xP)
OTHERS
International Robotics Olympiad two time qualifier
4 month internship at an artificial intelligence startup company in India. Have received certification as well as a letter of rec from the CEO.
Been coding for a long time. Built a program for a school for special children using my coding knowledge. The school has implemented my software and use it on a daily basis.
Taught math and english at a local corporation school in India. Students from low-income families.
MUN and debate club
Computer club
ESSAYS - I plan to write about my internship but on a very personal level. (BTW if anyone is interested in critiquing my essay hmu in the Discussion)
Is the cost an issue? There is pretty limited aid for OOS/international students at many of the public schools you list (notably UC Berkeley and very probably UT Austin won’t give any), so costs will be $200K-$300K over four years.
Also, does “I am an American senior studying in Dubai” mean you are a US citizen? If so then the University of Utah would be an excellent safety because you’ll be able to get in-state tuition rates after the first year (4 year cost would then be ~$100K) and merit is also available for US citizens/legal residents. It’s a great place to live (especially in the Honors College) with strong CS, math and entrepreneurship programs.
you should get significant financial aid from UCF. You might be able to get into UF with your SAT score but it is very rare to get any scholarships from them
CS departments in respected Universities are feeling the pressure across the board. The institutional competition for a CS major in a given university may not reflect the competition level for CS majors. Finding a “safety” for CS is a challenge. Teaching faculty are difficult to find with the high earnings industry is paying for PhDs.
A 3.5 puts you in the mix at VA Tech and A&M, but not on top of the pile. According to the Virginia Tech Common Data Set (CDS) from 2017, 77.87% of the matriculating students had GPA>3.75. The CDS from Texas A&M does not give the GPA breakdown, but does report that 60% of the students are from the top 10% of their class. Remember, these are all majors and not just CS. Your internship can play a role here.
VA Tech is probably not a safety.
A rural university with a solid reputation with industry is Clarkson University in upstate NY. University of Maine in Orono may also be a safety.
Yeah I’m an american citizen. Cost isn’t an issue most probably. I mean I would obviously take financial aid if I get it but I don’t think its stopping me from applying anywhere. Thank you for your recommendation. I will check out U of Utah.
The average, UNWEIGHTED GPA at WPI is 3.86. If you want CS, you might want to consider WPI, but I don’t think it will meet your backup needs.
I could not find the CDS information on the RIT website. I was also not able to find the common data set for Clarkson. Check with your guidance office.
When available most, but not all universities are using unweighted GPA scores in the Common Data Sets. Average, unweighted GPA may give you the single most important variable regarding admission… BUT it is still only one variable. Most universities start with the GPA, not the SAT/ACT scores.
Northeastern does not present GPA data on their site, but does report that 75% ranked students were from the top 10% of their secondary school class. Case Western does not report GPA, but did report that 70% of the ranked students were from the top 10" of secondary school class.
RPI reports an average, unweighted GPA of 3.75 GPA. A reasonable shot, but not a safety for a 3.5.
This weighted/unweighted issue is causing confusions as universities have not clearly stated nor standardized how they are reporting their GPA scores.
Unless they report a GPA above 4.0, you don’t know if they are weighted or unweighted. Neither RPI nor WPI weight their reported scores. Both universities have a very large populations of secondary school AP applicants. It has become fairly common among STEM majors.
@retiredfarmer I think you’re both minimizing the 9th/10th grade GPA’s and also underestimating the value of the 1560 test score, especially to give context to a GPA. I also noted that Northeastern, RPI, and Case are matches, not safeties.
university of Alabama Huntsville would be safety and would also provide free tuition . Huntsville Alabama has the 2nd largest research park, and there are many CS opportunities.