Programmer here…I promise it’s nothing to stress over. Take a deep breath. Slow down! Too many kids drive themselves into mental breakdowns doing EXACTLY what you’re doing.
Computer science is ridiculously employable. You seriously don’t need a “T20” school to have a good strong well paid career. All you need is a good affordable college. Your state university should be more than enough. In fact, after about 2-3 years of experience employers don’t even ask where you went to school. Enjoy your teenage years. Have fun, go to Prom, be happy…just don’t blow anything up
I just took both AP tests, and I am certain I got a 5 on Calculus and relatively sure I got a 5 on Macro. Will this be helpful in showing that I am not bad at either subject?
Regardless of your level of achievement, your probability of getting into any one T20 is not improved by applying to all of them.
Every applicant needs to build a list with a schools they love across a range of selectivity. Especially these days, where top schools are seeing larger than ever numbers of applicants and acceptance rates in the RD round are rapidly diminishing.
For schools that admit by major, admission to CS will be far more selective than their overall acceptance rate. Take UMass Amherst as an example (which is not T20 but has an excellent CS program). For fall of 2023, the overall acceptance rate at UMass was 58%. For CS, that rate was 32%.
You certainly do sound accomplished and no doubt you have a great future ahead of you. But that will hold true regardless of whether you get into a T20 school.
USACO Platinum is a notable achievement given that you are aiming for computer science. With the two B+s, I can still see admission possible for some T20 colleges like Vanderbilt or WUSTL.
I agree with others that you shouldn’t try to explain the Bs yourself. But if you can get your counselor to explain the group grade in Calculus, that’s a different story.
Are you considering CMU CS? I see that as a reasonable shot, particularly if you can get your counselor to explain the Calc grade. It’s even a better shot for ED if that’s feasible for your family.
I’m not @hebegebe but here is my opinion. T20 schools have very very low acceptance rates and a LOT of high achieving students like you who apply. I do NOT think two B+ grades will matter in the big scheme of things. But remember, if you don’t get accepted at these highly competitive colleges, you won’t know why. And it might have nothing to do with a couple of B+ grades.
Instead of worrying about this…I would suggest you find one or two colleges that are affordable that you have an excellent chance of being accepted to…that you would be happy to attend. Just in case. There are a ton of wonderful colleges outside of the T20.
Do you have some sure things on your college application choice list?
