<p>I’m applying to CMU SCS this year, and I was wondering how much being a Leaper would help my chances. I took the “interesting test” at the end of 8th grade, and I was accepted and attended the program the following summer. Can I put that on the Common App/other college apps? They don’t accept many middle school students, so would it help that I was accepted in middle school? Or would I technically have counted as high school since it was the summer before my freshman year? Also, where would I put this on the Common App?</p>
<p>Oh, and here’s more info from the website:
<a href=“http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~leap/[/url]”>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~leap/</a></p>
<p>If you like you can just list it in one of the activities sections. Since my son’s main essay was about how he became fascinated with computer science he ended up talking about similar pre-highscool activities as part of his essay. There’s also usually a “anything else you want to tell us” area where you could talk about this. Or if you have kept in touch with your instructors or have a letter of recommendation from them you could attach it as an extra recommendation.</p>
<p>If you’re still in touch with Rudich, you should see if he’s willing to write you a letter of recommendation. I believe that CMU asks why you want to major in your chosen major, so you should probably mention Andrew’s Leap in that part of the application. Being a leaper certainly won’t hurt your chances - I’ve met quite a few former leapers and leap TAs while at CMU.</p>
<p>Nah, I didn’t really know Rudich well. I was fairly young and had pretty much no idea what he was talking about half of the time. It was a good experience though, and I really liked it. Where does CMU ask why you chose your major? There’s nothing like that on the Common App, and there are no supplements. Would it be okay putting it in the “Additional Information” section?</p>