Chance a Nebraskan CS major for elite colleges [4.0 GPA, 36 ACT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic
  • State/Location of residency: Nebraska
  • Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Semi-large T200 public school
  • Other special factors: (first generation to college, legacy, recruitable athlete, etc.): N/A

Cost Constraints / Budget
I am extremely fortunate, so budget is not really an issue.

Intended Major: Computer Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: ~4.2
  • Class Rank: Top 5-10%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 36 ACT (36E/36M/36R/36S/9W)

List your HS coursework

  • English: Honors English 9-10, AP Lang (5)
  • Math: Honors Precalc, Honors Geometry, Honors Alg II, AP Stats (5)
  • Science: Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science
  • History and social studies: APUSH (5), AP World (5), World Geo
  • Language other than English: Japanese III
  • Visual or performing arts: N/A
  • Other academic courses: AP Compsci (5, self-study)

Awards

  • Boys State
  • Will almost certainly be a National Merit Semifinalist (1510 PSAT)
  • 1st place in Japanese Statewide Poetry (Solo) and Play (Team)
  • 3rd place in statewide Nebraska quiz bowl
  • Maybe USACO Gold

Extracurriculars

  • Quiz Bowl - no captain, but I’ve done this a lot
  • Newspaper Copy + Web Editor
  • Coding Club President
  • Developer for a game server that had~100-150 players at any given time, makes plugins for this game
  • Self-taught Rust and Haskell
  • Looking into making a pretty nerdy personal project in my freetime

Essays/LORs/Other
No clue, probably decent LORs

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): UNL
  • Extremely Likely: CU Boulder*
  • Likely: Rutgers*
  • Toss-up: University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Lower Probability: Purdue*, UMich, UChicago (may do ED), UCLA, Northwestern*, Georgia Tech*, UCSD*, UMD*, NYU*
  • Low Probability: Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Cornell, CMU, Berkely, UIUC, Columbia*

(The schools with an asterisk are schools that would only be a last resort, I don’t think I’d ever want to go there if I got accepted to another school)

My biggest question is whether I should ED UChicago. Truthfully, I don’t think I have the stats to get into any of the “low probability” schools, but I would take them over UChicago (on the other hand, I would much rather take UChicago than, say, a UMich or even a UCLA). I know I would like UChicago - it’s a great fit for me - but it doesn’t have that good of a CS program comparatively. I did do a summer program, so I could ED0.

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What is your highest math that you will achieve? If AP Stats and not Calc, I think your math rigor will be an issue.

I think UNL, CU and Rutgers are all safe and Wisconsin is likely.

I’d rate Purdue a toss up to likely. The rest are reaches but ED at Chicago helps a lot. The UCs won’t see your ACT so that hurts.

You clearly have the stats to go to any school - you’re a 4.0 and a 36. Can’t do better. But what I’m trying to figure out is your rigor, especially in math. And language, did you take 3 years or just pass Japanese 3 but not take 1-2?

As to whether you should ED somewhere - if you’re willing to pay and it’s your favorite school, then sure.

In your case you shouldn’t because you openly say it’s not your favorite school. So that’s all you need to know.

You are tryig to play probability. This is four years - day after day after day - so you don’t game. Chicago is not a similar school to UCLA/U Mich etc.

If you think Chicago is good for you, then it’s great.

CS - you have kids not majoring in CS doing CS and kids from all sorts of state flagships and regional schools doing CS. So I’m sure a Chicago grad will be fine.

If you want more - I won’t say matches - but a little higher ranked that you’re likely for - consider UMASS and UMD.

btw - if you look at the Brown rankings, Chicago does very well (#23). That name will always matter.

But - you prefer others (or do you just prefer they are higher ranked for CS? If Chicago is truly the best “fit” for you, then I’d ED there…yes, you let Stanford go - but it’s not the best fit for you…if I’m reading right.

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I’m taking AP Calc A this year, for clarification. And I took Japanese 1, 2, and 3. The main thing I want to emphasize is that since I would take UChicago over nearly any school except the top-top-tier CS schools and I don’t think I could get into these top-top-tier CS schools, I’m leaning towards EDing it.

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Regarding UCLA and UCB, they are probably about equally difficult to get into for CS. For this major, I would put them both in the low probability category. (UCB most recent admit rate for CS: 4%, UCLA most recent admit rate for CS: 3%, from Freshman admission by discipline | University of California)

If you feel that any school is a “last resort” you should probably just take it off the list and not waste your time on the application. However, you do need at least one, and preferably two, safety / extremely likely schools that you would be happy to attend. Would you like help with that part of the list?

I think that’s a good argument for ED, especially since I’m under the impression that ED at UChicago helps with admission there. It sounds like you do really like UChicago.

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Congrats on your achievements. You will be a very competitive candidate for any school. Unfortunately, most of the schools on your list receive many applications from folks like you and are reaches for everyone, no matter how strong their profile.

Just FYI, a lot of students applying to the most prestigious schools in CS are going to have completed at least Calc BC, as well as other AP STEM courses. But your rigor will be evaluated in the context of whatever courses were offered at your high school.

I suggest you purge your list of schools that you wouldn’t be excited to attend. Those aren’t even worth your time. You have UNL as your safety and you seem willing to attend there, so there is no need for schools of “last resort”.

You should only ED to your clear favorite, if you have a clear favorite (and it’s affordable). Chicago isn’t your clear favorite, so don’t ED there. As mentioned above, deciding to ED somewhere isn’t a game to play. Finding the right school is all about fit.

Perhaps it would help you to reflect on why you’re interested in the schools you’d prefer over Chicago. What is it about them that you like (other than “ranking” in CS)?

What are you looking for in a college: size, greek life, urban, rural, weather, geography, student body, religion, sports, etc?

If you’ve toured any schools yet, what did you think about them?

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No Physics?

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I’ll mention that in our large, excellent midwestern public HS, many of the strongest students’ college lists looked like your proposed list (a couple safeties with the rest big reaches). Nearly all of them get rejected from their reaches and end up at our in-state publics, which are fortunately excellent.

You have a wonderful opportunity in that you’re not limited by money, and you have the chance to find a school that is just right for you and is more likely to admit you than the super-reachy schools. Please let us know if you’re interested in identifying more likelies and we can help you.

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Personally I would say no.

One issue is that there are a number of schools on your list that are stronger for CS. Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, UIUC, GT, and probably Wisconsin are examples.

Another issue is that you have straight A’s throughout high school, essentially perfect ACT scores (36 on math particularly stands out for a potential CS major), and I would bet that you are going to have strong references. For some of the strong CS schools, coming from Nebraska probably counts as geographic diversity, which might help a little bit. I think that you are at least competitive anywhere.

Also, in my experience the top ranked schools are looking for students who are a good fit for them, and they get it right quite often.

Straight A’s and 36 ACT are pretty good stats. I would not pay any attention to weighted GPA. Different high schools calculate this so differently that it is really not possible to compare. Admissions will look at your actual grades in specific courses.

I am wondering whether what you call “Physical Science” is the same as what the rest of us call “Physics”.

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The OP doesn’t want to attend GT (note the asterisk) and apparently would prefer Chicago to Wisconsin. It is not clear to me whether the OP would prefer Chicago to UIUC or UCB, but I get the sense that the OP might really only prefer Stanford or MIT over Chicago, from this comment:

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Physical science is not physics-it’s just a freshman introductory class to a lot of science classics. I am taking physics this year, though.

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Truthfully, I think I would probably prefer UChicago to UIUC or even Berkeley, though I would be relatively fine going to those schools.

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A year of high school art* is a frosh admission requirement for California public universities (and some others). You may want to check if it is required or preferred at other schools on your list.

*Some substitutions are allowed, like a college art course or high enough AP art score.

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Ah, thank you! That’s frustrating, but not a big loss since the UCs weren’t really that intriguing to me anyways. I do take newspaper as a class, so I’m curious if that would qualify, though.

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It also takes some effort to add a couple of UCs to your list, because UC has a separate application with a different type of writing requirement (the UC PIQs aren’t the same type of essay as the Common App personal statement), a different format for the activities list, and a lot of other info that you must enter in their format.

The UCs are holistic and will not see your ACT score or LORs, so you would need strong PIQs and activity descriptions if you wanted to have a chance at UCLA / UCB.

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While the strategy may be wise - because non ED to Chicago is supposedly hard., I’d advise my kid against it.

If my kid wanted to go to, say Stanford, then I’d make sure they applied to Stanford - because they couldn’t go if they gave away that chance.

Couldn’t you do Stanford REA and ED2 at Chicago (due Jan 5)? I think you get the decision from Stanford b4 then but can’t find the date so not 100% sure.

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In terms of “what I’d like in a school,” I think that I basically want a school like UChicago (and is the main reason why I’m leaning towards early-decisioning for it)-it fits my preferred culture (not that much of a party school and less emphasis on sports), weather, size, etc. Again, if it wasn’t for its relatively low CS rankings (since CS is so competitive, that edge from a better school would be immensely helpful), I’d instantly apply ED to there. I know that it’s a bit silly to skip a school that I know fits me in favor of a different school just because it has a better CS program, but the quality of the CS program is very important to me in terms of career prospects.

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You know - there are people in CS without degrees…just pass a test. My nephew has worked for two brand name big firms with a poli sci degree in Arizona…passed the test.

So I’d encourage you to find the right school.

So if you say Chicago and maybe someone has a better recommendation, I wonder if Rochester might be a suitable back up to it. Or Colorado School of Mines - known for engineering but still solid. In the same vein, likely too small and rural, but RHIT in Indiana.

Rice might be another alternative (a reach). Tufts as well - also a reach.

You are somewhere for four years - day after day. If Chicago suits you and the culture of Michigan or Wisconsin don’t, then why would you do that to yourself??

You will ultimately make your success.

I mentored a local kid (UTK) and he’s had three great internships - b4 he goes to grad school next year - one at a Nashville company, one in the midwest and this summer in Seattle.

You, moreso than the where, are going to make your success.

You will be happier where you’re in your element…not somewhere else because it was ranked 18 instead of 42.

So in that sense I’d revisit the list. Others may have ideas too.

But I’d want to be, on a daily basis, where I want to be - vs. struggling in an uncomfortable environment.

Just something to think about.

Just out of curiosity as it’s in state for you and you mentioned as a safety - did you look at UNL Raikes - and CS/business combo? Would that be of interest?

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Would you choose CU or Rutgers over Nebraska? I don’t see them as huge upgrades and probably more expensive. If not, remove them. Wasted app.

You want CS. What if you ED to Chicago and get accepted. Then you get into MIT, CMU or Stanford? You’ll have to decline a top CS program for a school that’s probably not ranked higher than some of your other schools. Doesn’t seem like a good strategy. ED to one of your dream schools.

There are plenty of great schools for CS. Here’s a link to do a little more research. I think you’ll have some great options.

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I don’t think that I could get into these top tier universities, to be completely honest, and I would rather go to a school I would love culturally (UChicago) than a better school in terms of CS. Part of why I’m asking this chance me is to determine if I actually have a chance at getting into these colleges, as otherwise it’s a no-brainer for me to ED0 UChicago. The college list is what I’d apply to if I didn’t get ED UChicago or ED’d it and didn’t get in.

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It doesn’t work this way. If OP gets in anywhere ED, every other application needs to be withdrawn. So they won’t ever know if they got in to the other schools.

Just an fyi, the ED0 option at UChicago is only available to those that attend specific summer programs at UChicago. If you didn’t attend one, you’d just be applying ED.

FWIF, I think you’d have a shot at any school in the country.

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