Chance/Match Me [IL resident, 3.98 UW, 1570 SAT for CS or physics or chemistry]

Chance Me / Match Me
,
1

Demographics: Male, Illinois, White, Middle Class, US Citizen, No legacy
School: Moderately sized private school—typically does quite well in college admissions.

Special Factors: I attended grades 9/10 at a small local private school and 11 (current)/12 at my current school. My former school did not do well in college admissions. I will refer to my previous school as “school A,” and my current school as “school B.”

Intended Major(s): Likely something in STEM—I find computer science the most engaging but I also enjoy physics and chemistry.

SAT: 1570 (800 math / 770 verbal)—should I shoot for a 1600 and retake it (genuinely, should I)?

GPA: 3.98
Grades (by semester):

  • School A:
    HS classes in MS (on transcript): 4 A+, 5 A
    9th: 12 A+
    10th: 7 A+, 4A, 1A-, 1B+ (in english)

  • School B (thus far):
    11th: 7 A+, 3 A
    It’s relevant to note that the courses I’m taking at school B are significantly more challenging than the ones I took at school A.

Class Rank is not a meaningful metric and neither of my schools have/had one.

APs / Relevant Coursework
9th isn’t worth mentioning - No APs.

  • School A - 10th
    AP Physics C: M (5 / A)
    AP Physics C: E&M (5 / A-)
    AP CS: A (5 / A+)
    AP US History (3 / A+)
    Multivariable Calculus (online with accredited program) (A)
    Differential Equations (online with accredited program) (A+)

  • School B - 11th
    College (AP) Chem (AP not taken yet / A+)
    Group Theory (A)
    Fluid Mechanics (A)
    Intermediate Mechanics (A+)
    Independent CS R&D (A+)
    Modern Physics (A)
    Linear Algebra (A+)

  • School B 12th (Likely)
    Organic Chemistry
    More pure math

Awards - I’m not that interested in them and have none worth mentioning.

Extracurriculars / Activities - A place for substantial improvement this summer.

  • School A
    Class (grade) representative for 2 years in 9th / 10th.
    Head of student government in 10th.
    Helped teach AP CS:A
    Boys’ Varsity Soccer
    Boys’ Varsity Volleyball

  • School B - not much, being a transfer is rough. Next year might provide possible leadership positions/sports but I’d rather not bet on it.

  • Extracurricular
    (Paid) graduate-level CS research at a T10 university from early 2023 - present. I work on building tools that the lab uses to collect a large amount of data for various projects. I’m working on a couple topics/manuscripts right now but I haven’t published yet. I hope to reach out to more profs to collaborate on more research this summer.
    Contributor to various OSS (open-source software) projects.
    Lots of hackathons (mostly at nearby unis) - I wouldn’t say these are beneficial to my application (though I could certainly be wrong) but they represent the kind of computer science I enjoy—hackathons, research, and contributing OSS are astronomically more enjoyable and productive when compared to competitive programming.

  • Projects - I lead a couple OSS projects
    A platform (organization? not really) that connects food banks and homeless shelters to donations/donators—hoping to reach out to and work with >10 organizations/institutions this summer.
    A platform for students to search for colleges programmatically using SQL/GraphQL that leverages government databases. The reason I made the app was because most college search tools annoyed me—bloated and wayyy too verbose in the sense that they require you to check boxes that you might not care about.

  • Volunteering
    Local after school program.
    Local food banks and homeless shelters
    A couple organizations

  • SUMMER POSSIBILITIES! - I mentioned a few above but a dedicated section seems useful.
    More research in the lab I’m in now—aiming for a few articles (or at least manuscripts).
    Outreach (cold emails :frowning: ) and hopefully further research/mentorship.
    More volunteering—teaching CS at local summer programs.
    Developing my current CS projects/orgs (mentioned above) with my collaborators.

Essays/LORs/Other
I’m not sure how to gauge my performance here—I do well in the classes taught by my recommenders, but I’m usually quiet in class. I wouldn’t say it’s because of a lack of motivation, more so just a personal habit/behavior and I hope they recognize this. There’s also the fact that I’m a transfer and teachers might not know me as well.
When it comes to essays, they’ll be good if I don’t do them last-minute.

Cost Constraints / Budget
I don’t have any cost constraints but I think that cost is still a relevant factor.

Schools - An unranked, very preliminary/rough list.
? denotes added uncertainty
MIT
CalTech
UCB?
CMU
UChicago
Georgia Tech?
Harvard?
UIUC
Northwestern
Princeton
RPI?
Stanford?
University of Washington?
UW Madison?
WPI?

Notes Regarding Schools
I don’t have a solid picture of my list right now—I’m pretty sure of my “reach” schools (MIT is the dream, etc.) but those are almost a given/trivial these days. What I need a better idea of is my list of “match” schools.
As I mentioned a few hundred words ago (sorry for the verbosity), I’m interested in STEM—probably CS, but I like everything. I know of schools like University of Washington and UIUC that might constitute (slightly) less selective schools on my list, but I would appreciate any and all other recommendations

Notes Regarding Activities
I don’t think very highly of my ECs/activities. I guess I have the research going for me but I feel as though publication is the only way to make it a truly impactful part of my application. Furthermore, I don’t have much lined up for this summer and I don’t have any highly selective/prestigious programs under my belt—I really just wasn’t aware of things like PRIMES and RSI until just a few months ago, when it was already too late. I also don’t have many outstanding applications and have grudgingly decided to try working on (hopefully lab) research, my CS projects, and volunteering instead.

Closing Notes
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading my rambling. If you choose to provide any school recommendations, insight regarding chances, or any general advice, I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
A stressed HS student

2

What DID you take in grade 9

Foreign language? Did you take one?

Any arts classes ( required for UCB)?

I only see one social studies?

Many of the colleges on you list will want to see four years of English, social studies, math, science and foreign language. Do you have that?

3

In the original section, I don’t mention everything, only classes that I think stand out. It was probably a bad idea to elide these details, here’s the full list:

In 12th I plan on taking:

  • Art class(es)
  • Organic Chemistry
  • A couple pure math classes (set theory probably)
  • American History (required by new school, very different from AP US History)

In 11th I’m taking/took:

  • French
  • English
  • College Chemistry (plan on taking AP)
  • Group Theory
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Modern Physics
  • Linear Algebra
  • Intermediate Mechanics
  • CS R&D - Worked with Cloudflare researchers

In 10th I took:

  • AP Physics C: E&M
  • AP Physics C: M
  • AP US History
  • English (a grade ahead)
  • AP CS: A
  • French
  • Multivariable Calculus (online - college credit)
  • Differential Equations (online - college credit)

I took Calculus I at a university summer program between 9th and 10th grade.

In 9th I took:

  • Biomechanics
  • Computer Science
  • English
  • French
  • Pre-Calculus
  • World History
  • Yearbook

Before that, in MS (HS-level), I took:

  • Algebra II
  • Geometry
  • French
4

Any financial restrictions?

You need to find your sure thing for admission, that is affordable, that you like and build up from there.

Since you attend a private school! It’s likely they will have good advising.

Adding…I don’t see an English course every year either…

5

I don’t have any financial restrictions but “value” is still something to think about (even if it doesn’t necessarily have a strong impact on choices). I don’t qualify for need-based aid at the majority of schools.

6

I still don’t see four years of social studies. What am I missing?

7

Regarding social studies, I took world history in 9th, APUSH in 10th, I’m not taking any history right now (because of scheduling limitations), and my current school is likely requiring me to take American History (quite different from AP curriculum but still challenging) again next year.

8

  1. You go to a private school - talk to your college counselor.

  2. You listed very expensive colleges. And you want to factor in value - so that’s a personal and family discussion. Some of these will be $400K whereas a UIUC will not.

So if Harvard is $400K and UIUC is $150K,then that’s what you have to decide - is that value?

You can find out if you’re full pay for a school by having your parents fill out their net price calculator to see if you would qualify for aid.

If you don’t qualify for aid, and you’d choose UIUC over Harvard - then you can eliminate a lot of your list. If you decide that it’s worth paying for Harvard, that’s different. You can do that with various schools - a UCB will be more than double UIUC - would you go there at that expense?

So that’s the first thing.

Then your list - it’s mostly top heavy.

So you have MIT, Harvard, NW, Princeton level but you have RPI that would happen - so you’re ok there. Since value matters, you might also add schools that have merit, even if unlikely, such as WUSTL, Vandy, Rice, etc. But again, they are reaches.

You have UIUC - a flagship and then Washington with a 3% acceptance rate so that’s a reach and then Ga Tech, another reach. Wisconsin is your more likely - but you might consider adding a Purdue or if you want city, a Minnesota or Ohio State - just to assure a certainty, etc. And a UMD is very strong - as well.

So talk to your folks - and find out if they’re willing to pay $400K - if there are other fine schools at a lesser cost…determine that value. If the answer is no, then you can shrink and alter the list to optimize to only apply to schools that will work. If it’s absolutely yes, we will spend the $400K, you can figure out value after you get all your offers.

And to understand what a meets need school like Harvard would expect them to pay, have them run a net price calculator - Harvard, Chicago, Northwestern, etc. - because maybe the schools would provide you need aid and no school would be full pay.

And then talk to your counselor about your list. It seems a reasonable list to me - but can probably have a few adjustments made to provide a safety net.

The other things is - you have “different” environments on here. So going to college isn’t just about picking out the best name - but picking out an environment that works for you. Some excel in big, some don’t. Some want cold weather and some warm.

So you want to start visiting schools - urban, suburban, large small - if you haven’t - and ensure these are places you’d want to be four years.

Good luck.

9

You have quite a few elite colleges on your current list. I would suggest that you look at what these colleges recommend for high school courses. BUT change the word “recommend” to “require” because most applicants will be fulfilling all of these recommendations. You need to also, in my opinion.

It looks like you took math and science courses instead of a social studies this year. Perhaps you can take two as a senior. I am guessing that the STEM courses are your strong area of interest. But really…look at what the colleges want.

Your social studies courses do not need to be AP courses.

@Mwfan1921 am I missing something here?

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10

How stringent are the recommended required courses? I know that I don’t fulfill the 4 years of social studies recommended required by most selective schools, but I figured replacing them with courses in my areas of interest would outweigh the downsides.

Another note is that my list is top-heavy because I’m not too sure about lower-selectivity schools. The schools I’ve visited thus far (UChicago, Purdue, Princeton, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northwestern, and Northeastern—admittedly not at all “lower-selectivity”) have had very similar information sessions/tours (with the exception of NU) and I’ve found it hard to meaningfully differentiate schools. My evaluation of schools is currently based on a “feeling” (which is kind of school “vibe,” likely too strongly influenced by societal opinions of prestige) and it’s difficult to attribute the positives/negatives of any given school to its environment (as defined by tsbna44) or other relevant characteristics and extrapolate from there.

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard to evaluate schools “objectively” while also considering personal wants (which are also a little blurry).

11

I’m hoping @Mwfan1921 will respond to this.

Purdue is a good choice and I think you are likely to get accepted there. @momofboiler1 might have an opinion. Purdue was not on you OP list of colleges.

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12

Yes, info sessions blend together. It doesn’t matter if it’s UIUC or Southern Illinois. They all have x majors, great study abroad and a Quidditch Club. I get that!!!

The tours are important - and stopping kids on campus to chat, eating in the dining hall, walking the surrounding towns - you can get a better sense from all of this.

Many today will self tour because yes, the info sessions are all the same!! Or have similarities.

13

I was thinking something similar thing during my visits—but also what a day of school actually looks like. I think the best way for me to understand if a school is right for me is to actually go to classes and experience a “real” day there. My understanding is that this isn’t possible at most schools (likely due to the shear number of tours), but are there any that do offer something similar?

14

Some will let you attend. Talk to admissions and/or a department chair and ask. Usually admissions can arrange that - but don’t forget different profs have different teaching styles, etc.

This will be a one off.

And work with your school counselor - that’s part of what you’re paying for at a private HS.

15

Based on your range of interests, you might benefit from considering schools with notably flexible curricula, such as Amherst, Hamilton, Brown and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Grinnell. At colleges of this type — more so than even at many tech-oriented schools — you would be allowed to take virtually all of your courses in fields such as computer science, physics and chemistry, or, alternatively, guided in combining these fields through a major such as data science.

16

Do these schools offer dual-degree programs—how do their flexible curricula translate to degree(s) if one doesn’t take a defined major?

17

Do you plan not to declare a major?

18

I probably will? I’m (probably) interested in to double-majoring or something along similar lines. I’d like to leverage the college classes I’ve taken thus far and to keep pushing my knowledge of STEM in college—I’m not really how this translates into a defined major (or double major, or any other programs). (How) Is it possible to simply not declare a major?

I do know (with relative certainty) that engineering (at least Purdue’s version of it) is more prescribed than what I’d like, and many of the courses would be review of material/info I’m already familiar with.

19

At these schools you would be expected to complete major requirements as at other schools. However, because of their limited general requirements, it would be simpler to complete majors in two or, conceivably, three fields, if desired.

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20

My guess is your eventual major will tease itself out once you get to college.

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