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

Chance Me / Match Me
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21

That’s the hope.

22

Thanks for the info! I was unaware of the flexibility with liberal arts schools like Amherst.

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23

Any thoughts on my chances at the schools mentioned in my original post and those mentioned above?

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Both of these schools are very competitive for CS, usually in the range of 3-4% acceptance rate. Being in state for UIUC may help you some there.

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With that in mind, is a place like UIUC, CMU, UCB, or U of Washington realistically a better school to apply to when compared to the ivy+ schools (which have a similar acceptance rate) on my list?

26

Aside from the hackathon and school change stuff, I had a really similar profile to yours. I ended up getting into Georgia Tech and got waitlisted at CMU and Cornell. However, I faced a sea of rejections from everywhere else except my safeties (UCSB, RIT, OSU, those tier of schools), primarily because I didn’t have any shining leadership/awards.

I know you think hackathons won’t help a lot, but from what you’ve written, they seem like a key expression of your personality. You might end up even writing your personal statement about them. Regardless, any awards you won at these hackathons certainly is important.

Also, since you have previously done research, you have a strong shot at further cold emailing. I used a strategy where I did CS internship after internship and listed each on my resume, and that helped me land a Stanford CS internship.

Also, don’t shoot for a 1600. For a CS major, any score with 800 math and 700+ on reading and writing is good enough. MIT wrote a blog post on SAT scores a while back, and they said that any semidecent score (1500+) is enough, and that the main cause of the correlation between higher SAT scores and admission rates is actually other factors high SAT scorers have, e.g. good ECs.

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27

Reach - doesn’t mean impossible.

MIT Reach
Cal Tech Reach
UCB Reach
CMU Reach
Chicago - Reach
Ga Tech - Reach
Harvard Reach
Northwestern Reach
Princeton Reach
Stanford
UWash

Unsure - maybe reach but more possible…UIUC in this category due to in state

UIUC
UWisc- easier than UIUC

Likely

RPI - likely
WPI

Note - you have different environments and you should find what you want. Example, RPI is very male and has less offerings/majors. WPI is in 7 week classes, etc.

Others I noted above - since you have a value bent:

WUST, Vandy, Rice - all reaches

Purdue - match - but honestly, it’s a top school with less than top difficulty for admission - so I’d think it’d happen. UMD is another great one in this category I mentioned.

Ohio State and Minnesota would be safe for you - just to give two more.

The most important school on your list - the one to focus on - is the 100% I’m going to get in, I’d be jazzed to go there and in your case - I see the value.

It’s great to have a few.

After that the list doesn’t matter.

The issue becomes - kids tend to focus on only their reaches. You’re a great candidate and it’s not to say you won’t get into one. But every year there are many who don’t.

In the end, you need a spot - and that’s why that definite and affordable is where to ensure you put heavy energy up front. Too many kids ignore this school- they just throw a name up, without researching, end up there and are miserable. That school should have more time spent on it (finding that school) than any other.

Hope that helps - and PS - I’m not an adcom - so anything I say is - well just my opinion.

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Apply and see. Those reach schools have low acceptance rates. But you have strong grades and SAT score. I’m still a little concerned that you don’t have four years of each core course. But you have time to take those courses.

You have a chance but as with all reaches…not a sure thing.

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You shouldn’t use acceptance rates or ranking as deciding factors on where to apply or not apply. You definitely have great credentials and can realistically be accepted to some reach schools. Which ones? No one really can tell you that.

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Given this statement, your own college counselors are probably going to be the best source of admission chances, because they will have a better idea of what kind of student profile from YOUR high school is competitive at various selective schools.

I would agree with @Momofthree24 that I wouldn’t focus too much on acceptance rates or ranking. You do need a couple of schools that are very likely AND that you would be happy to attend. Once you have that down, the rest of the list is up to you, and it can all be “reach for everyone,” or you may have some schools that are less selective but still quite good.

I will just say that with the level of classes you are taking in high school, if I were you, I would look quite closely at each college’s curriculum, and the courses offered, in all major(s) of possible interest.

I would also try to find out, how would each one handle advanced placement within the curriculum, based on courses you have taken in high school? This is something I would bring up with your college counselors, because if your school teaches classes at this level, they will no doubt have already had experience with this.

Also, since you will be entering with quite a few advanced courses from high school, at some smaller schools that might not have a lot of depth in the areas you want to pursue, it is possible that you might be in danger of running out of interesting courses to take, later in your degree. So I would try to be sure there is plenty of depth in the classes offered at each school you apply to.

It can feel more “objective” if you start to look at details of the curriculum and requirements for the degree, specific courses offered, and also availability of specific extracurriculars you want to do, such as clubs, research, maker labs, project teams, etc.

You can try making a spreadsheet, putting down the things that are important to you, rating schools on various factors that you care about (whatever they are)… even if it starts out feeling a bit blurry, as you keep at it, you will start to get a sense of what features you value most.

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31

Both are much more selective for the CS major than generally.

What colleges would you consider to be safeties?

Given the advanced level you have in math and CS, you may want to check the upper level and graduate level offerings in both subjects for any school you consider.

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No one can really answer this. Might it hurt you to only have 3 years SS? Maybe, maybe not. How many years of foreign language will you have?

Regarding your list I reiterate much of what others have said on this thread. Also, do not underestimate the time it takes to do all the supplemental essays for these schools. They are important to do well.

I would encourage you to spend more time finding safety/likely schools that you would be happy to attend…it’s easy to identify reaches. For UIUC think hard about what second major you would apply to if you don’t get CS (around 6% acceptance rate).

Lastly, will you qualify for any need based aid?

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I agree you should really work closely with your college counselors. I also think it is highly unlikely they will recommend re-taking the SAT. I think you will be best off devoting your working time to a combination of doing well in your senior classes, and identifying and applying to colleges (which can be as much or more work as an additional class).

In terms of colleges to check out, I agree you sound like a good fit for colleges with less rigid required classes and an exploratory culture.

One less reachy example that seems like a good fit for you and might even give you significant merit is the University of Rochester. They make it very easy to explore and combine different things at whatever level you choose (you tend to start with what they call clusters in addition to your primary major, but they are easily upgraded into minors or second majors if you like), and they are good in the things you are currently considering:

Another quite exploratory college is Wake Forest, although merit is much scarcer there.

If a smaller college sounds like a possibility, in addition to the ones mentioned above (Amherst, Hamilton, and Grinnell), I think you might want to check out Vassar and Wesleyan. For a much less reachy option that would likely give you merit, I would also check out Kalamazoo College. Their K Plan structure is very cool:

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No. You’ve got a great score and a 30-point difference won’t make one iota of difference on your admission results.

Did you take the PSAT? Based on your SAT score, it seems very plausible that you had a strong PSAT score which could end up making you a National Merit Finalist. That could make some schools very affordable for someone who’s looking for a good value proposition.

For clarity, are you paid to do this research or is your family paying for you to participate in this research?

Does this mean that you are wanting to receive credit for the classes you’ve taken so that you have fewer classes to take in your major or at the university? Or are you looking for the classes you’ve already taken to allow you to place in a higher class and then delve into greater depth while taking the same number of classes for the major (but at a higher level)? If the former, you’re probably better off at a public college. If the latter, then a public or private would likely work.

In terms of the list you mentioned originally, this is how I would chance you, but I would strongly recommend you to talk with your school’s counselors. Based on how you describe the school, they would be the best ones to estimate your chances:

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

Likely (60-79%)

  • RPI
  • WPI
  • UW Madison

Toss-Up (40-59%)

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • UIUC (for CS I usually put this in low probability, but for your profile coming from Illinois, I’m putting it here)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

Since you have a sense of what kind of CS you like, this resource might be helpful in terms of finding departments that are stronger in your areas of interest:

I’ll continue thinking about some college possibilities for you.

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35

No one can really answer this. Might it hurt you to only have 3 years SS? Maybe, maybe not. How many years of foreign language will you have?

I will have 4 (including senior) years of French on my transcript when I apply.

Lastly, will you qualify for any need based aid?

It’s highly unlikely that I will.

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Did you take the PSAT?

Yes, but I got a 1460 last year and a 1420 this year (DPSAT killed me) so no NMF possibilities.

For clarity, are you paid to do this research or is your family paying for you to participate in this research?

I’m paid by the lab (loosely similar to how grad students get a stipend, but nowhere near the same size), my family has very little to do with it.

Does this mean that you are wanting to receive credit for the classes you’ve taken so that you have fewer classes to take in your major or at the university? Or are you looking for the classes you’ve already taken to allow you to place in a higher class and then delve into greater depth while taking the same number of classes for the major (but at a higher level)?

I’d prefer the latter—same number of courses but more freedom to choose and higher-level classes.

That Brown site looks like an amazing resource, thank you!

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37

As you’re looking for likelier schools for your college application list, these are some schools you might want to check out. They all offer doctoral degrees in CS, chemistry, and physics, so there should be sufficient depth for you in any of those fields at these schools. Additionally, you might receive some significant merit at a number of these, which can also affect the value proposition you mentioned above.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Clarkson (NY): About 2700 undergrads

  • Indiana University : About 36k undergrads

  • Iowa State : About 25k undergrads

  • Missouri Science & Technology : About 5500 undergrads

  • U. of Arizona : About 39k undergrads

  • U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities : About 39k undergrads

  • U. of Nebraska – Lincoln : About 19k undergrads

  • U. of Oklahoma : About 21k undergrads

Likely (60-79%)

  • Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads.

  • George Washington (D.C.): About 11k undergrads

  • Illinois Institute of Technology: About 3100 undergrads

  • Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ): About 4100 undergrads

  • U. of Massachusetts: About 24k undergrads and part of a consortium with Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Hampshire so you can also take classes at the other schools.

  • U. of Pittsburgh (PA ): About 24k undergrads. If you apply early (like August/September), you should get a decision fairly quickly.

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • Brandeis (MA): About 3700 undergrads

  • Case Western (OH): About 6k undergrads, but this will really need a lot of demonstrated interest. If they think you’re using it as a fall back for a school with a lower admit rate, you are unlikely to receive an acceptance.

  • Lehigh (PA ): About 5600 undergrads

  • U. of Maryland : About 30k undergrads. If you’re interested, you must apply EA because they fill about 95% of their seats in the EA round.

  • U. of Rochester (NY): About 6800 undergrads

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • North Carolina State: About 26k undergrads

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Emory (GA): About 7100 undergrads and part of a consortium where you can take classes at other schools like Georgia Tech & Morehouse. Although this is still a low probability admit, it’s probably a higher chance of admit here than at some of the other low probability schools you listed above. And, it has a possibility for merit aid which, if received, could add to the value proposition here.
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38

As a student with an interest in MIT, Caltech and RPI, you might want to consider including Rice on your list.

39

Thanks for all the recommendations! I’ll have to look into some of these and adjust my list accordingly.

Speaking of my list, is there any way I could conceivably improve chances for some of the more selective schools that have been mentioned thus far? I feel as though summer could be a great opportunity for this but I’m generally unsure.

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Summers are always great to show you do something.

Whether it’s a job at the grocery store/McDonalds, etc. or working on a research project (not paying to do so), how do you want to spend your summer.

We sent our son to a one week STEM camp at Purdue - STEP - not to help his applications - but like you, his interest were varied but he settled on engineering - and we wanted him to have a chance to validate that it would be the right choice.

But work, volunteer in the community…walk dogs at the shelter, help in a food pantry or find some volunteer opportunities from your city…all these things are great.

You’re already doing, according to you, paid grad level research - so why not continue if you enjoy it and it’s avail…during the summer. If it’s not enough to occupy your time, the local grocery stores and fast food places will all be hiring - or find another role. Jobs show responsibility, team orientation, etc.

That said, you’re profile is already strong so I’m not sure that there’s get you over the curb thing.

You already have a chance at most every school. Reach doesn’t mean you won’t get in. Reach just means - these are very difficult schools to get into and while many do, most don’t - so it would be criminal (in my mind) to tell someone they have a great chance when a school admits 3%, or 8%, etc. of students.

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