We live in MI and my son was deferred by UofM for MechE with a 3.96UW GPA, 4s and 5s in AP Chem, AP Physics, AP Bio, AP BC Calc, etc., a 1510 (770 math) SAT, NHS, and strong STEM electives. If that is what gets rejected for engineering, imagine who gets turned away for CS.
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Good point. I believe UDel has rolling admissions (?) and the OP should hear back fairly soon, but they could also check in to get their guidance counselorâs opinion. @Johnnytest3498, when did you apply to UDel?
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I absolutely agree that UD is a very good choice. I am also skeptical about the value of being full pay at a private university for a bachelorâs degree in the US.
Just as one example, one daughter attended a public university ranked lower than U.Delaware for her bachelorâs degree, and is now getting a doctorate at a âtop 5â program for her specific major. Similarly, working in high tech, I have spent my career working alongside people who graduated from a very wide range of universities, and generally no one cares where anyone got their degree.
I think that the three main points here are that your uptrend will help you get accepted to U.Delaware, your uptrend will help you to do well once you get to U.Delaware, and U.Delaware is a very good university with a good CS program. I think that you are on track to do very well. This is of course a big improvement from where you were during your freshman year of high school, and you have worked hard to earn this improvement.
However, I would trim your list a LOT, and apply to a far shorter list of schools. I do have trouble thinking of a school that I would prefer over UD in your situation.
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You have to make the first cut in the admissions evaluation, and that is typically the GPA and/or standardized test score. The dirty little secret is that at many schools will place applications with an SAT below X in the ârejectionâ pile without bothering to read the essays or evaluate the ECs. A friend who has been president of two universities laughed when I told her about schools claiming to read every application in its entirety.
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I think you are likely to be rejected at most of the schools you have listed. Your gpa isnât going to be competitive enough - especially as a prospective CS major. Folks here can suggest some alternatives if you are open to looking at schools outside the T20. Your ECs are very strong (since you asked) but no T20 is going to overlook your gpa because of your ECs (unless you are an Olympian or your parents can donate a building) - they just have too many applicants whose ECs and academics are both tippy top.
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what about test optional
i also agree with this. Do you think that I will get into always one of the schools and if so which ones
bruhhh 
Many schools are going back to requiring standardized tests after experimenting with test optional. Moreover, if an admissions officer is evaluating two students with similar GPAs, course rigor, ECs and recommendations, but one submits a strong SAT and the other goes test optional, who do you think they are more likely to accept?
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I think you are only likely to get into UDel (which is a very good school). The others are just too competitive. To put it into perspective, my S24 had a 3.98/4.64/1580 SAT and was WL or rejected at the handful of T20 schools he applied to (he also had solid ECs and excellent recommendations). Also, he wasnât a CS major which is the toughest admit these days.
Yea I tried as much I could for the test I just couldnât bring up my reading
Ok, you have been hit with some tough love in this thread, so itâs time for some good news. No, you are not among the very top students who get admitted into schools like CMU for CS, but you are still a very strong student who would get accepted by many strong programs where you will receive a great education that prepares you for a fulfilling, successful career. Like I said before, focus on fit and outcomes, not ranking or prestige.
Do some homework and dig deeper into lower ranked schools that might interest you. When my son was applying to schools we learned that CWRU engineering undergrads had graduate school admissions outcomes that were on-par, or even better, than their CMU competition. Before moving to Michigan I didnât know that Kalamazoo College was very strong in Chemistry. My wife ran a business in Chicago and she hired DePaul grads over Northwestern Wildcats. There are some real gems out there that are not in the USNWR top 20, or even top 40. Go find them.
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While I think itâs fair to consider the ROI of a college, remember, âT20â on a list of national universities wonât indicate whether a particular program within a school is highly regarded. UDel, for example, is one of the top chemical engineering schools in the country, and employers know that. Similarly, UMass Amherst has a super strong CS program, though the university as a whole isnât in USN&WRâs T20 for national universities.
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Here are some schools that are strong in CS, but may not be as hard to get into:
Purdue
UW-Madison
UIUC
Texas A&M
U Colorado - Boulder
U Minnesota - Twin Cities
Ohio State
Penn State (named top school by recruiters in WSJ survey)
North Carolina State
Michigan State
RPI
Rose Hulman (small school that focuses on undergraduate instruction)
University of Pittsburgh (offers cross registration with Carnegie Mellon)
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Purdue and UIUC are much more difficult to get into for direct admission to the CS major than they are overall.
Texas A&M does have higher admission standards for its engineering division where CS is, and also has secondary admission to specific majors. A 3.75 college GPA will be needed for automatic secondary admission, and CS typically has little or no space for competitive admission below 3.75 college GPA.
Some of the other schools also may be more difficult to get into for CS and/or have secondary admission to the CS major.
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All true, but they are still easier to gain acceptance than schools on the OPâs list like CMU, Duke, U of Chicago, Northwestern, etc. Getting into the CS program at any college will be harder than for other majors or general admission.
Just a note that Purdue fills the bulk of their class, especially for CS, in EA. That deadline has long passed. It would be a major reach to get in for CS in RD.
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I would actually question whether ANY private college is automatically worth paying full tuition. Sometimes yes, if it is comfortably affordable for your family. But not always.
You are correct! It may therefore be extremely unlikely you will get a better offer than Delaware (assuming you get one from Delaware). And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, that is why Delaware exists and why the state subsidizes the cost for state residents.
In light of the above, again it may be a bit of a longshot you will be able to beat a Delaware offer.
That saidâI would second checking out RPI and Rose Hulman. Very strong for CS and I would be interested in seeing what they might offer.
Forum favorite St Olaf has a reasonably robust merit program and a good track record in CS. I would not say St Olaf is better than Delaware so much as offering a very different experience, but that could be attractive.
DePauw would be another like that to consider.
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DS has a similar profile to yours: a lower GPA with an upward trend. Of the schools on your list, he was only accepted to UMD (not for CS).
On the other hand, he had a lot of success with the schools mentioned in post #34. He was also accepted into several Canadian schools, where you may have a better chance since they place more emphasis on the GPA from the last two years.
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Congratulations on your academic turnaround! You also have a strong SAT score and good involvement in ECs. All of that will stand you in good stead in college and in life.
As others have mentioned, the schools on your current list are amongst the most competitive in the country to get into, particularly for CS. I think that Delaware is a likely admit, and that U. of Maryland would be the next most likely admit on the list (though Iâd probably peg it in the 20-40% admit range for you).
I donât see any ED option for U. of Florida (whether ED1 or ED2). If you were to have a chance at any of the schools on your current list (beyond the schools you applied EA to), then I think it would only be via ED2, and even then, the odds would still be against you. I would only consider an ED application if it is your favorite school, itâs affordable for your family (they should run the Net Price Calculator), and you have visited the school, preferably while in-session.
If youâre looking for some other possibilities, these are some schools you may want to consider, sorted by the types of schools I saw on your original list. You may even receive merit aid at some of them. Some of them are likelier admits than others, but I think all of them are likelier than the schools on your current list.
State Schools
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U. of Minnesota
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Stony Brook (NY)
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U. at Buffalo
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U. of Utah â and after the first year you can qualify for in-state residency if you spend the summer in Utah
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U. of Texas â Dallas
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Rutgers â New Brunswick
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Ohio State
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U. of Massachusetts
Mid-Sized All-Arounder with Silicon Valley connections
- Santa Clara
Tech Schools
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Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY)
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Worcester Polytechnic (MA)
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Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
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Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
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Illinois Institute of Technology