Chance me for T20s [GA Resident, 4.83/4.00 W, 36 ACT, Above average ECs]

[UnsureParent101]

Demographics

• US domestic
• State/Location of residency: Georgia
• Type of high school (or current college for transfers): Public, large
• Other special factors: None

Intended Major(s)
Computer Science, Chemistry

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

• Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
• Weighted HS GPA: 4.83 on a 5.0 scale (4.0 for academic, 4.5 for honors, 5.0 for AP)
• Class Rank: 1/~600
• ACT/SAT Scores: 36 ACT (36 all subscores, superscore), 1560 SAT (not submitting)

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

• English: Honors English 1, Honors English 2, AP English Language (5), AP Literature (current)
• Math: AP Calculus AB/BC (5), AP Statistics (5), Multivariable Calculus (dual enrollment), Differential Equations (dual enrollment), Linear Algebra (dual enrollment, current)
• Science: Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Chemistry (5), Organic Chemistry (dual enrollment, current), AP Environmental Science (current)
• History and social studies: Honors Civics, AP US History (5), AP World History (5), Honors Economics, AP Macroeconomics (current)
• Language other than English: AP Language (native language of parents, spoken at home, 5)
• Visual or performing arts: None
• Other academic courses: Honors Computer Science, AP Computer Science A (5), Advanced computer science (after AP, current)

Awards

• Two of USAMO qualification; AMC 12 Perfect Score; USAPhO/USNCO/USABO/USACO National Finalist
• ISEF Finalist
• USACO Gold
• Science Olympiad Nationals medalist

Extracurriculars

1. Founder and President of volunteering NPO, raised over $3000 for local projects
2. SSP Biochemistry
3. Chemistry research with professor at local university (ISEF project)
4. Eagle Scout
5. Math Club President
6. Chemistry Club President
7. Chemistry Tutoring (paid job)
8. Chemistry summer camp founder (raised money for local charities)
9. School Swim Team (no good results)
10. School Science Olympiad Team

Essays/LORs/Other
Essays: Decent, but not great. Probably a 6 or 7 out of 10.

LOR1: AP Computer Science Teacher, above average
LOR2: AP English Language, average
LOR3: New counselor at school this year, doesn’t know very well

Schools
EA: MIT (Defer), Georgia Tech (Accepted), UIUC, UNC Chapel Hill, UW Seattle, UMich

RD: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, UPenn, Duke, Northwestern, UChicago, CMU, Caltech, NYU

[Momofthree24]

Congratulations on your achievements so far! You are a very strong candidate and I’m sure you’ll have some acceptances. Which schools? I have no idea. And you already have GT so that is great!

One question: did you actually take foreign language classes in high school or did you just self study for the AP exam for the language you speak at home?

[Bill_Marsh]

I think you should get in at UIUC and UW. But everything else is a roll of the dice. A member of my family had a profile very much like yours but was rejected or waitlisted at Harvard, Brown,Amherst, Williams, Stanford, and Pomona. Was accepted at Rice, Wash U, Colby, Middlebury, Wesleyan, and several others just outside the T20. With schools as selective as these, you just never know.

I add my congratulations on all you’ve accomplished. You already have great options and will in all likelihood just add to those.

[Illinoisparent12]

@Bill_Marsh

I think you should get in at UIUC and UW.

If the student is applying to UIUC for computer science, the acceptance rate for that program is 7%. That’s for both in-state and out of state, so I would assume a lower acceptance rate for out of state. While this student is very strong, I don’t know that they can count on an acceptance to UIUC if applying for CS.

[Mwfan1921]

And although UIUC is great for CS, so is GA Tech (arguably better than UIUC for CS) and would be much less expensive for OP.

U Washington’s OOS acceptance rate for CS was 2% last year, so that’s unlikely to happen as well. https://admit.washington.edu/apply/freshman/by-the-numbers/

For OP…good luck in your decisions and I think you will be competitive anywhere. I would think hard about which of the schools on the list would offer a better CS education than Ga Tech. Having the Tech admission means you can be very choosy, should you have options come March/April.

[ucbalumnus]

Assuming GT is affordable, it is now a safety with admission in hand.

But everything else on the list is probably a reach, unless CMU means Central Michigan University.

[NiceUnparticularMan]

I agree Georgia Tech is a fantastic option, assuming it is affordable. So you can just see what happens now.

That said, with those qualifications, you could look at some non-reachy privates that might well offer merit. Those would not necessarily be “better” than Georgia Tech, but they would be different. In fact, you could look at Liberal Arts and Sciences colleges, aka LACs, which would be VERY different.

Or not! Again, Georgia Tech, assuming affordability, is a great option. So if you would not prefer those sorts of colleges even with merit, that is fine.