SAT: 2220 (1440 two-part)
ACT: 32, retaking for 34+
GPA: 3.91 uw, 4.94 w
Rank: top 10% in class of 70
APs: Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Psychology, Computer Science (all 5s or 4s)
Already taken linear algebra, college level chemistry I and II, college level physics I and II, object-oriented programming, college statistics
Senior year courses: Organic chemistry, differential equations, multivariable calculus, fluid mechanics, american literature, AP Physics 2, Spanish IV Honors – and these are just for 1st semester
ECs: VP of a service club at my school, founded a computer science organization for my low-income region, develop STEM curriculum, speech and debate for one year, HOSA, other generic stuff
Essays: started on them, sent to my English teacher and he said they are great
Potential CS major
Asian Male
Income Bracket: 135,000k
Texas public magnet, not selective
I’m looking at:
UT Austin
All the ivies minus Dartmouth and Yale (particularly Brown)
All the Institute of Technologies (GA, MA, CA)
Stanford
Harvey Mudd
Do I have a decent chance at Brown ED? Should I even apply ED anywhere? Although my income bracket is relatively high, I don’t want to end up paying near-sticker price to attend.
I think you are a very competitive applicant for all the schools you are applying to. However, you might still not get into any of the Ivies due to many 4.0/2400 kids getting rejected each year. But I still think it is worth applying to the Ivies with your stats. If you really want to go to Brown, I think you should apply ED because statistics show that more people get accepted ED than those who apply regular decision.
I also suggest picking more safety schools, because the only two schools that I see that can be considered safeties are Georgia Tech and UT Austin. All the other schools you are applying to have VERY low acceptance rates. Some other safeties that I suggest are Purdue and UIUC. I also suggest applying to University of Michigan, Ann Arbor because it also very good for computer science.
Overall, I don’t think you should stress out too much because even if you don’t get into an Ivy League, there are a bunch of other good schools you can easily get into with your stats.
Your biggest problems are choice of major and your demographic, but you have UT Austin to fall back on. At the schools you mentioned 135k would qualify you for substantial aid if you are accepted. At Stanford, $125k gets you free tuition.
You need to trim back the reaches and add more schools in the middle. Case Western, University of Rochester, Purdue, Michigan, Wisconson etc.
Strong scores, definitely retake the ACT. Your EC’s are good, but there don’t seem to be too many. Make sure you focus on your passion for those few. I also think you should add more “match” colleges, although you are a strong candidate for top schools, there is still a respectable margin of chance you aren’t accepted due to the high level of all the other applicants. Georgia Tech is very good, maybe consider UMich and CMU? Chance me back?
How much exactly can you pay for college if it isn’t sticker price? You’re a competitive applicant, but so are a lot of the students that will be applying. Make sure you have some safeties - I think UT would be a safety if you were in the top 7% of your class? Or is it top 10% that get an automatic admit? Maybe apply to some other Texas Us with good merit aid for in-state applicants to make sure you’ve got a good backup option.
You’re more likely to get into Brown applying ED. However, the applicant pool, though smaller, tends to be more competitive also. You’re definitely good for UT Austin as well as GA Institute of Technology. MIT and Caltech and the Ivies are pretty big reaches. Your ECs are good but your rank and SAT are average for those schools. Chance back?: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18614306#Comment_18614306