Chance Me for UPenn, Princeton Computer Engineering (1510 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA, PA Resident) [computer (hardware) engineering]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Guidelines

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Demographics

  • US domestic
  • Pennsylvania (close to Philadelphia
  • Public High School
  • First generation student

Intended Major(s)

Computer Engineering (importantly not software related, so not the CS major!)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.35 (AP courses weighted by 1.0, honors courses weighted by .25)
  • Class Rank: School does not report
  • ACT/SAT Scores:

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: AP Lit, AP language, Honors English 9 & 10
  • Math: Honors Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Honors Pre-calculus, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Comp Sci Principles, AP Comp Sci A
  • Science: Honors “Science” (9th grade is counted as middle school in our district, so choice is limited) Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Physics N/M
  • History and social studies: Honors US History, AP European History, AP U.S. History, AP Psychology
  • Language other than English: French 2, French 3 Honors, French 4 Honors
  • Visual or performing arts: N/A

Awards
AP Scholar with distinction, French Honors Society, First-generation college board recognition

Extracurriculars
Music: Instrumental

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Timing: School, Break, Year
Time Commitment: 10 hr/wk, 52 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Independent Music Producer
Produced over 50 Hip-Hop, UK Garage, House, Jungle, and R&B song instrumentals with over 150k streaming views, self-promoted successful album releases

Computer/Technology

Grades: 10, 11, 12
Timing: School, Break, Year
Time Commitment: 3 hr/wk, 35 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Game Development Team Leader, IScream Team
Led independent development team to 2 successful releases, managed workflow, directed musical creative vision, reached over 100k download milestone

Other Club/Activity

Grades: 11, 12
Timing: School, Break
Time Commitment: 3 hr/wk, 25 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Media Director of Biotechnology Center Non-profit, Student STEM Experiential Learning Foundation (SSELF)
Pioneered social media and commercial development, supervised multiple subcommittees, aided non-profit impact, created 20pg public relations asset kit

Work (Paid)

Grades: 11, 12
Timing: School, Break, Year
Time Commitment: 20 hr/wk, 46 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Barista, Starbucks
Crafted thousands of quality customer drink requests, learned valuable lessons in efficiency management, spearheaded positive team changes

Computer/Technology

Grades: 10, 11, 12
Timing: School
Time Commitment: 2 hr/wk, 36 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Communications Director, Music Production Leader, Technology Student Association
Fostered an engaged & cooperative environment of musicians, guided music production team to states, steered community outreach efforts

Other Club/Activity

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Timing: School, Break, Year
Time Commitment: 2 hr/wk, 20 wk/yr
Participation: Continue

Role: Independent Graphic Designer
Carefully hand-crafted unique graphics. Used works to broaden community impact, promote musical endeavors, and provide web assets for external groups.

Internship

Grades: 12
Timing: School
Time Commitment: 1 hr/wk, 30 wk/yr

Role: Content Creation Co-Leader, Conifer Point
Recorded & edited promotional video content & grew LinkedIn platform substantially, worked with experts to bring light to their impact & research

If you’d like, I can also format this in a more compact “chance me” style that’s commonly used on college forums.

Do you like this personality?

Essays/LORs/Other
**
On ‘Why Major’ essays:**
Spoke about leveraging experience with building a computer and modifying a street fighter arcade cabinet at a local record shop (People actually do competitions here and post them to YouTube!) to speak on how technology is key to communities that are important to me, and how I want to use comp. engineering to bridge the digital divide and democratize technology

On Personal Statement:
Spoke about how I lacked agency for my life up to high school and how I learning digital music production gave me a voice and agency beyond words along w/ true fulfillment, how my work was in conversation with past cultures and how I used my newfound agency to help other newer producers find theirs

Schools

  • Extremely Likely: Penn State, University of Pittsburgh
  • Likely: Lehigh University, Lafayette University
  • Toss-up: University of Maryland
  • Lower Probability: Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University
  • Low Probability: Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University (deferred), Yale University
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I assume some of these like PSU and Pitt, you already know. UMD is out too. If, for example, you did not apply to UMD EA that goes from likely to reach.

Can you update with current decisions from your list.

Any budget concerns / requirements. If so, have you run any NPCs.

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Do you have cost constraints?

If so, have you and/or your parents used the net price calculator on each college of interest?

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We’ve used the net price calc, all the colleges listed are ones we can afford supposing there is an aid package present

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All of the colleges we decided on were ones we were willing/able to handle the price constraints on, some colleges like NYU I was unable to apply to because of cost constraints but everything here is compliant with our constraints according to my parents.

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Not sure how to edit my post, but PSU and Pitt I got into. Did not apply to UMD EA but instead did RD.

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Congrats on PSU and Pitt - both fine schools.

UMD was likely but now it’s a reach I believe - because they fill the class from EA. It’s also likely too pricey, if you need lot of aid.

Your list is reasonable assuming your two admits are affordable.

Lehigh - I’ll say toss up - tough to tell. Some you wouldn’t think in get in and some you do, like yourself, don’t. Perhaps it’s major related.

Lafayette statistically is a likely but there was an article about need aware a few years back - and they showed the process. Bottom line, if you need too much, they can and do decline people. So if you have $40K, then yes. If you can only pay $10K, then maybe not.

I think the lower probability aren’t impossible but are that - lower odds. BU is another need aware school - so again, depending on your level of need.

I think you’ve done great with Penn State and Pitt….if you end up at one, you’ll be fine.

Best of luck.

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Thank you so much for the feedback! I figured they filled most of the class with EA, I was sort-of pressured by my parents to specifically apply Princeton REA because of the very lucrative aid package and because I have a family member who works there, and unfortunately in my circumstance I couldn’t just circumvent them. Again appreciate the feedback so much!

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Princeton has SCEA but that did not preclude you from applying EA to Maryland. So that was an error on your part, if you didn’t apply early due to Princeton.

So here’s the thing - Penn State and Pitt are wonderful - but not inexpensive, even in - state.

Can you afford them?

If not, there are others that will be less expensive (think $20K-ish) if you can afford that and you can still get the $$ - but they are down South (think Alabama, UAH, Miss State) at that cost level. There are others in the $30K range - but at that point, you have Pitt and Penn State.

Which do you prefer - the large expanse of Penn State or the urban, smaller size of Pitt. Both are fine programs - assuming you can afford them.

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For anyone reading this thread in the future: if you apply REA to Princeton (or another school with restricted/single-choice early action), you can still apply EA to public universities (for example, UMD).

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Princeton SCEA only restricts against EA to other private schools.

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Whoops! I had no idea.

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It’s a lesson in life to read the disclaimers.

UMD is very good but most likely would be much higher in cost than Penn State and Pitt. Barely 10% of OOS acceptees enroll at UMD so you likely wouldn’t anyway.

So in that sense no loss.

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