Chance me for Vanderbilt or Emory ED 2 [TX resident, 3.9 GPA, 1530 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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1

got rejected from northwestern ed </3

Major:

Computer Science/Computer Engineering

Demographics:

Asian (Korean) Male, Texas Resident, $150-199k income

large and competitive high school (970 class size)

Stats:

GPA: 3.9/4 UW 4.9/5.0 W

(extenuating circumstances - mental health, parent struggled with severe addiction)

1530 SAT no superscore

11 AP Courses 5s and 4s on all exams taken.

Extracurriculars: no sugarcoating, keeping it short so you guys don’t get bored

  • Volunteer Math & Coding Tutor for Refugees
    • Tutored 10+ refugee students (3 years, 200+ hours)
  • Shadowing in Forensic and Architectural Engineering
    • at an internationally renown consulting services company
  • Founder, Robotics Practicum
    • Established a permanent practicum course at my school.
  • Robotics Student Mentor
    • Mentored 30+ students in programming practices in a Lockheed Martin-sponsored robotics program
  • Varsity Esports Core Team
    • Qualified for state and nationals; was ranked #1 nationwide in high school VALORANT. Peaked at #360 in North America.
  • Codewars
    • Ranked in the top 4% globally, with 750+ kata and 1,000 honor points across 4 languages.
  • Nutrition App Co-Developer
    • selected as 1 out of 100 accepted (8,000+ applicants)
  • Game Development Project Leader
    • passion project, team of 4
  • Vice President + Co-founder, Photography Club
  • Varsity Swim
    • 2 years but i didn’t include it in my resume or activities list so its irrelevant

Honors:

  • AP Scholar With Distinction
  • National Merit Commended Scholar
  • Taekwondo
    • 3rd degree black belt, 2x sparring state champion and went to a national tournament in seattle

2 LOR (physics, chem) are great, counselor one im not too sure about

affordability isn’t an issue.

Schools:

Vanderbilt or Emory ED2
Please give other suggestions for Early Decision 2 schools!

acceptances:
Texas A&M Engineering
UTD (CS)
Seton Hall (CS + 136k scholarship)
UNL (CS)

thank you for your time!

2

Emory would be easier to get in and you would stand out more with an intended CS major since GA Tech is the dominant school in Georgia in STEM

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3

Be clear that the mental health condition was a parent’s condition; otherwise, it will be a huge red flag for admissions. Truthfully, I would not mention this on a college application unless there is a special needs to do so.

in my opinion, you should include varsity swim team to show that you are not too narrowly focused.

I cannot assess your chances without reading all relevant materials, but you certainly are qualified with respect to GPA & SAT.

4

If you are full pay at either Vanderbilt or Emory, they are very expensive for a family with an income just under $200,000 before taxes (and other expenses).

This is what is sometimes called a “doughnut hole” income, where you make enough to not get any need based financial aid, but do not make enough to afford to be full pay at a private university in the US. “Doughnut hole” incomes are very common among high tech families. Most of the ones I know (and that is a LOT of families) send their kids to public universities, and then the kids go on to do very, very well, often in high tech jobs (although there is a range, I also know people whose kids are lawyers, doctors, one piano mover, some biotech researchers, a PT, and a range of other jobs).

Computer science and pretty much any type of engineering are careers where “prestige” really does not matter (thus all the t-shirts and blue jeans).

And Texas A&M is very good for computer science and computer engineering.

And I know someone who got their bachelor’s at Seton Hall with a similarly very good merit based scholarship, got their master’s at an Ivy League school, and who has done very well since.

It is not obvious to me that there is any reason to apply ED2 anywhere. I would only apply ED2 if BOTH of the following are true: (1) There is one university that is clearly your top choice. (2) Your parents are fine with being full pay or the NPC shows it as likely to be affordable.

And if one of these schools is clearly your top choice, then you have the answer to your question.

Congratulations on the four very good acceptances that you already have. I think that you are likely to do very well regardless of which of these very good universities you attend in September.

I do not think that I would do ED2 at all in the same situation, but if you have one clear top choice, then apply and see what happens.

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5

My first thought is to ask:

Why did you choose Vanderbilt and Emory to consider for ED2 in the first place?

Neither really stands out to me given your stated interests. Frankly, a lot of what I would consider to be the obvious colleges are publics–including TAMU! And if I was looking for privates with ED2, the first ones that would come to my mind, given your interests, would be Rice and Hopkins.

But I might be missing something that led you to those particular possibilities (Vandy and Emory).

The other thing I would ask is if you have checked out their NPCs, and made sure you and your parents are comfortable with what they would cost you. You really should not bind yourself to going somewhere without knowing that.

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6

A&M is a no brainer rep wise.

Vandy over Emory. Why ? Emory doesn’t have accredited CE…or CE at all.

If A&M is too big I get it. But applying ED takes later choice away.

Good luck.

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7

I have been told A&M is seen as the Virginia Tech of Texas, although their program is great, it is not seen as prestigious.

8

In all honesty, I only chose Vandy and Emory for their name value and prestige, but I am aware that they do not have the best CS and engineering programs.

What do you think my chances are with ED2 to JHU? My logic may be flawed but since I did not get accepted to Northwestern as an ED applicant, my chances at JHU as an ED2 applicant would be lower.

I was considering WashU as my top choice, but I forgot to include it in my title.

I have spoken with my parents and they have made it very clear to me that affordability is not an issue.

9

Hmm. That’s a great thing. Va Tech is PHENOMENAL.

And in your major prestige doesn’t matter.

But A&M is far more prestigious in CE than Vandy but it has secondary admission. So getting in doesn’t mean you’ll get your major.

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10

Go with what you like. Not I’ve been told…

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11

I would definitely advise against thinking of name value and prestige as simple concepts that apply to all possible professions indiscriminately.

It is true some professionals who serve some sort of relevant gatekeeping function–hiring recent college graduates, admissions to professional and graduate schools, and so on–might have some beliefs about which which colleges do a better or worse job educating candidates. But even if you ask two different such professionals in the same field and same gatekeeping role what they think, they may have different answers. And then for sure different professionals in different fields and/or different roles will often have different answers. So a person who hires recent college graduates for computer engineering jobs in a certain job market is unlikely to have the same opinions as a person who is doing PhD admissions for a top Sociology program on the other side of the country, and so on.

So I don’t think it is entirely a bad idea to try to figure out which colleges have a good reputation among possible gatekeepers of particular interest to you. But you won’t typically get that sort of information from a generic magazine ranking, what peers and family who are not such professionals think, or so on.

As for admissions, similarly they do not actually work on any sort of simply hierarchical system. So, College A might have a lower overall acceptance rate than College B, but College A might accept a given applicant when College B does not. This could happen just because their respective readers/committees saw that applicant differently, but it could also happen because College A was just more looking for that sort of applicant than College B at the point that applicant’s file came up.

So personally, I don’t think it means anything in particular if Northwestern didn’t accept you. Hopkins could still decide you are one of the applicants they are looking for. Or not. Only one way to find out.

But that is assuming Hopkins is your favorite choice. It certainly could be–very good college in general, one of the top privates for your sort of interests. But other kids might prefer more of an engineering powerhouse.

Like, Hopkins had 10 graduating seniors in Computer Engineering in the last round of NCES data. That’s not bad for a general interest private university. But TAMU had 163. Illinois had 396! The degree to which this is a good or bad thing, whether there is a sweet spot, or so on is subject to debate. But it is certainly something you should be making a deliberate choice about.

Same thing with every other aspect of your college experience. Engineering is hard, lots of people switch out in fact. But you are most likely to thrive in college if you take seriously being comfortable, happy, and so on, because such people tend to do better.

As a last thought, for sure thinking this way is harder and more complex than just picking names off some generic list. But this is four years of your life, and a lot of money, you will be investing. So it is worth taking it seriously and being very thoughtful about where you choose to invest all that.

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12

Graduates from VT and T.A&M and U.Mass and Rutgers and San Jose State work alongside graduates from MIT and Stanford all the time, and no one cares where any particular person got their degree. A while ago I mentioned a problem that stumped two MIT graduates (I was one of them) and was solved by a U.Mass graduate. I did not know that he was a U.Mass graduate. I just knew that he was a great guy and a great engineer. Since he told me the solution (with both grace and precision) right before lunch time, I said “let’s have lunch”. Over lunch since my daughter had just started university we discussed universities, which is when I found out he was a U.Mass graduate.

When you look for a job in engineering or high tech, the hiring managers will know how good Texas A&M is for engineering and CS. If you look for a job in Texas, there is a pretty good chance that the hiring manager will be a TA&M graduate or a UT Austin graduate, although of course there will also be hiring managers who graduated from a very wide range of other universities. They will hire people who graduated from a very wide range of universities.

The quality of the program matters. The cost might or might not matter to your parents, and to you if you need to take on any debt. The overall ranking of the university does not matter. Hiring managers are familiar with specific programs in the subject that they are hiring for.

To me it sounds like you do not need to apply ED2 anywhere.

13

Nashville or Atlanta > Baltimore or St. Louis. Choose wisely…

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14

I actually quite like St Louis. I am less familiar with the other three, but based on my limited exposure I would personally choose to live in St Louis among those four. And actually Baltimore would be my second choice.

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15

Here is what ChatGPT is telling me:

"Nashville and Atlanta generally have lower violent crime rates than Baltimore and St. Louis, making them more attractive for safety-conscious residents. St. Louis and Baltimore consistently rank among cities with the highest violent crime rates in the country, which can be a deterrent for families and professionals.

Both Nashville and Atlanta are experiencing significant population and economic growth. This indicates thriving communities with expanding opportunities and vibrant cultural scenes. In contrast, St. Louis has seen population decline over the past decade, while Baltimore’s growth has been modest, reflecting slower economic and community development.

Nashville and Atlanta boast strong job markets with diverse industries, including healthcare, entertainment, technology, and logistics. Both cities have become hubs for young professionals seeking career advancement. St. Louis and Baltimore, while having notable industries, face challenges like economic stagnation and fewer job opportunities, especially in rapidly growing sectors."

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16

Bumping this thread.

Where am I more likely to be admitted?
Rice or WashU?

17

So my lived experience as an actual human being has been that in cities like St Louis or Baltimore, I enjoy the history, the architecture, the local culture, the high level of amenities relative to current population, and other things that are actually somewhat associated with them having had their peak prominence well in the past. Like both Baltimore and St Louis were top 10 cities in the US for quite a long period, top 5 for a while in fact in each case.

Violent crime is almost invariably highly concentrated in certain areas where I am extremely unlikely to be, and indeed mostly involves people in some way previously connected.

Of course some people prefer newer cities that have been growing rapidly in recent years. It is all just subjective preference.

I think for the OP, the question is whether they want a more Texas-like experience, or something different.

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18

I think those are too close for anyone to be able to give a definitive answer. But I do know Rice has a reputation for really preferring people who persuade them that they understand and appreciate Rice in detail. And this cycle they added ED2. While I would never say you have to apply ED2, if in fact you really did like Rice more than any other option–as you reasonably could–then it would be worth considering ED2 there.

19

WashU, for the same reasons you would be more likely to get in Emory than Vanderbilt. You would have tougher competition at Rice. JMTC

20

Wash U is in a safe area. I have no safety concerns around there.

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