Chance Me/ Match Me : Rising Senior in CA [3.95 GPA (3.92/4.23/4.54 for UC), 1540 SAT, political science/ data science]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Posting again as I have some updated info and updated questions.

Demographics

  • US citizen
  • CA
  • Public High School
  • Other special factors: None

Cost Constraints / Budget
Upto 90K a year

Intended Major(s)
Political science with minor in Data Science Or
Data Science with minor in Political Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

Unweighted HS GPA: 3.95
Weighted HS GPA: Weighted GPA - 4.34 , UC GPA - 4.55
Class Rank: School does not rank
ACT/SAT Scores: SAT 1540 ( Super Score)

List your HS coursework

English:English 3, English 4 (Senior Year), English 300 at Community College
Math: AP Calculus BC, AP Calculus AB, AP Stats (Senior Year)
Science: AP Bio, Ap Physics(Senior Year), AP Chemistry(Senior Year), AP Environmental Science
History and social studies:AP US History, AP Euro, AP Gov Econ (Senior Year)
Language other than English: Spanish 4
Visual or performing arts: Chambers Choir
Other academic courses: AP Research, AP Seminar

Awards
Debate - 2x Tournament of Champions qualifier, 2x Nationals Qualifier
debate - multiple awards at invitational tournaments (both team and individual), Nationals ranked 23
Gold Presidential volunteer award
Academic All American Award

Extracurriculars
President Speech and Debate Club
Vice president Out of School club for debate
Volunteer for Middle School and community debate coaching
Internship in an AI company in summer

Essays/LORs/Other
Not sure how strong my essay is.
Average LOR

Schools
Likely: UC Riverside, UC Merced, Purdue
Toss-up: UIUC, UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington Seattle
Low Probability: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UCSD, cal poly slo, UC Santa Barbara, USC, Stanford

Please let me know if there are other colleges that I should be considering. For my major does it matter which one I pick as major and other minor? Do I have any chance in Ivy League or should not bother applying?

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Congrats on a great record. It’s hard to answer this - because all colleges are different.

What do you seek in a school?

Your UC won’t be seen at the UCs and likely UW.

I think, if you’re ok with UCR, UCM and UIUC, you’ll be ok. If you went for UIUC as a poli sci, it’d be safe I think - but that’s no reason to go. I think you’ll be safe with UW because they only have a DS minor and all can take and you’re a likely for poli sci. Does that combo work for you ? Study curriculums everywhere and not just names

Depending on your needs, there’s plenty you could apply to - but you have enough and I can’t chance you on the UCs, but you might be fine there.

You have UW….so you like the city. Look at Georgia Tech and Minnesota plus very strong in social sciences U of Arizona.

You like the smaller cities like UIUC and Purdue, look at WUE eligible Oregon State. Or UGA, strong in political science fields.

If you like Stanford and you like the idea of a minor in DS with a major in Poli Sci (like UW), maybe add a Rice as a reach. Emory is another reach - has a Quant Sciences major and you can add a Poli Sci track

If you apply to the list as is, I’m confident you’ll have options. As you can do Poli Sci most anywhere, I’d start with DS - but it will be a harder admit - at schools like UIUC. But better to start in it and leave if you don’t like vs. vice versa.

And data science programs are different - not all the same - so check the curriculum of each you look at to make sure it matches your desire. Most Poli Sci programs will have a data component, some with potential for deeper study than others.

For example, American U has a Political Analytics major (BS Data Sciences for Political Science), UTK a Policy Analytics major,

Penn State has a Social Data Analytics Major which they describe as is an interdisciplinary major designed to prepare students for careers that use “big data” or “social data” to tackle social and political problems. The SODA major combines political science courses with courses in statistics, mathematics, information science, and computer science. So that might be a great one to look at - fine school in both disciplines.

Miami of Ohio is another with a Data Analytics program with Poli Sci concentration.

Just more to look at - frankly, most schools will be fine - but some may have curriculum more attuned to your desires and rather than just pulling up names, I’d look deeper at the course offerings/requirements within each major/minor to see if they align with your desires.

Good luck.

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Please note that this is a parent asking for their child.

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Seconding both Emory QSS and Penn State SoDA or Public Policy.
tOSU has a good Data Analytics program too, as does nearby Denison U. Data Analytics | Denison University Denison’s Lugar Program is also top-notch for students with an interest in poli sci.

Since you’re already looking at Purdue, another Indiana option is the Public Policy Analysis major at IU, which differs from other majors in this field in that it’s housed in the highly-regarded Kelley School of Business. I don’t know whether the business spin would be a plus or a minus for you, but fwiw.

URochester could be worth a look as well; their flexible curriculum structure lends itself particularly well to the kind of interdisciplinary focus your kid is looking for: Undergraduate Program : Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence : University of Rochester There are multiple major/minor/concentration options on the Poli Sci side.

The problem with going to UDub as a poli sci major and intending to minor in data science is access to classes; computational classes can be quite impacted and minors don’t get preference for course enrollment. It might be worth considering the riskier path, admissions-wise, of applying as an Informatics major and adding the poli sci piece in once there.

Likewise, consider the Informatics major at UC Irvine as well.

You might look into the options at the Claremont Colleges. I don’t think you stated the student’s gender, but if female, Scripps has been investing heavily in their Data Science minor, which can be combined with Poli Sci (strong course offerings across the whole consortium) or a related interdisciplinary major like Environment, Economics & Politics. Claremont McKenna is known for its poli sci, econ, and PPE majors, and also has a data science major Data Science - Claremont McKenna College - Modern Campus Catalog™ . Pitzer and Pomona both have data science minors and strong poli sci, as well.

Your student has a strong record; a lot of good options should be open to them, especially given the lack of cost constraints, so I think they can afford to dig a bit deeper in terms of exactly what they’re looking for (both academically and in terms of campus life) and narrow down what looks like the best fit. When push comes to shove, they’ll have solid options in the CA public system (as you say, Data Science at Riverside will be a safety and could work well), so the question is what schools you’d consider worth going farther and/or spending more - in some cases much more.

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A student in a data science program can choose the study of government as an applied domain. This can progress to a major or minor in data science along with a major or minor in government or public policy. Depending on the college chosen, a double major may be suitable.

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Thanks. How does a double major work? Do we still apply for a major and minor in application, and once in college complete all requirements for the minor to be completed to a major?

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Typically, you can only apply to one major, if the school accepts students by major at all. (Many LAC’s ask about majors of interest, but do not admit by major.) Majors like data science and informatics are more likely to be impacted and have barriers to entry if you’re not admitted directly to the major, whereas majors like poli sci are more likely to be accessible. So with these interests, at most schools it will be more important to secure a spot in a data science type major; adding a double-major or minor in poli sci usually won’t be a problem… and if you decide the data science major is more extensive than you need, you can always switch to poli sci after completing the requirements of a DS minor. But switching in the other direction could be difficult, depending on the school. A single program that blends both areas of interest isn’t essential, but can be desirable in terms of advising, having a like-minded cohort, and avoiding having to craft your own interdisciplinary focus.

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At many private colleges a double major essentialily arises from the courses chosen. This will be simplest at institutions that do not divide their available majors into separate schools, which tends to limit accessibility. For the greatest freedom in course and major selection, consider colleges with open curricula, such as Hamilton or Brown. To the extent that schools of this type merit their higher price tags, it’s partly for academic access such as this.

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Yes but you can double at many, most schools. Often it’s major determined and these two shouldn’t be an issue. And frankly there’s no reason to spend $90k unless they choose to.

Their desired program is not monopolized by these privates.

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Link to previous thread for reference: