Chance me please (girl, minority, math/computers)

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hello! I’ll cut to the chase.

Overview: Girl, Hispanic, interested in Math and/or Computer Science (I really have a passion for math!), high honor roll, I’m from Chicago suburbs

ACT: 31 on first ACT, realistically shooting for a 34… (I only studied two separate times beforehand and went up 3 points total)

GPA: 4.4 W, around 3.7 UW

APs (nothing crazy): Gov, Lang & Comp, Self-studying stats. Taking Calc BC, Spanish, Physics C, and Comp. Sci. next year

Other info: I know colleges like growth but…I went from a B in geometry honors freshman year to breezing through PreCalc honors junior year, and next year I’m moving up to AP Calc BC (my track normally goes to AB)

ECs (pretty bad): Future Diplomats of America club freshman and sophomore year, RAYS (service club) freshman and junior year will do senior year, Key Club junior year will do senior year, Track and Field sophomore year, Cross country junior year will do senior year (I’m not a captain but a group leader…obviously not a deal breaker though), Teach myself code in free time
Can you tell it’s taken me a while to find what I like?

Work: I work up to 12 hours a week at Chipotle (haha, E. Coli jokes)

Possible summer programs for 2016: Girls who code, U of Chicago program, looking for others. If I don’t get into any of those, I will try to find a mission trip or volunteer at the hospital which requires at least 50 hours within 6 months.

Things I’m not worried about: essay (I’m a great writer!) and recommendation letters (I’m really close with a lot of my teachers)

Schools that have sent me mail:
Bradley University (alright)
Northeastern University (probably a reach)
Ithaca College (interested…)
Brown & Dartmouth (I’m aware that would never happen, they just want me to give them money for summer programs! lol)
Marquette (interested)
Wash U (interested)

Other Schools I like:
Purdue
Boston U (unlikely?)
Georgia Institute of Tech?
Carnegie Mellon (efjghfljk reach?)
Oberlin College

If you have any suggestions of schools I should check out, let me know! I’m very open. Not stuck on top schools, but I do want to go to a good school.

2

Not sure why you think Brown and Dartmouth are out of reach. If you hit a 34 then you will for sure be competitive (not saying you will get in, just that you have a fighting chance). Plus, hispanic girl is a hook for engineering. I’d say youll get into all except for Brown, Dartmouth, WashU, CMU, possibly GA Tech because they are all very selective. You could get into one of the reaches though.

3

There’s really nothing in your profile that points to a love of math or computer science. It’s not what you say to admissions it’s what you show them. Find a way to demonstrate your love of these areas or they won’t take your intended field(s) of study seriously.

4

If you hit that 34, it is a reach, but consider Harvey Mudd. URM status and female will help. But I agree that your ECs do not match your stated interest. Look for ways to remedy that – it is a weakness in your app.

5

You sound smart and ambitious, yet understandably hesitant to throw yourself into a high pressure cutthroat academic environment. Look for supportive undergraduate advising. Avoid engineering programs, focus on math. Have you considered any of the Sisters? Seems to me Smith would be a good choice.

6

Demonstrating this love starts with science and math activities. What does your school offer? For highly selectives, coding by yourself isn’t really it.

7

Thanks for your suggestion @Oregon2016 ! I actually have not even heard of sister schools as I was never looking into Ivies. I’ve only heard of Barnard because a family friend goes there. What makes you think I may have a chance at Smith? Thanks again:)

8

Agree with the Smith suggestion. They have strong STEM, and your current stats are in line.

9

@lookingforward that’s true, we have a math team and science olympiad. I definitely regret not joining any of these. It has taken me a while to even realize I’m interested. Unfortunately, it’s kind of late to join something like that… :confused:

10

What would you suggest? Thanks for your input! @intparent

11

So you think Northeastern, Oberlin, Purdue, and Ithaca seem reasonable? What about Boston U? @asianfang

12

Depends on your school about joining… my kids went to a small high school where someone could join partway through the year or for senior year – bodies were needed! You wouldn’t get far in competition, but just participation is a good thing. Robotics is another possibility, although they are just at the end of build season and it would be tough to join now – but if you are willing to do scut work this season, you still might be able to if your school has a team. Look for summer opportunities, and one-time hackathons in your area (admitting… my D hates hackathons because she does not like to stay up all night! but to get some STEM stuff on your resume, might be a good idea – and some kids love them). Maybe try to take a couple of MOOCs (online courses, free, not for credit, but teaches you stuff) in programming areas. You can list those on your Common App, but be sure you finish them and do what you need to in order to get the certificates or whatever at the end. My kid had a couple (I think she took hers through Coursera, but there are others – and they are free), and put them in the Additional Information section of her common app – there isn’t really a spot in the coursework sections, since they are not for credit. It is more structured than just teaching yourself to code.

13

OP - what is your income level? Remember that schools that are male skewed gives you a possible edge. CMU is male skewed and looking for females in their STEM programs. Look at their free pre college diversity summer program. Also look at CWRU.

14

I’m not quite sure as money is somewhat of a sensitive subject for my family… I do know that I’m pretty much a single income household as one of my parents hardly makes a sale (sells houses as an independent realtor and now recovering from a triple bypass). Another parent was laid off two years in a row during the recession – ouch! I forgot to list Case Western as an interest! Thanks for reminding me @goingnutsmom

15

@intparent Thanks again for being so helpful! I’ve decided I’m going to swing by science Olympiad this week so hopefully all goes well. I was looking into edX free courses but then decided it would be too much right now. A great suggestion to do some in the summer that will also get me certifications! I will for sure do that.

16

Only reason asking income level- high, middle or low income is that it will help you develop your list. You must get a sense of what your parents are able to contribute.

17

Do your parents live together? Each college has a net price calculator on their website, and you should run them to see what your family might be expected to pay. They aren’t as accurate for divorced parents, small business owners, or people with rental property.

18

The variable income as a real estate agent may make things a bit more difficult with college financial aid.

You may want to include large merit scholarship schools in your list:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ (potential safeties if you qualify)
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/ (potential reach (for scholarship) schools)
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ (did you make National Merit?)

19

And talk to your math teachers. Not only can they help assess your skill levels, you’ll need them for strong LoRs. Math and CS on the college level can be demanding. It’s one reason competitive colleges like to know you’ve done more than just classwork or noodling around on your own. It shows the experience, that you can push yourself, the teamwork, and that you understand some of the tasks and mindset. Intparent is right that you may be able to get involved with Olympiad now. It’s more than just who actually competes. If your hs has robotics, you could be involved this fall.

If you haven’t taken CS yet, you may want to be careful about universities that expect you to apply for a specific undergrad college (eg, school of engineering.) You may want to consider those that don’t restrict you that way (or review for admissions based on that.)

Also, it isn’t the composite ACT as much as your math and science scores.

20

As much as I love Carnegie Mellon and other techy schools that skew male, I have a feeling they will not be a good fit for you, @quoderatuhhh . I think your talent and interests need to be nurtured and encouraged. At CMU and similar high caliber coed programs you may quickly feel like you are drowning in a sea of kids who eat and sleep science 24/7. The college name isn’t worth it if you can’t finish. Smith will help you acclimate (and may provide a great financial aid package), and you should also look at other programs with great mentorship and advising.