CHANCE ME: T20's: VA resident, 3.85 UW GPA, 35 ACT, Computer Science & Business

Chance Me / Match Me
1

Hi! I’m an incoming HS senior from VA looking to major in computer science/business in college. Would really appreciate any advice on my college list/chance me’s! Thanks!

Demographics

  • US citizen & Virginia Resident
  • Competitive stem focused high school
  • Looking for a big college (Top ranked / Prestige)

Cost Constraints / Budget
No budget constraints but would not go to a school for 90k+ unless T10.

Intended Major(s): Computer Science / Business / Econ (depends on each school but applying mostly computer science major + business minor for most except Upenn wharton, NYU stern, UMich Ross, IU Kelley)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.85?
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.32*(A: 4.0, HN: 4.3, AP/DE: 5.0) (Gotten a few B+/A-)*
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 35 ACT (35 math, 35 eng, 36 reading, 31 science) (planning on retaking for 36)

List your HS coursework

scores labeled for the exams I’ve taken so far (only AP/DE coursework listed)
(took pretty difficult coursework in context, junior year showed some growth aswell)

  • Math: AP Calc BC (5)
  • Science: AP Physics 1 (5)
  • History and social studies: APUSH (5)
  • Language other than English: Latin 1-3
  • Visual or performing arts: studio art and design DE
  • Other academic courses: AP Macro (4), AP Micro (5)
  • Computer Science: AP CSA (5), CS foundations, Mobile/Web App dev, Artificial Intelligence 1/2
  • Taking next year: AP Business, AP Cybersecurity, AP Gov, AP Lang, AP Physics C&EM, Concrete Math, Linear Algebra DE

Awards

  • FBLA Regionals, State, and Nationals Placement

  • FPS 2nd State level

  • AP Scholar with Distinction

(I feel like this section is a bit weak since I don’t have anything else)

Extracurriculars (not in order)

  1. Bioinformatics - Webmaster & Biocode Hackathon event coordinator / organizer

  2. Global Health Initiative - Club President

  3. FBLA - Club Officer & Program Coordinator

  4. Nail Small Business Owner / Technician (most likely personal statement topic)

  5. Red Cross - Club Treasurer

  6. UVA emerging engineers summer program

  7. Mind4Youth Social Media Internship

  8. Girls Who Code Summer Program

  9. Future Problem Solvers - Club Member & Competition participation

(Again not insane but they relate to my interests atleast)

Essays/LORs/Other
Physics teacher - 8/10 , CS teacher - 8.5/10 (not crazy strong)

Schools
(Lmk if u think there are other schools I should be applying to also!)

| GMU | (EA)
| VTech | (EA)
| Penn State | (EA)
| UPitt | (EA)
| IU Kelley | (EA)
| UMD | (EA)
| Purdue | (EA)
| UNC chappel Hill | (EA)
| UVA | (EA) (sibling legacy idk if they care)
| UIUC | (EA)
| UT Austin | (EA)
| UMich Ross | (EA)
| Georgia Tech | (EA)
| UC Berkeley | (RD)
| UCLA | (RD)
| CMU | (RD) (considering ED?)
| NYU Stern | (RD)
| UPenn | (ED) (decently set on this but happy to anyones opinion)
| Cornell | (RD)
| USC (not sure if I should apply)?? | (RD)
| Stanford | (RD)

Schools I care alot about: UVA, UIUC, UT Austin, UMich, Gtech, Berkeley, CMU, UPenn
(would also love an opinion on where to use my ED)

  • Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability):
  • Extremely Likely:
  • Likely:
  • Toss-up:
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability:

Lmk if anyone has some other advice or any thoughts aswell! Thanks for helping!

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Several schools on your list are not “T10” (based on the USNWR Best Colleges rankings or Best Computer Science Programs rankings). What is your budget for these schools?

Is there a particular school that you would love to attend, even if you were accepted to every other college on your list? If so, that’s your ED choice. If not, then you shouldn’t apply ED at all.

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Do you want CS or B? Shouldn’t depend on the school.

Should you apply to USC ? Do you have more than $90k? Do you want to go there?

I like your list. I’d cull some and consider adding UMASS.

Forget rank - it’s an opinion. It means nothing but you’ll get into IU Kelley, as an example.

But you’ll have admits - and likely attend GMU (you can cull), Va Tech, Penn State, U Pitt or UMD - if related to CS. Not sure about UMD - call that a match. UVA is possible as well.

Where to use ED - your top choice - you are going somewhere four years - it’s not a game.

But first decide - what do you prefer - CS or Business - and not be like - well here CS and there business. You will study something that will impact your life for the next four years and beyond.

Good luck.

4

Since you want to major in CS, is your interest in business more on the quant finance analytics side of things? Many that do CS also will minor in something like quant which is usually in conjunction with the business side of things. If so, I would focus on a school for CS because most of the really good schools for CS also have excellent quant analytic programs. On the other hand, schools not known for CS generally lack good quant programs related to their business programs compared to top CS programs.

5

At UIUC, are you applying to CS + Economics or just CS? The acceptance rates are very different for these majors, with the CS + X degree much less of a reach. Perhaps look at the curriculum of CS + Economics and see if it appeals to you.

Agree with others that you shouldn’t apply ED to any school that isn’t your top choice. I’d also strongly recommend a campus visit beforehand if you haven’t visited yet.

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I’ll humbly disagree with this assessment.

OP, if you’re not yet sure on which major then applying to various schools with a different major is fine, in my opinion. Just know that eventually you will have to decide. Pushing the decision off until next April when you know more about yourself and what you want is fine. Yes, it may be a hard decision then, so know that going into it. But you have time to decide your course even at schools that require you apply into specific majors (you can simply choose to not go there in the end if it’s not what you want.)

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I get it - but I’m guessing OP has a plan of some sort.

What I’m really saying is - I think it’s a mistake to apply based on rank or perceived perception. I suspect OP has a plan. But I agree, it’s ok to be open but that openness should be based on fit vs. - such and such is a great name (IMHO).

And someone noted Quant Finance above - and if that turns out to be the case, I’d add Stevens Tech as well to my investigatory list.

Thanks

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Retaking the ACT, in your case, would be mainly for a higher Science percentile. You may want to consider taking the ACT writing essay only if you are a strong writer & can demonstrate it in a timed assessment. Retaking it for a composite 36 is pretty much pointless. You’ve already scored a 35 with a perfect 36 within SEM range. And scoring a perfect 36 (sum=144) on the ACT is more difficult to achieve than a 1600 on the SAT.

You’ve gotten a few “B+” grades: when and in which subjects? Is taking AP Latin an available option to you or not interested?

You are currently targeting three potential majors of interest: computer science, economics, and business/management. A potential issue with this is that you are looking to apply to certain schools for business (e.g. Wharton & Ross), as if deciding upon a major is dependent on which colleges admit you. If the admission committee senses this, you’ll be at high risk for a rejection. Wharton & Ross aren’t interested in students transferring out of their department sophomore or junior year.

You’ve developed a preliminary list of 21 schools & have kinda sorta unofficially narrowed it down to 7-8 schools (“schools I care a lot about”).

A good target number is 8-12 schools for most domestic applicants. I would drop Ross & Wharton unless you are 100% committed to completing an undergraduate business degree. I would also drop UCLA since you are planning to apply to Berkeley. I don’t think your family would be as willing to pay for UCLA (you would be much more inclined to select a different school, e.g. UVa). I would drop USC since you aren’t really interested. I would also drop Stanford from your list.

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Note that the ACT science section is now optional (as is writing and most schools don’t consider the writing score any more). The ACT Test for Students | ACT

The 35 ACT score is TERRIFIC! I wouldn’t worry about retesting.

I think this is a good well balanced list and you will see many acceptances.

What attributes did you like about Penn that you are considering ED’ing there? But, if you aren’t 100% sold on ED, apply RD.

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That’s right. The official composite ACT score is now an average of just three sections: English, reading, & math. A complete waste of time to retake for a perfect 36.

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I think it is totally fine to not know if you want to major or minor in CS or Business, especially today — if you are passionate about both, find a school that allows you to major and minor in both or take classes in both - great.

a 35 is great! And many (most?) don’t look at science anymore, so don’t even report that to the schools that don’t! Also great you have already done BC calc with a 5 - fantastic!

Business School at CMU is an interesting ED choice - it is very math heavy and if you could minor in CS (is that a possibility? I think it is!) that could be great…. I think your shot there is much higher than Wharton, and honestly, if you like the personality/culture of CMU, i would think you have a much better shot; obviously CMU CS is beyond top-notch. I think under-rated for business– and Pittsburgh is also an underrated health city - lots of stuff going on at the hospitals there! I recently toured CMU and was surprised how interdisciplinary the students seemed, too. My kid and I loved it… That said I wouldn’t ED unless YOU love it and it is your absolutely first choice with no regrets!! I think the “vibes” are quite different than Penn/Wharton.

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One can not take just the ACT essay. Further, I don’t think many, if any, colleges care about the ACT writing test as currently constructed. Maybe some do, but it’s highly unlikely to move the needle in terms of an admissions decision.

@user239580, I would not waste time on retaking the ACT. Please calculate your UC GPAs here: GPA Calculator for the University of California – RogerHub

I agree that it would be helpful to know how many non-As you have and in which courses.

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I agree with all of this…OP have you visited CMU? I would not recommend you apply ED without visiting, CMU is a fit school across the board…academically, socially, culturally.

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Feedback on “Chance Me” threads should remain focused exclusively on the original poster. Unrelated debates between users derail the discussion and create an unwelcoming, hostile environment that deters new members from participating.

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Also, CMU ED acceptance rate is higher compared to other schools on the list that do not do ED.

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OP, you have a really nice record and might get in anywhere… or might wind up at UVa or VTech, for the best value.

Don’t worry about the comp sci vs business vs econ issue. You can and probably will take all of them, and maybe double major. Every place you’re looking at is going to have all of them. If you would rather go to Wharton than anywhere else, then go ahead and use your ED there. BTW, admission to Penn Arts and Sciences (where you can take Econ and comp sci and maybe even an intro level business class) might be better odds than to Wharton, and if you do very well freshman year, you might be able to transfer into Wharton. But if you are not set on Penn, or on any particular one school, then sure, do appropriate permitted early action applications, but do not apply anywhere as committed ED.

I agree, no need to retake the ACT. The science section is just about data interpretation. It is very possible to prep for that and get a 36 on that section, but there’s really no need to.

You should be thinking about paring your list down. No need to apply to so many matches, especially since you’re sure to get into U Va or V tech, with your record and being in-state, plus they’re very affordable for you. Consider whether you’d rather go to one of all those nice flagship state U’s on your list, assuming you get into UVa or Vtech.