Chances for CS/CompEng?

nahteecirp · December 11, 2006, 1:27pm

Okay, I’m completely new to this and have no idea what to do, schools to look at, etc. So here goes.

16 yo male, homeschooled from very small, rural, very socio-econimically depressed Indiana town. Pub school to 5th gr, parents decided to homeschool because of no opportunities. ie: local public school 400 students, ave SAT 896; 1000 for students with A average. Only offers 2 AP classes, no one received a 3 or better. You get the idea. 
Dad makes decent money, college grad, mom RN on disability for kidney disease.

My stats -

psat
72 CR
68 M
60 W

sat (taken in 7th gr)
660 V
550 M

will take SAT and/or ACT this spring (junior year)

9th & 10th grade
all the regular college prep course with 2y Spanish

11th -

Purdue Univ-North Central Campus -
1st sem-
Fresh English - A
Speech - A
Math Analysis - B
2nd sem
Calc
Chem
C++

Homeschool -
US History
AP Physics - online class

12th -

Purdue Univ-North Central Campus
Physics
Freshman Engineering
Calc
Multivariate Calc
Not sure about the rest, maybe COBOL, and some gen ed courses from Eng & History dept’s, self-study something through homeschool, like gov’t/econ.

EC’s/Awards

Civil Air Patrol -
Cadet Commander
Chair, Indiana Wing cadet advisiory council
Spaatz (highest cadet award)
Summer camps-
Engineering technologies - Auburn Univ
Aerospace Ed - Oshkosh
Powered Flight Academy - Ft Pickens (soloed, hope to finish pilot’s license if I get the money)
Ruby Programming Club
state congressional page, general volunteer work, etc.
Church youth group

Work-
The big BK - 10hrs/wk flippin burgers

Okay, probably way more than you wanted to know. So, anyone want to help out? Chances for CM in CS? Other schools to consider for CS/Comp Eng? Other things to do? Obiviously, living where I do, options are limited. Purdue math grades should go up, now that I have a better idea what I’m doing.

Thanks

hsseniorlooking · December 11, 2006, 1:55pm

Well we know you’ll be first in your class. Will you be able to self study for any AP’s or SAT II’s? Your information is a little confusing. Are you taking courses at Purdue Univ-North Central Campus already? If so, that will help alot and give you home schooling rigor.

nahteecirp · December 11, 2006, 2:34pm

Yeah, I thought maybe the AP CS, haven’t looked too closely at any of the other AP’s or SAT II’s. Yes, I’m taking classes and PUNC now, grades are what I got this semester. The rest is what I’m signed up to take for next semester or what I plan to take next year. Do colleges take in to account where your from at all? Like the middle of a corn field that you desperately want out of, no opportunities etc…

tb2588 · December 11, 2006, 3:33pm

AP Computer Science A is very easy, if you already know a lot of OO programming (I see you’re taking a C++ course this year), it should be a cinch with some studying.

To look at the differences between CS A and CS AB, look at this PDF:
<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board;

Check out the 13th page of the PDF, under the section that begins “TOPIC OUTLINE”.

I took the test last year after taking the AB course and found it very easy.

Also, yes, colleges will definitely look at where you come from. You may need to write something explaining your circumstances, but they’ll be able to see the limited opportunities you’ve had and should be impressed with what you’ve done with it.

KrazyKow · December 12, 2006, 11:40am

You look like you’re pretty much on the right track, although admissions are always unpredictable. Don’t forget to take some classes in English/Social Studies, because non-homeschooled students pretty much everywhere have to take those classes, and many universities require or recommend 4 years of English and 3 or 4 of Social Studies. You’ll have plenty of time in college to specialize, and having strong writing skills will help you in pretty much every class, as well as on your college applications.

If you’re currently in AP US History, you might want to consider taking the SAT II in the subject at the end of the year while the material is still fresh in your mind. While you’re at it, you might want to consider taking the physics or math SAT IIs, but make sure you look over a review book for physics because there is a lot of material that is not covered in AP Physics C (not sure which version of physics you’re in).

Tell us a bit about what you’re looking for in a school, and we can suggest some other schools for you to apply to. Preferences like big/small, urban/suburban/rural, conservative/liberal, location (want to stay in the midwest? or get as far away from home as possible?), sports, male/female ratio. Are you applying to Purdue (Lafayette) as a safety? Would you be happy going to school there?

bearcats · December 18, 2006, 9:20am

well your PSAT math is 68, which translate to a 680 on SAT…remember, that’s lower than the 25th percentile of that accepted to CS last year, its 720-800 for math and i thnk your verbal 720 is also between 25-50th percentile…remember, CS and compeng are the most competitive majors to get in at CMU…i m seeing slim chance unless you raise your scores

nahteecirp · December 18, 2006, 9:54pm

KrazyKow,
As far as English goes, I’ve taken it the every year so far. The plan basically between this year and next is to get the freshmen year of engineering for Purdue done by time I go off to whatever college I choose.
As far as preferences, I would prefer either to be really close to Indiana or somewhere far away and really warm (florida, alabama, hawaii, etc…). I would definitely much prefer a conservative school. Sports really don’t matter to me. I would prefer a decent M/F ratio, wouldn’t be too excited if a college was 80% male. I would prefer a smaller school, but wouldn’t mind either large or small. I will definitely be applying to Purdue West Lafayette, and I would be fine going there.

KrazyKow · December 19, 2006, 1:15pm

Keep in mind that credits from engineering at Purdue may or may not transfer. While I’m pretty sure CMU would give you credit for physics/chem/bio classes (similar to how they would grant AP credit), I doubt that they would give you credit for actual engineering courses since they are fairly strict about it. Freshmen in CIT take one intro to engineering course each semester of freshman year, then declare a major at the end of freshman year. I have no experience with this, though. Also, CMU usually doesn’t accept any transfer credit for math courses other than 2 semesters of calculus (not multivariate) and ‘concepts of math,’ an introductory discrete math course. You might want to try to find out more about credit transfer policies at other schools you’re considering, so you don’t have to retake things (unless you want to do that). I would recommend looking into an introductory discrete math course if you’re interested in CS, because it is a side of CS that few people see in high school.

Just so you know, CS is in its own school at CMU, and engineering is in its own school. This means that CS doesn’t have very much hardware-y ECE stuff, although students are welcome to take ECE courses and/or double major in ECE. Instead, we take a bunch of math courses.

I would suggest that you look at Rice. It’s a smallish school (I think 2500 undergrads, though it’s growing) in Houston, TX. Nice warm weather, a strong engineering department, a fairly even M/F ratio (I think), a bit cheaper than many private universities (if you’re someone who won’t be getting much aid), and more conservative than many schools (not really conservative… more balanced). Harvey Mudd might also be worth looking at, though I don’t know very much about it. It’s one of the Claremont Colleges, located in California, and is a smallish engineering school with agreements so that students can take classes at other Claremont Colleges. I actually met someone who is an engineering major at a claremont school with no engineering department. Other than that, you should post some information about yourself and what you’re looking for on the parents board, and I bet that some people there will help you make a list of reach/match/safeties.

Chances for CS/CompEng?

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