Do I have a shot at any of these schools? What can I do to increase my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me
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[li] SAT I (breakdown): 1310 ( 700 M, 610 V Essay: 17/24 : Will retake in October)[/li]
[li] ACT: Haven’t taken (Might take)[/li]
[li] SAT II: Already have scores Chemistry:670 Waiting on Math 2 and Bio (Expecting 720+ in Math, and 700+ in Bio)[/li]
[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.13/4.0 for this year (It’s out of 4.0 since most classes are regular classes, so even if u get all As, you won’t get 5.0)[/li]
[li] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): (1 or 2)/22[/li]
[li] AP (place score in parenthesis): Waiting on AP Calc AB (selfstudied, this is taught in senior year, but took it this year) and AP US Gov for Junior Year. Senior year, I’m taking AP Bio, AP Language and Composition, AP Calc BC (selfstudy), AP Comp Sci A (selfstudy), and maybe AP Stat or Chem (selfstudied as well).[/li]
[li] IB (place score in parenthesis): None[/li]
[li] Each Year Course Load:[/li]9th Grade: Geometry, Physics, World History, English 9, Islamic Studies, Arabic Level 2, Quran, Physical Education
10th Grade: Algebra II, Chemistry, US History, English 10, Islamic Studies, Arabic Level 3, Quran, Health
11th Grade: Pre-Calc, Biology, AP Gov, English 11, Islamic Studies, Arabic Level 4, Quran, Computer & Technology
12th Grade: AP Calc AB (even though took exam in junior year), AP Bio, AP English Lang and Composition, Islamic Studies, Arabic Level 5, Quran

[li] Volunteer/Work Experience:[/li]Tutor, Volunteer at an Annual Ice Skating Event, Assistant and an Annual Meet, Greet, Talk, and Eat event, Assisstant at Summer Camp: helped teaching students, and an Assistant at School Fundraising dinners every year.

[] Extracurricular Activities:
Soccer Team Captain, High School Math Competition by UMD, Participated in College Essay Writing workshop, Young Scholars Program at UMD**, Participant at UMD Fifa Kicks for kids 2015 tournament, Interscholastic basketball and Football tournaments + Organizer, Member of the Creative Writing Club, SGA officer every year (9th: Public Relations, 10th: Secretary, 11th: Treasurer), Part time hifz (Quran Memorization) program, A+ Taekwondo, Blue belt + trophy (this was back in middle school).

[li] Skills: Microsoft Office, Paint, Notepad, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Komodo Edit, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and fluency in Arabic and English[/li]
[li] Awards: Not so great but here they are[/li]Academic High School Honor roll, 1st place in annual high school math competition (in conjunct with UMD) among all my high school contemporaries, Football Tournament MVP Award, Basketball and Football Team championship winner, Summer Camp Volunteer Commendation, Annual Ticket Competition Recognition Award, Soccer Team won 1st Place this year in an MSI league.

[li] State (if domestic applicant): Maryland[/li]
[li] School Type: Private Islamic School[/li]
[li] Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern but lived in US most of my life)[/li]
[li] Gender: Male[/li]
[li] Income Bracket: >250k[/li]
All classes are regular classes unless indicated, We have no Honors at our school.
I’m planning on doing a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics
***At the Young Scholars Program at UMD I got an A (4.0) :smiley:
What are my chances at these schools: Stanford, UC-Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Penn State, University of Illinois, University of Texas-Austin, California Institute of Technology, and Cornell?

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I assume your SAT score is for the current test…

Stanford (very high reach)

Carnegie Mellon University (mid reach)

UC Berkeley (mid reach)

Cornell (high reach)

UT Austin (high match)

California Institute of Technology (very high reach)

University of Illinois (urbana-champaign?) (low reach)

Penn State (match/low safety)

MIT (very high reach)

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Oh I also forgot UMD. Yes, the SAT score is the current test and I’m planning on getting a higher score. @anthropologyanya What can I do to make the very high reach schools drop down to reaches or even matches?

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Bump^^

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@YoohooAddict To make the very high reaches drop down to reaches, get higher SAT and SAT subject test scores. I’m not sure how subject test retakes will factor into your schedule since you’re retaking the SAT in October, but if possible, try to retake subject tests in November. Aim for 1500+, so study hard!

Obviously Stanford, Caltech, and Cornell can never drop down to a match for anyone, especially Stanford.

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@neoking Hmph… Do you think I should apply early to any of the schools? If so, which one(s)?

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@YoohooAddict Your favorite ones, especially if you wanna apply ED.

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Many of the schools you’ve listed have non restrictive early action. As long as you think you’re ready, I’d recommend applying early wherever you can. You have a good resume, just find one or two things about yourself you can use to differentiate from other applicants. Other than that, keep up the hard work, get good recs, and write a killer essay. Good luck :slight_smile:

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Stanford-extreme high reach
MIT–very high reach
UC-Berkeley- high reach (bc emphasis on stats)
California Institute of Technology-high reach
Cornell-high reach
Carnegie Mellon–reach
UIUC-high match
Penn State–match
University of Texas-Austin-match

Similar to what many others said:
Raise SATs to around 1530+ to become more competitive
With your intended majors you will definitely want to have better SAT2 scores
Essays and LoR could boost your chances
Feel free to message me if you need help!

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University of Texas has a strong emphasis on HS rank. Do some research on your own about that. Since you are top 10%, you should be fine. Also, I second what everyone else is saying. Some of the schools are impossible with 1310. You can improve it by at least 150-200 if you spend A LOT of time practicing and learning. If you are seriously considering and wanting to go to Cornell or better, you will have to put 110% effort into that SAT score. The other schools like UT and Penn State are possible and UIUC will need some effort in the application.

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Thanks to everyone for the detailed replies. Your help is appreciated.

@neoking My favorite ones are the high reaches, and I don’t think I can take the SAT again before applying early action. So I don’t know what to do?
@onlynongenius Ya I expected my SAT score to inhibit my chances.
@“Dhaval G” Ya, I need to boost that SAT score lol.

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You can take the SAT on October 1 and you will get the scores back before early action deadline for some schools on common app and maybe others. Also, some colleges will still accept the scores even if you send them in after the deadline as long as you already have some sort of score in the mean time. If the early action deadline if before October 20th (around when the SAT scores will be back) and they don’t take scores after you apply, then you just hoping for the best. You will have to do research on each school on the deadline dates, SAT dates, and if they will accept results after the application deadline.

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@“Dhaval G” OMG. thanks, I didn’t know that at all. I thought once the deadline hit, you can’t turn in anything else and that all schools had same deadline for early app. Thanks again bud.

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@YoohooAddict October SAT scores arrive before Nov 1st (most EA deadlines), and if you use rush reporting, it’ll hopefully get there on time. I’m not sure if the schools take SATs late, so research that.

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@neoking Okay thanks! :smiley:

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UIUC CS is a tough admit these days. UT Austin is also tough, especially for out of state, I honestly think Penn State and UMD are the only ones you would get into unless you can raise your test scores by a lot. If you want more choices, you should look at a lower tier of schools.

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@neoking some schools like UMich explicitly say they will not take Rush Scores. Although that is the only college that says that, I feel like many others might also not take rush scores. On the other side, maybe you are right and some colleges want the rush scores. You have to do research on each school in their FAQ section for application. If it isn’t there, ask the question or email an admissions officer/recruiter for your area.

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Aight. Great tips from all of ya’ll. I really hope I can boost my score above 1500… That will truly be an accomplishment. Oh well…I don’t even know where to start lol :frowning:

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Prep books are always a good way to gauge where you are. Barrons is harder than the actual test but will prepare you really well (i know multiple people who scored 200+ points better on the real test than on the barrons practices). Princeton review is also s good source Bc their practice tests are pretty true to the real test material. Feel free to message me–this was probably a little confusing