What are my chances for these colleges? Is there anything I should do to improve in the time until applications? I feel my ECs could be a little better, but not certain what to pursue.
Demo:
White Male, Low Income.
Stats:
Rank 1 of ~670
GPA: 3.9UW/4.8W
Tests:
ACT: 36
Haven’t taken the SAT yet, hoping >1520
I’ll be taking two Subject Tests, Math II and Bio M. I hope to get >750 on each.
APs:
Freshman:
Human Geography (5)
Sophomore:
Statistics (5)
Calculus BC (5)
Computer Science A (5)
Biology (5)
World History (5)
Junior:
American Government (likely 5)
American History (hopefully 5)
Physics 1 (likely 5)
English Lang (hopefully 5)
Spanish Lang (most likely a 4)
Calculus 3, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra through local college, As for each class.
Senior:
Physics C (maybe 5s)
English Lit (maybe a 5)
Economics (hopefully 5s)
European History (Hopefully 5s)
Will also be taking discrete mathematics, number theory, calculus-based statistics, and an intro to analysis course
ECs:
Founded/Co-President of Mu Alpha Theta (junior,senior)
Qualified for AIME
VP of CyberPatriots (sophomore)
Co-President of CyberPatriots (junior, senior)
Spanish Honor Society (junior, senior)
Extra:
I can write fairly good essays, but nothing amazing. I believe I will be able to get good recommendations letters.
I am also planning on applying to CU Boulder. The credit I have for my math classes would transfer pretty easily, and I hopefully can pick up a few of their scholarships.
You are competitive for them all, but the acceptance rates are so low, that there is a good chance that you could be rejected by all of them, or accepted by some, but not receive sufficient FA so that you could afford to go. Aside from your safety, I would also apply to a few matches which would be more likely to offer you merit aid on top of need-based FA.
What is your intended major? If it’s CS (based on your ECs), acceptance rates are even lower (though for H-M, they are the same). Also, if you’re looking at CS, you may want to have a different list of colleges - top-20 undergraduate programs in CS (or any engineering field) only includes 3 or so ivies (though MIT and Stanford are always there), and UChicago does not make it either.
Do something more interesting extracurricularly. Put yourself out there and do something that will differentiate yourself from other applicants. Really try to do something different. Think: would you like to here a story about it at a dinner party? If not, it is probably not that interesting and probably won’t make good essay material.
Don’t bother with the ACT. Also, you can’t predict AP scores for classes you haven’t yet taken
With regards to what someone said above, I am not sure that it is any more competitive to get in as a CS major. I think the problem is more as follows: many computer science major are quite similar to each other and thus harder to differentiate and computer science majors tend to have stronger academics relative to other parts of their applications. Practically speaking, if you plan on studying CS, try to differentiate yourself in some other way (ECs, essays, other academic interests). Might even be worth it to apply as a different major to limit comparisons.
Practice essay writing. It will make you better at it. It is not about creative writing ability but about how well you are able to talk about and present yourself as a thoughtful, interested and interesting person.
With regards to what someone said above, you should probably pick a school based on overall rating, not departmental rating. Departmental ratings are generally ratings of faculty, some of whom may not even teach undergrads on a regular basis. Departmental ratings are not ratings of teaching quality, or the undergrad curriculum at a give school. Certain schools tend to have better instruction. Also, a school that may not rank quite as high overall may still be strong in a number of specialties. You also will take classes outside your major and you want a good experience there too. There is also a good chance that you won’t study what you think you will.
Should be a competitive applicant, although ECs are just average. You would need to have some sort of achievements (medals, awards, hackathons, etc.) or some research in order to stand out amongst the CS applicants since nearly everyone has perfect stats. It will really come down to your essays and ECs.
Again, pace the above commenter, I don’t think it is necessarily about making your computer science background look stronger. Most people have very little formal background or meaningful accomplishments in their intended fields of study. I also think that most awards or competitions don’t mean very much to admissions officers.
The main thing to avoid is inviting comparison. If your application looks very similar to 20 other intended CS majors, why should they choose you instead of one of them? The more your applications stands out in other ways from their’s the better off you will be.
I would not add GTech. You don’t need more reaches, and it would not be affordable. Are you from Colorado?
I agree that your ECs are light. Can you try to do something this summer to beef them up?
Agree with others, do not bother with the SAT.
You need more matches & safeties. Look at the list of schools that meet need (you can Google) for some possible matches. Your state flagship may offer you enough FA or merit to be a safety.
I’ll disagree with @MWolf on this one, if you manage to get into Harvard and you major in CS or engineering you will still be competitive with the other top CS/engineering schools (just because your degree will say Harvard and that means something). There courses are as rigorous as any since the student population they’re working with are all going to be competitive at any college . As an anecdote, my DD boyfriend, who graduates in June from UChicago has a very lucrative offer for a very competitive position from Amazon, and his major is CS.
Also noting that UIUC makes no sense for a low income applicant not from Illinois (it hardly makes sense in Illinois these days, given state funding issues).
BTW to answer your question, your academics are obviously well qualified, you need to ask yourself what makes you interesting/different. For you, your essays will be key.
Also, to add on to my previous comment and what @CU123 said, rankings in CS are rankings of strength in academic CS, not in the pre-professional skills that one might need for a job in silicon valley.
Thank you all for your responses, it has definitely made me think more carefully about my choices. I’m sorry that I did not make this clearer, but I am actually looking to get a mathematics degree. I have a few more in-state safeties, but I felt those would not be worth including. I am mostly uncertain of what extracurriculars to take that would relate to mathematics. I am trying to get into good summer camps, but those are no guarantee. I might try to take some online classes over the summer to push myself further in mathematics, but that does not help my extracurriculars. I also will be participating in a senior projects-type class next year that would allow me to focus on one project, but most likely anything I do in that class will not be done in type to include on an application.
ECs do not necessarily have to be directly related to your major, although you want at least some that show you have an interest. You seem to have that already.
I will say that many of the schools you are listing are looking for “pop” in your ECs. They want to see a high level of accomplishment and something that makes you stand out from other applicants. They all get applicants with high stats and strong essays. What else do you bring to the table?
If you are truly content to attend your state school, you can stick with this list and see what happens. If you want options beyond that, I’d suggest you pick a few off the list you have, then look for some meets needs schools a tier below these to add to your list.
Some advice for applying to Mudd, research the school carefully and craft your essays with care. Fit is very important to them.
Same goes for math. Try to distinguish yourself from other math students. You won’t be able to do this through math. There are always some crazy impressive math students. Don’t invite a comparison to them. It won’t help you. Do things not math related. As noted above, ECs do not have to relate to your intended major. I also don’t think summer camp is a good use of your time.