Large public, low income but prestigious, competitive PLTW program
Gender/Race/Ethnicity (optional): White Male
Other special factors (first generation to college, legacy, athlete, etc.): N/A
Intended Major: CS or Math
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.75 (6 Bs between freshman and sophomore years. Diagnosed with ADHD, made straight As since then.)
Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.38 (5 for AP, 4.5 for honors)
Class Rank: 56/320 (Told you it was competitive!)
ACT/SAT Scores: 36 ACT Composite
Coursework (8 classes/yr)
Freshman:
2 APs, 3 Honors (PLTW Classes weighted as AP, most are harder than AP at my school)
Sophomore:
2 APs, 4 Honors
Junior:
7 APs, 1 Honors
Senior:
5 APs, testing out of honors econ class, TA for AP Comp Sci
Awards
AP Scholar with Distinction
PLTW Distinguished Scholar
Extracurriculars
Intern with local software company (Contracted by state govt/Fortune 500 company, got to work on their websites and fix the software they use)
Varsity Lacrosse 3 Years
Currently developing app for nationwide competition, canāt disclose specifics but itās highly
relevant and impactful to a problem my city faces. Basically singlehandedly developing frontend and backend. Prize pool $100,000.
6 years active in church youth group, planned churchwide service initiatives and go on service trips every summer
Senior Class Vice President, planning fundraisers and school spirit events
Side hustle of building PCs for friends/family/relatives
Essays/LORs/Other
Common App Essay: 8/10, wrote about how I fell in love with math by almost failing sophomore year and having to reteach myself algebra. Tied into themes about my alternative learning style and how I use it to help peers, but I didnāt want to mention ADHD. Everyone Iāve showed it to loved it, but I feel like the topic is kind of basic.
LOR from AP Lang teacher: 9/10, heās been known to write good rec letters. Initially, I didnāt want to ask him since I goofed off in his class a lot, but he told me he understands how school comes easier to some students and he can tell I still got a lot out of the class. He mentioned to me how a skit I performed was one of his most memorable moments as a teacher, and that people would quote what I said during class discussions on tests.
LOR from APES teacher: 8/10. I did very well in his class and worked hard, but I donāt think he got to know me as well as my AP Lang teacher did. He gave me tips on my running (he was also the XC coach) and probably has good things to say about me. I wanted to get a letter from him since I was an academic weapon in his class and I donāt want colleges to doubt my academic potential.
Cost Constraints / Budget
We canāt afford to pay full tuition at an Ivy, but with financial aid we can make it work.
Schools
Safety
ASU (accepted, $16500 scholarship)
Alabama (accepted, full ride)
UofSC (accepted, at least instate tuition)
Clemson (deferred, but not worried)
Target
UNC Chapel Hill
NC State
UMiami
Purdue
Reach
Penn (Dream school. Iām putting my heart and soul into these essays, but at the end of the day itās Ivy League)
Harvard
Vanderbilt
USC
GA Tech (reach for CS, my school sends a LOT of people here though)
Iām mainly just looking for feedback on my current schools and if Iām being realistic or not. However, if anyone knows of some match/safety schools with good CS job placement and an active social life, please let me know. Thank yāall!
My friend with a 36 and 4.7 got deferred as well. I got a bigger scholarship from UofSC than my classmate who got into Clemson. I heard itās something about them not getting to every application in time, hence the fact that I am not worried. If they got to mine, itās also fine, I know a guy who got rejected from Furman and now heās at Duke.
Harvard and Penn do not give merit aid, correct. We qualify for enough need-based aid (estimated by NPC) to make it affordable. I donāt think anyoneās picking Alabama over any Ivy. Cost is not the most utmost concern for my family, and Iām grateful to have parents that are affluent enough to help me out.
I donāt think Bama is āloadedā with high stat kids, statistics just donāt work that way. Thereās definitely more students at Bama who had 4.0s than at Caltech, but you canāt say Bamaās better with a straight face. A good chunk of their student body just couldnāt get into Auburn.
I respect the grind for chasing āmerit moneyā, but Iām really not concerned about that. Great colleges are great when you can pay for them, which in my case, I can.
If I remember, Iāll let you know where I get in to give you a more accurate picture of how this process works; you may very well be right. Thank you for the good luck wishes.
They have as many or more national merit scholars as any school in America. Why ? They buy them. They buy on other high stat kids.
No one used the word better. Better depends on the kid. US News is not the barometer except selling magazine. For my son, Bama was better than Purdue. For others, name your tiny, never heard of school, may be better.
Given your GPA and rank, youāre likely to choose amongst your safeties minus Clemson.
Which of the three would you choose ?
Pedigree wise they are indistinguishable.
But you will find at any campus - from Bama to ASU to U of SC, kids that turned down Ivy and other high level schools.
My daughter also chose a safety over other high level schools (fit) and her bff at Charleston turned down Rice, Vandy, and Penn.
Everything isnāt as ārankā this as you think.
So if he gets into one of his reaches he doesnāt need to settle for āBama. GT and Purdue wonāt provide need aid but with a $50k budget, theyāre affordable.
If your family qualifies for enough fin aid to bring the cost down to 50K a year, then 200K means something to you and your family.
Be sensible. Take the full ride at Alabama. You will have many academic and intellectual peers there because theyāre offering tons of merit money. Get a masters from some outstanding institution that your employer pays for, and then youād be just as pedigreed as anyone else. Comp Sci hiring isnāt done through the WASPy, old boys eating club network. You donāt need to pay for a prestigious name for comp sci.
I think kids need to plan for affordable and assured admission.
U Miami meets need as does UNC. But has OP run the NPC for Miami? They are not known for delivering although they do merit. Do they stack ? OP should check (ie can you get both or one replaces the other)?
My āchance meā guess is OP will be choosing between Bama, ASU, and U of SC. And Iām making that assumption without regard to finance.
In this case, what is OP gonna do ?
Maybe NC State or Miami enter or Clemson enter ?
And OP can wait to see but if I were to āchance meā, itās those three IMHO.
And OP is a bit cavalier with money (a discussion with family) and is wrongly diminishing student bodies - especially when you look at those in STEM. They are loaded with brilliance - based on merit at Bama and SC and Honor College leadership at SC and ASU (which adds nominal cost).
If OP only has those three options to choose from, theyāve done very well.
Let me rephrase this: I am not concerned about affordability. Merit scholarships are a plus, but I will take a school with better job placement and location over a cheaper school. Iād take SC over Bama because itās closer and more well-regarded by employers up North, and itās in a big city. I might also pursue quantitative finance depending on the program Iām in, for which your undergrad ābrandā matters.
Hence my reaches. All of these schools send tons of people to FAANG/quant firms, and theyāre in great locations (minus Purdue). I donāt intend on pursuing a Masterās in CS, rather an MBA when Iām ready to move further up the SWE job ladder.
Your āchance meā is interesting considering my GPA/Class Rank are the real weak points and are explained by extenuating medical circumstances. Granted, I havenāt received results back from any non-safeties, but my friend with a 4.5 applied TO to UofSC and Clemson, got into Clemson, and received a SUBSTANTIALLY worse scholarship package from SC. I assume neither of those reviews were holistic, considering the amount of applications received by both schools. I think at least one target school would take the guy with a perfect ACT and tech internship, but this is my first time applying to colleges, who knows?
My school sends 20+ students per year to UNC and NCSU, and the last guy who applied to UNC with a 36 got into the Honors College. He probably had a better GPA, but do you think a 3.75 UW is the end of the world for any school <50% acceptance rate, especially after a holistic review? I think my ACT score and straight As with 7 APs junior year provide enough evidence of an āupward trendā, but Iām no AO.
My family has urged me to not think about finances until I get all my acceptance letters. I have some good, cheap safeties guaranteed. If you have any feedback on my chances based on any specific criteria/things I could work on before RD, let me know.
Have you checked the job placement in your area of interest or are you making assumptions ?
As I said, youāll have choices - at least three.
Ps your undergrad will have zero influence on an MBA but little. Your work experience will though and if you think one school gets you further work wise then anotherā¦then itās great.
You wrote this:
āYour āchance meā is interesting considering my GPA/Class Rank are the real weak points and are explained by extenuating medical circumstances. ā
A chance me is my opinion. No one here can officially tell you if youāll get in or not. But thatās my opinion - three for sure and potentially NC State, Clemson and Miami.
As for medical issues, I hope your counselor noted them on their report and not you.
I hope you fare well and that Iām wrong. But frankly you already have with 3 solid āinsā even if you donāt believe all are solid. Culverhouse and Carey - my alma mater - are both very solid as is Darla Moore).
Good luck.
Ps I went to $$ and cents because you did in answering a question to another poster.
Not assumptions, unfortunately. Just making sure you know for clarityās sake. However, I was meaning more in terms of internships; I know I want to move out west after college. Alabama may be a great school but thereās no Google office out in Tuscaloosa.
Thanks for the good wishes. Weāll see how it goes; I think some very good and very bad surprises await in these next few months for me, and everyone else applying. I wish you well.
As parents, we felt the same way. We were able to fund college at any costā¦and we did. Your family is giving you a wonderful gift that not all families will or can do.
I think you are in a good place. You have acceptances already, and anything else will be gravy on top of thatā¦and up for consideration.
Please let us know where you decide to matriculate! And good luck to you!
Great test score and number of APs, but UNC is not a Target given your GPA and that youāre not top 10%. Plenty of Wake County kids with higher stats are rejected each year. I know a valedictorian from Chapel Hill that was denied. I think NC State is more likely a target given your high ACT score. Example, last year UNC accepted 47 from our school, class size 400. They donāt go much past the top 10%, but you never know!
āThe University of Alabama set a new enrollment record of 39,623 students in fall 2023. The record enrollment includes 3,184 freshmen from Alabama, representing every county in the state. This marks UAās fifth consecutive year with an in-state increase and the largest number of in-state freshmen since 2010.
UA currently enrolls a record number of 1,142 National Merit Scholarsā
Keep in mind the vast majority of elite schools donāt calculate or advertise a number of NMF students stat. They simply donāt care as their broader published stats suggest large percentages would be eligible if they cared to tally them.