GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
4.0 UW GPA (out of 4.0),
ACT/SAT Scores: 35 ACT, 1540 SAT
List your HS coursework
16 APs, 11 Honors, 1 Dual Enrollment
(took all hard ones related to math/cs/science)
Awards
International Hackathon Finalist (sponsored by Uber)
DECA International Finalist
State Chess Champion + other state awards
Extracurriculars
AI Research at MIT, UW
Internships at startups (impacted 7M+, built products for clients like Premera)
Multiple Club Leadership Positions w impact (tripled team size, led 400+ members, community service initiatives reaching 400+; raised $3k through service events)
Coding Projects (AI/ML projects, reached 68 countries, ~2k views)
Chess Instructor (kids improved rating 200+, taught 50+ students, youngest hire)
A big congrats for your achievements. We are basically on the same boat. My standardized tests are slightly better than yours and GPAs are the same, but your ECs are surely more impactful than mine. I am doing shotgun everywhere globally, but I don’t think you need to do that.
You are a very strong candidate but IMO, this is a very reachy list for your intended major. The out of state schools on your list are much more competitive for CS for OOS applicants. Have you been accepted anywhere yet?
If not, I’d also suggested adding a surer thing. RPI is a good suggestion. UMD would be a long shot since they fill the bulk of their class in EA (as do some of the schools on your list so hopefully you hit the EA deadline).
Assuming affordability, University of Wyoming is a safety if your GPA is >= 3.00. University of Texas Arlington is a safety if your rank is in the top 25% or your GPA is >= 3.25.
The list is dominated by schools with PhD programs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but using USNWR rankings misses out on some very good small to medium size schools that also have very good CS programs. I mention this not to suggest that they are better, but that the experience will be different. Schools in that continuum, all reaches for CS, but worth considering are Harvey Mudd, Olin, Cal Poly, Rose Hulman and Pomona.
UMass for CS OOS does not appear to be a suitable Likely anymore. Maybe still a Target with good enough numbers, but not a Likely. Based on what I have heard, I would say the same about Purdue CS OOS. Last I knew, Wisconsin did not admit direct for CS, but their OOS admissions generally was pretty competitive, so I am not sure I would want to use them as a Likely either.
Washington in-state might be a Likely though–hopefully your guidance counselor knows. Minnesota might be another to consider.
Since you are interested in privates like Stanford, CMU, and Cornell, I agree you might want to consider other less reachy privates. RPI is a good choice for a more MIT-style focus. WPI too. There are also a bunch of Liberal Arts and Sciences colleges with good CS programs if you are interested, and then the specialty small tech schools like Olin and Rose-Hulman.
Washington, as well as Purdue, UIUC, Carnegie Mellon, and various other schools, is significantly more competitive for admission to CS than admission to most other majors.
Yes, and normally I would think Washington in-state was definitely a Likely for the OP. It is the CS part that gives me pause in their case, and I think it is entirely possible it is not a Likely because of that.
If that is true, the OP may need to identify some actual Likelies, at least as a contingency plan. Fortunately, good undergrad CS programs are very widespread, so this is not a difficult problem to solve if necessary.
You’re an extremely strong candidate for any school imo. But your list only has the most challenging admits in the country. I think you’ll get into a few or more but add a safety or one that is very likely. Even UMass is not extremely likely for anyone OOS, even with near perfect stats it’s on level of Wisconsin. Apply EA for sure where you can CS classes fill up in the EA round. Best of luck!
I agree. CS major in uDub even in state (25%) should not be consider likely or safety. I would add some true likely school to your list. Never hurt to have more choice in Spring. Good Luck.
