Intended Major(s)
Computer Science, might double major in Mathematics or Economics - but applying as CS.
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Class Rank: School doesnât do class ranks
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.9
Weighted HS GPA: School doesnât do weighted
ACT/SAT Scores: 1520 (780M, 740RW) SAT, will shoot for higher score overall/super-score in upcoming SATs.
List your HS coursework
Currently taken/taking:
AP Calculus AB (5)
AP Calculus BC
AP Computer Science A (4)
AP Biology (4)
AP Macroeconomics
AP Microeconomics
AP Chemistry
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Environmental Sciences
All honors classes available if not AP.
Plan on taking:
AP Gov
AP English Lit
AP Stats
AP Psych
AP Phys C: E&M self study.
More self-studied if I feel the need/More in-school if needed in humanities. Will be done w/all Stem APs at school.
Duel Enrollment: MATH&254 (Calculus IV) or MATH255 (Vector Calculus with Greenâs Theorem), MATH 238: Differential Equations, MATH 208: Intro to Linear Algebra, and CS 211: Fundamentals of CS II ⊠or any of these that Iâm allowed into.
Language other than English: Seal of biliteracy in a different language - max score, taken Spanish 1 & Spanish 2 alongside this, freshmen year and ms.
Awards
PVSA Gold
legit nothing else - open to any and all suggestions reasonable for me by apps season⊠Decently strong in Math, Chem, and CS.
Extracurriculars
Software Engineering Internship
Did lab work related to enzymes and bio + cs at local cc under a smaller program. Not highly selective.
Taekwondo & Arnis + other martial arts for 4 yrs. Didnât make too much progress
Teaching in local areas (wonât leak to maintain anonymity).
Open to any suggestions here too! Essays/LORs/Other
What is your budget? Hard to suggest schools without knowing budget or financial constraints. Also, did you recently take the PSAT/NMSQT test and what was your score?
For this combination of interests, it also may be advisable to consider a major in data science with economics as your chosen applied domain. This would not preclude the pursuit an additional major or minor.
Consider applying to some colleges at which all majors are open to all accepted applicants.
Hi budget is not a concern - Iâm able to fortunately go to out of state schools and can consider international, but would prefer to of course not âwasteâ money.
I got a PSAT index score of 206; so likely unable to even be a commended scholar. Made a lot of silly mistakes
Hi thanks for the feedback! Yea my main aspirations with the duel major is because I truly wanted to take more pure math (ie real analysis) and similar for Econ. I want to do the âpureâ of those alongside computer science. Career pathways in CS can change as itâs about skills so I hope Iâll be able to go into SWE or Data Science roles depending on interest in college but atm Iâm p happy with my major selections
If this might sound appealing to you, look into schools with open curricula, at which you could, to the extent desired, choose virtually all of your classes from the fields of computer science, mathematics and economics. Hamilton, Amherst College, Grinnell, Brown University and Smith College (if applicable) represent examples of schools of this type. Of particular note, Hamilton from this group will be constructing a computer science facility with âbest-in-class technologies and resources.â
The University of Washington is excellent for computer science, as I expect that you know. The U. of Wisconsin is also. Both would also be very good for mathematics, and this is a good combination (and is pretty much what I did, although my degree just says âmathematicsâ).
Given your interest in economics I might mention that as a math major I took one course in econometrics (quantitative economics) and quite liked it. There is quite a bit of math in quantitative economics â which to me is a big plus since it makes economics more like a science (you can make quantitative predictions and test your theories) rather than a matter of opinion.
I do not know whether U.Washington is a safety for you for CS. I am guessing that it might not be specifically for your major. I am thinking that also applying to Washington State might be a good move.
There are some good universities for CS and math a bit to your north. UBC might be worth considering for example. You might want to also look at Simon Fraser and U.Victoria (the latter might of course be more to your west than to your north).
1520 is quite a good SAT score and should help you. If I had this the first time that I took the SAT, I might take it again more to see whether I could get 800 in math rather than to actually help with university admissions.
Edit to add: I think the fact that you already had a CS internship is quite good, and a bit unusual for a high school student. In terms of ECs I think that you are doing well, and you should do what is right for you.
For applying to UW, take Math 208 and CS 211 at BC through Running Start. Those will maximize your credit that will be counted towards your degree and let you hit the ground running with more advanced courses. Also, if youâve already taken Math& 153 (or gotten CIHS credit for it), take Math& 254 to be able to get credit for Math 126 at UW. Only the combination of Math& 153 + Math& 254 combined earn credit for UW Math 126.
â Signed, a former Running Start student and current CS major
Hi, would calculus BC and then a placement test work out? As a sort of supplement for MATH153⊠want to take MATH&254 one term and then MATH 255 the next. Iâm confident in my math ability - more of whether itâs allowedâŠ
Top 20 what - for CS, what you think is top 20 isnât top 20.
My nephew works at one of the biggies and has a degree in Poli Sci from Arizona. Itâs his second biggie -his old boss just recruited him to a bigger company.
You can be successful in poli sci from anywhere - and many will require a competency test to hire you (how he got in with a poli sci major) from a state school.
Would a top 20 or Ivy be feasible - and Iâm using the US News list, not a top CS schoo? A reach - but possible if you apply but doubtful.
Would a UMD or UMN or RPI get you a similar or even better outcome? Quite possibly.
One big issue is that admissions to the most highly ranked universities in the US is pretty close to impossible to predict. There really isnât anything that a person can do to make it likely to get accepted to, letâs say, MIT or Stanford or Harvard. You do the best that you can, and have faith that it will work out one way or another.
You have taken a very demanding set of classes in high school. In terms of ECs, I like the approach advocated in the âapplying sidewaysâ blog on the MIT admissions web site. As I understand it, this recommends that you do what is right for you, and whatever you do, do it well. This is the approach that our family members have used and it has worked out for us, but what we each did was almost completely different. You should be doing what is right for you. I did notice when I was an undergraduate student at MIT that to the extent that other students talked about what they had done for ECs in high school, there was a huge range.
Then make sure that you apply to safeties, and that you keep your budget in mind.
You are doing very well. I do think that this will work out well one way or another, particularly if you make sure that you apply to safeties and do not let the system stress you out too much.
Note that U.S. News, for example, does not provide a general T-20 ranking of colleges and universities. For this you would need to view an inclusive ranking, such as by WalletHub, or through another site of your choosing.
UW is strict on prereqs. You can check their website as well, but Calc BC only gets credit for Math 124 and 125, while youâll need both Math& 153 and Math& 254 to get credit for Math 126. If you do take Math& 255, itâll count as Math 224 at UW, which is not required for the CS degree, but is very useful for machine learning applications.
ah, I was wondering whether running start @ local colleges (i.e bellevue, e.t.c) actually allowed for me to take say calc MATH&153 and MATH 255/254 - or they also strict on prereqs?
They offer AP credit. If you get a 5 on Calc AB, they should allow you to take Math& 153. Itâs going to be repetitive with Calc BC, but itâll allow you to get ahead. Math 208 will unlock after Math& 153.
