Please Chance Stats/CS at CMU, Duke, UCB, UCLA, UPenn

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (M 650, W 700, CR 690)
ACT (breakdown): 30
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Won’t send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: UC 4.26 w/ first semester senior year,W GPA 4.21
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5/300
AP (place score in parentheses): Stats (4), APUSH (5), Rest pending
IB (place score in parentheses): That would have been fun, in retrospect, if offered.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lang & Lit, AP Gov, AP Macro
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Zero</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Chairman of Youth Commission, highest ranking youth government official in large Bay Area County. Consulted data report to help come up with public policy recommendations. “Professional” sports analytics writer for one of the larger sites on the internet
Job/Work Experience: Baseball Analytics writer (yeah, Moneyball stuff) for top site in the industry, beginning role as Baseball Analytics Consultant to good Division 1 College Baseball Program in January.
Volunteer/Community Service: Government activity gives me a good 45 hours a year in the community.
Summer Activities: Independent published research in baseball analytics, takes up my entire summer.
Teacher Recommendations: 10/10 from AP english teacher, very close to him, great track record and overall amazing teacher. 7/10 from stats teacher, he likely regurgitated the activities section of my common app.
Counselor Rec: My school is infamous for terrible counselor recs—apparently one of the reasons ZERO students have been admitted to Stanford from my school in the last 15 years.
Additional Rec: From advisor. Talked about me from leadership perspective, and my growth from data nerd to “politician”.</p>

<p>Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Statistics/CS/Econ
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Large public, Bay Area, top ~30 public in CA
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Average
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): No applicable hooks</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Extra curricular involvement, real-world experience and application of desired field of study, Letters of Rec, direct passion, Research Portfolio
Weaknesses: Scores… As a Statistician, I can tell you that my scores (Math in particular) do not validate my intended major or success in my research. Grades and portfolio do… Unfortunately, colleges weight one of those components much more heavily than the others, it seems!</p>

<p>Stats will be my primary major at any of the above schools, CS will likely be minor or double-major. I am curious as to how that will effect my chances…Also interested to hear if you think my scores are a deal-breaker, even in light of my real-world application and success in my desired fields. </p>

<p>I will chance back if you like, and happy to discuss with any stats majors!</p>

2

<p>You may want to retake your SAT I examinations. For Duke, an aggregate 2040 result will not be helpful (it is not an absolute denial-decision cause, but it is a real admissions impediment).</p>

3

<p>@TopTier‌ not surprising, it’s definitely not an impressive result. Curious as to if they would consider my research success as indicative of my true abilities in mathematics and the like. </p>

4

<p>What do you mean you “won’t send” your subject test scores? Have you taken them? Your only hope at demonstrating your math proficiency is to send them your 800 on your Math II subject test. Don’t Penn and CMU require at least two subject tests? Right now all you’ve got is your mediocre 650 in your math section. You won’t get into those schools with just that.</p>

5

<p>@mnm111‌ Meant to say won’t send initially, taking Math II in January. I agree. </p>

6

<p>CMU - low reach
Duke - crapshoot
UCB - low reach
UCLA - low reach
UPenn - high reach</p>

7

<p>I don’t understand why you would wait until January to take your subject tests. You applied EA to University of Chicago without subject tests?? You could have bolstered your application with a good math score.</p>

8

<p>@mnm111‌ Being very uninformed with the college application process I consulted a college advisor. Unfortunately, I this advisor told me I didn’t need subjects if I took ACT with writing. I became complacent and decided to go that route. Huge misunderstanding on my part, and now I am screwed…Really, really, unfortunate. That’s the motivation behind this thread, to be honest. </p>

9

<p>Ultimately, that’s my fault for not looking into it further. </p>

10

<p>Any suggestions for matches given my low scoring? </p>

11

<p>for some schools such as Duke - ACT with writing is sufficient, if you are going the ACT route. So, check each school and make a list - this info is easily available on their websites. That said, you do need to have significantly better standardized testing scores for Upenn and especially Duke. If you are instate in CA, then UCLA etc are reasonable shots.</p>

12

<p>@mjordanw21‌ (re #2): I don’t believe so. Your research success may help your overall “admit-ability,” but – obviously – it can’t alter your specific SAT results (Duke Admissions Officer: “Gee, great research, do we add 20 points to his SAT, no 30” . . . that’s simply not the way things work.). </p>

13

<p>CMU - low reach/high match
Duke - very high reach (SAT)
UCB - reach
UCLA - low reach/match
UPenn - high reach
Chance back?
<a href=“Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums”>Chance me for Vassar I'll chance back :) - Vassar College - College Confidential Forums;

14

<p>Schools like Virginia Tech or WPI are more in your range. Do you have a safety? I doubt you will get into any of the schools on this list.</p>

15

<p>I personally think that you’d be a good match for UVA and W&M. I think Wake Forest would be a good match for you. UCLA is honestly probably more of a high match than a reach. UCB can be more tricky, though. </p>

16

<p>@mnm111‌ Really no shot at UCLA or UCB in your opinion? My safeties are UCD and UCSD… Since I am in state, California, and near top of my class at a school that sends ~10-15 kids to both Berkeley and UCLA each year those are definitely my targets… </p>