Reverse Chance Me & Chance Me. Safeties, Targets, Reaches

[durban]

@Hamurtle @sbdad12 @ProfessorPlum168 @momofsenior1 @Gumbymom FOR THE RECORD: I can pay full cost. I don’t need financial aid. However, obviously its the SAT score & me being international that is the reason for all of you saying what you are saying. Being able to pay just removes a negative from me, doesn’t add a positive of course.

However, yes I am planning to retake aiming for 1500 for October.
Just surprised my IB score, my GPA, my ECs don’t have the effect to help that I thought they would since I put lots of time into all 3.
Perhaps its because you all aren’t admissions officers, so you’re focusing on what you can actually give me accurate advice on and of course standardized tests are heavily factored in U.S admissions even if it is ‘holistic’

Also, so some of the suggestions you made for colleges have been refuted by other users.
So then let’s assume my SAT score doesn’t change significantly from what it currently is at? I’m trying to make my current college list from where I’m currently at… obviously if it improves to 1500 that’s a different story, but for RIGHT NOW… what would be good safeties and targets where I can do CS still.

[momofsenior1]

Clarkson should be a safety with your current scores since you aren’t concerned about cost.

[collegemom3717]

How + is that $250+? b/c $65K/ is a big chunk of (pre-tax/pre cost of living) $250K. Be sure that your parents can & will write that check.

Have you looked at the UK? there are some pretty strong unis that will be very happy with a 39/40 IB prediction, though if you can’t get your prediction raised to a 6 for math for CS, that will ding you.

[myrna97]

What about the University of Minnesota? It’s a big school in an urban setting. The Greek system is pretty small there. Cost of attendance for an international student is currently about $54K/year. Your numbers are on the low side for the College of Science and Engineering there, but not for the College of Liberal Arts, which offers a BA in CS. The BA would allow you to take more non-science classes than a BS would, so you might even like that more (and if you don’t, you might be able to transfer after your first year, if your grades are good).

[Hamurtle]

Case Western would be a target.

To the OP, people have been giving you honest advice and there is no need to be rude if their opinions do not match yours. Most of them have experience and @Gumbymom is pretty much the expert here concerning UC admissions on the board… @ProfessorPlum168 has a son at Berkeley studying Computer Science so he knows what he’s talking about.

[ProfessorPlum168]

The issue here is that the large majority of the schools you have on the list are amongst the very best in the country for CS. As such, the entrance 25-75% for test scores for CS majors is way higher than the published rates that you’ll see on web sites. For example, UIUC, Purdue, and Michigan CS averages are around 34 ACT, 1500 SAT and probably getting higher. Same goes for UW-Seattle, Northeastern, NYU, etc.
Georgia Tech will be higher. You’ll also find that for a lot of the better public universities, there will be a couple of paths in for CS - a hard path where you need super GPA/test scores to get in, and then a slightly easier entrance, but then you need to qualify with a certain GPA once you are in the university to actually declare for CS.

Rutgers and Rochester you probably are a match for, maybe Florida. If you do get your SAT above 1500, the other issue is that your unweighted GPA needs to be in that 3.85 range and up to have a good chance as well for the schools mentioned in the previous paragraph.

[durban]

@Hamurtle @ProfessorPlum168 @Hamurtle @Gumbymom
My sincerest apologies if I sounded rude. I don’t disagree with what you’re all saying. I’m glad to be discussing this with all of you instead of random passerbys.
Some of these schools that are hard to get in CS offer Comp Sci BAs in College of Arts and Sciences as well. And since I think doing a Comp Sci BA would fit more than doing a Comp Sci BS for me (because I’m not a full-on science-math person) does that make any of the universities you listed less of a reach for me? Or does it not matter? This is the truth, I’m not trying to weasel my way through, I just want to restate my stance on how CS-heavy I’m going to be.

[Hamurtle]

@durban Case Western is your best bet if you’re interested in either CompSci or Business. They do not accept by major/college division and my understanding is that transferring between the different schools is relatively easy. They are also pretty generous with merit aid. Make sure that your SAT retest is around 1500.

[squ1rrel]

University of Washington is a HIGH Reach for an international Asian male. Try some com sci olympiads

[aunt_bea]

Perhaps its because you all aren’t admissions officers, so you’re focusing on what you can actually give me accurate advice on and of course standardized tests are heavily factored in U.S admissions even if it is ‘holistic’

I think there’s something that you really need to understand about US schools: you would be a guest of the university as well as of the states. You are not a US citizen and as such, the universities are under no obligation to admit nor guarantee an acceptance anywhere.

You’ve listed a large number of public schools, which are funded by the taxes paid by the residents of that state. Those public universities are obligated by their states to provide spaces for their residents, first and foremost. As a non-citizen and non-resident, you are not considered a priority admission. As an international Asian, you have to be exceptional to even be considered. In other words, they don’t have to admit you and are under no obligation to do so. This is what you need to understand about being chanced. This is why you have to consider your status as a “reach” for most schools, especially in CS, which is impacted everywhere.
Understand that as a guest, if you are admitted, the university is there to educate you. That’s it. After you graduate, the US is under no obligation to provide a job for you. You are expected to return to your country.

I also highly highly value getting internships, jobs, etc from top tech/finance companies and so those opportunities are important to me. Job experiences are important for me . . .

You could be provided with internships but jobs will be difficult to land. Immigration rules are very strict. US employers have to consider all US citizen potential candidates first, before considering hiring a non-resident, going through the paperwork and paying fees to sponsor you. That very rarely happens.

[durban]

@“aunt bea” Alright. So you’re talking about public universities here, but from what I understand my chances of getting in for a BA of CS for a PRIVATE university isn’t that good either just because if they accepted too many internationals there would be outrage… even if they’re private… among other reasons I’m guessing…

But in general i will have better chance with privates of course, right?

[aunt_bea]

I don’t understand why there would be outrage for a private? Privates can accept whomever they want ( international or domestic). They, for the most part don’t have to receive government assistance. The privates do tend to favor students who are well rounded, notable athletes, etc. anyone who can bring attention and research dollars to the school.

[collegemom3717]

my chances of getting in for a BA of CS for a PRIVATE university isn’t that good either just because if they accepted too many internationals there would be outrage.

No: there are many private (and public) universities that would be happy to have you. Overall, you have great stats, but you are considering applying, as an international student, to some very competitive schools in a very competitive subject (which happens to be strongly linked to math, your least strong IB prediction), and you are not accepting the general feedback that your assessment of what is a reach/match/likely for you is overly optimistic.

The posters here really do know what they are talking about- and they are genuinely trying to help you: they want you to have good choices come next spring. Most of them have been doing this for a long time- and they do it because they want to help students be successful.

ps, it does sound as if a BA CompSci might suit you

[MWolf]

CS at Purdue, University of Washington-Seattle Campus, UIUC, NYU, University of Virginia, and Georgia Tech are all reaches. None of these are safeties or targets for anybody.

[sbdad12]

@durban, I’m certainly not an expert, I’m just a parent that’s gathered a good amount of info on university admissions. I would agree that Gumbymom probably knows as much as all of us combined when it comes to UC admissions.

I’m a Michigan grad (and Minnesota MBA) so my daughter is looking at Michigan. I would say her chances are about 50/50 of getting in to my alma mater with a W GPA 4.2 from a very good HS, 7 APs, 33 ACT (about equal to a 1490) is Hispanic, a varsity athlete starter on a championship team, and a legacy. And this for liberal arts, not CS. I’m also not confident she will automatically get into U of Washington, UCSB, or other schools she likes.

CS is one of the more difficult majors to be admitted in. You need to be realistic that even with a 1500, there is a lot of competition out there.

I can vouch for the University of Minnesota. It’s a very good school in a great city, Minneapolis.

As someone who works for a very big Silicon Valley company involved with major IT projects, just go to a good school and get your CS degree. College should be a good and enjoyable experience. Too many kids get hung up on the rankings when in the end, it doesn’t matter a ton where you go.

You will most assuredly get hired into a good job and it won’t matter a few months in to your first job where you went to school.

[Publisher]

OP: You list the University of Washington among your safety schools. UW should be a target school for you except for CS. It is very difficult to get direct admission to CS at the University of Washington. Just to be a competitive applicant, you will need an SAT score in excess of 1500 with a very high math score.

The University of Florida is not a safety school for you whether applying for CS, business or any other major. Based on your current stats, it is unlikely that you will be offered admission to the University of Florida. (As a sidenote, UF has only 2% international students.)

Consider Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio; Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey: and the University of Minnesota. CalPoly should be a target school for you based on your interests & qualifications.

[durban]

@Publisher So could my targets for CS be:
NYU
The ones you suggested (i’ll look more into them)
Purdue

Can you suggest any safeties for me?

[Hamurtle]

I would target Case Western and not NYU. NYU is expensive and bad for merit/financial aid if that is a criteria.

Case is extremely flexible as they don’t admit by school/major. They are also relatively generous when it comes to merit aid.

[durban]

@Hamurtle
For the record: merit/financial aid is not an issue for me (yes, I have talked to my parents). Is there anything you’d say differently now? Any more targets and especially safeties you’d recommend?

[Hamurtle]

^Rochester and Case Western. Perhaps RPI, RIT, and WPI can be matches.