I appreciate how CC community gives brutally honest feedback. DS is currently a high school Junior (HS class of 2020). we are doing preliminary planning/research for college application process next year.
Thank you so much in advance.
Questions:
DS's weakest area is ECs. Any suggestions or ideas on how DS can reasonably improve ECs in the next year?
Any input on list of target colleges included below is greatly appreciated.
Other feedback?
Student background:
ACT: C36 (E35/M36/R35/S36) Writing: 9
GPA: UW 3.96, W 4.56
AP Courses Sophomore: AP Computer Science A (5), AP Physics 1 (4)
AP Courses Junior (in progress): AP Junior English, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP US History, AP Spanish Language
AP Courses Senior (planned): AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Microeconomics or AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government and Politics
Extracurriculars:
Plays guitar (HS Ensemble)
Civic Leadership Institute at Northwestern
JV Cross country (Junior and Senior years)
Badminton player
Peer tutoring at HS
Participant in clubs (no leadership positions): FBLA, MIT Launch, Kiva
Self-taught programming languages
Works part-time as a developer at a local tech startup
Amateur hip hop dancer
Awards:
None
Intended major: CS/STEM (Passionate about Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning)
Home State: Illinois
Household income: >$150K
Race: Asian Male
Affordability: In-state, Out-of-State, and Private
Potential colleges being considered/researched are listed below:
I think his ECs look fine. Nothing in the STEM field though? Some folks would say that is necessary.(My D who is majoring in a STEM field did not have any STEM ECs either, though.) I would encourage him to seek a leadership position next year in one of his clubs.
@suzy100 - not sure if you missed this. I think it counts as an excellent STEM EC.
@Barefooter I agree with suzy100, his ECs look good and he just needs to build depth and leadership on what he’s already started. Leadership doesn’t have to be club president or team captain (although those count). Finding something that needs doing, organizing people and resources, and getting the thing done is leadership and it’s often a more natural leadership path for STEMmy kids.
For additional school suggestions given his interests: UT Austin (another reach), Santa Clara University (safety?), University of Washington (reach). UToronto and Waterloo (I would think reach but I’m not sure).
I think your list looks great. The reality of your son’s stats is that most schools are going to be either safeties or reaches. There will be relatively few true matches and you’ve already identified some really good ones. Getting more matches doesn’t matter as long if he has multiple safeties that he really really likes. Then he can shoot the moon with reaches.
I appreciate the wealth of free resources and knowledge at CC.
@suzy100: thank you for your input. As @Otterma pointed out, we’re hoping DS’s work experience as a software developer is going to show his passion for CS. I will also encourage him to seek a leadership position at a STEM related club next year.
@Otterma: thank you for your advice. Greatly appreciated. Based on my minimal research, I found that UT Austin had very low OOS acceptance. I will check out Washington and Utoronto. You made a great point on leadership. Having certain titles like President, VP, etc of clubs is obvious. But, we will focus on how DS can highlight on other natural leadership paths as well. DS had an amazing leadership experience over the summer at NW Civic Leadership Institute serving homeless shelters and poor neighborhoods. The stark reality has hit us that the top 20 highly selective colleges are reaches for technically every applicant. Since DS doesn’t have any special hooks, he also has to work on writing great essays.
Are you looking for merit aid? There are plenty of places he could get Full Tuition with an ACT 36 (Alabama) and there places where he might get a Full Tuition scholarship like Vandy, WashU, USC, etc Rice also changed their merit which is pretty good. Need-based Aid will probably be better at Princeton than Stanford and CMU and maybe easier to get in than both.
@intparent and @Dolemite - Cost is not an issue, although we won’t decline any merit based funds since we won’t qualify for need-based In the end, it will be DS’s decision, but it is an interesting thought how he could invest potential college savings for his future home etc. if he chooses to attend a school where he gets Full Tuition. It is also debatable how much top school brand makes a difference in CS related fields. Nevertheless, an interesting paradigm to consider…
I also think his ECs look great. That part time job is huge. Remember, when you are reading students’ profiles of ECs on CC, I think the vast majority of those with a big long list do NOT have a part time job.
Be sure you clarify your financial deals ahead of time. If you are willing to be full pay anywhere, if you are willing to give him what he doesn’t spend if he picks a cheaper option, etc. ideally you tell him your parameters, then he can decide.
@TS0104 - Thank you, good point. Part time job is an unpaid position that he recently started, but he is gaining great real-world experience.
@bgbg4us - Thank you for the kind words. Good luck to your S20!
@intparent - Great point. When the timing is right, DS and I will sit down and discuss financial options for him. He will get a fixed amount of funds from us (enough to cover full pay anywhere) that he may use for however he wishes.
What are his goals? Does he plan to startup a company with some of his cohort right after graduation and eventually look for some VCs to help build it? Then going to Stanford, MIT, Cal, CMU will probably help a great deal.
Does he hope to get a job with a major company like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, etc? Then I don’t think it’ll matter too much where he goes as long as it’s a major university. My spouse teaches CS at a lower ranked school and they get kids at all of those companies. Yes, it’s their top kids but they get hired.
Based on you listing income “>$150,000” I’ll just mention that it might be worthwhile to do the NPC at say Princeton to see if you qualify for any need-based aid. An income of $150,000 at Princeton will get you Full Tuition. Any income up to about $250,000 (with basic assets) will get you some need-based aid at Princeton. I just want to make sure you are fully aware if you will qualify for any need-based aid anywhere.
His original plan was to go work for a FAANG type of tech company. However, he is thoroughly enjoying working at a local small startup despite its limited resources, primarily because of learning opportunities. He also enjoys solving difficult technical problems. Whether he will start a company or not, he is leaning towards working at a smaller company after graduation at this point. MIT has always been his “dream” school, but he is setting realistic expectations that it is a long shot for everyone. We are planning college visits to East coast (MIT) and West coast schools (Stanford) in Spring and Summer time. Hopefully, he will have a better picture of where he stands at the end of summer.
This is an interesting aspect that I haven’t explored. We’re a dual income couple with a household income >$250k.
I mentioned >$150k in OP since there’s a possibility of a job loss for one of us between now and 2020. Thank you for educating me on NPC/income/aid.
In the end, it will be DS’s decision, but it is an interesting thought how he could invest potential college savings for his future home etc. if he chooses to attend a school where he gets Full Tuition. It is also debatable how much top school brand makes a difference in CS related fields. Nevertheless, an interesting paradigm to consider…