I’m currently a student in 11th grade in India who wants to take computer science at UMich, UIUC, or some other university with a strong cs program.
I have an American citizenship because I lived in Michigan until 8th grade after which I moved to India.
Now here in India, everyone prepares for the JEE Advanced which is the hardest undergraduate entrance exam there is. Most students take coaching for the exam which I also did (because high schools here aren’t good) , however I realized that I really wanted to learn in America
After I decided, I resolved to take 7AP exams this year, (calculus BC, physics C electricity and magnetism, physics C mechanics, chemistry, psychology, computer science A and microeconomics) I’m almost sure that I’ll receive a 5 on all of them
I’m confident that I’ll score well in the SAT and subject SAT but the main problem in my application is that i have no extracurriculars (none that i have received awards in at least)
Also i kind of messed up my GPA a bit (expecting around 3.3)
What should i do to increase my chances? Can i get into the colleges i want? Also does my American citizenship let me qualify for financial aid?
AP exam score bare little weight, if at all, in the admission. What you are missing are critical for admission. International student, and low GPA are your major road blocks already, not to mention you are looking at 2 very competitive program/school in the US. You may need to aim lower.
Just to note, you’re not an international applicant, so that’s great.
Umich requires no SAT Subject Tests or AP classes. It needs your transcript and SAT/ACT score, but it doesn’t expect you to be an overachiever (though it is always good). Also, Umich will not meet 100% of its OOS applicants, so you would pay more.
UMIch does consider course rigor as very important, so AP classes does matter, but not the AP exam score.
But wouldn’t the fact that I took 7 exams without any of the classes show that I’m capable of rigorous courses?
For the schools that use AP/SAT2 scores for admission, they may. If you can get 5 on all 7 AP exam (assuming you have no schedule conflict), why would your GPA be low. The adcom may think you don’t pay much attention at school or do not care about homework but you are just good at taking tests. That may not be the thing they like to see.
My GPA is low because when I moved to India I had some trouble adjusting to everything and got a C in 9th. That 1 year is bringing the other 3 down. I got an 88% in 10th and my grades are looking to be an A this year and the next.
They may adjust it. Upward trend is good though.
Upward trend is good, but may or may not be good enough for top schools. You certain should emphasis your high school path either by your counselor or in your essay.
Unfortunately counselors for college admissions usually aren’t available or don’t have much knowledge about college (especially about American ones). So most of my information about colleges will be coming from College Confidential.
Could you give me some advice on how to emphasize my high school path in my essay?
I actually has a neighbor like you that move to India to live with grandparents in the early middle school but come back right before high school. A change in school and environment would definitely impact your school performance. You should let your counselor know your struggle in freshmen and sophomore year. Also, look at the essay prompts (e.g. prompt 1, 2, 4, and 5) and see which one you may integrate your experience into it. You don’t have to make it the theme topic of your essay, but at least let the adcom aware of it.
Thanks! Btw UMich is my dream school and I’ve thought about it ever since I was in elementary school in Michigan so I’d really appreciate it if you have any more advice on what I could do to increase my chances.
Also if I can’t get in UMich or UIUC, which ones couId I get into?
Think about Purdue. It is a great engineering school but much easier to get into as they weed out freshmen afterward.
UIUC admits students directly into majors and all CS majors there are very competitive. Also, General Study (undecided) major would not grant you into CS either. For UMich, you may try LSA instead of CoE as there is CS major there and the admission is easier. You are qualified for federal aid but you are OOS for both schools. Don’t expect any financial aid from UIUC. For UMich, unless you are from a very low income family, you are likely to pay full price IF you are admitted. These schools are $50k-$60 per year.
If I get into LSA and have a really good GPA will I be able to transfer to CoE later? I’m saying this because I’m really good at Physics, Chem and Calc so I’d rather take those than the LSA requirements.
Also since I’ll have taken AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry and both AP Physics C exams, wouldn’t I actually have a better chance of being admitted to the College of Engineering instead of LSA?
No. Your chance will still be higher at LSA.
If you are admitted into LSA, you may apply to transfer into CoE after freshmen if you have good GPA and completed the required course. After all, you don’t need to transfer if you are aiming at a CS major unless you want to pay a higher tuition rate and avoid language requirement.
Ok thanks so much for all the help!