Where to aim?

College Search & Lists
1

Being a high school junior, I’ve decided to spend this summer looking at colleges. However, I’m at a dilemma: how high should I even aim?

UW GPA: 2.9 (I can’t remember the exact number, but I’ve taken 4 or something AP classes. I finished Calc AB this year.)
New SAT: 1490
**Extracurriculars:/b 1 language-related club, (out of school) 2 eight-session art classes, 3 years academic summer camp (2 @ CTY, 1 @ George Mason)
I have a total like 2 hours community service because I suck-- Also I’m not part of the NHS because of my lack of club activity and weird grades and such.

As you can see, my profile is rather unbalanced, and it’s put me at a serious stump as to where I should even be aiming. I’d like to aim as high as I reasonably can (obviously not Ivy Leagues?), but since my GPA and SAT don’t entirely correlate it’s hard for me to understand what to do. I’m seeking to go into CompSci, and money is (thankfully) not an issue as far as I’m aware. I come from a public school in New England area but I’d like to be somewhere urban (or at least, developed enough I wouldn’t need a car to reasonably get to places).

If it helps any towards the major, I’ve taken 2 years of Programming in school (both A’s in grades), am going into Calc BC, and got a 5 on AP Calc AB. (I will also be taking subject SAT for math 2 this fall because my mom’s making me). I also do web programming in my free time because I’m a loser with no friends and am trying to learn some other things this summer for fun. To get into CTY I had to take some test and I got a medal for scoring within the 97th percentile, I’ll need to get back on the name of the test though because I genuinely don’t know. According to the PSAT I’m in the 96th percentile overall or something.

To be honest I’m a lost child and have no idea what to do so… advice please?

2

There are websites with college match tools if you are stuck on what schools you would be interested in.

3

Even with a HS GPA < 3.0, there are many state flagships (including some in New England, as well as the Plains, Mountain West, some of the South, and the Pacific other than CA and WA) that may admit you. Of course, there are also non-flagship state universities that are less selective. Starting at a community college is another option; if you do well there, then your choices for transfer may be greater than your choices as a frosh.

However, regardless of which college you attend, you need to up your study habits, since college requires more self-motivation and time management than the more closely supervised environment of high school.

Note also that out-of-state public universities will be more expensive with little or no financial aid. Some may offer scholarships, but getting one is unlikely with a 2.9 HS GPA.

4

Here are some good CS schools you can consider:

As far as in state schools go…

University of Massachusetts, Amherst (High Match/Low Reach) ***
-Good sides: In-state, known to give out many scholarships (but you said finance is not an issue, so), well-known CS program

I don’t think I can match you up with Harvard, MIT, etc. unfortunately because of your sub-3.0 GPA and not-so-outstanding ECs, although your SAT is near average for those students. Also, since you are looking for schools well known for their CS programs, I won’t match you up with some prestigious schools like Boston College, etc. or such even if they may be within your reach, as they are not known for their CS programs.

As far as out of state schools go…

University of Iowa (Safety) *

University of Colorado (Safety) *

University of Arizona (High Safety/Low Match) *

Texas A&M (Match) **

Rutgers (Match/High Match) **

Purdue University (High Match/Low Reach) ****

Penn State (High Match/Low Reach) ***

Virginia Tech (Low Reach) ***

University of Wisconsin, Madison (Low Reach) ****

The Ohio State University (Low Reach) ***

University of Maryland, College Park (Low Reach/Reach) *****

I rated the school’s CS quality by asterisks (*). The more asterisks it has, the better it is. Also, the ones with only one * are good, too, and the schools not on the list are definitely good, too. The ratings are subjective and is not factual at all, so don’t depend on my opinions, please.

Feel free to ask me more questions, as I am a CS major college student, too.

5

I was suspecting that your GPA might make UMass Amherst a reach, although you might have a chance with your excellent SAT. You might consider UMass Lowell or UNH as possible alternatives.

Given the stretch between your GPA versus SAT, plus your A’s in CS and a 5 on the Calc AP test, I am wondering: Is your GPA a result of A’s in Math and CS and C’s in some other stuff (like perhaps humanities, or stuff that requires reading and writing)? If so, this might actually be better than B’s in everything, since it would make the point to the CS and Math departments that you can do what they teach. Of course in life we have to be good at what we choose to do, we don’t have to be good at everything.

Are you an incoming junior? If so, or even if not, try to pull up your grades this coming year. This could help you quite a bit in the long run.