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So it's that time of the year again when college apps are important. This is my senior year of high school and I've already done some essays such as personal statement. However, one thing I never really thought of is : Can I even get into the colleges I chose??
Well first of all, I'm asian but I didn't do so hot in school.
My weighted GPA for all 4 years is a 4.0 so I'm not sure what kind of schools I can get into...
My SAT Score is 2010 and ACT score is 31 Composite Score. (Still not sure which one to use)
I'm thinking of applying to Harvey Mudd College and UCLA/UC Berkely as a computer science major.
I don't really know any other good colleges for my major and my test scores that would almost "definitely" take me in.
I barely have any leadership positions at school which I see may become a huge problem.
For SAT2's I've take the Lit,US history, and Math ones.
Hmm In total, I've taken a total of 11 AP classes including senior year. Didn't get all A's of course...
I'm just wondering how bad the admissions process is and what kind of colleges I "might" be able to get into cuz like I read a thread from last year's admissions and it didn't look so good for me and my grades...
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It seems like you did pretty hot...
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apply to all of the lower UCs you can see yourself going to like SD, SB, Davis, Irvine, etc if you're in California. No affirmative action in public unis.
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Weighted as in A in an honors class = 5.0?
Colleges don't care about weighted GPA. They look at it unweighted.
But with those credentials you should be able to get into the schools you want no problem. Just beast mode out some essays and work on good teacher relationships.
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The problem is my unweighted GPA i think is pitiful LOL
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On September 12 2011 08:26 xHassassin wrote:
Weighted as in A in an honors class = 5.0?
Colleges don't care about weighted GPA. They look at it unweighted.
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This is completely false, because college admissions care about how far you pushed yourself within the limits of your school. In that sense, 11APs and let's say 3.6 unweighted is MUCH better than zero APs and 3.6 unweighted. (fwiw 11APs is more than what many Ivy league students will have taken)
IMO you will have a good shot at those three schools you listed. Try asking Day[9] what sorts of numbers / extracurriculars he had when he applied to Harvey Mudd.
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Hmm. What about a school such as Carnegie Mellon?
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There's a bit of context missing 4.0/5.0 doesn't sound too impressive and neither do your standardized test scores, but you took 11 AP's. Either way college confidential can give you a slightly accurate reading of how likely you'll get into your selected schools.
In the end, don't worry too much. It may seem like a big deal which school you go to now, and it probably is, but your success does not hinge on going to them.
edit: If memory serves, Berkeley looks like a reach.
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
Carnegie CS?
Best CS program in the country, so it's very competitive.
I agree that you shouldn't fret too much. You seem like a sharp guy who is willing to push yourself, so having the right attitude and planning towards your postsecondary learning (I plan to write about this soon so be on the look out) will be far more important than the college itself.
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Well I'm not really fretting but as you know with Asians its the parents LOL
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Provided you are a cali resident, you will hit a UC for sure, which are all decent and will get you places provided you put in the work. UCSD is a "lower" but still great school. UCI and UCSB maybe laughing stocks but still, rank up there among all the schools in the nation. My 4.0 got me into all the UC's (back in the days so probably its harder nowadays) but from all the students I've met, the numbers are everywhere as are the extra circulars. You never know what may happen.
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I'm pretty sure UCSD is getting undue crap in here. It's the third ranked UC.
Every UC below Berkeley and LA you have a pretty good chance at. There's a good number of smaller private schools that you could hit, shop around. The big names aren't always the best choices. Undergraduate programs tend to be pretty similar if the schools are ranked closely together.
But honestly, just apply. Unless the application fees are a concern, apply where you want to go with a few safe bets. My biggest regret is that I sold myself short on reaches, so I actually got into every school I applied to, but none of them were that good because I thought I was worse than I was.
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On September 12 2011 09:02 psp219 wrote:
Well I'm not really fretting but as you know with Asians its the parents LOL
haha condolances.
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On September 12 2011 08:15 Sorter wrote:
It seems like you did pretty hot...
I initialy thought this was a troll post as he did pretty good but its a known fact that to get in as an asian american is a lot harder then a non asian american.
A degree doesn't define you as a better person going to a normal university is still going to get you the job you want.
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Hmm so do i even have a chance at LA/berkeley?
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On September 12 2011 09:59 psp219 wrote:
Hmm so do i even have a chance at LA/berkeley?
yes
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what I've learned over the years is to just apply for all the top schools. yep, all. if you apply then you'll have a chance at getting in. I can't really tell you what your chances are at getting in LA/Cal, since it is definitely more competitive each year...
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On September 12 2011 09:59 psp219 wrote:
Hmm so do i even have a chance at LA/berkeley?
You certainly have a chance. It's just not going to be a guarantee.
Nothing is, really, so yes.
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You have a good shot, I advise you try studying and retaking your SATs or ACT (whichever you feel more comfortable with). It's not a big deal, but this part of your app could use the biggest boost right now considering the time frame you have. You can't really ADD extracurriculars or classes at this point. You have a lot of APs so, your overall GPA w/ regards to what you've taken is quite strong.
You mentioned nothing about extracurriculars, but I hope you at least have an internship or two under your belt along w/ any science or math competitions you may have done. Make it clear what you did outside of school to show that you're interested in CS.
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I made both LA and Berkeley last year (for EECS)
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I have 2 internships. One with a car design company and one for music (latin texts). I've also played Chinese bamboo flute for 3 years and piano for 12 years. Also I have 250+ community service hours.
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Youre a superior human being, what can I say. The only flute I played was made out of skin.
I was always amazed at how ppl find time for all the great things they do. Your parents are saints man.
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I always used to love looking at the common data sets. Don't read too much into them though.
http://cds.berkeley.edu/
Berkeley
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My advice as someone who went through this process last year--if you have a chance (you do), don't worry about your chances and just do the best you can when you apply. You'll find that people are surprised, both (pleasantly and unpleasantly) in a lot of ways during the process. We're not the ones who are evaluating you, so whether people say you're in for sure or you've got a tough shot doesn't make a difference when the end of March rolls around.
If you're desperate for stats--you can look at the data sets or even TL's own College Acceptance threads from 2011, 2010, etc etc... but I would keep in mind that it's unlikely that people explain their circumstances/accomplishments/admissions strategy 100% especially as some are excited and others are pissed off.
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You'll have a decent chance at least one of the three schools you mentioned, especially when taking your extra-curricular in account. Your application will be important, so make sure you emphasize how you spent your time outside of the classroom - don't leave out any details.
Which backups are you applying to? Have you considered out-of-state schools? USC? CalTech?
Don't forget to visit the campus. You will likely get a nice selection of acceptance letters, so take an early opportunity to get a feel of the campus if you can during winter/spring break.
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Can't apply to Caltech unfortunately. I dont' have the SAT2 scores for bio that they want. I'm not sure of any good schools out of state for CS. Could any of you recommend me some?
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I'd recommend my alma mater Notre Dame, but our CS program is rather bad. Maybe some East Coast schools?
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If you're from California then you should be pretty set for the mid level UC's, but the high level UC's are always a pretty random crapshoot, mainly talking about UCLA and in some cases UC Berkeley.
I had a friend who got into Princeton, Harvard, UPenn, John Hopkins, Stanford, UC Berkeley. He got rejected by UCLA
Yeah....go figure.
If you're intent on doing CS then relaly, going to Davis or SB or SD or something like that is just fine, if yo'ure in California and graduate with a CS degree you can probably eventually get a job in the silicon valley, as long as you do well in college and get good connections and internships and what have you.
Don't focus too hard with the mindset htat you have to have a CS degree from berkeley or LA
Also, a lot of people in this thread are suggesting going to east coast school. My suggestion...don't unless the school blows any UC you get into out of the water. I am from California and went to boarding scohol in New Jersey for high school, and now go to college in Washington DC. If you have the opportunity to do an engineering/CS sort of major in a Mid or high UC school, that will suit you better than going to any other school outside of california.
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Are Jobs harder to get in the East than if I stayed in California?
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On September 12 2011 08:16 FragKrag wrote:
apply to all of the lower UCs you can see yourself going to like SD, SB, Davis, Irvine, etc if you're in California. No affirmative action in public unis.
do yourself a favor and go to a csu uc's aren't worth the cash.
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Don't worry about getting into a good school unless you can afford it / get scholarships.
Find a nearby public school that has a good program for your major and you will be fine.
Regardless of where you go, so long as it's a quality institution, you will learn the same stuff you will at a big name school.
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Phant's correct. The reputation of an undergraduate program is largely overstated. You mostly learn from the same textbook, regardless of whether you go to a community or an Ivy league. You'll gain the same skill set. Actual programs only really matter once you get beyond the BA and into grad programs.
A top school will (ideally) help you land the first job, but after a few years, it won't matter where you come from. Of course, if you got into a top school, go there, don't be stupid. :0
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On September 13 2011 12:55 THE_DOMINATOR wrote:Show nested quote +On September 12 2011 08:16 FragKrag wrote:
apply to all of the lower UCs you can see yourself going to like SD, SB, Davis, Irvine, etc if you're in California. No affirmative action in public unis. do yourself a favor and go to a csu uc's aren't worth the cash.
yes because you want to go to the system that is facing the most cuts and budget problems rather than the flagship which will not face nearly as much in terms of cuts
Cal Poly SLO should be an option here, but not any of the others.
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For some reason you did not list USC or Stanford. I am not sure about your grades: is it too poor to get into those two?
Anyways, if cost is not a concern (cough Harvey Mudd), I do think you should apply to non-California schools... admission is a somewhat random process; the more you apply, the higher your chance of getting into a really good school. This is the best advice I can offer.
EDIT: a list of good CS schools (on top of my head, in no particular order except CMU is obviously on top):
- CMU
- Cornell
- UIUC
- MIT
- Univ of Washington
- Duke
- Stanford
I omitted some other public schools because out of state public school tuition is kind of like private school tuition, but not as good. UIUC and UW are very good, however. Accordingly, UIUC is one of Microsoft's top 5 feeders; UW is good simply from its location and lack of competition in the state of Washington.
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On September 13 2011 15:29 Sufficiency wrote:
For some reason you did not list USC or Stanford. I am not sure about your grades: is it too poor to get into those two?
Anyways, if cost is not a concern (cough Harvey Mudd), I do think you should apply to non-California schools... admission is a somewhat random process; the more you apply, the higher your chance of getting into a really good school. This is the best advice I can offer.
EDIT: a list of good CS schools (on top of my head, in no particular order except CMU is obviously on top):
- CMU
- Cornell
- UIUC
- MIT
- Univ of Washington
- Duke
- Stanford
I omitted some other public schools because out of state public school tuition is kind of like private school tuition, but not as good. UIUC and UW are very good, however. Accordingly, UIUC is one of Microsoft's top 5 feeders; UW is good simply from its location and lack of competition in the state of Washington.
The problem is I feel like my grades are too poor to even consider stanford. Too many B's in high school
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EPT
