[Chance Me] 3.8 UW / 1480 / NJ junior, CS, please be brutal
**Demographics:** Male, Asian, New Jersey, competitive public school (we send a few kids to T20s every year), not first gen
**Intended Major:** Computer Science
**Stats:**
- **GPA:** 3.8 UW / 4.3 W (school doesn't rank)
- **SAT:** 1480 (780M / 700RW), first attempt, planning to retake in the fall
- **Coursework:** 6 APs so far (Calc BC, CSA, Physics 1, Lang, World, Chem), taking 5 more senior year
**Extracurriculars:**
1. Robotics team, programming lead. Wrote most of our autonomous code this season, team made it to states.
2. Part-time job at a pizza place, ~15 hrs/week since sophomore year
3. Built a small web app for my school that shows the rotating bell schedule. ~600 students use it daily.
4. Math tutor at a local library, ~2 hrs/week
5. Coding club member, no position
6. JV tennis 9th and 10th
**Awards:**
1. Robotics state qualifier
2. AP Scholar with Distinction
3. Honorable mention at a regional hackathon
**Essays/LORs:** Haven't started the essay. Thinking about writing about the bell schedule app or about working at the pizza place. CS teacher likes me a lot, should be a good letter.
**Schools:**
- Rutgers (honors college)
- Stevens
- Penn State
- Purdue
- UIUC
- Georgia Tech
- UMich
- Northeastern
- Cornell
- CMU
**Why CS:** I like building things people actually use. The bell schedule app started because I was late to class twice in one week and got annoyed.
**Cost:** Parents can pay full price at Rutgers, stretch for most others. They make too much for real need-based aid I think.
Be honest. My parents think I'm getting into Cornell and CMU easily and I'm pretty sure that's not true.
- ?
You are right and your parents are optimistic. Honest read:
**Strengths:** the bell schedule app with real daily users is your best item. Shipping something people use is exactly what CS readers want to see, and it is better than another hackathon. A steady job for two years is also a plus readers respect, and the robotics programming lead role backs up the CS story.
**Weak spots:** a 3.8 UW in a competitive school is fine but not standout for top CS programs, and CS is the most competitive major at nearly every school on your list.
**Rough tiers, for CS specifically:**
- **Likely:** Rutgers, Stevens, Penn State
- **Target to reach:** Purdue CS, Northeastern, UIUC CS (UIUC CS is a reach for almost everyone, even out of state applicants with strong stats)
- **Reaches:** Georgia Tech, Michigan, Cornell, CMU. CMU SCS admits a very small share of applicants and is a reach for everyone.**What would move the needle:**
1. The retake. A 1530+ helps at the schools that require or strongly prefer scores.
2. Write the essay about the pizza job or something personal, and let the activities list carry the app. Readers will already see the app.
3. Add a couple of affordable likely options in CS, or schools where you would be happy in a related major.
4. Senior year grades. Keep the upward or steady line. One more: check which of these schools admit directly into CS versus admitting you to engineering or the university first. It changes how you should list your major.