Computer Science Major

[Anonymous]

Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

[Anonymous]

Coding on their own.
Projects they did.
Languages they already know to code in.

Most CS programs are strictly data schools with strong SAT/ACT/GPA.

Ignore DCUM that your kid needs a ton of extras they do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Coding on their own.
Projects they did.
Languages they already know to code in.

Most CS programs are strictly data schools with strong SAT/ACT/GPA.

Ignore DCUM that your kid needs a ton of extras they do not.

Most of what you wrote would be consider extras since it's done outside of school.

High stats yes, but demonstrated interests in CS is important, too, and that means extras.

[Anonymous]

When your kid fails out of CS, have them switch to information technology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

This year? Where have they gotten in?
It's been crazy, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

Any luck at UMD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

It is incredibly competitive, so apply to lot of colleges including multiple safeties. CS can make your safeties look like reach schools.

EA to as many public schools as possible (GATech, UIUC, Purdue, UT, UMD, Wisconsin etc).

These are my sons stats - UW 4.0, SAT 1560, 12 AP's including APCSA, Physics-1, Calc BC, APUSH etc, multiple self-directed coding projects, multiple hackathons, USACO silver level, speech captain at school, multiple speech finalist etc.

He got accepted for CS at UMDCP, got alternate major at UIUC, got multiple UC's, rejected by GATech, Stanford, UT, and deferred by a few others.

So CS is a crapshoot regardless of the EC's, grades and SAT.

So apply broadly and keep your fingers crossed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

Any luck at UMD?

DP.. my kid got rejected to both UIUC and GA Tech, accepted to UMD honors for CS.

Deferred at MIT and UMich.

Very high stats.

Very strange college admissions world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

It is incredibly competitive, so apply to lot of colleges including multiple safeties. CS can make your safeties look like reach schools.

EA to as many public schools as possible (GATech, UIUC, Purdue, UT, UMD, Wisconsin etc).

These are my sons stats - UW 4.0, SAT 1560, 12 AP's including APCSA, Physics-1, Calc BC, APUSH etc, multiple self-directed coding projects, multiple hackathons, USACO silver level, speech captain at school, multiple speech finalist etc.

He got accepted for CS at UMDCP, got alternate major at UIUC, got multiple UC's, rejected by GATech, Stanford, UT, and deferred by a few others.

So CS is a crapshoot regardless of the EC's, grades and SAT.

So apply broadly and keep your fingers crossed.

+1 it.is.brutal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

It is incredibly competitive, so apply to lot of colleges including multiple safeties. CS can make your safeties look like reach schools.

EA to as many public schools as possible (GATech, UIUC, Purdue, UT, UMD, Wisconsin etc).

These are my sons stats - UW 4.0, SAT 1560, 12 AP's including APCSA, Physics-1, Calc BC, APUSH etc, multiple self-directed coding projects, multiple hackathons, USACO silver level, speech captain at school, multiple speech finalist etc.

He got accepted for CS at UMDCP, got alternate major at UIUC, got multiple UC's, rejected by GATech, Stanford, UT, and deferred by a few others.

So CS is a crapshoot regardless of the EC's, grades and SAT.

So apply broadly and keep your fingers crossed.

UC results are out ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

It is incredibly competitive, so apply to lot of colleges including multiple safeties. CS can make your safeties look like reach schools.

EA to as many public schools as possible (GATech, UIUC, Purdue, UT, UMD, Wisconsin etc).

These are my sons stats - UW 4.0, SAT 1560, 12 AP's including APCSA, Physics-1, Calc BC, APUSH etc, multiple self-directed coding projects, multiple hackathons, USACO silver level, speech captain at school, multiple speech finalist etc.

He got accepted for CS at UMDCP, got alternate major at UIUC, got multiple UC's, rejected by GATech, Stanford, UT, and deferred by a few others.

So CS is a crapshoot regardless of the EC's, grades and SAT.

So apply broadly and keep your fingers crossed.

UC results are out ?

Only UCSC, Riverside and Merced. Davis is expected this week. Rest after that.

[Anonymous]

Apply to Pitt on August 1st.

My son is like the previous posts and was rejected at UT and UIUC.
Deferred at Madison, Perdue and Ga Tech.
In at Pitt, GMU, Boulder….
Hates VT and would rather do community college than go there.
The Pitt acceptance has kept everyone sane during this process and we all really like the school after visiting and talking with lots of people. Waiting on Rice as well. If (and this is like a unicorn) his Ga Tech deferral turns into an acceptance (and if it does I guarantee it will be for a summer start) he will decide between Ga Tech and Pitt (he really really likes Pitt and I like that they haven’t played games like I feel a lot of these other schools have). CS is INCREDIBLY competitive and the qualifications of the applicants are like reading resumes of 10YR+ professionals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

Any luck at UMD?

Yes. Direct admit to CS and honors. Thank goodness for UMd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aside from high grades and SAT scores, what can a student do to stand out when applying to top CS programs?

No idea. My kid had multiple internships, even one paid, a few competition wins and was deferred from Ga Tech and Northeastern and flat out rejected from UIUC. Very high stats and highest course rigor.

Any luck at UMD?

DP.. my kid got rejected to both UIUC and GA Tech, accepted to UMD honors for CS.

Deferred at MIT and UMich.

Very high stats.

Very strange college admissions world.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but which honors college is your kid doing?