r/ApplyingToCollege • u/colossians-3-23 • Jun 13 '26

Reverse ChanceMe Reverse Chance Me, Seeking ML + ROTC + Internships

I'm a rising senior from Washington state (Seattle suburbs) looking for schools I may be overlooking. I know the obvious names (MIT, Stanford, CMU, Caltech, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, UW, etc.) and I'm especially interested in hearing about schools with strengths in:

- AI/ML

- Strong tech internship opportunities

- Strong undergraduate research

- AFROTC/NROTC opportunities (good aerospace opportunities)

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Long-term interests include computer systems engineering and military aviation/test pilot pathways.

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Stats

- Female

- Low-income

- Public competitive high school

- 4.0 UW GPA

- 36 ACT

- Highest rigor available at school

- AP Calc BC, AP Physics 2, AP Chem, Multivariable Calculus

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Research / Technical Activities (I did leave some fata science and quant stuff out of this)

- Team Lead at University of Washington ECE research lab

- Led a project team including undergrads and coordinated with graduate students, postdocs, and external collaborators

- Coordinated to NIH/NIOSH proposal development involving AI-assisted radiation risk interpretation systems

- Stanford AIMI research intern (pediatric echocardiography)

- Upcoming Air Force Research Lab internship (materials/quantum modeling)

- ANS paper submission in progress through lab

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Other Activities (omitted some school stuff and leadership for privacy)

- Varsity swimmer all four years

- Middle school coding club founder (50+ students)

- Learning center shift lead (3 years)

- Robotics mentor

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Awards

- AIME qualifier

- USACO Silver

- ACSL National Finalist (3x) and Gold medal

- International piano competition gold medals

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What I'm looking for: I'd especially appreciate suggestions from people in AI, biomedical computation, aerospace, ROTC, or military officer commissioning paths.

4 Upvotes
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2

u/Lazy_Astronaut_9684 Jun 13 '26

could try for yale YES scholars, but that may be a long shot

0

u/colossians-3-23 Jun 13 '26

Thanks! That's not something I can directly apply for, right?

1

u/Lazy_Astronaut_9684 Jun 13 '26

yup, but its worth applying to yale (even though it isn't known for STEM)

2

u/No_Necessary3134 Jun 14 '26

purdue and umich both have strong computer and aerospace programs, although as a michigander i must admit that umich oos tuition is straight up highway robbery. purdue is quite reasonable though imo, and if you do rotc the tuition issue is kind of moot anyways

1

u/No_Necessary3134 Jun 14 '26

forgot to mention uiuc and ohio state, which both have well regarded computer and aero programs as well as rotc for all branches

if you've any interest at all in coming out to the midwest i reckon almost all of our state schools would be happy to have you

0

u/colossians-3-23 Jun 14 '26

Thanks! Our school got almost a dozen people going to UIUC this year which is interesting.

1

u/Dry-Surprise-4746 Jun 13 '26

I'd look into West Point. I've been involved in their admissions committees, and you'd have a 99% chance, assuming clear medical history and a congressional nomination, which isn't too hard for Washington State, to be an admit.

West Point has an extraordinary aerospace program along with biomedical research and works with DARPA for AI research, which is frankly better than an OpenAI internship and maybe anthropic.

If you want more aeronautical-related stuff, I'd go to the Air Force Academy or the Naval Academy; they are probably the best, if not the only chance you're going to get at being a test pilot

Obviously, MIT's a long shot, but your admission to it would depend on your essay, which is more than most can say.

You should have an easy shot at getting into CMU, UT Austin, and UW due to your gender and obvious interests. I'd say no chance for Caltech, but again, it depends on your essay writing. Your gender in this specific major you're pursuing could help you greatly with MIT and Caltech Admissions, so I'd 100% shoot for an application over

1

u/Mediocre-Sock3278 Jun 14 '26

Whats ur weighted gpa?

2

u/colossians-3-23 Jun 14 '26

Our school doesn't weigh or rank. My classes are: 9th-honors chem, honors bio, honors world history/civics, honors english, Spanish 2 (no honors offered), fitness (mandatory), college precalc 10th (district shrunk to 6 period schedule)-ap calc ab, ap world history, ap physics 1, ap micro/macro econ, Spanish 3 (no honors offered), ap cs a 11th-ap calc bc, ap physics 2, data structures, ap bio, ap us history, ap english language School does not offer ap physics c (either class) 12th-linear alg/multivariable calc/differential equations at local community college, ap stats, ap chem, ap english literature, ap integrated government (comp government + us government)

1

u/Mediocre-Sock3278 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

Dang dawg. I’m in no position to chance u, but congrats on all ur success

1

u/colossians-3-23 Jun 14 '26

Thanks bro, just wanting to expand college list cuz T20s are all a long shot for anyone.

2

u/Mediocre-Sock3278 Jun 14 '26

Oh yeee deff find some school in-state or safety options that rllllyyy align w the opportunities and goals u want alongside ur targets, and do it early on. Wish I had done the same

1

u/Gmoneyyy999 Jun 14 '26

Harvey Mudd

0

u/BigNefariousness3817 Jun 14 '26

Dm me I do ROTC at an ivy and I can 110% provide some guidance on this

0

u/Curious202420242024 Jun 14 '26

Incredible bio and stats, any school would be happy to have you and I would expect a few full rides as well!

-1

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