usc. I don't think they look at middle school grades nor do they care too much about em. you can def mention in ur essays how middle school shaped your mindset but don't focus too much on it since they only really care about hs. and that's funny cuz I also went for Cornell ed. as for that, my advice is to apply for CAS CS rather than COE CS because COE is harder to get into and at the end of the day, you still get a CS degree. But you gotta fact check that but I remember feeling stupid after submitting my app since I didn't analyze everything. Don't sweat it tho. I wish I spent more time enjoying my senior year winter term but unfortunately I let anxiety get the better of me.