Chance a nervous junior for CS

So glad you and your parents did the NPCs sooner rather than later. I would not recommend taking out large loans for CS. Student loans are limited at $27K total for undergrad, anything above that is on the parents, either directly or as a co-signer.

Did you and your parents discuss a budget, one that wouldn’t require more than the student loans?

Take some time to define what factors are important to you in a school…size, location, setting, etc. Start doing some virtual admissions session to learn about schools and see what appeals to you.

I would start with your PA instate options, including Pitt and PSU. You would likely get good merit at U Dayton and DePaul, both excellent for CS, both may get to under $40k in net cost for you, maybe even under $30k.

Do liberal arts colleges appeal to you? Many have excellent CS. Maybe run the NPCs at Rice and Colby and let us know how those fare.

It’s great you will be able to build a solid college list relatively early, which will give you time to do research and even make some visits on spring break/in the summer before you start applying.

2 Likes