Chance Me/Match Me - Virginia resident looking to apply to T30 colleges in CS [3.93 GPA, top 1%, 1540 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
61

Again, what is better? There’s tons of great ones - and some disdain Theyr grade inflated education at some high ranked while others claim an outstanding education at no names.

In the real world, they work side by side. Magazines aren’t reflective of the real world.

62

I am not sure I even agree with all my percentages.

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63

I’m not really sure if I’m understanding your National Merit situation but if you are interested in doing comp sci and are a NMF you really should give UT Dallas a serious look. Two out of my 3 National Merit kids did CS at UTD.

Things you should consider:
-Free tuition, Fees, Room and board and a small stipend for books/incidentals
-UTD will stack outside non-need based aide so if you get additional outside $$ they refund it to you:-)

  • Their NM scholarship covers 8 semesters, they are very generous with AP and DE credits so with their Fast Track program it’s possible to complete both your BS and MS under their NM scholarship. (Both my boys did this.)
  • NM scholars get funds for study abroad, oldest did a summer in Korea, youngest didn’t go abroad because of covid.
    -NM scholars get priority housing
    -NM scholars are auto admits to the Honors College. Honors College offers perks like priority class registration, free printing, free tickets to the theater/opera/concerts and additional advising
    -you can apply to CS^2 the Comp Sci Honors program that will get you into smaller classes that dig deeper into theory than regular CS classes
    -if you are interested in research it’s relatively easy to get into a lab even as a freshman, this is not the case with many other colleges. You can also apply for the Clark Summer Research program that takes place the summer after high school graduation. It’s free, covers room and board and a small stipend and it a great way to build relationships with profs.
    -UTD’s program is ABET certified so their classes follow the same standards as all other ABET certified schools.
    -UTD has tons of CS clubs, hack-a-thons, e-sports…
    -Dallas is an easy city to fly into and there’s a new metro train that stops on campus so it’s easy to get to and from the airport.
  • both my sons had very good jobs in hand before graduation (signing bonuses, moving bonus, stock plans, starting salary $120-130K in Houston,(a relatively low cost of living area) with good chances for advancement. Youngest graduated May 2024 with his BS and MS in CS. Oldest stayed on after finishing his BS/MS and will complete his PhD in May 2026.

Both boys graduated with zero debt and money in the bank. Because we didn’t need to spend any of the money we had saved for them for college they got very nice cars for graduation gifts:-)

As for comparing the outcomes of more prestigious school, both my boys have long terms girl friends that went to the same high school, one went to Smith for CS and she only makes about half of what my son makes in the same city. Other son’s GF graduated CS from Stanford got a job in the Bay area and although her salary looks great on paper, she’s barely getting by because of the cost of living there is so high.

UTD isn’t for everyone, no football and not a party school but it’s an amazing opportunity for National Merit students.

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64

I made an error here - first of all, I thought magna cum/summa cum/cum laude were things awarded to you for class ranking, not something awarded when you graduate. Second of all, I realize that due to my ranking, I would be summa cum laude, not magna cum laude - my mistake.

65

Oh man, we gotta redo the entire thread!!

Kidding - nothing changes.

Good luck.

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66

Specific majors at ASU do have higher admission requirements. CS is one of them, but the OP easily meets them, assuming required courses are completed.

https://degrees.apps.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/ESCSEBS/computer-science

68

I’m the luckiest man alive bro

I’m that guy

CMU got 11% acceptance rate btw

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69

You’re saying you got in ? Congrats.