So in general I think that seems like more colleges than you really need. Particularly with the excellent in-state universities in Virginia, I am a bit skeptical you really need so many OOS public universities.
I don’t think you really NEED more in general, but I would note there is more than one way to avoid paying $90K for a private university. One way is, of course, to qualify for need aid. But another is to qualify for merit.
And there are a number of excellent private colleges and universities, and specifically excellent for combining things like CS and business, that have robust merit programs, and are not on your current list.
So, let us know if you would be interested in those sorts of colleges. Obviously that is up to you, but I would personally think “chasing merit” at such colleges would be a more interesting thing to do than just load up on publics that will likely cost you more than your likely in-state options.
A few of those OOS Publics are absolutely excellent CS schools, however. The issue is whether applicant, if admitted, wants to pay full as they offer little to know merit for OOS applicants. Virginia Tech seems like a great option in-state and would be a definite admit that this applicant would likely receive merit in addition to the in-state tuition.
I agree Va Tech is great - but - it’s not easy for in state (they like the OOS $).
That’s why I noted UMASS above which is top 20-ish for CS. I know Brown removed their rankings - but they’re a UMD like that’s an easier admit.
I didn’t see W&M on the list - but that’s another to look at, strong in business as is Va Tech. Neither would be a UMD or UMASS in CS - but at the same time, those are aggregate #s - there will be kids at Hofstra that outperform a Harvard - so the student can do very well, really from any school on the list.
But I am not sure Va Tech is a safety - from in state. OOS yes.
I am not sure whether UVA and VTech are safeties. If they are, then I strongly agree with this. Given how excellent your in-state schools are, it does not make much sense to me to pay two or three times as much to attend another university out of state that is just as good.
UC Berkeley and UCLA are excellent schools. However, so is UVA. California is a long way to go, and a lot of flights, to pay more for a school that is just as excellent. If you were to get into all four (VTech, UVA, UCB, and UCLA) I could see this being a tough choice.
If U.Penn is definitely your top choice, and you are sure that you can afford it, and you would choose it at full pay if you get into every school on your list, then yes it is a great school and under these conditions ED makes sense.
You have a long list. I would be tempted to make sure that you have two solid safeties, leave your in-state public schools on the list, leave your number 1 top choice on your list, and then try to pick out 6 or 8 other schools that you feel strongest about to keep on the list, and then consider dropping the rest of the list.
OP stated they cared most about these schools. For Publics, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, Berkeley, UIUC and UMich are tippy top CS schools with very low OOS acceptance rates and are very high demand. Hence, unlikely to receive any aid if admitted. I think OP is competitive for all of these schools but most are lotteries OOS. UMichigan now has ED which should help. Definitely apply to these if money is not an option as they are fantastic schools, but as has been stated UVA and Virginia Tech are great in-state options which will be much cheaper.
You’ve gotten a few “B+” grades: when and in which subjects?
9th - first sem: Algebra 2 Trig (B+) / second sem: Research Statistics (B+)
10th - Precalc (A first sem) (B+ second sem) , AP CSA (B+)
11th - Artificial intelligence 1&2 (B first sem) (A second sem)
And A- in like AP physics, APUSH, chemistry (don’t care too much about these)
I know that my math and CS grades weren’t the best but I did show growth with my AI2 second semester grade an A and my AP Calc BC grade 11th an A as well along with a 5 on the exam. Math & CS are the hardest classes at my school and with other students they might see that as well.
Is taking AP Latin an available option to you or not interested?
not interested. I wanted to focus more on taking my cs electives and other APs.
A potential issue with this is that you are looking to apply to certain schools for business (e.g. Wharton & Ross), as if deciding upon a major is dependent on which colleges admit you. If the admission committee senses this, you’ll be at high risk for a rejection. Wharton & Ross aren’t interested in students transferring out of their department sophomore or junior year.
I also would not transfer out of these programs because of how incredible they are. Sure I am a little undecided about whether I want to focus on CS or business more but I don’t intend on dropping either in college as I want to explore both. If accepted to Wharton/Ross I would simply pursue CS as a minor. And in my essays I plan on making it clear I love both fields and emphasize either or based on the school.
Thanks! I don’t find myself studying too much (or intent to) for the ACT which is why I think I can retest for science/math. And because Math is my strong suite.
What attributes did you like about Penn that you are considering ED’ing there?
Love the Wharton program more than anything, the campus is exactly how I imagine myself going to college, the ivy network is incredible, and they have an amazing cs/engineering department I can explore as a minor! Since cost isn’t an issue I think I’m still set on keeping it as my ED.
You are interested in computer science. You are interested in business. Math is your strong suit (or suite). This combination brings up something for you to look into (which is pretty much orthogonal to the rest of this thread).
When I was your age I had no idea what “Operations Research” was. You should find out what it is. It sounds like something that you might find interesting, and it is related to computers and math and business. I describe it as “its great fun, and they pay you”. Of course the “great fun” part doesn’t apply to everyone, and the “pay you” part only applies after you graduate.
Okay, since that’s exactly what you’re looking for, here are more colleges which offer this combination:
Yale
Brown
NYU
BU
Northeastern
Emory
MIT
DePaul
Maryland
Case Western Reserve (dual degree: CS and Economics)
Lehigh (CS + Business/Economics)
Stanford (double major)
Cornell (double major)
Michigan (double major)
*if you like the personality/culture of CMU, i would think you have a much better shot;
I love CMU as well! however I think the reason i’m sticking with Penn is due to the amount of opportunities honestly. Quite obviously both Upenn Wharton and CMU Tepper are both reaches and I think as long as I’m shooting my shot it might as well be at the highest one? I think thats my main thought process even though CMU might be a better shot. And since I feel like I would choose (for example) UMich Ross over Tepper it wouldn’t make sense to ED to the CMU business school rather than CMU CS.
I think this is an interesting take but since it is an ED shouldn’t it be my top choice? For example do you think UPenn arts and sciences Econ is better than say UMich Ross? Unless so I wouldn’t ED for Upenn arts and sciences.
I agree with some of this but since my parents don’t find cost much of an issue they want me to aim the highest I can. At least in their eyes top tech/business jobs are much more easier to achieve when you go to a top/well known university (ex. gtech/umich). And since I am still a bit unsure whether I would get into UVA or not I am trying to apply to similar schools.
No problem with not taking AP Latin if not interested.
I believe that you would be reluctant to transfer out of a business program such as Wharton or Ross once enrolled. Given that this is a CHANCE ME thread, the primary focus is on assessing chances of gaining admission. Wharton offers a B.S. in economics which serves as their undergraduate business degree offering & Ross offers the B.B.A. degree. These types of programs, and others like Dyson at Cornell & Haas at Berkeley, are primarily interested in students that are 100% sure about studying business. It is entirely okay and normal to be interested in many possible majors - you could even end up pursuing a double major - who knows? But, it sounds like you are planning one application essay strategy for a particular type of school (business first, CS second) & then a different strategy for another type (CS first, business second). There is nothing wrong with that but note that experienced admissions staff are well trained to “read between the lines” for any uncertainty or lack of a well-defined focus. Your job will be to craft & construct clear & convincing arguments with authenticity in your personal statements - why are you looking to pursue a B.S. at Wharton?, why are you looking to pursue a B.B.A. degree at Ross?, and so on.
Two things in this post - taking four years of foreign language to maximize your shot at the big boys - and another program you might be unaware of that fits your mold.
Some top colleges “recommend” four years of language but to give themselves flexibility require three.
Penn is one, which you can see from the Common Data Set table below, wants four years. CS classes are electives. They’re not core. That doesn’t mean it’s bad - but your core is likely more important. Note - they don’t list any CS recommended at all. You don’t need CS classes to major in CS, in other words. But you may, depending on the school, need four years of language - at least to get a more serious look. Not at most your list but at a few.
I’m going to throw out another one you haven’t listed giving your CS + business desires. You’re going to say - whaaaaaaat? But this small, tight knit program, delivers job outcomes at 100% and with six figure salaries.
Take a look at the Raikes School at U of Nebraska.
We let our numbers do the talking.
**→ 100%of graduates earn a job or are accepted into graduate school within three months of graduation
→ 90%of students complete three or more internships → $105,000average starting base salary of recent graduates → $3M in funding secured for Raikes School startups since 2021 → 182Raikes School students come from20 states**
But if you’re unsure of what you want to study - for example, if you’d take Ross over CMU CS, it wouldn’t make sense to ED either.
Actually, in your case, as you describe things, it wouldn’t make sense to ED at all. ED is a choice - and not a necessary one. Most don’t.
Colleges use FUD - a marketing principle of fear, uncertainty and doubt, to get you to ED. They say - half our class is filled ED. They don’t tell you - that includes athletes, donors and more. And they don’t say - we have to offer spots to 5x or 7x, etc. of the people in RD that accept to fill up the rest of the class. But they do.
553 got into CMU ED. Let’s say 550 of those attended. 1804 enrolled so 1250 enrolled RD. But they admitted over 3300 in RD - so that’s a low ratio or high yield on RD - but they admitted 6x in RD what they did ED.
You don’t have to ED. That’s a choice but in your case, as your interests may change over senior year, is a risk. My kid went through 4 changes during Junior and Senior year - interests change.
If you want to ED it’s fine, but don’t let the pressure force you into it is the point. This will determine, most likely, your next four years - so be cautious and intentional for you, not for the school. In the end, they need you more than you need them - that’s why RD yields are often low and CMU, a top CS school, as an example - still has more turning them down then accepting them.
OP - you should know that UVA and VT are not always clear admits for in state students, particularly if you are from NoVA and come from a school with many high achieving students (and particularly if you are looking at VT for engineering or CS).
The story of my S22 (who applied to VT for engineering):
Perfect grades in HS - we only weight for APs and not honors classes, and APs are only a .5, so not as high a GPA as some, but only As.
Those APs included AB calc (5); Lang (5); HUG (5); APUSH (5); Comp Sci Principles (5) And courses he was taking at the time of application but didn’t have scores yet: Lit (5); Gov (5); BC calc (5) Physics C (got 5s on both associated AP exams).
35 ACT with perfect scores in Math and Science
Eagle Scout
Five years of rowing, including as varsity captain
He got waitlisted at Virginia Tech. We are in state. It could have been his essays I suppose, as that’s subjective (they don’t use teacher recommendations) except we know he wasn’t alone in this profile. A good friend of his - with an even better resume and more rigorous courseload - got waitlisted at VT and got in to Stanford, CalTech, and MIT. Our best guess is that VT does some yield protection in their engineering and CS admits, but we don’t know. So I wouldn’t consider it a safety. It should be, but just isn’t.
Similarly, with UVA, the school simply has too many excellent applicants applying from NoVA. If you live in this region, I’d say it’s reasonable that you would get in to both schools, but given the size of the applicant pool, not a safety.
You will get in to GMU (and others). So if you feel good about that, then great, but I just wouldn’t use VT or UVA as a safety because they can be weirdly wonky for in state kids.
