Computer Science Acceptance Rates? [NC resident, 4.0 GPA, 1490 PSAT NMSF?, <$40k]

Applying to College
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Hi all. Are there resources that show acceptance rates for computer science programs? My son has good stats but am I right that in applying to comp sci programs the acceptance rates will be much lower than the overall acceptance rate for the college? What is the best way to make his list with this in mind?

We are in NC, his GPA is 4.0 UW/4.5W, PSAT 1490 (no SAT yet, will take in March), solid number of APs, very good extracurriculars but nothing earth shattering…legacy for Chapel Hill, biracial, we need merit or somewhat affordable school.

How do we start making his list? Thanks in advance!

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Some publish. Some don’t.

But this is the most important part - what I quoted from you and not acceptance rates.

But you don’t need merit. What you need is to hit a specific price.

Name the price and that’s how you determine which schools to apply.

If I recall from last year , you don’t qualify for need aid -is that correct?

The overall budget impacts where you apply.

A $60k school with $10k merit costs more than a $30k school and no merit.

Hence you need to $$ striving for.

And yes when you have a budget - sometimes trade offs in perceived pedigree will be necessary.

Thanks

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I’d say our budget is 40k with a little wiggle room.

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And you are in NC …or not ?

For example, UNC, if OOS and don’t have need, wouldn’t be a wise choice. You could of course go for the Morehead Cain.

There will be publics of many sizes to achieve this budget - once you have a test score and even some privates.

It will for sure be names like Alabama, UAH, Miss State, Arkansas, Missouri Science and Tech, Truman State, some direction AOs like W Michigan, S Illinois, W Carolina. Likely SUNYs.

May be a UGA, FSU, Arizona, U Del, u of SC, Miami of Ohio, College of Charleston, the Iowa and Kansas schools and more.

If the student is NMF, look out. May be free.

There will be a lot of options including your home state. The student may even apply for a few Hail Mary type full rides - unc, uva, W&M, W&L, SMU and more.

Unless you have need and if I recall you don’t, schools like MIT, the Ivies, Gtown and so many more will be out as would Michigan, the UCs etc.

What’s your home state ?

Ps wiggle room - don’t forget likeky annual increases, fun money, transport, Greek life. All adds up.

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We are in state (NC). I believe he will be NMF with a 1490 on psat in our state.

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Then you can go for free and almost free (just food) to other schools I noted.
The list for NMF include Tulsa - full ride -25% of kids are NMF. Bama - the best - 5 years tuition so grad school, housing, a nice stipend. UTD. Maine.

Some Florida schools have deals. Obviously NC publics will work.

Fordham gives some full tuition. USC some half and full.

You’ll have options for sure!! And you can crush $40k if you want.

Think about what type of school they’ll want.

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Congratulations on your kids achievements to date.

Are you looking for the cheapest option or do you have other criteria that would take precedence?

Sorry I know your question was about CS acceptance rates but cost invariably comes up so better to just define your priorities first.

You define what you are looking for, narrow it down to schools that fit that criteria and within that cohort you identify those that hit your budget and formulate an application strategy.

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Thank you. We do want it to be affordable, whether outright or through merit aid. Need-based aid is unlikely. Like many others I’m sure, we want the sweet spot of affordable, quality education and possibility of admission. With our first kid (just applied, waiting for decisions), we went by the acceptance rate based on a few sources. She is undecided/liberal arts, so that seemed the way to go for her. With our son’s interest in CS, we’re having trouble determining schools that may be likely or match in terms of admission…. Because I’ve heard that acceptance rates are significantly lower for CS, so I’m not sure how to determine that piece and figure that element into our list.

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I would start with big picture considerations. Small school vs big school, geography, rural vs urban, Greek, sports, does academic reputation matter, etc.

Then start working within that narrower group of schools that checks the majority of those boxes. Good news is lots of options within your budget.

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Unfortunately, I’m unaware of any convenient resource where you can find admit rates for CS. Some schools (such as the UCs) publish them, but others don’t. Some schools will probably tell you if you write and ask. Other schools (e.g. Ivys, and most LACs) don’t admit by major, so such a rate doesn’t even exist. So, it’s frustrating.

That said, while it’s true that some top rated schools (e.g. Carnegie Melon, UIUC OOS, University of Washington OOS) have tiny CS admit rates, there are plenty of schools with quality CS programs that have very reasonable admit rates for CS, especially for a student as strong as yours.

Since your student seems likely to be NMSF, it is worth looking into the schools that give big merit for this designation. Here is a thread that describes them. All of these would be admission and financial safeties for your student except for USC (only gives half tuition so might not meet budget, and admission not guaranteed) and Fordham (admission safety, but may not meet budget, and CS not its strength anyway.) Big merit NMF/NMSF schools and their specialties

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I think the higher selectivity is for some of the ‘top’ perceived schools but not all.

In CS, short of a few, the where likely matters little.

There are many many solid schools where I don’t see admissibility as an issue. Some don’t even admit by major.

I think you need to figure out the desires of the student - size, weather, environment, sports, Greek life, etc.

There will be choices in all groups from as low as $0 to your $40k-ish maximum and some in between.

If the student wants a small LAC, then NC State or UNC wouldn’t be right. If he wants a large school, then name your LAC or small school wouldn’t be right.

If he wants to be in warm, then Michigan Texh wouldn’t be right etc.

I think you’ll be able to find a school to meet your and his need. Multiple schools that is.

Don’t forget - the names schools - it’s public perception. It doesn’t mean they are better.

Can one ‘price’ the education at Wisconsin or Washington is better than Iowa State ? Iowa State might be exceptional - even if the pedigree isn’t at the same level etc. but when you have high stats, there will be great deals on some gems!!!

One other thing to note - direct admit vs secondary admission (having to formally advance a year or two later like a UNC bus degree. Some don’t care. They figure they’ll make it halogen. . Others want an assured four years in the major.

Lots to think about. But it’s great so you can develop an initial list.

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Update on my son. The math section on the digital SAT (2nd section) killed him (740 R, 710 M), but he got 35 on his ACT. Is it good enough to just submit the ACT? He should be NMF, because his PSAT selection index was 225- last year the cutoff was 219 in NC.

We are not educated enough on different kinds of comp sci programs. Some say Chapel Hill is more theoretical and NC State is more practical? My son doesnt know where he would want to specialize in comp sci, so would it be better to pick a school that has it all for undergrad?

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Yes. 35 ACT is great. Some kids just do better on one or the other.

Some schools require submission of all scores but I’m not sure if that applies to those schools and if it’s just every time you take one of the two tests (ie all SATs if you submit SATs but not ACt vs all tests). Check with your school list

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Thank you

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If it’s not too much, I would visit both schools beyond just campus tour. Perhaps contacting faculty and current students of each program. NCSU and UNC are very different. For example, UNC doesn’t have engineering school - so that’s a big cultural difference. Good luck!

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Any good CS major will include theory and practice.

Both UNC-CH and NCSU have competitive secondary admission to CS. NCSU does not have direct admission; not sure if UNC-CH does. It is not obvious how competitive secondary admission to the CS major is at each school.

https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/academics/undergrad/coda/

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Great advice, thank you

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Someone made the point above about some schools not even admitting by major.

True, but there are really three cases

  1. Admit to university, not to college or major
  2. Admit to a division like a School/College of CS, Eng, whatever, but not the major
  3. Direct admit to the exact program/major including limited enrollment programs, often CS.

However, be forewarned. Some subset of universities may admit you to the college or direct admit to the major, but you still have to meet certain criteria for entrance to the upper level program.

So, have a backup plan

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Thank you…what do you mean by the upper level program?

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The example below is from UMD which is a great CS school, very competitive, but over your price range.

“ All students accepted directly as freshmen to a Computer Science major in fall 2024 or later must complete a series of benchmark courses and a review at 45 credits earned at the University of Maryland.….”

So, basically you have to pass the first group of intro courses with a minimum GPA to move on.

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