Update- we have an increased budget (maybe up to 60K?). Any other schools we should look at for comp sci? I’d prefer my son choose a school where he can be admitted knowing he can major in CS if he so chooses.
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So you’ve got a lot of schools above at initial budget and I forget the criteria - location wise. Can you update again?
Is the student NMF?
You can now look at a UMD - although you’ll need merit. I didn’t see Purdue on there - which will come close to the initial price. Virginia Tech will be right there but there’s inflation (their COA is higher but like other they overstate things like transport). You can go to places like Ohio State and Michigan State and be under. Maybe add a Penn State or Pitt or UGA (not known for CS) or Florida too.
Please let me know if this is something you might be interested in now or in the future. I appreciate your consideration. Have a great day.
Just because you have it doesn’t mean you need to spend it. Do you have other uses for the money - whether you (retirement), grad school, anything else, etc.
At any school, you need to look at secondary admissions - are you automatically in the major or are there hurdles to jump.
Good luck.
But you could easily hit at $40K, your initial budget too - and go in the South for much less.
Thank you! Yes he will be NMF-
-What about Georgia Tech?
My god, you can go for practically free for schools like UTD (strong) and Bama and others. So you have a budget - why spend it - your choice of course.
Yes, Ga Tech is under $60K.
So now you are adding schools - and those are great - but what is your, I can 100% get in and would be happy there school? That’s the most important on your list - don’t forget that.
But once you have that, the rest of your list can be as desired including a G Tech.
But if you are NMF and budget concerned, and if saving $150-200K is important to you, you might find out that the ROI isn’t worth the pricier school. Only you can determine that.
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That’s a great school! Definitely worth checking out/applying to, but will be a reach.
Purdue and UMD, mentioned above, are also great CS schools and will be easier to get into vs GT.
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Ok, thank you!
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The link gives the basic difference of CS and CS engineering … If the kid likes more of coding CS will be the way to go. If they are more into technical, and who like to play with hardware engineering will be a good option
Both are great options and UNC has a great ranking … NCSU CS engineering is a good program
There is no reason to go a low ranked schools as these schools are ROI is great , the out of state kids pay much higher to get into UNC
Other options are expensive , like Gtech, University of IL Urbana Champain , which are more expensive and costs around 50k,
Finally there are much expensive schools like Duke, Carnegie Mellon , UCBL , Emory and VANDY , some of them offer merit scholarships and it is worth to test our luck …
All the colleges which give full tuition or full ride will be lower ranking than UNC or NCSU and may not worth in comparison to ROI for the flag ship college that NC has
Clemson and UOFSC will offer great scholarships for NC and they have decent programs too
With the exception of CMU, the others are lower ranked for CS than GT, Purdue and UMD. So the reason to choose one of those schools would be for other factors, not CS ranking.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings
University of California–Berkeley highest No 1
CMU
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign next highest
GTech
Different league …
Next Purdue UMD Duke Chappel all are great schools … There will be no reason to go to UMD or Purdue and pay more if UNC is an option , just my 2 cents
Have you looked at the Common Data Sets for the schools that you might consider? I ask because Section C7 gives the various academic/non-academic admission factors that are considered, and how each school weighs those factors; and there is some variation from school to school. For example, Georgia Tech has traditionally given more weight to GPA than to test scores; which will favor some students over others. (FWIW, the OOS students I have known who have gotten into Georgia Tech in recent years have tended to be valedictorians/salutatorians of their respective high school classes.)
Your child’s admission chances to UNC-CH may also vary depending on which county you live in – there has been an effort in recent years to admit students from underrepresented and/or rural counties in North Carolina. Also, here is a link to a data dashboard for North Carolina public universities: Workbook: db_freshmen. I don’t know whether it will give you information about specific majors, but some of the links contained therein can provide some useful general information about admissions and other things to different public universities in North Carolina. Also, I think that UNC-CH only considers legacy status as a weighting factor for OOS applicants, and not in-state applicants (or at least that’s how they used to do it).
Purdue University has an interactive Data Digest, here: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/. If you go to the links for “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile” you can get some objective information about recently matriculated students at Purdue. You can’t check specifically for computer science unless you are able to log in with an account; although you can get information for the relevant college(s). For the past 10 or so years Purdue has kept tuition and room/board constant, and has been a great bargain for parents of OOS students; although I don’t know how much longer that policy will continue. Here is a link to the Computer Science department at Purdue: Computer Science - Undergraduate Admissions - Purdue University. You might reach out the the department for admissions information.
I didn’t know you meant Berkeley when you said UCBL. Of course, that’s a top school - tied with CMU in the undergrad rankings. UIUC was not mentioned but yes that’s a top CS school too.
My comment (if you reread my post) was about picking Duke, Emory or Vandy vs OP’s other choices, which includes UNC. Not inconsistent with what you’re saying.
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I remember the thread about your daughter, but I missed this one. Congrats to your son on the 35 ACT and NMSF!
Some schools that I’m not sure have been mentioned are:
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Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ): This school is literally just across the river from NYC. 30% of students receive merit, averaging $21k, so this would take you near to the top of your new budget if your son received the average merit award.
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New Jersey Institute of Technology: If your son becomes NMF I think he would get free tuition and it would be possible to get additional merit for room & board. So, this one would be well within even your original budget.
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Rochester Institute of Technology (NY): 24% of students get merit aid, averaging about $16k. This school would be another near the top of your budget if your son were to receive an average merit award.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY): 31% of students get merit aid, averaging about $29k. If your son were to receive the average merit award, the cost would be around $50k.
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Clarkson (NY): 20% of students get merit aid, averaging about $38k, which would probably bring costs down close to $40k.
At all of these schools I believe your son would be guaranteed access to the CS major without any additional hurdles, apart from being accepted to the university. I’d guess that most of these schools would be toss-up to extremely likely for admission for your son.
Source for merit aid info: Merit Aid by Institution – College Transitions
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Thank you!! And my daughter is going to be a Tarheel in the fall. We are thrilled. Thanks for all of your input. Im still reading and will respond.
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Go Heels!
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Very few publish rates by major/school (for those that admit by them)… I know UW and UMass do for CS. I think believe U of Colorado might too…
I would assume at most schools that admit by major/school CS rates will be quite a bit lower, how much lower is hard to know if not published. Even LACs and schools that don’t admit by major do look at the diversity of interests of classes, to a degree.
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