The can find UMD’s AP credit options in the following link
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Taken to its logical conclusion, that would mean recommending that students repeat precalculus when they get to college, regardless of how advanced they are in math. Or that students who completed 3-4 years or AP/IB level in a foreign language in high school start at the beginner level in that same foreign language in college, instead of taking a more advanced level to further their proficiency.
It was referencing not taking Calc AB/BC credit and Physics and other sciences. They were talking specifically to major related classes.
I wish my son would have listened. On the other hand, like any “smart” college student, he blamed the professor 
Did get an A the next try.
OP:
In order to compare apples-to-apples between the colleges you’ve been accepted to, I’d recommend to consider doing the following:
- go on each college’s website & look up what course credits you’ll get for the AP scores you currently have. Document this in a spreadsheet somewhere. Make sure to note whether the AP score will eliminate a specific type of GE requirement or if it’ll just give you an elective credit.
- go on each college’s website and look up what all of the required courses are for the major you were admitted to. Pay attention to prerequisite classes & course sequences. Document this all somewhere.
- Go on each college’s website and look up what the GE requirements are. This is usually listed in the course catalog. Sometimes a college will call it the ‘course/college bulletin.’ GE requirements can sometimes differ a bit if you’re in, for example, a College of Engineering vs a computer science dept that’s in something like ‘College of Letters & Science.’ Document this in a spreadsheet. Do all of this because…
- At some colleges, you WILL be able to complete a bachelor’s and master’s in 4 yr with a bunch of AP credits. But at some colleges, that will NOT be possible because: (a) you won’t get credit for as many courses as you thought; (b) the major map is restrictive really doesn’t lend itself well to doing everything in 3 yr instead of 4; and/or (c) doing a master’s at that college/university requires 2 yr instead of 1.
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They’re hesitant to give me a number until we have all the information back, but there’s ~17k in savings per year, plus whatever they’re willing to actively contribute (they make 2-300k but we live in a high cost area and are paying off a 70k mortgage). I’m willing to take out some loans, and I plan on getting jobs/internships/work-study programs to pay off the rest of the cost.
I got those number from each school’s website, after creating a rough plan for graduation classes at each school and then using the AP/IB credit tables. It actually might be a bit short, because I didn’t count classes if they weren’t explicitly covered in a prior credit chart.
Already done!! ^^^^
That’s part of why I was so confident in UMD’s class choices; they seem to have a LOT more options for interesting classes for me, and a lot fewer gen-eds that I’ll be forced to take given my current AP courseload.
I just really like NYC, honestly 
That is what I’ve heard online, too. If I’m able to get a masters in 4 years at no extra cost, I feel like it might be worth it as opposed to graduating in 3 with a bachelor’s.
One final thing I forgot to mention is music: I like music composition and cello, so I’ll definitely keep an eye out for strengths in those areas too.
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One of my friends’ daughters is in this program and is very happy with it. But I understand it’s quite competitive to get selected (understandably so, because of the financial benefits and job guarantee). She actually has it for three years, if I’m not mistaken, and therefore has to work for the feds for three years.
Were you accepted into the ACES Cybersecurity Honors Program?
It looks like you have several great schools to pick from. Congratulations!
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My understanding is Maryland is a big deal in Cybersecurity, and then being offered ACES in particular is awesome. As I understand it, ACES has a minor, and then you can also use it as a CS upper level concentration.
Obviously affordability is a family decision. I personally would not worry about the social life, but that is also a personal decision. But if you are otherwise looking for something that feels special, this would seem to be a good choice.
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All great schools. No bad choices here. Degrees from any of these schools will not hinder your career.
I think you’re selling VT short. I’ve known and worked with VT grads (one is a Cyber Security guru). All were excellent.
Visit and pick the one that fits best. Good luck.
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OP: You have several outstanding options (U Maryland, Purdue, & Virginia Tech) already.
U Washington-Seattle (U Dub) is also outstanding, but very tough to get admitted as a CS major. UIUC is also excellent.
Georgia Tech, CMU, & Stanford all have great names & incredibly strong programs in CS, but you already have several super-elite options. Congratulations !
P.S. This thread has provided a wealth of information.
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This UMD club may be of interest
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OP: You’ve got some exciting options to choose from. Congrats!
Congratulations on all the acceptances to date. Like others mentioned, all the schools you listed are excellent for CS. I agree with @NiceUnparticularMan about not worrying about the social life. I am sure you will find your people wherever you go.
Our youngest S will be graduating from UIUC in CS this May. He did 3 +1 because he also went in with AP credits. To be frank, he didn’t enter college with this plan in mind. He knew most of the AP credits would be accepted and he took chances on testing out of a couple math and CS classes in August before starting his first semester.
Concerning the masters program, he also wasn’t 100% sure if he wanted to do it, but applying and getting acceptance gave him an option to consider his path. This also meant he had to apply to the program after his 2nd year. Be mindful about requirements and deadlines.
I don’t know for sure if the masters degree helped with his job search, but he received 5 offers. This was not an easy feat and there was many many hours of researching companying, applying online, interviews, and many many rejections before he received the final offers. I do think the salaries he was offered at 2 of the companies were higher because of the graduate degree. One company specifically mentioned it.
S and I also visited UMD, UMass-Amherst, and Purdue. All were great, but I was especially impressed with the UMass CS students who were friendly, down to earth, very mature talking about their experiences. All had internship opportunities.
Lastly, this isn’t specific to you. I often hear from parents of my town/region that their students (and the parents) want to get acceptances to “brand” name schools where they feel like their hard work in HS work was worth it and going to their public flagship will be disappointing because they will going to school with their peers who were only B students. In my opinion, this kind of mindset does not look at opportunities that may not be obvious right away. Two of my children went to our flagship, UIUC. At the end, youngest S decided UIUC over Northwestern and middle D decided UIUC over RISD. Both took advantage of what UIUC offered to their specific majors. If S picked Northwestern, he wouldn’t have completed a 3+1. If D went to RISD, her college cost would have been over $240k. We would have paid that because her arts ability was very good. However, when UIUC offered a full ride specific for her major, she decided UIUC made better sense financially and she became the best in her class every year. That gave her a lot of confidence to push herself and pursue opportunities that gave her joy.
Finally, getting into the “best” school is not the end game. Not having challenges in registering for classes you want and need in CS (some schools have limitations bc CS is (was?) very popular), having opportunities to join clubs (CS clubs are competitive), landing “elite” internships and jobs. The “game” never ends so be mindful of what is best for you.
Congratulations to all your acceptances. You’ll do great whenever you go.
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