I tell my friends, “Guys I already messed up by taking 7 APs. Let’s not mess up by applying to 20 schools.” Here is my info:
CT Resident
4.0 GPA (Unweighted)
13 APs total
1530 SAT
Decent extracurriculars (one spike)
Budget: 45k per year
First Choice: CS (want to specialize in AI or Robotics at undergrad level)
Second Choice: Aerospace Engineering
Reach/Match:
MIT
CMU
Cornell
Georgia Tech
Purdue
Northeastern
UMD
CWRU
Virginia Tech
UIUC
UMass Amherst
Safety:
UConn
Rutgers
RPI (Rensellaer Medalist)
Any thoughts? I would really like not to exceed 15 schools with this list. 15 is a sweet spot for me. Considering adding UToronto to my list because I’d like to apply to one international institution. Specifically, I’m looking for schools where I can get exposure to AI and Robotics at the undergraduate level.
I wouldn’t feel bad adding BU because their application is simple enough and they are close to where I live.
UToronto: I know they don’t grant financial aid to US students. Would it be worth the cost for me? Their programs for AI and Robotics rank among the world’s best (St. George campus).
Do the various NPCs show schools as likely to meet your budget?
I do not think that NEU or BU are need blind. Your financial need will (unless I am mistaken) impact your chances for admissions. I still think that your chances are reasonable for both.
Mostly I like your list. U.Conn should be a solid safety with your being in-state. U.Mass is quite good for computer science, and does have some merit aid for out of state students. It would not shock me at all if you got some merit aid there. I think that you are competitive for MIT and other top schools (assuming that the NPC shows them as likely to be affordable).
U.Toronto is very large. It is also very good but academically very demanding. Getting A’s is not easy at U.Toronto. At least when my daughters were applying to universities in Canada the applications were simple, but neither applied to Toronto nor anything in Ontario (they applied to schools that were further east and one only applied to small universities, which Toronto is not).
I like the list too, but unfortunately UMD, VTech and UIUC will be unaffordable. None of them will provide financial aid, and merit money is very competitive (hard to get). GTech will be slightly above budget. Rutgers may provide some merit aid to get within budget but it’s getting harder. Not sure about UMass.
I have spoken to my parents about those schools. Their costs are not too far away from their budget limit. They are accepting of these schools.
UMass Merit Aid is reserved for out of state students
Not anticipating applying to Rutgers Honors College. It is not a priority to me in November over the other things I’ll be involved in. Honors at Rutgers gives exceptional financial aid (50% off tuition).
My biggest concern with UToronto is the lack of financial aid for US Students. Their graduate school is significantly more affordable, looking at their costs.
Schools like McGill and Waterloo are better with this cost aspect
Didn’t know they were need aware. Thank you for letting me know. It makes sense too for those institutions. They have a strong acceptance history from my school. I’m not sure if that makes a difference.
McGill Arts & Sciences is still somewhat reasonable for US students. Overall, Canadian undergraduate universities are too expensive. Graduate schools in Canada are still reasonable cost wise.
The cost for U Toronto is high but it’s listed in Canadian dollars which may make it reasonable depending on the exchange rate. I could be mistaken but I think housing would only be guaranteed for a year and housing in Toronto is very expensive. Another negative for Toronto is that it’s very hard to come out with a good GPA which could impact admission to grad school in the states down the line. Some schools will still look favorably at graduates from Toronto as they are familiar with the school and the grading system.
if you throw in an application to Toronto, you might want to consider Waterloo. The school is one of the only schools with a Faculty of Math and the CS program is part of this division. The benefit of Waterloo is that it would not be as expensive. especially with regard to housing. They have quite a few math/cs majors but not sure about AI. They also have a co-op program though that would probably add another year to your undergrad program. There is one application for all Ontario universities so you could apply to both easily. However, for CS/Eng there would also be a supplement though it’s not usually as onerous as those for many American schools. I think the deadline for U Toronto CS is soonish (early November?) as it’s earlier than most of their other programs. U Waterloo is at the start of February I think.
You said “not too far away from their budget limit”, but I just want to make sure you know that the COA at these three schools is between 62-65k a year. So potentially $20k above budget - or $80k+ over 4 years. If your parents are ok with that for these schools, then that’s great.
So, it may be worth applying to UMD. If you get honors it often comes with, about $8-12k ish, which is a big help. It has limited enrollment for CS which is the most sought after major there. Just make sure to apply to the CS school - it’s becoming nearly impossible these days to transfer into that major. And if you don’t get CS, then you can go into the iSchool and do the info science major which Is super flexible and can be turned into a software engineering style major or data science using electives. The tracks in that program are just suggestions.
Steven’s in Hoboken is private and does give merit I know people who did AI there as a Masters. Maybe run the NPC
RPI is a great school with interesting dual major options. Top companies recruit there
If your family didn’t like Northeastern’s NPC result, I would throw it out.
If Virginia Tech doesn’t offer the depth in robotics that you want, I’d eliminate that one, too.
Right now, I have two main thoughts:
I would focus less on the difficulty/ease of the applications and instead focus on which schools are the best fit (including financially) for you, and then apply to those schools. Submitting an “easy” app to a school with an unfavorable NPC result is just throwing money into the wind, if the school will be unaffordable even with an acceptance.
This is nothing that you need to share on a public forum, but please talk with your family about finances. Originally your budget was $35-40k, then $40k, and now $45k. And then there’s some unmentioned number that is higher than $45k that your family is willing to spend for certain universities. I understand that families will often increase their budget from their initial thoughts, as they often need to adjust once they learn what current college pricing is like. BUT, please make sure that they are not jeopardizing their own retirement with their plans to pay for your college. There are no loans for retirement and being financially secure themselves is one of the greatest gifts that they can give you.
You have built a strong profile in high school, such that a number of colleges would be interested in giving you substantial merit aid that would make costs fall within your family’s original budget. In your last thread you were planning to apply to U. of Minnesota, SUNY Buffalo, Alabama, UA-Huntsville, etc. If some of them fell with respect to your level of interest, that is fine. But please make sure that you only apply to schools that will be affordable for your family and allow them to continue on a trajectory towards a secure retirement,
As usual, @AustenNut is spot on. And I’d assure you every engineering school has robotics incorporated. My Bama kid has a robotics project in his 2nd rotation (he’s doing 4 six month rotations over two years) and says he was well prepared. Something about programming a robot to repair some type of part used on airplanes. Got a great review too.