@xraymancs Thanks for the article, it’s a good one! If money were not an issue, if my son was definitely going to stick with CS, and if we’d applied to a lot of brand name Universities that are known for having fantastic Computer Science departments, I think it would make sense to try to go for that prestige factor to some extent. But his situation has been a lot less straightforward than that!
In the first place, I’m not really sure my son will stay in CS. He likes writing code (he and a friend are currently trying to develop an app) but he’s also got a lot of other interests, like business, law/political science, and even creative writing! He’s always been good at math (he got 800s on both the math SAT and SAT Math II, he was always on math and programming teams in school, etc.) but he has absolutely refused to consider going into engineering of any sort (as his mom of course I was just thinking about a “good career” for him). I think he finds math and engineering kind of uninspiring or something, like he’s just been doing it so long and it’s not his passion. So I don’t think he will necessarily stay on the CS track or that he really needs a super-intensive, top-notch CS program. Majoring in business with a minor in CS might be closer to where he ends up, or he could surprise me again and switch his interest entirely. (When we first started the college application process he was planning to be pre-law, which is why his school list was not tech-heavy, and why Richmond ended up on the list).
His dream school was Stanford (which we probably would have been able to afford, given their generous need-based aid), but he did not get in. IF we had the money, I suppose he could consider Georgia Tech where he was accepted, but the fact is, I simply can’t pay 32k per year. So he needs to pick an affordable option, and he’s got some really good choices to choose from. And if he does stay on the CS path, he can always go to grad school and get really serious about it then.
Thanks again 