Be careful. Some schools want CS or engineering applicants to apply directly to the major or to the engineering division. Students admitted as general undeclared may face an extremely selective secondary admission process later to change into the CS or engineering major.
What are his other interests? If the majors of his other interests are not oversubscribed at the college, entering as a CS or engineering major leaves open the possibility of switching to one of the other majors later. But if CS or engineering majors are oversubscribed, then entering in the other major or undeclared could mean that the door is closed or very difficult to get into for CS or engineering majors.
Op, we are in the same boat as you - seeking merit with our first college bound child and wanting S to have as many choices as possible. We also have 19 on the list. About 2/3 have an early action plan (and some have no app fee and/or no writing supp). S is going to see if he can eliminate any of the RD schools after he hears back from the EA schools. Might be able to narrow the list that way.
EFC: 50 to 55k (depending on calculators used)
We can help S pay any of the schools in the list for 4 years.<<<<<<
What does that mean? You are right to realise that merit won’t follow his stats in CS/eng especially, but will you full pay at some of those schools even if he is not a direct admit? What do you mean by help him pay?
I think there are too many reaches. It isn’t like some of those are JUST reaches, they are a challenge for kids with much higher test scores.
You can check the Common Data Set to see where your son falls on the stats for admitted students. If he is the lower 25% and OOS, it is almost certain he will not be admitted at the publics, as the admitted student stats on Common Data are for both instate – where the bar is lower – and out of state students. That could be a lot of disheartening rejections, which kids are surprised to realize come spring really do take their toll. I’d spare him, and you, the agony, and cull that list of OOS publics. Illinois Urbana Champaign admits into the College and, as best I recall, into the major, and it would be a high reach for an OOS student with a 3.5 and 1300.
If your son is okay with smaller school, you might consider Rose Hulman, a smaller IN private STEM school. Alternatively, you might also consider University of Iowa – (apologies if this is out of date info) – it uses an online admissions algorithm and as long as you have gpa, test scores, class rank, you can plug it in and see if your student will be admitted and with any merit. University of Iowa is a lovely campus, on two sides of the Iowa River. Iowa State is another possibility, and uses the same online admissions calculator.
Good luck, its a long process, and it really helps to have some early acceptances in the fall to ease the worry as the year progresses, so schools with rolling admissions are great ones to hit quickly.
@MomtoAndrew2018 - Are those regular safeties, or auto-admit safeties? It is a good idea to have at least one likeable auto-admit on the list. Even regular safeties spring occasional surprises.
Yes, I’ve come to realize this. UMass Amherst is a good example. CS/Engineering/Business majors at UMass Amherst are restricted, i.e. students must apply to those majors first before being put on exploratory tracks. A general ‘undecided’ student would not be able to apply after enrollment.
Not all schools are like this though. E.g. Undecided can declare CS or Engineering as long as they can achieve minimum GPA requirements in the required core courses.
as long as they can achieve minimum GPA requirements in the required core courses.<<<<<<<<<<<
But for any wavering kid, those courses are going to bite. Drop out for committed eng students is high enough. Make sure to try and find the entry stats for the college of eng/sci/whatever the CS comes under, as these may well be higher than the stats at entry of less competitive majors. Does he have any APs?
However, if the minimum GPA is something like 3.5, be aware that 3.5 in college is generally harder than 3.5 in high school. The same goes for minimum GPA to renew a merit scholarship.
What does that mean? You are right to realise that merit won't follow his stats in CS/eng especially, but will you full pay at some of those schools even if he is not a direct admit? What do you mean by help him pay?
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It means we will pay for his college. As for direct admit or not, it depends on what he wants to do. If he has second thoughts about STEM and would rather explore more courses before declaring a major, that is fine. Not all 18 year olds know what they want to do for the rest of their lives and need to spend some time finding their true passions.
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I think there are too many reaches. It isn't like some of those are JUST reaches, they are a challenge for kids with much higher test scores.
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The more ‘decision’ threads I read, the more I realize how unpredictable college admissions are. I’ve seen good stats get turned down at less selective schools, and less good stats get accepted at more selective schools. I just don’t know how this would all play out for S.
@happymomof1 You must know something I don’t yet know. So what exactly is ‘auto-admit’ schools? Do they exist??? I never heard of this until you mentioned it.
@LoveTheBard Got it. I’ve read reviews on niche.com and I think a lot of large co-ed schools have reputations of being party/drinking schools. We have a visit coming up next week and we will see how S likes it.
I hear you. Upstate NY. It is more or less the same. It is not a deal breaker though. In the case of Rochester, it just seems very unreachable to S. RIT on the other hand seems to be more of a match for S.
These would be those where the student’s stats (some combination of one or more of GPA, rank, test scores) means automatic admission (or automatic scholarships).
But for any wavering kid, those courses are going to bite. Drop out for committed eng students is high enough. Make sure to try and find the entry stats for the college of eng/sci/whatever the CS comes under, as these may well be higher than the stats at entry of less competitive majors. Does he have any APs?
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Yes, if we are going to go this route, we will make sure to have a full understanding of those entry stats at the schools he will apply to.
He has 2 APs and 2 honors in his senior year. So far he’s taken 8 honor courses (first 3 years).
CS and Engineering are tough and a lot of schools use the first year to weed out the weak. At the info session during our visit at UMass Amherst, the organizer made several comments about how so many students dropped out of those programs and how many students change majors in general during second year. I think the deeper S gets into this college application process, the more he realizes the various challenges ahead of him and is second guessing his abilities and choices.
and less good stats get accepted at more selective schools. I just don't know how this would all play out for S.<<<<<<<<<
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Is your kid participating in all this with enthusiasm? Is he excited? He is happy to fill in all those apps? What does he think of so many reaches? The common app ain't so common.
I am not sure many kids would be ‘excited’ applying to colleges. It is a stressful process for both the students and the parents involved. We will help as much as we can, and also apply EA for some which hopefully will mean we can remove a few RD ones. I don’t have a good answer here. I realize it is more work but hopefully it will be worth the effort in the end.