Let me rephrase this: I am not concerned about affordability. Merit scholarships are a plus, but I will take a school with better job placement and location over a cheaper school. I’d take SC over Bama because it’s closer and more well-regarded by employers up North, and it’s in a big city. I might also pursue quantitative finance depending on the program I’m in, for which your undergrad “brand” matters.
Hence my reaches. All of these schools send tons of people to FAANG/quant firms, and they’re in great locations (minus Purdue). I don’t intend on pursuing a Master’s in CS, rather an MBA when I’m ready to move further up the SWE job ladder.
Your “chance me” is interesting considering my GPA/Class Rank are the real weak points and are explained by extenuating medical circumstances. Granted, I haven’t received results back from any non-safeties, but my friend with a 4.5 applied TO to UofSC and Clemson, got into Clemson, and received a SUBSTANTIALLY worse scholarship package from SC. I assume neither of those reviews were holistic, considering the amount of applications received by both schools. I think at least one target school would take the guy with a perfect ACT and tech internship, but this is my first time applying to colleges, who knows?
My school sends 20+ students per year to UNC and NCSU, and the last guy who applied to UNC with a 36 got into the Honors College. He probably had a better GPA, but do you think a 3.75 UW is the end of the world for any school <50% acceptance rate, especially after a holistic review? I think my ACT score and straight As with 7 APs junior year provide enough evidence of an “upward trend”, but I’m no AO.
My family has urged me to not think about finances until I get all my acceptance letters. I have some good, cheap safeties guaranteed. If you have any feedback on my chances based on any specific criteria/things I could work on before RD, let me know.