I’m looking for some colleges that have decent CS departments but also other great fields for me to explore. I’m also trying to find a college with a great social life and party scenes around the city. Also I would love a diverse campus (would be great with 10%+ Asians). I have some great extracurricular, essay, and teacher recs so I’m trying to find a school that takes into great account for those unlike the UC’s. My scores are pretty average, but will increase after my retests. GPA: 4.5 ACT: 31
Thanks for the help!
This is my list so far:
Bucknell University
Grinnell College
Macalester College
Northeastern University
University of Southern California
Vassar College
Washington University in St. Louis
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Santa Clara
Georgetown University
UIUC
UCLA
UCB
UCSD
UCSB
UCI
Those schools are all over the map (figuratively and literally).
Do you not have any preferences with respect to urban/rural, large/small, research/LAC, public/private, region, etc.?
What about cost constraints?
Your description seems to match UC Berkeley better than most of the others. Most of them will have ~decent CS departments but Berkeley has one of the most respected departments in the USA. It has a diverse campus; it certainly has well over 10% Asians. If you’re a CA resident and financial aid isn’t a factor, it would be much cheaper than the private schools.
A very selective private school like Williams/WUSTL/Georgetown definitely will take ECs/essays into account, but that doesn’t necessarily mean admission will be more likely than it would be to the UCs. Even by test scores alone, some of them are more selective than all/most of the UCs. Maybe at a school like Macalester or Grinnell, holistic admissions would play more in your favor compared to CS admission to some of the UCs.
UCLA, UCB, and especially UCSB fit your ‘good CS + party scenes around the city’ criteria and they don’t weigh test scores as heavily as they do GPA. What is your UC GPA? Other than being a list of great schools, your list seems pretty random. Bucknell, Grinnell, and Williams are each an hour away from any city (and those cities are Harrisburg, Des Moines, and Albany). Those aren’t schools anyone considers if proximity to city life is a serious requirement.
@merc81@Otterma Yes, I understand those LACs are very isolated–but, those colleges have social activities on campus that would outweigh the city life which is fine for me. Take my remark for “party scenes around the city” lightly to heart as it was just a bonus and not a deciding factor.
@Otterma@tk21769 The problem with UC’s is that their CS department is so popular that it would be difficult for me to even get accepted into that field in the first place, which is what I am afraid of. Therefore, I am reaching out to other schools that don’t have such a heavily requested CS department. Cost is not a factor, since I am sure my finances are low enough to be aided. Location is not a big deal for me either.
UCs will likely be affordable on financial aid for California residents, but not for non-California residents who are not able to pay the non-resident list price and who do not get the (very rare) big merit scholarships.
UIUC financial aid is poor even for Illinois residents; for non-Illinois residents, it will be even worse.
Private schools have varying levels of financial aid. Also, if your parents are divorced, most of the private schools with good financial aid will use financial information from both parents.
Run the net price calculator on each college’s web site to get estimates. (In the divorced parent case, be sure to include income and assets from both parents for the private schools, but accuracy is probably lower for divorced parent situations even if you do.)
Looking at the OP’s other posts, it looks like the OP is in California and has an unweighted GPA of 3.67 (so probably a 3.9-4.1 or so UC-weighted GPA if many honors and AP courses are included).
If so, would recommend that the OP’s UC application include UCSC, UCR, and UCM, because the UCs listed would probably be reaches for CS at the OP’s GPA.
It’s a good list of schools but you absolutely have to make sure you can afford them. Don’t assume that a low family income means your needs will be met at all of the schools listed. Run the NPC as suggested. Also make sure you show interest to schools that say they consider that. What subject tests have you taken and what were your scores on those?
Thoughts on Bowdoin, Hamilton and Swarthmore for CS? Interests are comp sci, neuroscience and Chinese at an LAC for a D with 34 ACT, SAT 2’s - Bio E 750, Math 2 800, 3.8 UW/4.14 W GPA, 6 AP’s including AP CS and Calc AB
I would add Denison and Trinity U (San Antonio) to your list. Both Tier I in CS, and you should be admitted.
But the entire financial issue also needs to be addressed. Some of these schools you are looking at are going to be $70K per year by the time you graduate. Don’t fall in love with something that you cannot afford.
Thank you for all the helpful responses. I understand finance is a key component, but I am trying to create a list of colleges beforehand. Then, I will calculate the net price afterwards. I have added UVA and Colgate to my list and I am thinking about removing UIUC and Williams too.