Parent of HS senior applying CS needs opinions [PA resident, 4.0 GPA, 33 ACT, prefer <$50k]

College Search & Lists
21

OK - in addition to Pitt (no like), PSU, and Temple (assuming no like), you’ll have lots of options.

If you want to start down the cost chain at schools I’d say outcome wise will be equivalent - you can go to Alabama with $30.5K off automerit ($28K + $2500 from the engineering school). Your cost is $80K -ish - that’s for all four years total!! They buy kids in - so your son won’t be alone - as 739 from PA were there in the Fall as undergrads. More than 2K from NY/NJ/CT, nearly 2K from Texas, 1500+ from Illinois - you get the picture. Yes, $20K per year.

It’s big, it’s beautiful, it’s got great sports, and most importantly to some…it’s cheap. My son chose it for engienering over Purdue - not for cost but for the Honors dorm (own room and shared bath with one).

Smaller but in the same vein is Mississippi State - also $20K-ish - a tad less…maybe a bit harder to get to.

There’s others but may not fit the size vibe - like UAH - about 10K kids (also 20K, in a city but suburban like) - lots of tech/defense around.

Those three are safe - and fine.

Staying South - UF is $45K and your son would have a shot. It’s now considered in the UNC type range of overall schools (not necessarily CS) - 25/30th. UGA is another and he could get some merit but it’s in budget even full pay. FSU - if he got an ACT OOS wavier - at 33 maybe, at 34 definitely - would be inexpensive ($25K) and less than $40K without. UF is sub $45K full (just tuition, room and board) and UGA is low 40s with a possibility for merit. Auburn too, would work well, great school but not as cheap as Alabama but still within budget. Of those, UF is a slight reach as is UGA but I’m guessing he gets in. FSU a target and Auburn a safety - but apply early.

Clemson, like a Va Tech, will be mid - $50s - it’s a target but merit may or may not happen - it’s getting tougher and tougher.

If you want to be close to home, higher in cost but not high - Delaware is $57K but surely you’d get merit based on what others post. Others already mentioned the SUNYs - for sports, it’s tough - maybe only Buffalo and Stony Brook (which some consider a suit case school)

In the other direction, Ohio State was mentioned. It’s not Pitt urban but it’s near downtown. But Miami of Ohio is more rural - I always describe it as a large William & Mary - very LAC feel. It’s $57.5K but their merit is variable but for your student no less than $15K and could be more.

I saw @momofboiler1 posted - she forgot - the boilers. OK - the others I mentioned are safe (let’s call Ohio State and Stony Brook likely) - Purdue a slight reach - but very low 40s - and not urban - but certainly a nice school to add IMHO.

Michigan State and Iowa State were great recommendations - but I’d add Iowa, Kansas and Kansas State. Lawrence Kansas is the quintisential college town - Tution, room and board is $41K-ish and you’d get merit.

Others in your “region” if your region is W Penn that would work - WVU, Ohio U, Kentucky (it’s in a small city but not Pitt urban), Tennessee (same like Kentucky) and only 6 hours from E PA but not far from W Pa either…

The region from the other side of the state (East) UMass- $57K but we hear of up to $16K merit on the thread - this one is likely, not a safety. Edit - I see Umass is on your list. You could look at - Uconn and URI too. I’m guessing Rutgers may be a bit too urban? Uconn - you’ll need merit but I believe they give it. If you dip a bit South from here, how about James Madison and Appalachian State - both with sports (not as big time) and both solid schools.

I love Va Tech and they overinflate their costs a bit. If you just took tuition, room and board (and yes there are personal costs you have to factor in), you’re a tad less than $60K and merit is unlikely. Maybe leave it on - but know unless miracle merit comes, it’s out.

btw - of all the schools I visited, I found Va Tech and Penn State to be very similar.

Georgia Tech - a higher reach than Purdue but you have 20 spots = so it’s ok…it’s on your list. btw - it’s urban…right above downtown. yes it has a campus but it’s urban.

So I just named a lot of schools and honestly they are all reasonable, with most safety and budget beating. Ga Tech might be a big stretch but it’s ok. Purdue, UF, and UGA a reasonable stretch. A few matches - Va Tech which you had and Clemson, A few likely (Ohio State, might not fit urban wise…same with UMD and NC State and certainly not Ga Tech in regards to urban-ness) and the rest safeties.

You can crush the budget, using a third, half, or all the budget…but most of these were way under - and I think all solid schools and all have sports. I think I read that somewhere! that your son wanted that although I can’t find it now.

Hope that helps…told you, there’s a ton of options. And best I can tell, your son (with your support) did a FANTASTIC job.

Ps - if he loves PSU he’s done !!

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22

Thank you so much, you’ve given me many good ideas and a lot to think about. We were at Penn State very recently. He loves the campus and I think if things go his way that’s likely where he ends up. But if not, I’m certain with all the suggestions you and others have made he’ll have some other nice options. I’ll start researching tomorrow. Thanks again!

23

Can’t go wrong! I know multiple PSU engineers and SEs, all sharp go getters!

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24

How much can you afford, and have you used the net price calculator at each college of interest?

Cost constraints will likely cause a much bigger limitation on the student’s college choice than whether the student completes calculus AB or BC in high school (any calculus in high school is already advanced in math compared to the standard track that gets to precalculus in 12th grade).

25

Be aware that PSU CS has secondary admission, which requires a 3.20 college GPA after completing the prerequisite courses between 29-55 PSU credits while enrolled in engineering or DUS: https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/engineering/computer-science-bs/#howtogetintext

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26

If you need more but want to be drivable, Miami Ohio - not as big -but area wise he might like. JMU too.

They’re ‘spacious’ but smaller campuses and populations (on either side of 20k kids) and in small cities. All three - including PSU - are really nice.

Miami has great merit (min $15k) and JMU mid 40s cost. Not sure about merit.

JMU is accessible by car from all parts of PA - Miami from the Western part.

I’ve not been to Delaware but many on here rave about it as well.

Just for three already mentioned that might be good PSU subs that aren’t hard to get to.

Best of luck.

27

I have used the net price calculators at some schools on our list. We’d like to keep it under 50k/yr. If he were to get into a UMD or GT (unlikely) or other reach school I could see trying to find a way to pay 5-10/yr more, but it’d be a hard decision. And I’m aware which schools on his list offer some merit and which do not (or are highly unlikely to.)

Also yes, we know about PSU’s gpa requirement to get into the CS major. Unless it’s a real weed out school he’s always been a good student and I guess it’d be up to him to continue to be. I went to UT Austin back when half the people I knew failed out or were on academic probation after freshman year. It’s since changed greatly, but I haven’t heard that Penn State has a reputation like that… at least I hope it does not!

28

Lots of flagship public universities were like that decades ago, when they had a lot of space relative to the number of applicants, so their admission standards were not that high (i.e. give interest students a chance at college, accepting that some will not succeed – basically the “business model” of many less selective local/regional non-flagship public universities and community colleges today).

However, when a major at a given school has secondary admission criteria that are more than nominal (e.g. college GPA/grade requirements significantly higher than 2.0/C or competitive admission), that indicates that there is a shortage of space in the major relative to the number of interested students who are capable of doing the major.

29

If he didn’t like Pitt, there’s little chance he’ll like Ga Tech which to me is more urban than Pitt.

Purdue would fit him better for that reach and it’s a bit more attainable. But more importantly, based on what you described it’s more his environment. .

And is there truly real value for UMD over PSU ? I’m guessing not for most. Yes admissions are tougher but that doesn’t mean outcomes are that much better.

30

I wonder if they’d be willing to share any attrition stats. I’m going to call admissions and ask - the PSU EE/CS presentation was very macro and anecdotal and frankly not super helpful. Thanks!

31

I don’t know how you found all this so quickly but thank you, I’ll definitely look through it!

32

Forget breakage at school because you can always find a “like” major - info systems, cyber security, etc. - CS has the highest drop out rate of any major - and nationally, some studies show 50% or more of engineering students (CS is often in the engineering school) drop out or change majors.

Yes, you can find out what % can’t advance at PSU - but it’s more likely, if they can’t advance, they’d likely change the major anyway.

The new 3.2 is for 2024, so they may not have breakage stats from the past.

33

Nationally includes all of those students who entered college after a sub-3.0 HS GPA (which will get admission to a large number of engineering programs, just not at most of the college popular on these forums).

A student with a 4.0 HS GPA and 33 ACT is much less likely to drop out of an engineering or CS major than the national average.

Note that a similar fallacious interpretation is often made assuming that a top student attending a less selective school will have a risk of non-graduation similar to that of the less selective school’s average.

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34

Yes better students will do better and schools harder to get into will have a lower drop out / change rate by the strength of their students.

Nonetheless, statistically it’s the highest major for drop out and/or change.

The risk is real.

Less for a qualified student but real nonetheless.

35

Colorado, Boulder is probably too far from your desired location. But they are setup like penn state and have data on how many students are able to transfer to engineering and business.
https://viz-public.cu.edu/t/Boulder/views/IUT_Public_Dashboard/Overview?%3Aembed=y&%3Aiid=2&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y

36

Ohio State CS starts as pre-majors, so it isn’t a direct admit major like their ECE department. A high gpa in the major is the most important factor, so staying focused the first semester is important.

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37

I think a reasonable gpa requirement is ok.

Many jobs won’t consider you without a certain gpa (typically 3.0 but sometimes higher) so going through with a low gpa isn’t great.

So if you can’t keep up, it’s likely ok to find out earlier than graduating with less opportunity.

It’s already a tough CS market (today).

If he found a school that met his requirements for “I love it” and yours for “affordability”, then it’s the trade off.

On the flipside you were given lots of school names. You might find one direct admit that meets both I love it and affordable too.

Bama was for my son. But had he not hit the gpa requirements for employers, he’d likely be unemployed instead of having more interviews than he could handle.

Good luck in the search. Direct Admit may be a metric to track but having supplemental doesn’t, in my opinion, mean it should be eliminated.

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38

We’ve got some good options to add to the list. Once decisions come in I’m now more educated about some of the factors to consider when helping him make his choice. I’m grateful he isn’t focused on one program, and realizes he can get a solid education at a variety of schools. Thanks again everyone!

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39

I’m updating with results so far (late Dec EA) bc I found these threads so helpful when we first started looking - hopefully this one can help another student.

Stats:
34 ACT/4.0 uw/5.15 w/10 APs & DE all 5s and one 4 so far

Background:
Student seeks big school atmosphere on Eastern side of country for CS, likes southern schools for the weather

Applied EA:
Penn State - accepted
UDel - accepted w 15k/yr merit
UGA - accepted w 10k/yr merit
UTK - accepted w 18k/yr merit
Clemson - accepted w merit (announced in March)

EA Decisions to come in Jan & Feb:
Purdue
UMass
UMD
NC State
UFl
UNC

Still weighing applying to a few more schools RD.

Some of these remaining schools will be rejections, and it’ll hurt, but we’re excited about a few of the acceptances and are feeling a lot less pressure. Having a balanced list really helped!

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40

Congratulations to your son! There are some great offers so far, and it might not be the end of them. Looking forward to see how the rest of the process goes for your son and where he decides to enroll. Appreciate the update!

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