@3scoutsmom Sounds like he’s definitely a STEM kind of guy, like myself. If your DS wants to do “something with computers”, he’ll definitely want to start getting interested in coding and probably. It is actually really good for almost branches of engineering to have at least a good understanding of Coding and Programming in multiple languages such as Java or Python. I usually visit my 8th grade science teacher, whose son is an engineer, once in a while and he told me, in response to me telling him I’m trying to teach myself how to code in Java this summer, that: “It is definitely good for most engineers to know how to actually program and what is truly happening inside those wires. Because inside those wires is a world in which math and electricity join forces to actually do something.” He told me you should never build something such as a robot without knowing the programming knowledge capable of building it.
Anyway, I believe cyber security and data science would be classified under the IT (Information Technology) field, or as my 8th grade science teacher calls it “when math and ethics combine”. I would say if he is truly interested in it to definitely find opportunities in your area about it. Just my two cents. My apologies if you’ve heard most of this before.
@ak2018, it took me two tries, that was back in Germany with traffic school, and we had to be 18 when we got our license. The first tester was grumpy and I was supposed to have another driving lesson before the test, but then someone didn’t show up so it was my turn before I was ready.
So we had to drive in the city center with lots of traffic and I was going slowly, too slowly he said and failed me.
The next time it was snowing so nobody said I was driving too slowly
My D had a few tries. The tester on her last try was really nice, put her at ease and she had no problems, didn’t even once stall the car which was a manual.
So it just depends on the day, how prepared you feel and even the tester.
@ak2018 I can assure you my DS knows JAVA and a few other languages too;-) He spent most of his time in freshman year AP Comp Sci and sophomore year in Advance Comp Sci teaching others and volunteers as a comp sci tutor. I think different colleges put “computer degrees” under different departments. At UTD, IT is under the school of business and deals with networks and such, not what DS is looking for.
he’s just not sure which “track” he wants to focus on yet, by the time he graduates high school he’ll have the completed the majority of the core course requirements and then some (about 3 semesters worth of credit that will apply to his undergraduate degree) he hopes to be able to use the fast track program that allows you to count up to 15 graduate credits both to undergraduate and graduate degrees so with a summer or two, he’ll be able to graduate with a BS and MS in Comp Sci in four years. He’s going to have to run this all by an advisor because it just makes my head hurt!
My S18 is not too enthused about the college search process and doesn’t have even the bare beginnings of a list. I think he’s sick of hearing about the whole process with D17. I sometimes try to talk to him when D and I have visited colleges that seem like they might be good fits for him. He has no interest though.
But he does think he wants to double major in business and CS. His HS offers certificates in both fields which he is pursuing. I’d like to sign him up for at least one standardized test this fall (I did not with D17 and I think it was a mistake). The SAT might be better as prep for the PSAT and better chance at NMF.
No testing done here yet (except the PSAT that all sophomores took and S took totally blind = no practice test, didn’t even look at the booklet).
My D took the SAT in January and May of junior year. But S will be extremely busy in spring with musical and sport so not sure, maybe we will try some prep during Xmas vacation and then see.
Management Information Systems (MIS) aka IT, is usually under business school and one can do a specialization in MIS while doing a BBA or BS or MBA or MS in the business school. UTD may not offer a BBA in MIS. The business school degrees specialize in more of a business curriculum with a much lower emphasis on CS but more emphasis in understanding how to resolve business problems in technology. Some of the IT people code but many may never do coding and end up doing a relationship mapping between business needs and technology or programming requirements. In many IT departments, the CS majors end up doing the coding work.
I sometimes wonder if it’s a mixed blessing to get the testing “done” early… I mean, yes she did it, she can, at least in theory, relax now and has one less burden on her busy junior year plate (the entire reason she agreed to take the test in June)… but at the same time I’m wondering if she couldn’t improve the scores just a bit with another go at it. This is of course not helped by her lopsided scoring, phenomenal E/R, less stellar M/S, I mean she just has to work on those two areas, right?? yeah, right :-< Definitely this is my issue, not hers, and so I bring it here, not to her… it’s one of those things with this process where I just have to take a deep breath and remind myself, it will all be fine, it’s her process, she can handle it…
She did decide to skip the SAT Subject test she was signed up for in June and we have yet to reschedule that. I have a sneaking suspicion she might decide to rule out schools that require or even recommend them. So that would leave me with the awkward question, I’ve thrown money at CB for this test, would need to pay additional $$ to reschedule or change it to the regular SAT (possibly 2 fees for that can’t remember), she certainly would put up a fight about it if she decided she was “done.” Do I just say, well, I guess that’s more money I don’t have to spend sending scores and be glad I got off easy? Or spend some of my hard earned “mom-influence” to convince her to take some test, any test? :-? Leaning towards this is a less $ to CB is more $ in my pocket argument, and the $ spent is already long gone…
I am seeing glimmers of hope on the interest in the process front though. This spending time on a campus she hates thing is really paying off in terms of motivating her to find something she likes much better! :))
Yes, DS’s current goal is the Master’s program in Comp Sci which he hopes to combine with the Comp SCI BS program and complete both degrees in four years between his AP/DE credit and UTD’s ‘fast track’ program.
After looking at the courses offered, he isn’t interested in the School of Business’s IT program, he’s thinks he’d be happier with a Comp Sci program BS/MS. I think he’ll likely end up working for the government as opposed to big business.
@3scoutsmom Well it sure sounds like your DS is definitely on the right path towards his major.
I was also planning on potentially minoring in CS and my dad had actually brought up a really good point. My father, who is an alum of George Mason University (GMU), wants me to GMU and I am actually considering it. He made a point that if I attended GMU, I would be a communter, which didn’t appeal to me as I wanted the full college experience, but would have enough money to be able to take multiple summer classes and even go to graduate school. My father had long planned me to go to grad school, but this appealed to me because it would potentially mean I would be able to, through taking summer classes, double major in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science or even go to grad school with a Mechanical Engineering focus.
While my first choice right now is still Virginia Tech, it did give me something to think about. My dad even said that if I wanted to, I could just live on the GMU campus, even though I live 30 minutes away. What he did when he was there is that he would stay there from about 8am and leave around 10pm. He would mainly stay on campus, study in the library, take his classes, and then go back home. I’d be fine with that.
One quick question: Do you think it would better to double major in Mechanical Engineering and Computer and graduate with a Bachelor’s, or go to graduate school and study more into Mechanical Engineering?
Also, what is the difference between a Master’s and a Doctorate?
@1822mom, in your position I’d use the “mom-influence” to get her to take the SAT again. Scores almost always improve with a second and even third try (but not really after that). Plus, most schools superscore the SAT so even a higher score in one subject could make a difference.
@ak2018 we are kind of in the same position but with UT Austin. DS would be an auto admit and could commute but it’s much more expensive than UTD and we couldn’t afford for him to live on campus. I know this sounds mean, but I want my kids to go away to school and not commute. I think they need that distance to gain some independence. I know they could still be more independent living at home but I know myself too well and I would still insert myself too much into their lives if they were at home.
You are wise to be thinking about money and the long term. It’s good that you have several options to consider. We are hoping for National Merit for my son, if so than UTD would be the obvious choice for him, commuting to UT Austin is “plan B”. Have you looked into what if any merit scholarships you might be eligible for at Virginia Tech?
@3scoutsmom I’ve always wanted my kids to go away to college too - mostly because I did and it was a great growing experience. BUT now that S16’s move in date gets closer and closer, I wish he wasn’t going as far as he is (6 hours drive)! D18 will likely try to go even further away from home. I suppose I’ll be used to the idea by then.
@RyanG1207 I know exactly how you feel! My D16 is going to school 6+ hours away too. DS18 will likely only be 3+ hours away but that’s far enough! He’ll be almost halfway between where his sister will be going to school and home. I’ve already dropped some hints that DS20 might want to think about attending the same school as DS18. Somehow I think I’d feel better with the boys in the same school. I have to keep reminding myself that DS20 needs to at least start high school before worrying about his college options!
@3scoutsmom I actually just looked at the merit scholarships PDF file for the 2017 year and based on that, I’d only qualify for three. Is there a difference between financial aid given by the university and merit scholarships?
For us, commuting would be a lot more inexpensive as GMU is only 30 minutes away. It’s definitely not mean that you want your kids to go away to school as I also do. My parents, on the other hand, kind of want me to stay near home as they feel it would be more convenient and less inexpensive for them and for me. It’s understandable why they feel this way, as both commuted to their schools, but I want to go away to school for the same reason you described: to be able to experience living independently.
I can definitely see that the argument of whether or not living away from home and learning to live independently is really worth the extra thousand or so dollars that would be spent on room and boarding. For me, I would feel it is worth it and I actually like the idea of going away to school. My parents have previously stated that they are in no rush to get me out of the house and would be perfectly fine with me going away to school, which I’m perfectly fine with. They just want me to explore all of my options, especially the ones close to me. I can also see their hesitance for me going away to school money-wise as I know that room and board fees would be pretty high, so I just plan to get a job to help. After all, they are planning to pay for most of my tuition, so I feel it is my partial responsibility to also try and lessen the tution as well as do anything I can to lessen the amount of debt I will probably have. My parents are also fine with me getting a job whether I am a commuter or boarder. I would think finding a job on campus would be pretty hard, though.
@ak2018 I commend you for looking at all your options! Room and Board can really add up, you’re are looking at at least $10K per year for room and board, not counting any summers so it’s something to be very aware of. As much as I want my kids to go away to school, if they end up someplace where they could commute I’d be hard pressed to pay out that kind of money for R&B.
Often Merit aid will reduce the amount of Need based aid offered by the school. Many schools take this off of loans and work study first. Have you run the NPC for both GMU and Virginia, do you know how much money your parents will pay each year?
For those who have already gone thru the process what are your thoughts about semester vs trimester schools? DS is considering two schools with trimesters and I like that they take less classes. I also like that one has the students back home before Thanksgiving and thru Xmas. Any experiences? Thoughts?
@3scoutsmom Yes, I did. I ran the calculator, however, I didn’t exactly know the estimated income, so I guessed. I kind of didn’t feel like asking my parents for their income as I kind of felt a “none of your business” would probably be the reply.
For GMU:
Estimated Total Cost of Attendance: $15K - $25K
Estimated Total Grant Aid: $1K - $8K
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $7K - $14K
For VT:
Estimated Total Cost of Attendance: $24K (A Steady Rate)
Estimated Total Grant Aid: $4K - $10K
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $13K - $21K
I had used the $30K - $40K and $80K - $90K income as guessing points. I really should figure out what our income is.
@ak2018 just give your parents the link to the NPC and ask them to run it themselves and then after they see that number ask them how much they will pay each year. You need to go into this with your eyes wide open!
We thought we were good with dd16 with National Merit at OU but then they raised everything (tuition, fees and R&B by 7%) we are good the first year but remaining years are now an issue unless she gets additional scholarships or get a covenanted RA job.
@3scoutsmom I actually did decide to ask my dad and he actually liked that I asked. He told me what our income was and then explained the different types of incomes.
I ran everything through the NPCs of both GMU and VT.
For GMU:
Estimated Total Cost of Attendance: $15,650
Estimated Total Grant Aid: $3,695
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $11, 955
For VT:
Estimated Total Cost of Attendance: $40,363
Estimated Total Grant Aid: $6,880
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $33,483
