<p>Can anyone recommend some colleges? I’d prefer not to go into everything but my SAT score is >2300, I’m second in my class, etc. and I am hoping to apply to some very competitive schools, although I think the “top tier” of schools like Stanford and MIT are out of reach. I already have a definite, affordable safety I’d be happy to attend.</p>
<p>My long list of preferences, in roughly descending order of importance:
-Anywhere in the USA
-Meets or nearly meets full demonstrated need, or otherwise known for having good financial aid (merit scholarships etc.)
-Strong in my intended major, computer science, but also very strong across the board because my major may change and because I intend to take a lot of courses outside my major
-Has engineering
-A big city, or at the very least a town with a lot going on – something different than my rural hometown. Access to nature and hiking trails and stuff is a plus though
-Flexibility in choosing courses and studying abroad
-A “name brand” school – one that people will recognize (I know this shouldn’t be important… but I’m being honest here)
-More than let’s say 3000 people
-Has a lot of school spirit and sports games are popular
-Walkable and traditionally attractive campus, with green space and an actual campus feel (not a city streets campus like NYU or BU)
-Easy to change my major
-Student body is social
-Not freezing cold
-Not “quirky”
-Student body is not super religious</p>
<p>It’s a lot, but most of these are negotiable. Any suggestions are appreciated!</p>
<p>Some of the UCs, CalTech, RUTGERS</p>
<p>Look at Brown, hits a lot of your points. My daughter was a math/cs major there.</p>
<p>-Providence is small city, so there is some exploration to be had. Some good walking into small neighborhoods in the Brown area. It is right across the river from downtown but on college hill in its own campus ‘bubble’. It is an hour from Boston, the transit center to get out of town is not far from Brown campus. </p>
<p>-I can’t say hiking trails are right at hand. But there is an East Bay Bike trail that goes all the way to Newport, through bike only path along through some small towns to Newport and it is a good bike run but you can catch a bus one way, or if the ferry is still running. Also the Brown Outdoors club does stuff, some paid for. She did a sophomore outdoor leadership program BOLT hiking in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.</p>
<p>USC? Rice (bit iffy on the school spirit)?</p>
<p>Consider the University of Pennsylvania. It has social students, nice campus in the city. excellent Computer Science program, and across the board quality programs, has Engineering, encourages taking classes in other colleges, warmest weather of the Ivies, has DI sports and Philadelphia pro sports close by, only a little over an hour from NYC, great financial aid. Worth a visit. </p>
<p>What is your state of residency? Some state universities give good financial aid to residents, but poor or nonexistent financial aid to non-residents.</p>
<p>Note that “meets full demonstrated need” is not a reliable claim – you need to run net price calculators to see which schools are likely to be affordable. In one example test run in another thread, the net prices at two “meets full demonstrated need” schools differed by nearly $40,000 for the same family financial situation.</p>
<p>Wow… very similar “needs and wants” my D2 had…though her choice was ChemE but with the option of changing to Comp Science. Your mention of a “walkable and attractive” campus within a lively city/place was exactly what she had in mind too, since we are from semi-urban PA. Her final selection - GTech. She has just become a Yellowjacket !</p>
<p>The only criteria that GTech may be lacking in your list is meeting your financial needs unless you get one of their Presidential Scholarships. We are paying the full amount, though GTech was around 11K cheaper per year than UCB and UMich - the other schools in her final shortlist. She had much better financial options elsewhere but then…</p>
<p>+1 on Georgia Tech. As I read your description, that is the school that immediately came to mind.</p>
<p>ACC school, great CS and engineering (5th ranked), over 3000, urban, yet has its own campus, warm climate.</p>
<p>Few merit scholarships if not a Georgia resident, but tuition is very reasonable in the first place, “Best Buy” and all that stuff. Tuition was under $30K last year for OOS, probably went up a bit.</p>
<p>I’ve run Net Price calculations for various scenarios. So far, I’ve never seen two “full need” schools differ by as much as $40K in estimated net costs. I’m not saying it can’t happen. However, I’ve found the more typical range is within ~$5K or so. </p>
<p>Your Mileage May Vary. As ucbalumnus recommends, you absolutely should run the NPCs. Please share your findings.</p>