Technology Schools in MA

Archive State Forums
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<p>I’m looking for a technology school not more than 2 hours from Boston. I want to be in the Massachusetts area. I’m looking to major in computer science or engineering. I’m a java game developer and know how to program in C++, Java, and Objective C. I also know a lot in the area of website design. School size isn’t really an issue for me, and I won’t need financial aid. Please give me a set of reach, matches and safeties that you think would work for me.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: White
GPA: 4.0 weighted
Grades: As and Bs (mostly As)
SAT: (math 760; writing 690; reading 700) 2150
ACT: 34
I’ve always followed the most rigorous course load possible.
APs:
Calc
US History
English Comp
Physics
Chem
Computer Science
Psychology</p>

<p>I’m in a very competitive school, I’m in the top 20% of my class. Most of my electives have been technology based.</p>

<p>ECs:
4 years of competitive sweep crew racing, 8 seasons. 3 years varsity, 6 seasons. Varsity Captain senior year.
(I would like to row in college)
2 years of winter track. JV captain.
Student Council Delegate 4 years
Cofounder and President of Technology Club at high school.
President of Robotics Club.
I am an Eagle Scout.
Member of NHS.
80 hours of Community Service.
I volunteer regularly at a food shelter, I’ve also done a lot of volunteering at the local library, beach, and camp. My Eagle Scout project was making the camp a safer place by putting up emergency protocol signs.</p>

<p>Thank you in advance for your help!</p>

2

<p>There is a small trade school in Cambridge that you might find appealing. It’s along a river where you can row your boat. It’s less than 2 hours from Boston even if you’re carried across the bridge by an army of ants.</p>

3

<p>What school? Are you speaking of MIT? Not such a small school…</p>

4

<p>MIT, Northeastern(not a technology school but still good for CS/engineering), WPI, Olin.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>Of course. It’s April Fool’s Day and you are obviously headed to MIT, so I thought your post was a joke.</p>

6

<p>Do you think I have the qualifications to get into a school like MIT? I’ve always thought of it as a reach.</p>

7

<p>My apologies, you ARE serious. You are a very competitive applicant. </p>

<p>It’s a reach for everyone, but people get into reaches sometimes. Never without applying though. </p>

<p>you have </p>

<p>1) Very strong Math SAT, but it won’t count because you have even better ACT
2) Very strong ACT. If your Math subscore is > 34, even better.
3) Mostly As
2 sport varsity captain including Crew. They do have a nice river and Crew is big, and SOMEONE has to row the boats, why not you. Contact the coach, or even better, have your coach contact the coach.
President of Robotics club
Lots of Math/Science/CS APs. If you score 5s even better. </p>

<p>You need to take SAT IIs in Math and either Physics or Chem and score 700+, 750+ is better. </p>

<p>Yes, I think you have a chance, when you finish your exams, you’ll know better. </p>

<p>Otherwise, if you’re going to limit yourself to 2 hours from Boston, you’re going to limit yourself. If you must be that close, beyond MIT I’d consider Northeastern, Worcester Polytechnic, UMASS Amherst, maybe UCONN - which is actually closer to Boston than UMASS. That’s really it in terms of technology culture. You may have a chance at Brown or Tufts, but those schools do not have a technology culture. They are predominately liberal arts colleges that might offer the major you want. </p>

<p>If you can handle 2.5 hours, you could consider RPI. If you can go further, you have even more options. If you’d consider getting on a plane for a short flight to somewhere like Pittsburgh, you may have even more options, like Carnegie Mellon. </p>

<p>Northeastern, WPI, UMASS, and UCONN should all be safeties for you and you can apply early action and find out before Christmas for at least Northeastern, UMASS, and maybe the others too. </p>

<p>You have options. What really limits you to 2 hours?</p>

8

<p>Thank you for the kind and hopefully accurate post. Right now I have a predicament. I’m very close with family and am more of a home body. I wouldn’t want to have to travel more than a couple hours to come home on the weekend. However in the Boston area there is one major computer science and engineering school of the highest caliber. MIT. Otherwise I’m stuck at a respected, but undoubtedly “safety” school. I guess I’m looking for one of two things: either tips to get into MIT or strengthen my resume, or a new school that could match my pursuits. Thank you so much for all the advice, I appreciate it all!</p>

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<p>I’d try the drive to RPI and visit. It’s really not that far. It’s 170 miles. If you drive 70 down the entire Mass Pike you can hit the NY State line in 2 hours. Then it’s another 30 minutes from there. </p>

<p>Otherwise, those respected safety schools are much more difficult to get through than to get in. CompSci and Engineering are hard. Don’t let the fact that you are a shoo-in make it seem like they won’t challenge you. I’d seriously consider Northeastern as you would likely get a great local co-op and probably a great scholarship. WPI also seems like a good fit. </p>

<p>Also, I forgot about Olin which is very small. Personally, I’m not that impressed with the place, but it seems to draw a lot of great students. It’s fairly new and I think the jury is still out on whether their approach leaves too many holes in the curriculum.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all your input! I will definetly check out rpi and northeastern closer. I’ve heavily considered wpi for a while now. My main goal is MIT, if do anything to get in. But unfortunately that may not be an option, and I understand that. As of right now wpi would be my second choice. Although worchester is nowhere near as nice as Cambridge, the acedemics there are still impressive and the close proximity to home would be nice. The school is definetly a safety for me, but I know it will still be an axing school if I attend. I want to visit northeastern and rpi more now, thank you for that. I know it’s farther away, but what are your thoughts on Cornell? Do you think it would be a fit?</p>

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<p>Cornell - most definitely. That would be my second choice for engineering in the Northeast (ahead of CMU), and my third choice for CS in the northeast (behind CMU and MIT, and I might even consider CMU on par with MIT for CS - many people debate this, and I don’t see the point of engaging in the argument). These schools really are the cream of the crop in the east in terms of global stature. </p>

<p>You do realize that that you have to drive to Cornell and it takes 5.5 hours, whereas you can fly to Pittsburgh directly in 2 hours and with a connection in Philly in 3 hours. Depending on how close to an airport you live, you can get to Northwestern in 4.5 hours door-to-door. </p>

<p>If you’re looking a little farther around the northeast, I’d consider
Lehigh - 5 hour drive, solid engineering school, match - they are real big on you showing interest.
Columbia - reach but not unreasonable, 3.5 hour drive depending on where you are
Penn - reach but not unreasonable - 5 hour drive, 2.5 by plane, serious crew
Johns Hopkins - match - 3 hours by plane, 6.5 by car
University of Rochester - probably a safety, 6.5 hour drive or 1 hour flight - you can almost walk to the school from the airport.
Cooper Union - very solid, very tough to get into, but free (though that may chance soon).
Michigan - probably 4 hours door-to-door flying into Detroit, again assuming you live within a reasonable proximity to the airport.
Princeton is great, but engineering and computer science are a small part of Princeton, and of course you probably offer MIT a lot more than you would offer Princeton in the scheme of things.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all these options! I definetly want to look into some. What do you think my chances of getting into Cornell would be? Also taking into consideration that my uncle works there. (we share a last name but he’s a more distant relative who I don’t have much communication with. I could contact him if needed)</p>

13

<p>You need to do SAT IIs before you do chances. Also, chances threads here aren’t that worthwhile because the most important factor is how you stack up vs others from your school, and how people from your school with stats like yours have fared in college admissions. Nobody here can accurately assess that. I think it’s worth applying to these kinds of places - some people with stats like yours get in - but I can’t say if your chance is 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%. Ace those exams, and it may even be higher. </p>

<p>To more accurately determine your chances, I recommend looking at your school’s Naviance if they have it. That’s a much better tool than you can get here because it automatically puts you in the context of your school. Otherwise, talk to your guidance counselor about how others from your school have fared.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for all your help, you’ve honestly been extremely kind and helpful. I can’t thank you enough and I will take all your advice and recommendations to heart.</p>