@momofboiler1 what do you think about Purdue for this applicant?
As noted by others, for CS majors, Purdue is now a reach school, albeit less reachy than many on the OP’S list.
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I suggest Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri, and University of Delaware as “safeties”.
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Lists above are good but you really really have to look at costs as several have said.
You either can or can’t afford these schools. No sense in getting your hopes up.
Some other less prestigious schools do offer some/more merit so you could add safeties/matches from other lists of merit schools if cost is more important. ultimately in CS and Eng, unless you are at a few select top schools, it probably matters more about the student than the school especially if you have to take mega loans (bad idea)
Santa Clara University could be a match for you, right in the middle of Silicon Valley, they pride themselves on how many “unicorn” companies are within a 15 min drive from campus and give internships to their students (In addition to Apple, Google, Netflix, etc). Beautiful campus, medium sized school, great weather - but could be cost prohibitive. They do give merit.
ETA: In case you are like me, and didn’t know what a unicorn company was until we toured Santa Clara, it is a privately held startup company with a valuation of $1 billion or more.
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For undergrad CS, I wouldn’t get too caught up in prestige. The thing to do is look at the various specialty tracks and classes offered at each school, and see if there’s anything that looks particularly interesting.
I know nothing about marching bands, other than you have to try out at Ohio State, while the USC (one of my alma maters) marching band lets anyone join - even if you don’t know how to play an instrument. They figure they can teach you. In the latter’s case, sometimes that’s painfully obvious when you see them performing.
I am an incoming freshman at Purdue and they announced the CS acceptance rate at the admitted students day.
Programmer here…you don’t need prestige in order to have a well paid career in computers. In fact, after about 3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school. If I were you, I would focus on scholarships. An honors program is a tangible accomplishment you can put on a resume. Your grades, internships, and coding proficiency will do all the talking for you in your first job interview. The degree is only there to get your foot in the door. Your credentials will be built entirely on what you learned on the job.
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