<p>Thank you all very much for those additional recommendations! Son actually applied to Drexel in early September (he's attended summer programs there & liked it). It's not rated well in CS acc'd to US News (for whatever reason-maybe not a valid one), but it does have a great co-op program & I know tons of grads w/great jobs.</p>
<p>I will definitely check out Santa Clara & San Jose STate. Son is a big fan of CA (not sure if it's the idea of CA or the reality, but he does like it).</p>
<p>I looked through my old PMs and couldn't find the precise one where he discussed Stevens. He did say he was surprised at the curriculum--it was something he'd have expected to see in the 90s, but not today (if I recall correctly). Unforuntately I can't recall if he said it was too heavy on 'nuts and bolts' and lacked a theoretical basis or something else.</p>
<p>If you want to PM for anything, additional, that's fine.</p>
<p>It's a hard thing to decide - whether to focus on nuts and bolts, or whether to emphasize more theory. I was a software engineer, and my overriding impression of the CS major folks was that they were frustrated by the lack of opportunity to do 'pure' CS, like compiler development for example. They had the CS theory, but lacked electronics and troubleshooting background and, IMO, the 'lets get dirty and solve the problem' attitude that an engineer often requires. But for your son, going with a strong CS program (theory emphasized) is better - it distinguishes him and opens more doors.</p>
<p>I didn't know UVM was so expensive for OOS. If the cost is a concern, which obviously is for most people, I guess it's not a good option. The same goes for the privates without a scholarship.
I think treetop made a good point. If your son is more interested in the science in computer science than the computer, he should look at schools with a strong research component. At the risk of over-generalizing, I would say research schools such as UMass, Buffalo, etc, can offer a more challenging coursework in theory than, say, Northeastern, Drexel, Stevens, which are more focused on preprofessional, practical education.
The curricula at well-known schools are very theoretical.</p>
<p>Thanks, nefer! We've been going over the theoretical vs practical aspect of things (as much as a former Eng/Psych major & high schooler w/1 comp programming class can!). I think son has a mix (hopefully) of pre-professional as well as research-oriented schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, 2boysima. We visited WPI--son didn't care for it as much as RPI (not sure why, I didn't see a super huge difference between the two--although he was tired when we got there for a tour). He didn't like NC State ("Reminds me of the Rutgers of the South--I might as well stay in NJ.") and the 70/30 male/female ratio of GA Tech completely put him off (can't really blame him on that point).</p>
<p>I still wonder about GA Tech, though. I've heard good things about it academically.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that there are quite a few choices for schools that have good CS/CSE programs that will afford excellent opportunities so your S and you are smart to be considering the other factors of the college experience - location regarding access to desired recreational opportunities (hiking, biking, surfing, diving, skiing, city stuff, etc. - whatever he's interested in), weather, campus feel, male/female ratio (especially with schools with primarily engineering degrees), proximity to home if desired, cost, etc.</p>
<p>DePaul University's College of Computing and Digital Media is highly regarded. DePaul has a beautiful campus in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago as well as a campus downtown in the Loop. I know it's far from NJ but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you look into what this school offers.</p>
<p>Thanks, dntw8up! And, dmd77, son has applied to RPI (just not sure his grades are up there high enough). Additionally--RPI tuition is sky-high & the male/female ratio is not great. However, we visited & son was really impressed with the giant, expensive, new research facility, super-computers, etc. He thought there'd be a chance to do some interesting work there, so RPI was an early app.</p>
<p>Marist is a pretty school on the Hudson River and well-connected (read: IBM) in the field of computer science. Your son could definitely consider it a safety.</p>
<p>
[quote]
However, we visited & son was really impressed with the giant, expensive, new research facility, super-computers, etc.
[/quote]
I know facilities like this can be impressive but keep in mind that it's very unlikely that your S would actually do anything with it as an undergrad so he might want to temper its influence on his decision.</p>
<p>UCSD has a supercomputer center that's one of the largest around - it just doubled its building size to 160,000 sq ft and purportedly has the most storage of any datacenter in any university. Supercomputer</a> Center Dedicates New Campus Building, Announces ‘Triton Resource’ Project
This is impressive yet very few if any CS undergrads will have anything to do with the supercomputer center.</p>
<p>Thanks, Juniper, appreciate it. I was panicking a while back--but w/so many schools applied to, son is just fatigued and doesn't want to do any more (did add on U of Alabama because there is -- possibly---a chance of decent merit $$ due to ACT scores/weighted GPA -- plus recent info on CC negated the super-party-rep somewhat).</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad--that's interesting. Do you think that's equally true (undergraduates don't get to do much research) at a smaller school such as RPI (about 5,000 undergrads, about 7,000 total students [including all graduate students]) as it is at a larger school such as UCSD? One of the things the smaller schools seem to tout is that "even undergraduates get to do substantive work..." Not sure how accurate that is. Thanks for any thoughts.</p>
<p>Coldwind.. >> Possibly the best option for your son is the Univ. of Alabama Honors College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Computer Based Honors Program is the best in the nation and will give your son, most likely, a very substantial merit scholarship. Cleanest campus this side of the US Air Force Academy, best honors dorm (apartments really) in the country. Beautiful women, great football & atletic facilities and hours from some of the world's best beaches. But you must apply ASAP! <<<</p>
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<p>LOL.... I've forgotten to mention in previous posts about UA -- the beautiful women !! LOL That is soooooooo true. One of the books that rates universities also rates the "beauty" of its students... UA always gets an A+ for its women. (I think the men get an A) </p>
<p>My husband (who got his degrees from two different "Big Ten" schools) literally drools whenever we visit the campus. He swears that every beautiful girl in the US in on that campus. Even I ( a woman) have to admit that the girls are very pretty at UA (and I went college in California where the Beach Boys say all the beautiful girls are... LOL.) </p>
<p>But, yes, the Computer-Based Honors (CBH) Program is awesome. My son is in it. It's very selective - only 40 students accepted - but your son's scores are where they need to be (the average CBH student has a 33 ACT (the range is usually ACT 31 - 36) - so your kid is fine.) The director of the program and his assistant are VERY NICE and VERY HELPFUL. They know their students and they will try to know YOU. When I visited the campus last Wednesday with my younger son, the director instantly recognized me and remembered my younger son's name. When we ran into his assistant a few minutes later, she said, "Hello Mrs. ________. This must be (my younger son's name); you are (my older son's name)'s younger brother." I was quite impressed. BTW... CBH is a minor.... The students choose to major in something else - engineering, comp sci, math, physics, pre-med, whatever.... The acceptance process into the program involves applying and getting an invitation to attend the 2 day interview on campus - done in February.</p>
<p>As Coldwind and I have said before... the campus is beautiful (and it is very clean - hadn't thought to mention that until Coldwind did), and, of course, the honors dorms are awesome (like apartments as Coldwind states).</p>
<p>JL50ish--son just applied to U of AL & filled out the scholarship app info. We didn't see anything about applying for the Computer-Based Honors Program, though. Is that something you'd apply to separately, after admission? Thanks much for the helpful info! (btw, son will be thrilled re: the attractive women part of it...he almost applied to James Madison because the girls were rumored to be 'beautiful'--minimal comp sci program sidetracked that plan...).</p>