My post is one sentence long. Nowhere did I recommend any such thing.
Having said that, the OP has already told us that she has a number of high reaches; so we already know that we’re dealing with someone who might actually care about one or more of the usual bundle of aspirations kids who strive to attend elite schools want. Also, while I don’t swim in the data to the extent many others do here, I know enough to know that Ivy-type schools are nobody’s target.
I’m just saying the OP has really strong numbers, so if she is considering Umass, SUNYs, Penn State and Maryland, then maybe the University of Washington, UCSB, UCI, UCSD might make for good targets. And while it’s dangerous to call Michigan a target, with low 20% range OOS admissions, this kid has 99th percentile SATs with a 1590. I personally know at least a handful of unhooked Seattle kids who made it into Michigan with lower scores than that. That’s what I mean by a longer and more ambitious target list.
I will refrain from the usual “target to me means” discussion. If the OP applied to Michigan and thinks it’s a reach for her (after all, she scores UMD as a reach), then it doesn’t matter.
The answer is simple. Find out if you can afford them first. You’re better off with 2-3 solid options than a stack of schools you can’t pay for…and end-up going to the same 2-3 schools you had originally. That’s what usually happens with large college lists.
You may want to look at Virginia Tech as a safety. They invest heavily in their CS program.
Ohio State (I am an alum) has a strong CS program and would surely offer you plenty of merit aid. I would apply to their honors college with your stats.
Also Cal Polytechnic San Luis Obispo as safety and Duke, Stanford and Cal Tech for a reach, especially if you want warmer, sunnier weather
It seems as though you have a strong preference for remaining in the northeast. If I was going to do some merit hunting at medium to large colleges in the northeast with some good CS programs, I’d look at:
Rutgers
NJ Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
SUNY Buffalo
Stevens Inst. of Technology
Lehigh
