Chance an Asian High School Junior for T20 CS [parents will only pay for top 20 or Oregon State]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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I think it would be difficult to argue that Ohio State is anything but a peer to Oregon State. I don’t see any evidence that it’s “better.” Looking at College Scorecard, Oregon State grads make $5K more per year on average after 2 years on the job, and the top 10 employers on LinkedIn are essentially the same. Not knowing where either falls in the rankings, that seems to be evidence of the problem with using those systems, if Ohio State is seen as “better.”

As for Cal Poly, they do not use a holistic process to evaluate students. It is all computer driven with points given to GPA, rigor, and ECs (based on hours per week with no regard to quality). They are not considering test scores at least in the near future. They do give extra weight to students that live in the catchment area, and for certain proxies for lower socioeconomic opportunity.

I’m not sure how CPP and CP Humboldt do their admissions, but I think most of the CSUs are algorithm based.

For CPP and CPH there aren’t any hidden fees. There is an extra fee in SLO though, the opportunity fee. It’s an additional fee levied on OOS students to underwrite the fees of underprivileged students. It’s still cheaper than the UCs though.

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Cornell’s tour dates are sporadic in the summer. They don’t even have visit dates posted yet. I believe classes start on 8/22 this year. The week before will be freshman orientation. Historically I don’t think admissions starts to do visits until September but I’m not sure what they’ll do this year.

Summers in Ithaca are AMAZING. Winters can be long and grey. I’m not sure visiting in summer will help you gauge what a central NY winter will really be like.

Weather non withstanding, I agree that Cornell is very much a fit school.

While I loved my time at Cornell 30 years ago, my D had a horrible visit there and thought the students were the most stressed out and unhappy she had seen on a college campus (CoEngineering). The program didn’t check off any of her most important boxes either so she didn’t even bother to apply.

ED is a BIG commitment and I would not pick an ED school without being on campus and really doing your due diligence about fit.

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This is not the only school like this. It’s important, as you know, that students know what they’re getting into, and whether it is going to suit them or not. It’s yet another reason that relying on ranking systems only can result in an unhappy and unfulfilling match.

Just as @momofboiler1’s student didn’t apply, neither did my son. Happiness on campuses is palpable. He passed over any school where the overarching feel was dour.

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WUE refers only to tuition (discount). Other costs like living expenses, books, etc. are the same and must be added. Check campus web sites for estimates

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Do a deep dive on the 4 year plan of study at Cornell before you go. (You should do that for all the schools on your list). Figure out if you’d apply to CS in CoE or CAS. That will be a big piece at Cornell as the colleges have very different vibes and different graduation requirements.

How open are you to taking many gen eds? Some people love that, others hate it.

How set are you on CS? If you live and breath it, know that Cornell students don’t declare a major until second semester sophomore year. That’s great for students who aren’t sure but not as much for those that are, as some technical clubs are only open to students after they declare their major.

Ask current students about work load, competition for research opportunities, clubs, etc… I’d strike up a conversation with students in the dining hall as opposed to just your tour guide.

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Many colleges do have dorm options, but have a relatively low percentage of frosh live in them because they already live nearby and can commute at lower cost.

The percentage of frosh living in dorms can be found in a college’s common data set, section F1.

Note that at many more residential colleges, upper class students commonly live nearby off campus.

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The last thing I’d worry about for Cornell is the weather. You’re coming from Oregon to upstate NY. While Portland is comparatively mild much of the state has harsh winters. When I moved to the NE I was really impressed by how much better the snow and ice removal is compared to Portland. Good luck in your search and you’ll make any college lucky enough to get you better!

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As an Oregonian who has lived in very cold areas, It’s hard to relate to prolonged sub-20 degree weather for those who haven’t experienced it. As far as seasonal affect goes though, Ithaca could actually be better! :rofl:

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Oh I agree but it’s not like he grew up in San Diego!

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Asians make up about 6% of the US population, yet at many of the Top X schools, Asians make up 20-40% of the population. This article provides a little bit of context as well, but here are the latest percentages from College Scorecard (federal website).

Of the liberal arts schools I mentioned before, Colgate is at 5%, Bowdoin at 7%, Colby & Grinnell at 8%, and Carleton at 9%. Asians are underrepresented at Colgate by national numbers, and Asians are underrepresented at the other liberal arts colleges in comparison to schools of similar USNWR rankings.

It depends on each specific university. There are many universities that have a religious affiliation, but you’d never know it by stepping on campus. At other schools, a religious affiliation may mean that there is a strong sense of ethics and altruism, but not necessarily about a particular religious faith. Then there are other schools where there is a strong link between the college’s affiliation and religious beliefs, i.e. required chapel, prayer at university meetings, etc. Most religiously affiliated colleges are in the first two buckets, but there are some in the third. My sense, at least for Whitworth and Case Western, is that it’s more religious in name only, but I an not overly familiar. CC Community, any help on describing the religiosity at these campuses?

  • U. of Portland
  • Whitworth
  • Santa Clara
  • Case Western

You can double-check, but usually the colleges will have dorms. Some important things to look for are 1) how many years (if any) students are guaranteed to be able to live on campus. Some schools don’t even have enough housing for all freshmen, or only for a certain number of years and then students need to live off-campus. In an expensive city, that can be a significant increase in price.

Campuses are classified as residential based on what percentage of students live on campus. It’s important to find out if it’s not classified as residential because many students live at home and commute back and forth, or whether it’s because lots of students live near campus and the campus doesn’t empty out on evenings or weekends. There are state flagships (including my own state) that are classified as commuter campuses because they can’t house a high percentage of students, but that are vibrant outside of class times. That’s where asking about specific campuses will be helpful.

I STRONGLY recommend attending a campus that is not a “commuter” campus in feel…i.e. where most students commute back and forth or go home most weekends, especially if you’re not from the local area.

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Depends on the college. For example, college religious affiliation may be barely noticeable at Duke, but much more of a factor in student life at Pepperdine.

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Actually, if you are a commuter, a campus where commuter students are common may be a good thing, compared to a residential campus where commuter students tend to be left out or forgotten.

A student who can commute to a nearby desired college which is more residential may want to try to live on campus for frosh year if that is affordable.

However, a student who goes to college out-of-the-area (and hence must be a residential student) may find a campus with mostly commuter students to be uninteresting in terms of student-focused activities out of class.

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As OP lives in Oregon, and all of the potential commuter campuses were out of state, I made my recommendation accordingly.

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From doing a little research on CC it appears that U. of Portland might not be quite the right fit.

This thread might also be helpful reading: Can “fit” be good for an atheist at these Christian religiously-affiliated colleges? - #10 by thumper1

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Santa Clara is a Jesuit college. But it is a very ecumenical place. Yes, there is a “religion” requirement but there are well over 100 courses from which to choose. My not Catholic kid took some ethics course and a Women In Religion course, and a third…she really liked them all. She is not at all religious in any way.

There is no required chapel or anything like that.

The Jesuit schools emphasize community service and giving back to the community.

Yes, there are Jesuits on campus. My kid found them to be very interesting, well spoken, and smart. And funny too.

She says kids of all faiths are welcome there. No one ever asks about your religious beliefs.

This might help…

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Hi all, I just want to say sorry for the late replies, testing has started to ramp up recently, so I don’t have nearly as much time to look over this forum. However, I just want you all to know that I appreciate your responses.

Thanks

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Hi, thanks for the reply

This is a reply to @momofboiler1 as well

Thanks for the information about the weather. On the other hand, I’ve definitely heard about the stressful aspect of Cornell, and some of the statistics and stories are definitely offputting. Even if I can’t visit, I’ll probably take some time to ask some of my friends currently attending there

Thanks

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Him thanks for the reply

I was just looking solely off of the USNWR to give an example, but my point is that unless the school is notably good, my mom would rather I go to a budget option.

wow that is kind of crazy. I’ll definitely keep this in mind. The Cal Poly schools are definitely on me and my parents’ radars now. Just out of curiosity, do they have their own application process like the UCs?

Thanks

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Hi, thanks for the reply,

I’ll be sure to do that

Thanks

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Hi, thanks for the reply

I’ll be sure to keep this in mind. It’s just so hard to plan around my full-time summer internship to find a time to be able to experience all these universities.

Thanks