Budget isn’t really an issue, but we’ll weigh everything of course. As you said, some schools at high cost won’t be worth it over UMD. But who knows - if don’t get in, it’s good to have some choices.
So, I think your limiting factor is going to be geography then. Some names I’ve heard of but don’t know much about… Stevens Institute of Technology and New Jersey Institute of Technology are both in Jersey (about 4-5 hours from most of Maryland), and should be targets.
Outside the drive range would be Rose Hulman. Also a match.
Even further would be Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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NC State is not a safety for out of state either. It might be a target, but could be a reach. It’s just one notch down from UNC-Chapel Hill as far as difficulty getting into it. I’m in NC.
UNC-Charlotte might be a good one for the likely list. They have a robust CS program, especially in Cybersecurity I believe.
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Thanks - is Villanova very religious, do you know? That was the main reason for it not being on list at the moment.
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Thanks - I forgot about Stevens - I would add that. I know less about NJIT but will have him look at that and WPI - he was considering WPI at one point).
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Thanks! I really appreciate your local perspective! That helps.
WPI was one of my S23’s top choices. He really likes their quarter based system, and their project based learning. Be aware that their Net Price Calculator is terrible, and that it is quite pricey - they give out tons of merit aid, but even with that it’s going to cost more than $50k per year to attend.
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AFAIK, there isn’t a big religious vibe at Villanova. Plenty of secular students there, as is true of many Catholic colleges.
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CS is by major- it’s a limited enrollment program (LEP) so have to apply directly to the major at UMD. We are in the middle of applying for UMD, actually waiting on decisions.
https://www.admissions.umd.edu/explore/majors/limited-enrollment-programs
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@MDparent22 - Go visit during one of their preview weekends. I would describe them as tier 2 Catholic (along with BC & Holy Cross here on the east coast). Schools like Catholic U and ND would be the most Catholic and it’s embedded in the DNA of all aspects of the school (not that you need to be actually Catholic but the students that benefit most are the ones whose faith plays an important role in their life).
For schools like BC and Nova it’s more aligned around plenty of opportunities for those that are interested Retreats, Sunday mass, etc. The culture is more around the school itself. Unless you are offended by crosses on the walkway or having to take a theology class freshman year I would consider it. School is big on service as well.
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The following is from an FAQ posted by the UMD CS Department
Internal Transfer Students
Am I guaranteed admission to Computer Science if I meet the gateway requirements?
Answer:
Yes. All students who successfully complete the gateway requirements will be admitted to the major.
Many parents and students on both the UMD forum here and on the Reddit UMD forum, have attested to the fact that internal transfers to CS are not a problem, provided that the student passes the Gateway courses with the required GPA.
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Adding on to what @Sweetgum said, part of the reason NC State cannot be considered a safety is that, per NC law, out of state students can make up no more than 18% of freshman students.
NC State also admits by major, so you would be compared to other prospective CS students, not the student body in general. Details on this seem hard to come by, but CS is generally a very popular major with higher than school-average stats. Admit rates that I see from poking around trying to look at CS specifically seem to revert to general admit rates not taking in consideration in state status or major.
Overall acceptance rate is a bit higher for EA, so it would seem to make sense to apply that way if the school is still appealing as an option closer to reach than safety.
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I like it - if you’re usinig the .5 Honors and +1 AP, your weighted is probably high.
The reason I like it is you have plenty of safeties - especially UMBC, Drexel, Delaware, Penn State and Pitt. If you can afford those and your student would like them, you’re fine.
We can debate Rutgers, Lehigh and NC State as targets. If you say UMD is a safety, I’ll go with it - but normally with those #s it would not be. It’d be a low reach. BU a reach for sure unless you ED.
But you have plenty you’ll get into and again - if affordability and desire work, you’re good to go.
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If you’re thinking about Lehigh, have you thought about Bucknell or Lafayette in Pennsylvania? Also, have you given any thoughts to George Washington in D.C.?
We hadn’t. Originally we just started with 2 different ranking lists for schools with good CS programs and started from there. I’ll have him look over those two.
It sounds like Rutgers, NC State, and Lehigh (and maybe UMD) are all closer to target/hard target so the list seems a bit more balanced to me now. Just need to actually see some places! So revised as follows:
Reach: MIT, CMU, Northeastern, UPenn, Boston University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State
Target/Hard Target: Lehigh, Rutgers, UMD
Safety: UMBC, Penn State, Pitt, Drexel, UDel
Added for further consideration: Villanova, WPI, Lafayette, Bucknell and added Stevens (which are listed on collegevine as Target/Hard Target).
Thank you to everyone!
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Drexel is a likely admit, but is significantly more expensive than the others you listed at this tier, and merit can be unpredictable. We noticed a lot of kids receiving surprisingly small merit awards for their stats. I know you don’t have a set budget, but if you aren’t comfortable paying $70k+, I would push Drexel up to target tier.
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You can thank me later.
Schedule an evening- soon- with your spouse (if you have one) and do a deep dive on your entire financial profile. That’s everything- $500 in a Xmas Savings account you forgot about, every line item on your credit cards, every nickel on your mortgage payment, car payment, cable TV, gym. Brokerage account, college savings account, your emergency account. Make a big ole spreadsheet.
Do NOT leave this until the acceptances are on the table. You will be shocked by the number of people- IRL, on CC- who discover in March of senior year that their kid has no affordable options. They thought they’d “figure it out”, until figuring meant that there was absolutely no way to make the numbers work.
If you are really affluent- and know that you’ve got the money locked up in a money market account and aren’t going to need a dime of it for any other need or emergency- kudos to you.
But if you are like most people with some vague sense of “We can always trim here and there” Blossom is here to tell you that cutting out your lawn service and eating out less frequently does NOT equal the $300K or so you’re going to need for some of the options on your list. It just doesn’t add up.
So do it now. Best case, you can cash flow/take from savings/have your kid take out the federal loans and you’ve got it licked. Worst case, you’ve got a 100K shortfall over the four years and you need to start evaluating possible need based/merit aid/cheaper options. That might mean Canada and a longer way from home (but fantastic education for the buck) or going further afield for some of the guaranteed merit awards.
But do it now. The families who discover late in the game that the much vaunted “belt tightening” saves them a couple of thousand dollars every semester- leaving the 78K per year sticker price to come from… where exactly?
Do it now!
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I agree with you - we have been projecting/budgeting college and retirement on ridiculously detailed spreadsheets for a long time. At the end of the day, if the best value for the money is UMBC, then we’ll do that, but we’re definitely not winging it either.
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I second the recommendation to consider Stevens. Great school, well known name in the NYC metro region, good co-op opportunities, very nice brand new dorm building, and a lovely location overlooking the Hudson (plus Manhattan is a short ride away).
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Thanks! I forgot about Stevens! It’s adding up in terms of schools to visit but at least they’re mostly weekend trips.
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