Colleges for CS + Neuro/CogSci?

College Search & Selection
1

After being exposed to CS and Psych classes, I’ve realized how much I like both topics. I know of NEU’s combined CS + CogSci major and I was wondering what other colleges offer programs/dual majors like this. I’m a sophomore/rising junior, 3.98 GPA, 1420 SAT, all that fun stuff. I’m doing USACO in March, AMC next month, working on my own projects, all that fun CS stuff. My friend’s pushing me to do USABO but I think that’s a little much (will definitely try it? idk). I’m a trans male in Indiana, household income of around $40k.

I’d like a college preferably in New England in a relatively urban environment. Size doesn’t matter too much, preferably 2000-8000 but it doesn’t matter too much. I want a nice-ish campus but if it’s blended into the city like NYU then again, I don’t really care. Thank you in advance!

2

3.98 is weighted or unweighted? 1420 is great for a sophomore; are you going to retake and/or give the ACT a shot?

UPenn seems to check your boxes (well, not New England but still urban northeast). https://catalog.upenn.edu/undergraduate/programs/computer-cognitive-science-bas/ It has the great financial aid you need and the kind of program you’re looking for, in a major city. But it’s probably a realistic reach only if you apply ED, as their admissions process is heavily skewed toward early decision.

With a 40K household income, are you applying for Questbridge? There are a lot of great options among the QB schools. (Some on the west coast have great CS/CogSci programs as well, like Pomona and USC).

Vassar could be a good fit academically (they have the oldest CogSci department in the country), and you’d have an application advantage since you identify as male. Might not be as urban as you want, but the access to NYC isn’t terrible. And they meet full need.

Carnegie Mellon’s CogSci major is very heavy on CS in its own right and would probably be great for what you want, and Pittsburgh is a great student city, but it’s not a full-need-met school so it’s unclear whether it would pan out financially. Same goes for RPI (plus you might not like Troy or the vibe in general).

Case Western is excellent for your interests, has a great urban college experience, and offers terrific flexibility to move among majors/programs. Perhaps not as much of a complete escape from the midwest as you’re seeking, but then again there’s a lot to like about Cleveland. U of Rochester is another with similar virtues, a little less embedded in the city that CWRU but definitely urban-adjacent. Both meet full need.

As you said, Northeastern’s CS+X programs are great. Run the NPC. They meet full need but often don’t calculate full need as generously as better-endowed schools. You can end up in a real bind if your EFC isn’t an amount you can really come up with, as any additional scholarship money you scrounge up will be taken off the bottom line of your FA offer. Tufts, on the other hand, tends to be quite generous and has great CS and CogSci programs - it’s a reach, but not necessarily out of range if you keep up the high-stats trend and strong EC’s.

Good luck; hope that helps!

3

@aquapt Thank you! I greatly appreciate this comment!

The 3.98 is W, but I have a heavy upward trend. I have a 3.93 UW. My GPA was a 4.12 W before second semester of my freshman year, but I had to move because of a bunch of familial stuff (suicide attempts, abuse, jail etc.)

All of those schools sound great! I’ll look into them.

I am planning on doing Questbridge.

4

Another possibility with your stated goals in your post.

Boston College has an excellent psychology department and a new neuroscience major. They are opening a new billion dollar integrated sciences facility that looks to be cutting edge. Your timing would be good. And they meet 100 percent of demonstrated need for all students. You need a more comprehensive financial disclosure called the css and it counts both parents. Married or not. And any home equity they may have. So when the time gets closer pay closer attention to the actual numbers.

Also tufts bu and mit (which may be the best in the country for what you would like to do in the future) but it’s MIT. But it doesn’t hurt to take a look.

I throw this out there because you can visit neu bu bc tufts and mit easily. I would check them all out as you have so much time on your side. Any of those schools would be great if the financial piece works out and you continue performing at a top level.

Keep up the good work.

5

@privatebanker Thank you! Hitting all of those schools in one go is ideal, definitely. BC is super nice, I know someone who goes there and loves it but I didn’t know about their new facility and neuro major! Will def look into it.

I’ve tried to keep finances in mind the best I can. My mom is unemployed and I don’t live with her (dad has full custody) so that’ll be a problem but oh well, lol. I’m lucky to have a nice scholarship for in-state publics that pays full-tuition right off the bat, so somewhere like Purdue is definitely on my list.

Thank you for the post!

6

Good luck. If your mom is un or underemployed at the time of your filing it won’t hold you back. It will be ok.

The bc neuroscience major is new for class of 2020 and beyond. Full disclosure: I learned all about this over the past year. My d is class of 2020 and is going to move down the neuroscience major path herself.

So I am a bit biased (although known as a realist in my day job) and spent a bit of time exploring the exact questions you posed in your post ex the financial requirements. That process you can learn here on cc.

7

@privatebanker Oh that’s brand new! Awesome!

I appreciate the info!