Junior son wants to pursue CS major with interest in software development. Get’s A’s in AP CS classes but unweighted GPA in core classes in low (3.2). SAT 1400 (720 math). Has good extracurricular (Eagle Scout w/palms, internship with software development company this summer, accepted to GHP for piano). Live in GA. Has enough money to go out of state or private.
Borderline ADD. Struggled in sophomore year but doing better junior year. Will take AP calc and AP Physics senior year. Taken AP govt and APUSH and did pretty well. Does DE too. Likes online classes during COVID era (easier to follow).
We know his choices are really limited for CS. Hoping to get ideas and open to options (small/big, in/out of state, public/private). Look forward to suggestions.
My nephew, with lower grades and fewer extra curriculars, was recently accepted into:
University of Missouri - Columbus
Rowan
Valparaiso
Ohio Northern
Iowa State
SUNY Oswego
SUNY Buffalo
Purdue (not a direct admit to Engineering or CS)
University of New Hampshire
All of these schools have Comp Sci, some programs are larger than others. It’s worth looking into the specific class requirements as schools have different focuses. My nephew is interested in Cyber Security but not ever school has that.
RIT in Rochester, NY is one to have on your list. His GPA is lower than usual for them, but I think his AP CS class might compensate. His SAT is fine (good) for their usual admits and his math score shows he is capable.
Students who have gone here from our school have loved it and gotten nice jobs afterward.
ETA It’s very easy to reach via an airport in Rochester.
Anyway, I added these schools on your other thread: DePaul, U Dayton, UT Dallas, and Stevens. Make sure to research the schools that Myos1634 suggested on that thread too.
My son sounds just like yours! He has been programming (video games) since he was 7 years old. GPA of 3.2 and 1180 SAT scores, but his teachers knew his potential and wrote him amazing reference letters. He is on the autism spectrum but very high functioning and borderline ADD.
He was accepted to UMBC, GMU and Frostburg all immediately into their CS programs. UMBC was his choice and they are wonderful. Smaller school, but ranked well for CS majors. Campus is so easy and beautiful. It is away from the city but only a couple miles from BWI airport. Very easy to get to. GMU offered him almost $20k in scholarships as well, but we are from MD so instate was still a better deal.
Hope that helps, but with his SAT scores I suspect he will have plenty of options! I was nervous as well but he is now in his sophomore year and loving it!!
There are many good options for a student like your son.
With those stats in GA . . . Definitely look into Univ of Georgia and even GA Tech. Depending how far he’d travel, consider smaller schools like Rose-Hulman, Stevens, WPI, RPI. Closer to home, consider Alabama and Auburn.
Just because his stats might make the elite departments like MIT and Carnegie Mellon unreachable, don’t think for a second that he can’t join a great CS department. Much of the elite-ness of the high-end departments reflects the graduate programs. For undergraduate, there are SO many good options. It’s good to be actively researching now, but there’s plenty of time to find what he wants. Good luck.
My S with similar stats ended up at Quinnipiac for engineering (started with civil but he switched to mechanical after first semester.) They have many great support systems in place for these kids. The engineering/CS dept is relatively new but boasts 100% placement. There are peer mentors, tons of study group opps, and a weekly study skills seminar (elective) just for engineer majors. We’ve been super impressed. Many of his classmates have engineer parents who speak highly of it.
Thanks for suggestions. Georgia Tech is the most competitive school in GA and Hope Scholarship has turned UGA into a highly competitive school (definitely a reach). We keep seeing RIT on the list and it’s in our sights. Nice thing is that CS is a hot job market and doesn’t require a brand name degree as long as program teaches right curriculum and had good job placement opportunities.
I agree that UGA and esp GaTech are not shoe-in acceptances. Sorry — didn’t mean to imply otherwise. But the value for an in-state student is outstanding, and I think the stats, internship, EagleScout make for a competitive application almost anywhere. You’ll want a strategy of applying to a broad set of schools, but there are absolutely many colleges out there that will fit.
Definitely look at flagship state universities. Some have a general into Science or Engineering and can select CS at the end of year 1. Others, maybe more competitive, have specific acceptance into CS. Most are large well-supported departments and produce high-quality graduates.
Yes- that’s the thing about CS and the job market. I know people who graduated with completely different degrees (studio art) but took coding boot camps and work as software engineers in SF/Silicon Valley. It’s what you know, not necessarily how you got to knowing. And even with being a CS major in university, so many of the programs are more research based rather than practical oriented that your kid will need to do a lot of coding and get coding experience outside of the classroom in order to get internships and jobs.
As others have said, RIT is well known for their CS program and in particular their Coop system where students take a few semesters here and there to work well paid jobs in the field. This is why their median starting salary is so high (in the $80,000s). It is an expensive school, however, even with merit scholarships. And the cold, grey, windy winters that last from October through April is also something to take into consideration. It is also about 70:30 male:female if that is something your son cares about. My son got in for this coming fall and really likes the program but isn’t sure he can handle the winters (and we live in NY but the opposite end).
I’m a little unclear about his overall UWGPA, but since you’re in GA, maybe take a look at some of the NC and SC schools: UNCC (great tech and banking connections), UNCW, ECU, App State, Western Carolina, Coastal Carolina, CofC, Wofford, Furman, or maybe Marshall in WV or even Missouri S&T (great internships with Boeing). Some have good ADD support, if that ever becomes necessary in the future. He may be able to earn merit at some of these.
You’re still fortunate to be in GA. GTech offers the Arts&Science transfer pathway if you apply to the Arts&Science colleges (and a few less popular ones). In the past, it seems they offered that pathway to all GA residents who applied to those less popular colleges at GTech. Now there is the conditional “may”. And the Arts college at GTech still allows you to major in Computational Media, which is like a double major of CS and an arts field (you’d take all of the core CS courses, but instead of 2 CS “threads”, you’d take 1 CS thread and one arts thread).
Have you looked into Champlain College? It’s a small college very close to University of Vermont that has become rather famous for its comp sci programs, especially cyber security. It seems to have a unique career focused curriculum that is unlike any other college on my son’s list. If you research it here, there isn’t a ton of info, but what there is makes it look like a great fit for someone like your son. Small classes, personal attention, great program and career placement, and not hyper competitive or hard to get in. Might be worth investigating! We are hoping to visit in person this summer, but from what we’ve seen on the virtual tour, campus is gorgeous and Burlington is supposed to be an amazing college town.
But I come with other suggestions. Biofeedback seems to work really well for Adhd kids… If going to someone with experience. Also developmental optometry… Seen many kids get off meds for Adhd.
Also time management is usually a concern. This is a fun and fast read loaded with techniques for time management. Highly recommend on the engineering threads here…
Another vote for RIT. My now college freshman sounds very similar to your child and he is loving it there. A Computer Security major. Already able to land a computer security internship for this coming summer.