<p>As the summer comes to an end and we are steps away from senior year and applications I am feeling a bit frustrated. This is son#2....very different from son #1 in personality, scores, gpa. Son #1 is at Stevens Inst of Tech. Did very well in high school, on SAT, etc.. Son#2 is a creative computer whiz. He is very clear he wants computer science and would like a techy school...however he is a B student with average SATs and very little classic extra cc. He does not love school and could care less where he goes but does care that they have a strong technology program. His high school experience was just ok....I am doing my best to search for a school that will give him both the academics and atmosphere that are a fit...but after quite a few visits and lots of searching we have found some "Ok" schools but not that one that really grabs you. Reaching out to the CC community for suggestions! I love hidden gems and really have searched high and low. Hoping you all may point me in a direction I have not looked yet.
So here is his criteria....suggestions please!</p>
<p>GPA: 3.1 unweighted
SAT: 580 reading 630 Writing 500 math
Small to Medium sized school
Location = NY, CT, NJ, PA, Northern Maryland
Does not want a school smack in a city
Major - Computer Science (cyber security/digital art a plus)
Public or Private is fine</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I ran a search on supermatch. SUNY Institute of Technology seems like a good match for him, but I don’t know much about it.</p>
<p>Not in the Northeast, but NM Mining and Tech has impressive alumni results (assuming that you don’t wash out), is quite affordable OOS, doesn’t have high entrance standards, and cybersecurity is evidently a strength there.</p>
<p>BTW, look at this link for schools that may specialize in cybersecurity:
<a href=“http://www.nsa.gov/ia/academic_outreach/nat_cae/institutions.shtml”>http://www.nsa.gov/ia/academic_outreach/nat_cae/institutions.shtml</a></p>
<p>Cybersecurity can be pretty math-intensive, though. Think he can cut it?</p>
<p>CS in general is pretty math intensive. Has the lad taken AP Calc? what’s the highest level of math he will have completed?</p>
<p>Is it possible that S is not yet ready for college? Many boys and many of the CS-obsessed aren’t. Would a year away from the computer do him any good? expand his world beyond that 23-inch monitor? You would be doing him no favors by insisting on his going to college next year if he’s not ready. If you find yourself doing all the college application work, turn it over to him. If he has to do it, you’ll find out whether or not he’s ready.</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about his readiness, set a limit on how much money you’re willing to contribute each year so that you don’t lose out if S decides to not go to class or stop going to college.</p>
<p>If all else fails, limit him to attendance at a local state college, a cc, or the state flagship if he can get in, for one year. After a year, if S hasn’t met your expectations, pull him out.</p>
<p>Or online classes. The thing with CC is that if his GPA in CC is too tarnished, transferring somewhere good would be hard. Once he’s mature/motivated, if he’s bright, he may actually be able to transfer somewhere stellar after a year of CC (Columbia GS if he took a gap year; also maybe USC/UIUC/UT-Austin/UMich). I believe USC is well-known in the creative CS realm. I know someone from SJSU who majored in something like digital art and has done very well in his career (he’s very personable and hustles hard though; regardless of where you go to school, both of those qualities are very good to have).</p>
<p>BTW, for whatever it’s worth:
<a href=“http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-100-schools-animation-gaming-and-design”>http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/top-100-schools-animation-gaming-and-design</a></p>
<p>See if he can become really motivated through online classes in animation and design.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies everyone. To answer some of the items in the various responses…
- He can carry his own in Math so I dont think that will be a prob. He will have had some Calc by the time he gets there
- He is motivated to work…and just wants to get his degree so he can do what he loves. He is anxious to get to school and get things rolling. I am not concerned about his lack of motivation or wasting money. We are very clear with all of the kids on how much we will spend or not spend and what grades need to be made. So no worries there.
- We have always given the option to stay home and start at the community college or one of the local colleges but at the moment he seems set on attending elsewhere and I am supporting that decision.
- Have already looked on the NSA website…its a great link…actually got some of our schools from that list!
- I will take another look at the SUNY Inst of Tech…for some reason we had removed it from the list but maybe those reasons have changed! Thanks for the suggestions…this is the type of school suggestion I was looking for!
- Unfortunately he is not flexible with the location so all of the other mentioned schools would not fit</p>
<p>Thanks again…If anyone can think of any additional northeast/mid atlantic schools that are strong in technology and a fit for a B student please send them along!
Thanks again</p>
<p>I have to say, I wonder how much the degree correlates with what he actually likes to do. If he has the skillset already, has he considered trying to get a job right now? Some coders are ready for that, and that seems like it may be better than a mediocre college option if he can do the work.</p>
<p>With all the criteria, I don’t know of any that fit but I wanted to add that idea.</p>
<p>My S is a HS junior and is interested in Comp Sci and/or video game programming. These are the schools we have on the list so far and perhaps may give you some ideas:</p>
<p>RIT
StonyBrook
Marist
Binghamton
Rowan
Montclair State
New Paltz
Towson
UMass Amherst/Boston/Lowell
Bloomsburg Univ
Westchester Univ. of PA</p>
<p>Can also consider Fairleigh Dickinson and George Mason</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>@carly135 - thanks for sharing the list! We have some of these on our list as well…</p>
<p>StonyBrook > did not visit…think its a reach for him…but he will be applying</p>
<p>Rowan > visited and he was ok with it. That school has come a long way since the old days. He has to apply to one state school so this will prob be it.</p>
<p>Westchester > visited and is his top choice at the moment. They seem to be keeping up with the cyber security piece and technology overall. </p>
<p>I had Marist on the list but took it off because I though it was a reach. RIT, UMass unfortunately too far…I think RIT would have been great. No interest in Monclair. I loved George Mason but it was outside of his 3 hour radius!</p>
<p>Thanks again for sharing your sister’s list. I am going to revisit some of the others to remember why we excluded and maybe add them back in if a fit!
Thanks!</p>
<p>I know a student with similar stats that was very happy at Quinnipiac (CT).</p>
<p>thanks 3boystogo (BTW love your user name)
Have added Quinnipiac to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.</p>