Computer science/physics schools- where to apply?

College Search & Selection
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Love this forum, so crowdsourcing to make sure I have a good list.
Looking for suggestions for a CS/physics school for the kid described below! He’s currently a high school junior.

The kid:
Strong student w good grades, 1540 SAT.
Self taught CS w lots of solo projects and a couple of internships/big projects.
Outdoorsy, likes hiking and camping.
Extrovert, funny, likes parties/lots of friends.

Ideal school in his words:
Small classes, know professors
Collaborative not competitive, group projects
Warm climate if possible
Near hiking/stuff to do (within an hour)
Not so much prescribed curriculum-wants freedom to choose classes. Some writing and liberal arts welcome, but not too much prescribed core.

What fits the bill?
Thanks all.

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Hello @momoftheyear, you may want to post this thread under the “What Are My Chances and Matches?” category and follow the suggestions mentioned here:

Good luck!

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UCSB College of Creative studies may be worth a look if he wants to get involved in research projects. They have a program in CS and Physics. Would have to pick one to major in, but plenty of seminars and opportunities in both.

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home state?

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Washington

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What’s your target out of pocket $$ amount per year?

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For the purposes of making this list, budget isn’t a consideration.

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I just met with a closet company to design my pantry and said the same thing because my range is between $500 and $5,000. Both amounts are equally easy to pay for. There is a big difference between $100K and $320K and both can be equally unaffordable for someone looking to pay less. Do you need to chase merit or are you able to write a check for over a quarter million dollars? That aspect should be a consideration, IMO.

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https://www.wiche.edu/tuition-savings/wue/wue-savings-finder/
look into WUE - a group of Western states the give tuition discounts to students from other Western states at SOME of their public schools. Chico, Cal Poly Pomona, Sonoma State and perhaps the new CP Humboldt, So Oregon, Oregon State, UNR, NAU, UofAz, U of Utah, Uof CO and CO State are all worth an investigation. W Wash in your home state has solid program and a smaller campus.

A couple So Cal Pvts, LMU, U of San Diego typically offer merit aid to high stat kids.

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Part of the challenge here is going to be with the requirement to have not too restricted of a course of study / ability to pick a bunch of classes in other disciplines that he wants to explore.

I say this because any ABET certified program in computer science has very little wiggle room to take a wide range of other general Ed classes. Go look at a couple of colleges’ programs for CS and you’ll see what I’m taking about.

This would then probably lead one to consider a LAC, but most LAC’s comp sci majors are not ABET accredited. However, given the really hot CS/IT job market, that might not matter quite as much.

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So you are saying that paying $250K+ for 4 years is not a concern? Definitely 2nd UCSB College of Creative Studies. UCSB like all the other UC’s are test blind so his great SAT score will not be a consideration and no FA for OOS applicants.

I would start from the bottom up so what in-state colleges are under consideration. Assuming UW?

Cal Poly SLO would be a good option however they discourage double majors for Engineering/CS students. They do have a regimented curriculum for CS majors.

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I second the UCSB college of creative studies suggestion. I attended UCSB and CCS is pretty cool. But it’ll cost you $66,000/yr as an out of state student so if you’re ok with paying that with no merit scholarships available, then go for it.

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Look at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a small school that does not confer PhDs and focuses on undergraduate teaching, much like Harvey Mudd or Olin. Among schools that do not confer PhDs it is ranked #1 for all engineering disciplines, including computer engineering. Class sizes are capped at 30 students and the professors are there to teach undergrads, not do research. There is lots of support and the professors take a personal interest in the students.

I checked the CVs of professors there and many came from CMU, RPI, Purdue, Cornell, U of Penn and GA Tech. Not surprisingly, many RHIT graduates go to these same schools for their masters. Graduate outcomes - salary by major and grad school acceptance - are similar to UofM. Rose is also flexible on majors, which was attractive to our son. Students are not locked into a major until late sophomore year, and they are guaranteed the major to which they applied, unlike Purdue and some other schools.

You may want to inquire about their summer Catapult program. Students live on campus for 12 days and work on a team project like programming a robot, making biodiesel, or designing a machine that walks like a spider. They will get a lot of facetime with professors and get a good idea of what the school is like. My son went to Catapult after his junior year, and the professors were terrific. I forget what the application deadline is, so if interested contact them immediately.

My son’s stats were similar to your son’s - 770M/750E, 3.9 UW, every STEM AP, electives like programming and engineering design, etc. - and he was accepted for MechE with a $26K merit scholarship.

Now the downside, based on your son’s profile. 1. The focus is overwhelmingly on STEM; they have a single department for all the liberal arts disciplines like English, History, etc. He will find some liberal arts classes, but the selection will be limited. 2. It isn’t even in Terre Haute, IN, it is four miles on Rt 40 outside town. The campus is pretty, but isolated. 3. It is downstate Indiana, so it may not be as warm as he would like (though it beats MI or MN).

I hope this helps.

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Hi there. I saw on your other thread that your home state is Washington. So definitely U Wash should be on the list for CS.

Before proceeding with other suggestions - a very important question: what is your budget? (what are you able to pay for comfortably over 4 years?)

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Hi there. Thanks so much.
For the purposes of making this list, budget isn’t a consideration.

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Santa Clara is a match/safety.
Harvey Mudd is a reach.
Cal Tech is a reach.

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May not meet your hiking and camping requirements, but these are good choices for CS OOS and meet the warm climate preference:

Match: UMD College Park
High Match/Low Reach: UVA
Reach: GeorgiaTech

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In the East…

Reaches:
If you can stand the cold:
Dartmouth (liberal arts with outdoor activities), CMU (on edge of Pittsburgh, but next to a large park), JHU (I know it’s in Baltimore, but once your’e on campus, you would never know it), Tufts

Warmer: Duke, Emory, Rice, Vanderbilt

Likely/Matches: Lehigh, RPI, WPI

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Is that GPA weighted or unweighted? What have been the scores on the AP tests?

Also, I know you say that budget isn’t a consideration in making this list. But if it’s going to be a consideration in where to apply or where to enroll, then I think mentioning a budget is helpful and important.

There are some big state schools on this list, but if accepted into their honors colleges, the class size drops significantly (usually no more than 20 per class), and there are frequently other perks like priority registration, reserved dorms, etc.

Trying to keep this list in warmer areas with hiking availability within about an hour and some strength in the proposed majors, here’s what I might suggest:

Extremely Likely (90+% chance of admission)

  • Hendrix
  • Austin College
  • Southwestern University
  • U. of Tennessee – Honors
  • New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
  • Presbyterian College
  • Arizona State – Barrett Honors College

Likely (60-90% chance of admission)

  • Wofford
  • U. of Portland
  • U. of San Diego
  • U. of the South

Possible (25-55% chance of admission)

  • U. of Washington
  • Texas A&M (honors)
  • Clemson (honors)
  • Reed
  • Santa Clara
  • Pepperdine
  • U. of Georgia (honors)
  • Furman
  • Rhodes
  • Occidental
  • Colorado College
  • U. of Tulsa

Unlikely (less than 25% chance of admission…these schools are unlikely for ALL applicants, not a statement on the strength of your son’s stats and ECs/awards

  • Davidson
  • Duke
  • Rice
  • Pomona
  • Coll. Of William & Mary
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I saw this list and thought you might find it interesting: Best Colleges Near Mountains — TKG

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