<p>Hello! I think this thread should help a lot of kids like me who want to go to top schools but dont exactly have perfect scores or a perfect resume.</p>
<p>I am a rising senior who is trying to find schools to apply to. I am an Asian male and I am looking for very good computer science undergrad programs. </p>
<p>Here are my "important" stats:
GPA: 4.39 Weighted
Class Rank: 9
Classes: 12 AP Classes total
SAT: First one was 1960 a year ago. Next one will be around 2150-2250. Lets just say 2200 rite now.
SAT Subjects: Math 2-800, Chem-760.
Tennis Captain 3 years, varsity 4 years, #1 on team 3 years
NHS President
MUN Vice President
Virginia Governor's School for Math/Science/Technology (took a Computer Science course)
Took a class on JAVA at local community college and got an A.</p>
<p>My current college list:
-Cornell - High Reach
-Duke - High Reach (Going here would be ideal if their Computer Science was strong, or is it?)
-CMU - Reach (Computer Science would make it High Reach)
-Rice - Low Reach
-UC Berkeley - Low Reach?
-UVA - Match (Virginia resident)
-VTech - Safety</p>
<p>Here is my problem. After visiting Cornell, although their computer science is excellent, I feel like I would spend the next 4 miserable years in the middle of no where. And with Carnegie Mellon, correct me if I'm wrong, but I have the impression that its there are many more males and it is cut-throat competitive (I guess this goes for all the top schools). </p>
<p>Also, what about UC Berkeley. I've heard that out-of-state kids have a decent chance. And I know that their Computer Science is very strong. However, I am an Asian which could hurt me for California schools.</p>
<p>So it comes down to this. Anyone got any recommendations to a school with a high-caliber computer science program and with a fun college experience that I can get into? Thank you very much for your input.</p>
<p>University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (match)
University of Texas-Austin (safe match)
University of Washington (Safety)
University of Wisconsin-Madison (safety)</p>
<p>At Berkeley, you can apply either to Engineering (EECS major), or Letters and Science (undeclared, to declare CS later). Both majors select from the same CS courses. Letters and Science is usually considered easier to be admitted to. However, Berkeley is not generous with financial aid to out of state students. Merit scholarships exist, but most are relatively small (there is a full ride merit scholarship, but it is for mechanical engineering students).</p>
<p>Cost is not a major factor and I don’t think I will be getting that much financial aid if any. However, my concern about UMich/UIUC/UTexas/UWash/UWisc is that they aren’t THAT much better than UVA, where I could save a lot of money by staying in-state.</p>
<p>The only major benefit from some of those schools that I just named is that there may be major companies near the colleges. For example, I know Microsoft is in Washington and a lot of companies are located in the Houston area.</p>
<p>If you are interested in CS, don’t overlook schools near San Jose, CA, where there are lots of small computer companies (many of which have limited travel budgets to do out of area recruiting). This includes Berkeley (which you already have listed) and Stanford among the well known schools. Somewhat lesser known schools in the area include UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State.</p>
<p>take a look at Clemson as a safety/low match school! Science programs are really good here (Princeton Review always puts us in the top 5 for happiest students and I love it there!). Def let me know if you have any questions!</p>
<p>Hey thanks everyone. I’m looking into all of these schools. </p>
<p>Another thing I want to consider is how strong the school is in general. Although I may be going into college with the mindset of studying computer science, there is still a major possibility that I change my mind and study something completely different. I know I’m being picky but it’s just another thing to consider.</p>
<p>does anyone have an opinion about UVA’s Computer Science program? How’s the job market for UVA grads?</p>
<p>Wall Street Journal did a survey of recruiters at major companies around the uS and here are the schools recruiters liked the most for computer science:</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, UC-Berkeley, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, MIT, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Maryland</p>