@ucbalumnus So it’s mandatory that we take this summer or semester off for a job or internship?
@appzle. OOS is always a toss up at Michigan but I think you have a decent chance. Keep your grades up and write an amazing essay. Don’t settle for just an ok essay. Also they like to know you want to go there. Make an ID now and start looking around. Find out on your site who their regional counselor is and ask a question about the program. Go visit them at your school or region. Email them to find out when they will be in your area. They do regional tours with other known schools. That’s a good question to ask the counselor. Showing interest is important to them.
At most colleges, co-op semesters are optional (and what you do in the summer is up to you; most work if they can find a job, while some take courses). At the few colleges which build their curricula around co-ops, it may be required or very strongly encouraged.
When looking for a job at graduation, previous work experience is strongly considered by employers, so summer or co-op job experience relating to your major is a big plus.
As you seem interested in rankings, you might want to see this @ https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/computer-information-sciences/computer-science/rankings/
Confused?
Please read another thread on this website regarding rankings @ http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21882799#Comment_21882799
Universities are ranked in a variety of ways. For the WPI set see https://www.wpi.edu/about/facts?field_category_tid=81
What are you looking for? What variables do you want to measure?
WPI '67
To add/clarify to above, co-op’s vary in schedule, length (usually 4-8 months), and how many a student takes depending on both the school and the student’s choices, but the general idea is that you take extended periods off to work in between school within your professional field. Requirements and graduation times vary but generally you would graduate a year later if you do more than one, but summer time usage can mean you can still finish in 4 years even if you do multiple co-ops if you use summers to catch up, as many co-op patterns encourage. As mentioned, the cost and number of classes is the same as any other 4 year college.
Generally co-op gives the benefits of extended work experience, sometimes improved pay over interning, strong connections for jobs after graduation, and the ability to “test drive” your career and adapt classes and academic plans accordingly. While many schools offer co-op programs and one can make their own, large co-op programs gives lots of support to students to find co-op’s, work it into their schedule, and also gives social benefits when the student body all is participating in the program.
As a note, RPI also has a strong co-op emphasis with their arch program: https://info.rpi.edu/the-arch
@PengsPhils Do you know if Northeastern University tends to place more emphasis on scores rather than anything else? I feel like I’m lacking in my extracurriculars; I have activities but I haven’t committed in anything for all four years of high school. These activities also seem to show that I’m more well-rounded than having a big spike, and I’ve heard that colleges prefer the latter.
@appzle Northeastern does tend to be a bit more score focused, but your whole application is still going to be important, just like anywhere else. This should affect anything on your end though - all you can do in the college app process is build a balanced list with good safeties, put your best foot forward, and hope for the best!
I agree with multiple other comments that getting the price of university down to the point that you can avoid loans is as important as getting admitted. You should try to find a good school that you can attend without taking on debt.
One additional school that might be worth looking at, although it is a bit far for you and OOS, is U.Mass Amherst. At least it is probably worth running the NPC on it to see what it is likely to cost. It is very strong for CS and does have some OOS merit scholarships.
I would run the NPCs on a long list of schools (including pretty much everything mentioned in this thread) and see what they predict. At least for us they were quite accurate (we are married, no ex-spouses, and don’t own any small businesses). Your excellent stats are going to get you into many and probably most of the schools mentioned in this thread.
I would highly suggest again Illinois State University. They graduate the most teachers and like every teacher I know went there.
https://financialaid.illinoisstate.edu/scholarships/illinoisstate/
Merit plus financial aid could make it a solid choice and your cheapest option for instate.
@DadTwoGirls i was quite interested in UMass Amherst before the discussion of this thread. I ran the NPC and it would cost upwards of roughly $40,000 a year, that’s a little out of the budget for my family and me.
Sorry, I don’t check this site that often. As always, ucbalumnus supplied an excellent answer about Direct Entry at UW-Seattle. Paul Allen and others donated money to expand both CS and engineering at the school to accommodate the needs of the area tech companies. Because of this, they will have space to accept the majority of students directly into the major as freshmen. Current freshmen are in a two year stress-fest trying to get at least a 3.7 to apply to the major sophomore year. Right now, there is so much interest in UW CS students that the university has to turn away companies.
My son’s friend thought he could graduate from RPI, come back to the Seattle area and just get his pick of excellent jobs. It did not happen. He got denied from all the big area employers. Surprisingly, he was a good student but he was not as well prepared for the competitive programming portion of the interview process as CS grads from other colleges. Top skill gets hired. It took him a full 12 months of upgrading his skills to find an actual CS job. He had some offers for either low-paid or unpaid work which he refused. I am a graduate so it pained me to see this happen.
My D’s best friend from college left Nevada in order to avoid UN-R and UNLV. I understand. But being one of the best at UN-R will still open doors. My belief is it is not worth a lot more money for a marginally better-ranked department.
My youngest had similar hs stats and is at Notre Dame. His friends are at Rice, Macalester, Emory, Northwestern, etc. If you can get that type of learning environment and the alumni network for $11,000/year or so, that, to me, would be worth it. Look at the list of colleges that meet 100% need.
Santa Clara is an excellent recommendation with proximity to Silicon Valley jobs.
To be honest, you’re going to get more out of UNR than any of these other prestigious schools. Nevada has the lowest tuition in the country, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a scholarship there anyway. Being a programmer myself, the industry is driven entirely by work experience, so it makes no difference where you graduate from, especially with such an employable degree. Most employers don’t even bother asking about education after 2-3 years of work experience. If you graduate debt free, you have a sizable advantage, because that’s $400 a month you get to keep.