CS schools list

Applying to College
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Need:

  1. Good internship/recruitment/job placement
  2. Good professors
  3. Good CS and/or math program
  4. Marching (prefer) or pep band very important
  5. Not overly Greek (some is ok if culture is not dominated by it)
  6. Most importantly- happy students with good work/life balance
  7. Prefer relatively easy to travel to/from MD (bus, train, direct flight)

Stats: 3.8UW/ 4.5W/ top 8% rank/ 1540 SAT/ have 7 APs so far & most all else honors; pretty strong music EC)

Below is what we have so far - anything we should add or remove from consideration?
Considering some other reaches/long shots to add but honestly they’re all likely to be pressure cookers and/or far away and I’m wondering if that’s even worth it — I see a lot of reports for all of them with high rates of mental health issues. (Ones kid is considering — 2 or 3 max: CMU, Cornell, GA Tech, UPenn, Duke, Chapel Hill)

  1. UMD (#1 choice in state) (Hard Target/Reach no clue about this anymore)
  2. Penn State (safety/target) - liked)
  3. U Del (safety) liked
  4. UMBC (safety)
  5. Rutgers NB (Target/Hard target)
  6. Va Tech (Target)
  7. NC State (possibly) (Hard Target)
  8. Northeastern (Reach) liked
  9. William & Mary (possibly) (Reach)
  10. Case Western (??)
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UPitt should be easy

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It was on list but came off after visiting. I think the feeling was there are good, easy options closer by. But it’s a pretty easy application maybe worth it - don’t recall if there’s an extra essay

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We liked UMass Amherst, but didn’t get in. Waitlisted.

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Good list.

Rutgers should be a match/likely.

If your kid is unhooked, his best chance at NEU will be through ED, but I don’t recommend that given so many better choices on your list. NEU and CWRU both need to see lots of demonstrated interest, otherwise they tend to defer/waitlist.

If mental health concerns exist and you’re seeking a good work/life balance, I would take CMU off the list.

You may also want to consider Stevens Institute of Technology. Great co-op and placement outcomes, and nice location right across from Manhattan. Plus a brand new dorm.

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Part of the problem of course is it’s really hard getting a sense of what the kid likes or doesn’t like about a school. Things like - I like this campus (UDel) more (than Penn St) but no idea why. So I’m left guessing. I think it’s because it’s smaller size wise and enclosed in traditional quad style so planning to visit Va Tech again at some point when school in session.

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If he didn’t like Pen State he may not like UMass Amherst because both are sort of in the middle of nowhere. Although UMass is not absolutely in the boondocks. My son liked UMass and didn’t like Penn State. The food at UMass was excellent.

Positives for Penn and UMass are that they are smaller closed majors.

Rutgers is an open major. Huge.

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That is my feeling too. I think CMU even though long shot is scary in terms of mental health/balance.

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If you are strong in Math, I think CMU is not as bad as it is made it out to be. Perhaps still stressful.

Incidentally Wisconsin Madison is also an open major. A bit easier to get into. But class availability is a challenge.

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He did like Penn - he’s almost too agreeable. He just liked UD campus more (but campus is just one thing). He really really liked Penn St band but that is super competitive and grueling schedule- but he thrives with band.

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How much do you know about Stevens past issues/complaints? I thought I’d seen something about it but not really sure what it was about. I dropped consideration after seeing that but may be worth looking at. I know the area very well and love it.

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My concern is once you add social life and music commitment it gets to be a lot - he’s already been in a magnet HS pressure cooker and i did not love that. Glad he did it while home but CMU would be twice as bad if not more - add in transition away from home and a 4-5 hour bus ride, I just don’t know. He’s going to want to at least try for it I know, but I’m going to want to talk him out of it if he somehow got in!

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I am not saying CMU is easy. The way I would describe it is that it has a high floor. Part of the stress of CMU is that it is a theory heavy school. Most kids who come to CS come either from a programming interest background or a robotics background in HS which is a different focus. Hence some of the stress.

Friends of mine who are CS faculty (at UMD and GT) tell me UPenn is also a pressure cooker — not sure why.

I suspect Duke (without any evidence) will have a lower floor. The same friends were recommending Duke over Penn to another friend’s kid this season.

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Internships - yes, schools have handshake and contact - but that’s on the kid. Whether you go to Harvard or Tennessee, you’ll find internships if you put forth the effort.

Good profs - schools will have good and not good. Some - more LACs - focus on having good profs. Many schools are under prof’d - and some of those have bad profs but it’s all they can get.

Happy students and work life balance - perhaps, not to major in CS then.

Many kids suffer today and many schools don’t have the mental health facilities to handle all of them.

Any budget issues - do you have a price point, etc? I ask because you have UMBC but U Del and Penn State - what drives the difference - because Penn State will cost more - if that’s a factor, then why apply?

I think 1-7 you get into. 8 and 10 will need to show interest and 9 is possible.

If BWI is the home airport, Ohio State might make sense vs. Penn State - flight vs. drive or other way. That you liked Penn State and have Va Tech on the list - I think Clemson (not easy to access) and UGA have similarities.

NC State is off campus a 20 minute walk to the second campus. Is that ok?

Would the student like an RPI? Southwest will fly to Albany.

If anything, I might remove a safety unless you are wanting to see the merit offer - i.e. would Penn State come into UMBC. But if you prefer PSU or UDel over UMBC and money doesn’t matter, you can save UMBC.

If you liked Northeastern (city school), not sure why you didn’t like Pitt. But maybe SUNY Buffao? Drexel? URI fir merit?

Honestly, your list as is - is fine. If W&M, are you willing to go as far as Denver ? If so, you have School of Mines and U of Denver - it’s an easy flight.

Good luck.

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Thanks, this helps a lot and puts into some context. I don’t want to suggest no stress wanted (as tsbna seemed to take it by suggesting to drop cs). CS or math is non-negotiable nor would I want it to be negotiable- he loves both and always has and needs to stay challenged while also having time left over for social/musical outlet (ie, music/band). Maybe I worded it wrong but I think you get the point. After reading reviews, I just noticed pattern of some schools having higher mental health issues (Chapel Hill had a bunch of incidents this year) and I don’t understand what the reason is - too much workload, too much competitiveness, not enough outlets or time to decompress? Maybe there’s no evidence but it seemed like higher the selectivity, the more stories there are, though it could be that it’s just the type of predisposed students that attend those schools.

I too have heard about Penn being pressure cooker and to some degree Duke as well. Are there any additional reaches besides CMU you would recommend?

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Princeton :slight_smile:
Kids go into interviews without grinding leetcode and do fine.
My kid just graduated from there.
It can be somewhat low pressure if you want it to be. Primarily it has a low floor in CS.
They want to accommodate kids that had no prior exposure to CS. So there are many paths through the department.
The ceiling at Princeton would be as high as that at CMU in many/most areas. Wouldn’t be surprised if undergrads had more access to grad classes at P than at any other place.
I suspect Brown will be a low floor.
Incidentally median salaries at Brown are very high for CS.
The floor determines the stress
The above two places are likely to be far more collaborative than places like Penn or UIUC etc

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No budget issues though certainly will weigh ROI as a factor in decision.

UMBC was my addition as the safest of safeties (just in case!) - there’s no extensive application entailed and would make me feel safe knowing he wouldn’t be shut out anywhere.

Again, not trying to have 4 years of no stress, but there should be time left over for balance/social and mental outlet - I know enough CS kids at UMD and UDel who do band that those don’t seem as “intense” for lack of better word. But I do know he’ll want to apply to a few higher reaches so trying to get a sense of which of them are better suited to having time for some social outlet (or maybe there are none).

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Do you have thoughts for alternatives to Princeton/Brown (size/vibe) - no large state schools? Strong CS but not so reachy?

How do LACs fare in CS?

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I don’t think CMU or Cornell fit the criteria you mentioned.

I think you have a good list!

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My kid did not want to look at any LACs. He is well informed. I take his opinion seriously.

For state schools, pick closed majors to have a sane experience.

UMass Amherst may fit the bill from many different points of view. On the cusp of being not terribly hard to get into. My younger kid with a 3.3 was waitlisted there. I was pleasantly surprised.

Penn State may also be fine. But the campus is truly in the middle of no where.

Not a fan with RPI or RIT or NEU for different reasons— gender ratio, gender ratio, too big/coop.

UT Austin Turing — my kid liked it a lot. Very cozy. Is a reach.

Kid’s friend went to UIUC Honors — apparently it was very good.

I like Max 500 sized programs. Not 1000 sized programs. 200 is better than 500
I don’t think there are hidden gems.

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