I am in 11th grade and working to narrow down my list of colleges to apply to for a computer science degree. I am interested in applying to some schools that are ABET accredited as I am considering entering the field of intellectual property law if software/web development does not work out. Which of these schools will provide me the best overall education? Ideally I would like smaller class sizes (don’t really care about the size of the overall university) and to be in or near a big city although this is not absolutely necessary. I do like the idea of a co-op program, but summer internships would also be ok. Should any of these schools be obviously eliminated? My list is:
Villanova
George Washington
Drexel
Northeastern
University of Rochester
Case Western
I am looking to pick one or two of these schools to apply to.
Why not apply to them all. 6 is a reasonable amount of schools to apply to. Applying to 1 or 2 schools could be potentially dangerous (don’t get in to any, financially unreasonable).
You have a good list of schools that offer both prelaw and computer science. For patent law, you will want to take plenty of writing classes as examiners, patent agents and patent attorneys write a lot. All the schools you mention offer both CS and writing. Rochester is the smallest city of those you mention, but I would not eliminate it as its a great all around school with a solid engineering and CS program. I agree with ohiokid that you should apply to all six. Only Villanova stands out as a sporty party school, but you can still get a good education there and its only a train ride away from Philadelphia. Case Western often offers very good merit based scholarships, so keep that one on your list, if money may be tight. The writing and engineering programs at Case Western are above average as well. With the Common Application, it is easy to apply to all six. Check if these schools require any additional essays beyond the common application essays.
GWU, Drexel, and Northeastern are good schools, but not noted for extending great financial aid offers beyond the tippy top of their applicant pools. If financing your education is going to be an issue, you might want to look at some good, but lower-ranked urban schools that are less tight with a buck like IIT in Chicago. If accepted, Case, Rochester, and Villanova will likely be quite generous with thier FA packages. You may also want to look at Brandeis.
Drexel and Northeastern have large scholarships for National Merit Finalists, FWIW.