I’m very aware - I am not worried about internships due to proximity to Boston or research opportunities because Brandeis has a lot of those. I am a little unique in that I am someone who wants to major in CS but still wants a liberal arts education in my undergrad. I quite enjoy those English/writing classes and am looking forward to those being a part of my education.
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Why do you say this? If you go into Brandeis with this attitude, you won’t put as much effort into making friends, getting to know profs and otherwise establishing yourself. It’s not a good idea to start at a college with the expectation of leaving.
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So you didn’t get into GT on your own merits- somebody else ‘got you in’?
No but the transfer pathway was offered to me primarily because I am legacy there I believe.
I would consider UMass Honors to be a great result too – not that UMass per se is better than WPI or Maryland, but that you could take advantage of the Honors stuff.’
Also, UMass is part of the Five Colleges – so if you wanted to, you could take some classes at Smith, Amherst, Hampshire, and Mo Ho.
So you do have some really great offers.
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Very smart - go to a school with one foot out the door so you can be miserable. 
Go to where you are going - take advantage of what they offer - and don’t look back!!!
Don’t go into somewhere with the mindset of leaving - it’ll make for a poor experience.
You might as well go to a community college if this is your path.
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Good for you, and I don’t think you’re that unique in this regard. Many people want a well-rounded education, including many who go into tech. Many people do not view “liberal arts classes” (like physics, math, biology, history, philosophy, language, economics, etc.) as a burden or some stupid hoop to jump through, but rather as a privilege. Based on my life experience, I advise you to hang on to that.
Lastly, consider need-aware schools in context. Many schools that are need aware are only factoring in need for a small % of the total class and truly are selective. And frankly, who cares? If you like Brandeis over the others, go there. People launch into CS from all kinds of places, and there are several posters in this forum who have CS backgrounds who don’t think the quality of CS instruction varies that much from school to school. Others probably disagree.
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I have to agree with this. It’s not a good way to start. If the transfer doesn’t work out for any reason, you are going to be miserable. If you can’t be with the one you love, honey, love the one you’re with.
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Good for you!! I pursued a practical applied econ/policy major as an undergrad I used every darn elective I had in upper level English classes and absolutely loved it. You will absolutely not lack for those choices at Brandeis.
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I have to admit I’m confused by your statements. You’re passing up a T20 CS school for Brandeis because you say you like their liberal arts education and want to be well rounded. Yet you’re looking to transfer into a very STEMy school like GT. Why?
(And like others said, starting freshman year looking to transfer is a bad way to start your college journey).
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Is this a humble brag? This feels like a humble brag.
Congrats OP, you have great school choices, good luck!
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Wait, right… UMass. And the OP could also take some classes at four awesome liberal arts colleges, and get some of the LAC experience that’s desired.
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For each college:
- Net price after FA grants and scholarships?
- Did you get direct admission to CS?
How much can you and your parents afford?
So why you asked whether you failed in the college application process?
I meant UMD, but I like your suggestion about UMass + surrounding LACs.
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I was wondering about that – both are highly regarded.
If your plan is that you want to transfer to somewhere more prestigious than Brandeis, which is not second rate, that’s going to depend on your professor recommendations and what you do while you are in your first year. Achieving anything notable and getting good recs means that you have to invest yourself in your college from the outset. You are going to have a hard time doing well if you start with a mindset that you’ll be leaving and so there is no point in putting forth your best effort.
Please do not make the mistake of starting college with this mindset. Students say this all the time. Most of the time, it doesn’t work out how they intend. You may end up miserable with nothing to show for it. Just go and make the most of wherever you end up. Transferring “up” is VERY difficult.
There is a reason you were accepted to your current colleges. There are reasons why you didn’t get accepted where you were denied. You hopefully did your research and applied to schools you would be happy to attend because they were solid schools, not just back ups should all else fail.
@JMSC Brandeis has a very good CS ranking. This student’s logic on wanting to combine it with Liberal Arts is sound. https://computer-science-schools.com/brandeis-university
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I don’t mean to detract from @Lindagaf’s excellent post above, because I agree with all her points and Brandeis is a good school and a good fit for OP given what he’s looking for. But… as someone who works in the tech industry and has regularly hired CS grads for over two decades - I do need to caution users about that particular rankings list. Their methodology isn’t known and the rankings don’t match my experience or those of my peers in the tech industry. Anyone familiar with CS schools will find this list suspect. So please keep that in mind.
Again - not diminishing Brandeis in any way. It’s a very good school.
Thanks.
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Thanks for the insight.
No.
Brandeis is a great school. Congratulations on getting in!
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