I’m a rising junior and am starting my college search. I want to major in CS. I’ll list as much as I can about myself and hope that I can get some suggestions on schools to look into further.
I attend a public HS in TX and am ranked 30 out of 550(ish). (Rank matters in TX but I’m aware not so much at other schools) My UW GPA is 4.0/4.0 but I anticipate it going down slightly after this year because of my rigor. After this year I will have taken 7 APs and a UT OnRamps CS class. I don’t have SATs yet but my PSAT last year was not so stellar so I don’t anticipate an awesome score later. (1200) Don’t judge me for that pessimism. 
My bro was a test taker and made a 1550 and my sister was not a test taker (like myself) and made 1310 but still got into an Ivy League. So there’s that.
EC’s: violin, tons of volunteering at animal shelter, play around with programming on my own time, robotics (so typical stuff, nothing amazing, but I’m not trying to look amazing, I’m just doing those things that I enjoy…I’m not playing the game, so to speak) So as you can see I’m a fairly average kid that excels in the classroom but not necessarily in EC’s. I won’t “shine” but I’m definitely not a slouch.
My siblings’ FAFSA indicated family contr. was $35k and so it worked out that their private schools ended up costing almost the same as our in-state publics. That’s my budget. Therefore, I’m open to both instate, privates, and any OOS publics that offer decent money.
CS is so competitive these days that I’m assuming I’m not necessarily a strong contender for top programs and I want to find a program that can be considered a safety and/or target for me that also offers direct admit. My issue regarding direct admit is that I do not think I will get into UT CS (it’s insanely difficult to get in to) and Texas A&M makes you compete for your major after freshman year. I don’t want to choose to go there and end up not getting my choice of major and then having to transfer out! I hate that they do it that way. I think U of Wash does that also. No thanks! So that’s not a great option for me. I want direct admit.
As far as size, urban, rural, etc, I’m flexible for now. My sis goes to a super small school and it has it’s benefits. My bro goes to a larger school and it has its own benefits. So I’m open to both.
Any suggestions would be great. I’m not familiar with all of the schools that offer CS yet. I fantasize about creating games but realize that may not exactly be my reality after graduation but I can dream…
Ugh. I already don’t like this forum. It’s very “crowded”. Somehow I ended up in the transfer section but I’m not a transfer student. Sorry 
I removed the “transfer” tag 
Your cheap publics will be your Alabama, Arizona (especially if you keep the 4.0), Arkansas, OU, UAH for smaller, Iowa State, Kansas state, SD School of Mines, New Mexico Tech and more. Some privates will hit too. Run their NPC. Tulsa for example.
Another factor that I failed to mention previously is that I’m quite liberal and am eager to leave the more red sections of the south, to put it nicely. So I’m not too sure if I’d be happy attending schools such as Alabama and Arkansas. It’s a constraint that I hate to put on my choices yet it’s probably something I do need to include, for my overall mental health. I’m currently living in a very “red” rural part of TX and I hate it…more specifically, the people, not the ecosystem. 
(hope I’m not offending anyone…I hate to do that)
Look at Arizona. Red state. Blue city. More expensive but same with college of Charleston.
I think at a school like Bama where my kid goes it’s (politics) only there if you seek it out. Most just go to school. But schools in more liberal states may cost more but if you run NPCs of privates in the northeast and CA you may find schools that work. Or schools like UVM Or URI or SUNY Bing but they may not hit your target. Schools like Oregon State too
Make sure that you understand how financial aid may be impacted in future years when your siblings are no longer in school. You don’t want a surprise.
Oregon St is a under-rated school which is strong in engineering. Here in silicon valley, i see it strongly represented in most tech companies. You will need a merit scholarship to get in your price range, but a $10k+ scholarship is common.
Arizona St and RIT(Rochester Inst of Technology) are also options. They have different weather, but RIT has a strong co-op program.
CS is unpredictable. You can shoot higher and go test-optional. UMD and UW-Madison are other options. They are much higher ranked in CS, even though for CS ranking does not matter much. It is harder for OOS to get scholarship in these public schools.
I don’t know whether all of these are direct admit schools. But, for blue state schools with a decent chance of hitting your budget, I would take a look at:
- Cal Poly - Humboldt (the newest Cal Poly school…these are are very hands-on programs)
- Cal Poly - Pomona
- SUNY Binghamton
- New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
- San Jose State (very competitive for CS, but direct admit if you’re accepted, I believe)
- Washington State
ETA:
- Illinois State
- Bradley (IL)
- Howard (D.C.), HBCU
- Seattle Pacific (WA)
- Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA)
I’ll keep looking, but would a purple state work for you as well as a blue one? And what about the blue areas of Texas, like Houston?
@txcs: All the Cal States are direct admit into CS but some will consider an alternate major so it is possible to be admitted into an specified alternate major if the CS major is impacted.
The CSU’s would be at or above a $35K/year budget depending upon campus and transportation costs if coming from Texas. They also only use 10-11th grades in the CSU GPA calculation, require specific HS courses known as a-g courses including a year of a Visual/Performing arts course taken in HS for eligibility.
CS for SJSU required a minimum 4.35 CSU GPA for admission last year and all CSU’s are test blind.
For OOS applicants, only AP/IB or CSU transferable DE classes taken 10-11th grades will be weighted in the CSU GPA calculation.
If you have a competitive CSU GPA (4.2+) and the CSU’s are within budget, I would also look at Cal Poly SLO (High Reach), San Diego State, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton along with Cal Poly Pomona, Humboldt and San Jose State for CS.
CSU’s do love OOS students which bring in extra revenue due to the extra OOS tuition fees.
Excellent point. Thanks for the reminder
Purple state or blue cities are cool with me. I appreciate your help.
One additional comment to what GumbyMom said, SJSU only required a 4.1 for software engineering this year. So that could be a possibility if your GPA reaches that.
Pretty much any school that offers a direct-admit CS major will be fine, coupled with your own initiative to find internships. CS has two things going for it:
- It’s a field in high demand so employers are looking everywhere for skilled hires
- It is a demonstrable skill
Maybe employers are glad to see a resume from Stanford show up but they still won’t hire sight-unseen. They are going to have to go thru interviews. Screening interviews are easy to do, inexpensive with Zoom, and you can’t bluff your way thru them. So even if you’re from NoName State you have a shot at getting hired. This makes CS unlike other high-paying fields like consulting where the qualities that matter are largely intangible so betting on brand-name students makes more sense.
So two pieces of advice. First, continue to think (as you have been) about the undergrad experience since college is more than just the classes you take. Second, prioritize programs with a 5-year BS/MS or BA/MA degree in CS. One extra year lets you really focus on the area(s) of CS that you’ve found yourself to be interested in.
Great advice. Thank you!
Even though you want to get out of Texas, don’t forget to research your local possibilities. Your in-state publics are your most likely options for admission and financial affordability. These are some schools (mix of public and private) that are in bluer areas of the state (determined by who voted for Biden in 2020).
- UT – Dallas (getting quite the reputation for its CS department)
- UT – Arlington
- U. of Houston
- Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
- Trinity (TX)
- U. of Dallas (TX)
- Southwestern (TX) part of the Colleges that Change Lives (CTCL) group
Other colleges in blue cities or purple states that you might want to consider include:
- Lawrence Technological (MI)…noted for its job placement for gaming grads
- Miami (OH)
- U. of Utah, plus they make it really easy to qualify for in-state tuition after the first year
Also, I just want to mention Bradley (IL) one more time as it’s another one with strength in game design (as these 4 OOS schools I mentioned do).
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