If Indiana is a concern for the OP as noted above, Alabama probably is as well. Arizona may be also.
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The comment was based on simply saying they’ve shot through the budget.
I actually was pushing Pitt though - because while we’re simply hearing from a parent, it did seem like the student was all in on Pitt - in part due to its urban-ness. To me, cost is always item #1.
But OP made mention several times they weren’t expanding, has the low cost option already (Iowa State) but it was not a finalist to them (in part that the perception is it’s a lesser school).
Anyway - I digress - but seems to me they love Pitt - just not the follow through after admission - but as we all know admissions staff doesn’t = university experience. Many admissions staffs are small, likely underpaid, and often impersonal.
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IU is pretty woke and liberal. They have a HUGE focus on DEI right now, I was just on campus yesterday for Kelley DA day. My school is fairly conservative and of the universities in Indiana, people consider Purdue more conservative ish and IU liberal.
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Pitt Parent here. Son a December '21 graduate from Pitt Swanson School of Engineering, roomie was Comp-Eng, and several friends in Comp-Sci. Since Eng is a smaller school within Pitt, he didn’t have issues with advising, resources, face-time with professors once he realized he needed to ask / speak up. Admittedly freshman year was a bit more challenging because he hadn’t yet “found his voice.”
Communications in between the Pitt offer of acceptance and when the student accepts may be sparse, but found it to be fine once he committed to attend Pitt-Swanson. We are finding the same with our next son, who recently committed to Pitt Business for class of '26. Within a day of committing to Pitt last week, he had communications from PittBusiness about the process going forward.
The party scene … my Pitt-grad isn’t a partier, and Pitt was fine … kind of the “if you want the party, you will find the party” and if you “don’t want to party, that’s fine too” scene. He joined the Engineering LLC and that helped. Basically, there’s a fit for every style. And with the public transportation included in a Pitt tuition, exploring other parts of PGH is pretty simple to do.
Hope that helps! Great options all around for your daughter.
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Three good choices to pick from. It’s all about the personal fit. You’ll have to visit to figure that out, but a few thoughts.
- Don’t stress about party school rep. You will get that at any big university. There will be a LOT of students who don’t party.
- Finding her way. These schools are big enough that she will be able to carve out her own space. At a minimum there will be a CS community she can hang with. Are there living/learning communities that she could join to speed up the process?
- I’m surprised IU hasn’t offered more. I know several students in past years who were offered more to come, even though they have any need. That may come in the next few days or weeks.
Best to you and your DD.
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#3. IU gives $1-11k depending on where a student sits in competitiveness. We don’t know where this student is but of course they’ve got wonderful opportunities and you can only choose one.
To get more money, they offer a second level app but not everyone is allowed to apply for it (SSA). Additionally if one is offered Hutton Honors, there could be more.
Otherwise there is unlikely to be more $$ unfortunately.
I agree with the first two points of your note.
Thanks that’s helpful! I’m having a hard time finding much info on SCI. It’s a small program so I’m sure that’s the main reason. I wish they had a computer science LLC, since CS program isn’t in Swanson.
Thanks! She has one more scholarship, from Luddy, that she’s waiting to hear on. IU definitely would save us on travel expenses at least.
She was invited to apply for the SSA, and when we were at the Luddy school’s admitted students’ day last week they said everyone there would be getting a scholarship. So, there should be something coming. Whether it’s a decent amount remains to be seen!
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Update:
After a long conversation yesterday, D22 said Pitt remains her first choice, so that was great to hear. She does still really like Luddy at IU, and it’s staying on the list until we find out more about the SSA results. If the scholarship comes in and it is a competitive price with Pitt’s price, she’ll decide between the two. She loved Boulder’s CS BA program, but agreed that the long-term expense wasn’t a fit and it’s unlikely additional scholarship money would come from them (she has the general scholarship app out, so I suppose it’s not impossible).
I’ll update once she has officially decided, but she’s excited about these final two choices!
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For what it’s worth, my daughter was a finalist for a $5k scholarship at CU. She withdrew b4 it was awarded but she got a note informing her she was a finalist. She emailed the contact as no $ amount was listed. They said it was $5k. I forget the name but she had to fill out the scholarship app and write an essay. The point ….anything is possible.
On the flip side, take money out of it. Let’s say she gets Luddy and CU ponies up more than the $6250.
If she prefers Pitt, even if the $ are similar, she prefers Pitt. And you said above Pitt is the first choice several times now.
Why cloud an already difficult decision when you’ve got a clear answer ?
I say this to save you the emotional whiplash. I can tell from your very first posting…you are like me…paralysis by analysis.
Fortunately my kids knew exactly what they wanted. All my spinning in the background, other than eliminating the not affordable, was in retrospect unnecessary.
Hail to Pitt!! :).
I’m not clouding a decision or paralyzed by analysis or spinning. That’s kind of insulting. She likes different things about these 3 programs (now down to 2). She likes Pittsburgh and Pitt the SCHOOL. She’s not sure she’ll like the Computer Science program more. The CS program fit matters more than the town. That’s what she is weighing. We hear a lot more about students in Swanson, but SCI has been harder to learn about with regard to student experiences. Each program will be rigorous. So which one makes it easier for students to find support with advising, tutoring, sharing the experience with other students, etc. IU seems to have the edge on that particular front which is why D22 is keeping it on the list. I’m just curious if others have experience with CS at these schools.
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Not trying to insult. Just saying. People can over analyze. I’m the worst at it. Your first write up is like me.
I was simply saying you said Pitt is #1. Twice
The last months are grueling. But seems like your child has a clear favorite by what you’ve written.
Just trying to help you get past the stress. Not intending to be insulting. Sorry.
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Hi! Just dropping in to say that my son is in almost an identical situation, deciding between Pitt and IU for CS (both direct admit). We have a lot of family ties to Pittsburgh so we fully expected him to go that route - but he fell in love with IU and especially Luddy during our visit, based on a lot of the reasons you mentioned in the original post.
I don’t think she can go wrong with either. What has tipped my son toward IU was the Luddy LLC, the amount of investment in the program and the fact that it’s very straightforward to minor in business or marketing while at IU. Until this year, Pitt didn’t allow that which surprised us both, and the new business minor sounds pretty limited with a competitive admissions process. But Pitt has a lot of benefits too, not the least of which is its location in a fun city, with loads of opportunities in its growing IT industry.
In any case, best of luck to your daughter as she decides. Between these two very solid programs, my best advice is to go with her heart. Both schools seem to foster a supportive, collaborative environment. If she’s confident and excited about her choice, she will flourish!
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Thanks for the input! She’s a happy senior to have two options she really likes. They are both good fits for different reasons. My husband and I also both like both options for her, so it will be interesting what she ends up doing. I’m glad that she wants to keep both on her list so she can compare final prices, so she does have her feet pretty well on the ground.
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Bloomington is a pretty awesome college town itself…
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Definitely! She likes both, even though they are different. She could happily spend 4 years living in Bloomington. I went to college in a great town, Bellingham, WA. I’m glad with these two options she’ll like the location. Some other towns on her list were not as appealing but the schools outweighed the locations.
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Congrats on your D’s many great options! It sounds like she really can’t go wrong with her final 2 choices! And wow, that’s a great Pitt scholarship, especially for CS!! She should be so proud!! 
I’m voting for Pitt (we’re allowed to vote, right 
) in case my daughter goes there for CS too so they can hang out cuz I think they’d get along. Seriously, it sounds like she loves the school. The other reason might be your concern with the state:
My daughter (LGBTQ+ Asian American) applied to Case Western but I’m uncomfortable with Ohio even though the school and city are liberal (thankfully she was deferred and we don’t think she’d have to make a decision to go or not). OTOH, if the concern with the state is yours and not hers, maybe that wouldn’t be a reason to not pick IU. But something to discuss more with her.
Is it possible for your D to return to re-visit Pitt now that she’s admitted? That would give her a chance to visit the SCI facilities, interact with staff/students and really get a sense of what her day to day life would be like. Hopefully she won’t have to interact with the admissions dept’s horrible portals much longer.
Good luck!
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Yes, you can vote, ha ha! We had a trip to Boulder on the books, so that has been canceled and I signed her up for an admitted students event at SCI in April. She’s seen the exterior of Pitt, so I hope seeing the SCI facilities helps solidify that part of her decision. She’s seen the amazing facilities at IU and it will be interesting to find out how she responds to the completely opposite space set aside for CS at Pitt. From what I can find their program encompasses the top two floors of the Business Building.
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Yay, glad she can visit before deciding! My D is going to the Admitted Students’ Day in April too – would be great to see more girls at SCI! Since it’s a new school, I hope the facilities are nice! 
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