I don’t see that anyone posted yet regarding ED II decisions. Unfortunately my son was waitlisted, which apparently is the kiss of death, so now we are in plan B mode. His friend from the same high school with less rigorous load, similar stats and lackluster EC’s was accepted in ED I, so we kind of feel bad that we held back on going that route. We really thought he was a shoe-in. He really loved the small setting of Stevens and was very excited about the thought of going here.
My sons stats:
2030 SAT with 770 Math, 5 on AP Comp Sci. GPA is 4.1 on weighted scale (I think 5 is max?). Rank top 15%. EC nothing special but has work experience. Taking 3 AP classes this year. Visited the campus three times including in person interview
We thought this put him well within reach, maybe GPA was low but he had an excellent junior year. Maybe he didn’t interview well. You just never know.
He wants to major in Comp Sci. He has been accepted to Rutgers (0 merit), NJIT (15K merit), Rowan (13K) and TCNJ (0). (We live in NJ, can you tell?) We are still waiting to hear from RPI (not too hopeful at this point and he is not excited about the distance. Mom made him apply since that is where she went ) and Drexel (which he already said he won’t attend). He is saying that he will “just go to Rutgers”, even though he hasn’t actually seen the school yet! NJIT has a more similar vibe to Stevens in my opinion and they offered him a decent scholarship, but he has it in his head that Rutgers is it.
I am sure he will do just fine at Rutgers even though it is drastically different from Stevens or NJIT as far as size and makeup of the school. Anyone have any thoughts about Rutgers vs NJIT for comp sci from an academic standpoint? I think these two are probably the best choices for the state schools, just not sure which program is better.
I’m not sure that being waitlisted here is the “kiss of death”? Have you talked to someone in admissions about his chances? Otherwise, you really won’t know for sure until May 1. (He should have a designated admissions counselor. He could always send that person an email.)
He could have been waitlisted for a couple of reasons: his SAT and GPA are ok but Stevens is a very small school. They just run out of capacity. Additionally, I’m not sure if they limit capacity by major, but the CS department is also fairly small. Stevens admits about 700 freshmen, while Rutgers admits thousands at New Brunswick alone.
Honestly, I think he could do well at any of the schools you list as CS majors are in demand. It would be more about where your son feels comfortable. He really needs to go see Rutgers in person and take a tour. They do it by bus in order to see all of the campuses. Only then will he be able to appreciate the hugeness factor. That being said, at Rutgers, he will meet lots of people, and there is plenty to do. I know a few people currently at Rutgers in CS and they are strong students and doing well. Getting internships and participating in competitions.
He seems to want to stay local so please do not discount this. I have seen many great students enroll out of state and then drop out and move closer to home to attend classes locally. They just get homesick. So I would avoid putting him in a position of unnecessary stress by insisting he consider out of state schools. In the meantime, make sure that you visit every other school he is interested in; it’s easy enough to do.
Rutgers, TCNJ and NJIT are all good schools but they each have a different feel and he needs to visit them and see for himself.
Don’t panic. Even if he doesn’t get into Stevens now, he can always apply as a transfer. He may also decide that his alternative choice suits him fine. Stay calm and let him weigh his options. At least he has options! Stay positive; I’m sure he was let down by his waitlist status. Things work out in the end.
Let us know what happens and good luck to your son!
Hey rualum… I just wanted to reply thanking you for all of the great words of encouragement and advice. Well wonder of wonders. My son just got an email from Stevens. He has been accepted from the waitlist!!! He committed to Rutgers last week and was very happy with his decision. But Stevens has been his dream from the beginning and is just thrilled. We told him we just need to see if he gets any kind of financial package before we commit. Hopefully we will know early next week. One proud mama!