This is my first post here. I’m a senior and I feel like I’m behind right now because I’m still working on my college list. I have my eyes on the classic top schools as reaches (Berkeley, CMU, Stanford, etc), but I’m having trouble selecting safeties based on my stats alone. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!
Washington State
Indian, Female
No financial aid
Computer Science (and hopefully minor/double major in polisci, but not a dealbreaker)
1490 PSAT, 1600 SAT (no essay, no subject tests)
4.0 UW GPA
5s on 11 AP tests so far: Calc AB, Calc BC, Physics 1, Physics 2, Chem, Bio, Computer Science Principles, World History, European History, English Language (Still waiting for Computer Science A)
Senior Courseload: Multivariable, Data Structures, College-level English, AP Econ, AP Gov, AP French, a science
Wouldn’t any state university in Washington other than UW Seattle be likely or safety for admission for you? Of course, to be an actual safety, it must also be affordable.
If you were my child, I’d push you to Arizona (free tuition), Alabama, Arkansas, etc.
A CWRU, Rochester or Purdue will be a match. A WPI, RPI, the schools I list above, a Pitt and maybe Maryland will be a safety. In CS, I go for the $$, not the name.
Hi! There aren’t major cost constraints but my parents won’t pay a prodigal amount for a safety (~60-70k+). I am really hoping to attend college OOS, although UWCS is obviously a great school.
Why aren’t all these schools safeties with her stats? Unless she uses profanity in her essays or something crazy like that, the only realistic way any of these schools reject perfect stats is if they are managing yield and don’t think she will attend.
Because CS is a very competitive major. The schools that admit by major like Purdue and UMD are not going to be safeties for any students looking to do CS.
The answer lies in the # of really smart kids vying for relatively few spots. And at some schools the need to protect…for example…in state residents.
The OP asked for safeties. She knows none of her dream lists are matches.
You are correct in that the OP is awesome and should be congratulated. Perfect grades, strong rigor, perfect test. However, we don’t see the LORs, ECs and then who else is applying.
Being female will help at some schools. Being from Washington unlikely.
There’s been many a thread where stud students got turned down everywhere and have no options. I’ve posted of my daughters valedictorian, with less rigor than this student but a 4.0/4.5+, 36 ACT, and applied to 16 top 20s. Rejected at all. She got into NYU with no aid and is attending U of TN.
It’s always best to be cautious. The other thing the OP should look at is money. She said her parents don’t want to pay $70k for a safety. Maybe they don’t want to pay $70k at all.
I am lucky. I just paid less than $4k for my daughters first semester at College of Charleston for everything, including room and board. Had I sent her to Miami that would hace been $26k or W&L where she was admitted $40k. Twice a year!!
We all act like this expense is acceptable. As a parent, I’ve had so much stress fall off my body it’s unreal. The OP might apply to an option like Arizona to simply have that in the bag should her parents need it.
I think the OP is smart to research a safety or two. I would not be surprised if she got into a reach. She’s clearly qualified. But as she knows I’d also believe if she got turned down to every reach as well, deservedly so or not. Admissions for top programs is brutal.
UTD has a rolling admission, and you would certainly get accepted as a cs major. The Computing Scholars program has its own requirements and entrance exams by invitation only.
I assume you are a likely NMSF and would receive almost a full ride from UTD.
I see where you are going. I would not include expensive private schools like Case Western and Rochester that are not particularly well known in CS. Also, Rochester does not have EA, and she definitely wants a school where she will have an answer by New Years or shortly thereafter. That said, I would also be careful with Pitt. They manage their yield just like every other competitive school, and a west coast student with no demonstrated interest may come across as safety hunting.
I agree on Arizona, although they also list Demonstrated Interest as “Important”. She should do as many virtual sessions with them as possible. UC San Diego is well known for CS, it is easier to get in from out of state, and her capped and weighted GPA using UCal’s method should put her odds for acceptance in the high 70’s, although it is expensive. The Big 10 schools are all good in CS, they all have big programs (making them less yield conscious), and they lean heavily on stats.
A school that seems to check all the boxes is University of Utah. No Demonstrated Interest requirement, it is out west, they do rolling notifications starting 1/15, and according to US News, they don’t require an essay (is that right?). According to US News, Utah considers Rigor of secondary school record and GPA as “Very Important”, Standardized test scores as “Important”, and everything else is “Considered” or “Not Considered”. It is a very solid Comp Sci department, and the COA looks to be around $40,500 before any merit aid, which she would have a high likelihood of getting.
Most EA you won’t know by Xmas. Pitt is rolling and is easy to get into. It’s rep is much better than its admission yield. AZ is a joke to get into - as it’s mission is access. But it’s a legit school even though it’s one of the easiest in the country and the student is guaranteed merit.
Case is well known for CS and Rochester somewhat. I was just throwing out that next tier of schools. I chose them because they both have merit. The OP can choose any “2nd tier” outstanding U.
Personally I’d choose a college where I can see myself. You can’t worry about when you know. That’s a college marketing gimmick to have people do ED. But there are some that are rolling so you can find out quickly such as Pitt, Arizona, IU. Colorado School of Mines was like that but they’ve now changed their process. You can still get an answer there by November 1.
Utah is a school everyone on the CC seems to like. I don’t know much about it other than a grad school prof I had now teaches there. I guess the religious angle would bother me personally but to each his own and many say SLC is very diverse. But yep, it seems a great school based on everyone’s comments. On Niche, it’s ranked a tad lower than CWRU in Computer Science - 86 of 821 - not that Niche is some official guide (it’s not).
To me a safety is:
you are pretty much a given.
you can see yourself there - you won’t be disappointed going.
you can afford it
Everyone has their personal philosophy though and the OP will need to decide hers.
I didn’t think to look at Niche’s rankings. US News has the following rankings for CS:
Utah 48
Arizona 52
CWRU 71
Rochester 61
Utah has a high acceptance rate and focuses on stats, is cheap, and is a well respected CS school with employers. It is almost the perfect safety school for a high stats student from the west like the OP. The Wasatch Valley has become a secondary tech center, with a vibrant tech and VC community, and the skilled labor market is deep enough that quite a few California tech companies have opened facilities in the greater SLC area. All of that is good for internships. I would also rate SLC as having a stronger tech community than northeast Ohio (CWR), western New York (Rochester) or Arizona.
Culturally, the SLC area is not for everyone, but it has gotten a lot more mainstream than it was 25 years ago when I first started traveling to SLC for work. The OP may not choose to live there post college, but it would be fine for 4 years.
WPI and RIT are two other schools you mentioned that are not quite safeties, but are well respected technology/engineering universities.
Based on stats for 2021-22 merit awards, OP should get the OOS Presidential Award at Utah worth $20K plus $5K towards housing. You’d have a net cost for tuition, fees, housing and food of around $20K in year 1 then after getting residency that would drop to around $5K-$8K in subsequent years.
Thanks for the responses everyone! I’m learning a lot. Could I consider the University of Maryland College Park a safety (assuming at least average extracurriculars and LORs), or would it still be a low match?
1600 SAT, perfect grades, 11 APs - as good as UMD is, it’s a safety - and you’d likely get in the Honors Program or at least the Scholars Program.
That said, if UMD was my safety - I’d want a second - such as Washington State or Arizona - just in case. UMD is strong and while I can’t imagine you getting spurned, there is a small chance whereas at those I mentioned otherwise you’d 100% be in.
And frankly you can get just a great future going to a much less expensive school.