Fair enough. Just to complete for anyone reading this later. The student has to own and run the business. My second hand knowledge includes business that had the student doing tutoring, others that sold crafts on ebay. The exact wording is along the lines of ‘Have ownership interest and customarily manage a business in Texas without the intention of liquidation in the foreseeable future?’
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@Peruna1998 - It sounds to me from your message that location might end up being more important to him. Try and peel back what interests him about working for a FAANG company, and it might open his eyes to other possibility. Maybe look at some other areas of the country outside of Silicon Valley that have big tech hubs. Would he like a big city like NY or Boston. Or maybe something like a Denver or San Diego that are really hot now for startups
At what point does prestige matter?
CS is a demonstrable skill, as opposed to what employers are looking for when they hire English or History majors. At an interview they are going to be able to tell in 30-45 minutes (for an on-campus screening interview) or in a few hours with a site visit if he passes the 1st interview (or phone screen) whether he has CS knowledge.
Just about any school can offer the appropriate classes for CS. What is going to matter is how hard he works to learn the material and whether he takes the initiative to find internships/coop positions (and do well at them).
There are a small number of schools that will get an applicant an extra look if they just send in a resume. Stanford, Caltech, MIT, maybe a few others. But is it “worth it”? Depends on how wealthy you are; if $250K isn’t a crimp to you than sure, why not? But with CS in such high demand a good student from just about anywhere will find a good job; if they do well there then they are on their way to even bigger and better things.
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There is a subset of ME called Mechatronics. It’s the intersection of ME, EE and CS. That’s what my son does. Coding is a tool for him, but not something he does every day all day. As a CS/SE, it will be screen and keyboard, everyday all day.
This will change over time as he gets to know people at various different companies. My son works for a startup that was founded and mostly staffed by former Apple employees. Several of his friends work for Apple, Facebook, SpaceX, and Tesla. At the end of the day, they are all jobs. They have their strengths and weaknesses. Students from lots of different schools work for all of them. There are more Apple employees from SJSU than any other school. They’re also a longshot, no matter where a student graduates from. The best way in is through referral, not the name of the school.
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It’s not the extra look. It’s a look, period. No matter the name of the school, there’s a high barrier to entry for new grads at the hottest companies. They’re seeking vetted, proven, talent.
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As I’m from TN too - and yes USC is pricey but I mentioned earlier because its great and will be within reach of $45K - i.e. rounding up!! - not sure where he wants to escape TN to?
but your best bang for the buck will be Arizona (not ASU), FSU and if you don’t want the South will leave off UF, Bama, UAH, MS State, LSU as other options.
UMASS is another highly reputed flagship and with merit you’d be at a good with their number. Oh, and to boot, they are always rated among the nation’s best dining services.
It’s too bad he’s already a Senior - U Michigan runs a 3 week rollercoaster engineering camp which would be fun. Our son had the same interest except he didn’t want to give up 3 weeks in Summer and we sent him to Purdue for their one week STEP and he fell in love - morseo than IU. He also got into Purdue with the rare 10K scholarship but he’s at Bama because somehow having his own room in a palace of a dorm and campus was more appealing to him. He worked in automotive this Summer with two Ga Tech grads on his team…so he did ok. Different major…MECHE - but it goes to show you about pedigree. He already has an invite back…the two Ga Tech grads…not yet.
He will learn in any field, general or niche, that you will have periods of low employment and lay offs - and as we get older, we all have targets on our back (those of us that work for someone else). It’s nice to dream when you are young - I dreamed about and worked at ESPN - but unfortunately life catches up. Disney, specifically, hires CS from all over (I’m reading about someone from Miami Ohio) - and while certain schools may be more likely, let’s face it - today hiring is mainly done over the internet and it’s an equalizer of sorts. So yes, save the $$ - and if your son has the drive and ambition, he’ll find the opportunities.
So find the right area (sounds like Midwest) - and then school type (you are talking big schools but does a tiny like RHIT work or a school like Case Western/WPI/RPI that’s more focused or a mid-large like Pitt)??
He really can’t go wrong!! If he gets great internships/experiences, he can figure out a way to do what he wants. There are very successful people in life and not so successful people from all universities - there are no guarantees. Hard work, persistence brings luck - and he will find his way no matter what the school.
If he wants to be out west, Oregon State may be one to look at or University of the Pacific which is an arms length from the Silicon Valley. With merit, he could be at the target price. U of Denver would get him at about his $45K with merit…and more in the midwest to look at - Mich State and Mich Tech.
Good luck.
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The bigger companies (like Google) have large needs and large recruiting resources, so they recruit widely. Plus, everyone knows who they are and can apply to them.
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Everyone can
Everyone can apply to these companies, but they have a wide range of different positions to fill within their companies. For some of those positions, they do target more selectively.
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I think it is always advisable to consider/evaluate cost or prestige but would add that if you are dealing with a high-stats kid, then you also want to consider if the uni your kid chooses will challenge them adequately.
A few have placement tests that seem to do a very good job of understanding the students current level and placing them accordingly while most simply say if you scored a 5 on Calc BC then go to Multivariable.
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Yes, there are two groups of kids who come back to school telling stories about how they regretted their college choice.
The first are those who accumulated too much debt (high 5 figures or 6 figures).
The second are those who picked a school way below their capability (meaning ACT in the 30s and school’s average about 21-23 with very, very few students in the 30s). Those did it for the free ride (usually) and wish they had spent some money for more opportunities within the school. They had other options that didn’t require high debt.
I’m not knocking all free rides BTW. There are some nice ones out there. Look at the school and what it offers for the student.
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I agree with it. And I’ll add another: students who picked a school way above their capability.
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We actually don’t see that one often except in pre-med students who choose a school where they are mid-pack (and not in the mid to upper 30s for ACT where “everyone” is mid-pack). Then I’m not so sure it was the school as their perception that “all” of the kids are smarter than I am, simply because the others had a better foundation going in. Since grades for pre-med count from the very beginning, there’s not much forgiveness.
One definitely has to be cautious picking a school where the student is not in the Top 25% (Top 10%?) of entering students to avoid that one, but that’s not the case here.
I have seen a fair number of drop outs from college, but they’ll usually admit they didn’t study enough having gotten caught up too much in various ECs - could be partying, could be other fun stuff - lots of options.
What I find interesting is my son goes to Bama…tons of smart kids…but no rank in CS. Got into Purdue. He’s got a 3.75 - but has at times seriously gotten his a$$ kicked but somehow keeps pulling through.
If curriculums are generally similar - would someone who graduated say - in CS at Southern Illinois have struggled at CMU? or conversely, would someone who was smart and talented enough to get into CMU or UIUC - but they struggled there - would they then struggle at Southern Illinois as well even thought they could have been a B- student, a low ranking, average rigor and still have gotten in…
It’s really difficult to say because we can’t put the same student in both places.
So much depends upon the student. We’re “average” or slightly above at our school, so our top kids tend to max out what can be done, but the bar is lower than at other schools even if GPA matches. These kids get into their freshman classes and like all humans, compare themselves to the others. Some will buckle down and fill in gaps, eagerly taking in the new information but others will feel they’re overwhelmed, head to a party to “destress” telling themselves they’ll study later and later doesn’t actually come or they’re lost when it does because there are gaps to fill. Then there are all the students in between the two on the ends.
I ended up telling students I knew about my theory and encouraging them to find gaps and make time to fill them in quickly rather than assuming they weren’t as smart as their peers. It worked for at least a few who came back to thank me for warning them.
I have not found that curriculums are as similar as people say they are. Sort of, yes, but top schools put far more challenge into their tests and classes. My youngest son called his CC Bio 101 college class, “Bio-Lite” after he sat in on his brother’s at a Top Research U. I asked him the difference. He said something to the effect of (numbers might be off, concept isn’t): “In my class we learned, ‘There’s an enzyme that helps with the process.’ In my brother’s class they were learning about 12 different enzymes, by name, and what each did.” Both were Bio 101 classes designed to be taken by Freshmen. The first would have been an AP substitute. The other assumed kids had already completed an AP level class.
I can’t comment on CS though. I know far more about math/science since that’s my specialty and often what kids return to talk about. When they had them to share, seeing tests from different schools was rather eye-opening.
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That seems to be most common with students who are not (at least currently) ready for college. Even less selective colleges that admit almost anyone are still college, and students who are not ready for college are not likely to do well (although some come back years later with more maturity and motivation to succeed as non-traditional students).
But that is not specific to prestige colleges.
Every college, prestigious or not, has students who struggle. However, at some colleges, many of those struggling students aren’t necessarily not ready for college, any college. They just may not be ready for that college in what they tried to pursuit. I’m not of the view that curricula and coursework are all similar for similar majors/degrees at all colleges. Everything is relative. When a student is with others who are significantly more capable at a college, s/he may be subject to more stress and higher expectation that can lead to all sorts of problems that s/he may not face at another college.
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There is a misconception that all ABET accredited programs are the same. As you know, they are not. ABET sets a minimum, but many programs exceed that in breadth, depth and pace.
I do however believe that a student’s success is baked in at the time they graduate from high school, regardless of where they go. A student that can get into MIT and/or Caltech, will likely be successful no matter where they go. Should the choose MIT or Caltech and not succeed, it isn’t because they don’t have the mental horsepower. It’s because they aren’t cut out for the grind that especially Caltech is known for.
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Yes because to this point someone who gets into Cal Tech perhaps ends up at ASU and Barrett. We certainly know that the top Honors colleges have Ivy level students walking around. They choose those schools for many reasons, one of which is likely cost.
Like you, I imagine these kids, especially from upper middle class families, will find their success in life.
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Honestly, it really doesn’t matter much. ASU is right inside a major tech hub, and it may be worth his while to consider because of the availability of internships and job opportunities. Still, plenty of companies recruit from UTK and Alabama. A&M is a top CS program, assuming he’s accepted, and is heavily recruited by tech companies in Texas. If it’s affordable, that could work too. Either way, CS is ridiculously employable, and no matter what he chooses, he won’t have trouble finding a job out of college.
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That is basically an argument against attending a college that is a reach for admission.
Of course, in most such cases, the college rejects the applicant.
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