Interested in CS and Political science and totally undecided
GW - admitted to liberal arts
seems easy to double major in CS or minor or switch majors, like DC
don’t know much about the college ‘feel’ and how the CS major would be (know poly sci would be good there)
can you fit in and not be in the Greek system
How well do they help with jobs/recruiting after college
any input from current kids/parents of
Northeastern - admitted CS …but global scholars
probably better ranked in general, not sure how strong their poly sci and CS departments are
does co op really matter and how many kids can finish in 4 years vs going to 5 year track
stuck in the global scholars group so travel london/oakland year one before back to CS, not sure if this a a plus or expensive glorified gap year and how many kids in this track can finish in 4 years.
how is community and friendships and college ‘feel’ with kids on off for coops and travel
how good is recruiting and job placement
Fordham - admitted CS
do not know much at all about this school -
any insight would be great, community? fit? and job placement and strength of CS and poly sci
UTAustin - admitted liberal arts
worried its impossible to double major in CS or would become 5 year track to switch to CS
too big and lost in the shuffle
do they have any job placement or strength or help with recruiting and after college transition? seems like so big and just a number …
I can’t give you a lot of advice, but I can tell you I loved going to UT and never felt like I was just a number (the school isn’t that much larger than when I attended). I tell people it’s like living in a big city with a lot of neighborhoods. I got to know the people in Civil/Architectural Engineering really well. The professors were great and I had a wonderful group of friends. And there were so many opportunities, for academic pursuits and fun! Even in my huge American History class, which turned out to be my favorite one of my whole college career, I could go in and see the professor whenever I wanted to. He tried to get me to switch majors from engineering to history, ha.
I can say that a lot of kids who go to UT end up living in Austin.
What strikes me is that you seem unfamiliar with most of these schools.
Are you the parent or the student?
If parent, does your kid know these schools?
Otherwise, I’m curious how you picked these schools that are (literally) all over the map. What is most important to you in your college experience?
I you had been accepted at UT Austin for CS, there wouldn’t even be a conversation. It would be a slam dunk. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Your odds of transferring into CS at UT Austin from Liberal Arts are so small they are practically zero. If you want CS, you shouldn’t go to Austin.
Northeastern doesn’t sound like it’s your cup of tea (you’re not passionate about the co-op system and rightly worry about what it does to the campus community, even more so for Global Scholars) and being part of a program that doesn’t start freshman year on campus would amplify these issues.
Fordham isn’t that well-known for CS though it’ll likely be easy to double major and their location really adds to a poli sci major’s experience. It’s a solid Catholic school but if you’re not into their extensive, excellent core curriculum it may not be for you. Were you admitted to Rose Hill (traditional campus) of Lincoln Center (skyscraper)?
UT will NOT let you randomly double major in a super competitive major such as CS and if I were you I would email the CS dept and ask about opportunities to minor for a poli sci major. However they DO have an INformatics minor AND an Informatics major with a “social informatics” concentration (starting this Fall) or a more typical “Human centered Data science” option which is especially suited to Poli Sci majors).
GW would likely have options to combine Poli Sci and data science/informatics in addition to CS. It’s very urban and preprofessional.
I am a NU alum and parent. I read the comments of the 10k member NU Parents Facebook group and most parents are really happy with their child’s experiences. It’s a good school to be undecided. It’s easy to do combined majors and change majors. Most students will graduate in 4 years with 2 co-ops, although AP credits and some summer classes can help. Some students choose to graduate in five years with 3 co-ops.
Yes, co-ops help with helping students learn what kind of jobs they do and don’t want to do after graduation. Many students accept offers from co-op employers after graduation, including in CS. Many poli sci students choose to go to law school. Global Scholars is new. If you are a parent, there are GS parent Facebook groups you can join. If you are a student there are group chats and social media groups you can join.
Parents of students who went abroad usually rave about how their students bond as a group. Here is one parent comment: “Our son has graduated and did not do NUin (first semester abroad). He had a great all around experience and still lives in Boston with many friends from college. He told me he thought the NUin students had the best bonding experience because of their time abroad.”
