Having trouble picking a good Computer Science college

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi everyone. So right now I'm looking at Penn State as my main college. I originally wanted to dual major in computer science and Information Technology (with a focus on data-security). However, lately I've been looking into other colleges with higher ranked computer science programs and I am willing to set aside my dual major plan to get a single, strong degree in computer science. I have looked at numerous rankings, but they seem inconsistent. The only few that I've gathered that are strong in Computer Science [and are not on an Ivy League level] are Georgia Tech, Rensselaer Polytech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin-Madison.</p>

<p>I would really appreciate both recommendations and/or insight into the colleges listed above. I'm all ears! :)</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.06 Weighted (Sorry, but I don't know unweighted, I am an A-/B+/B Honors and AP student)
SAT: Highest Score = 1950 (620 Reading, 670 Math, 660 Writing), Super-scored = 2000</p>

<p>Extra Curricular:
Aikido (Japanese Martial Art), 9 years, Earned a 4th Kyu (Adult ranked) Black belt
Piano, 11 years
NHS member
AV (Audio-Visual) Club, 2 years, I go to school events and film them
Volunteer at a nature center, 75 Hours
Volunteer at a local hospital, 16-17 Hours
Community Soccer league, 6 Years
Track team (10th grade)
Cooking Club (9th grade), baked food for school events
German Club (9th grade, 11th grade), created projects for German exchange students</p>

<p>Other notes:
1) Race: Mixed (Half Caucasian, Half Vietnamese)
2) I love computers, networking and programming, but I didn't participate in any 'official' activities that I could write down.
3) Carnegie Mellon is one of my reach schools that I'm applying to.
4) I'm a PA native.</p>

<p>If there's any other information that can help me narrow down my colleges, feel free to ask.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time,
Sean</p>

2

<p>how much can you afford?</p>

3

<p>I’m fine on that side of things.</p>

4

<p>University of Illinois</p>

5

<p>None of the usual “big four” for CS are Ivy League: MIT, CMU, Berkeley, Stanford. But your stats do not look all that likely to get in to any of them.</p>

<p>You should be able to calculate your unweighted GPA easily.</p>

<p>Consider schools like Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Stony Brook, North Carolina State, Rutgers, Maryland - College Park, Purdue, Texas A&M, and Massachusetts - Amherst for some schools for CS which are not super-selective. Some of these have out of state list prices that are not super expensive as well.</p>

<p>Note that Washington is extremely difficult to get directly admitted to CS at. If entering undeclared, the admission process to declare the CS major later is also extremely competitive.</p>