Help a stressed applicant with compsci/engineering schools please!!!!!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi all, thanks for reading. I am looking for computer science / electrical/computer engineering schools. I was wondering if anyone could make suggestions on schools to add/remove.</p>

<p>I am from Massachusetts, have a 3.3 gpa (bad, I know), 2190 SAT (800 math, 720 CR, 670 writing), 800 Math II SAT subject test, 760 Chem SAT subject test.</p>

<p>Rochester Institute of Technology
Washington University in St. Louis
SUNY-Stony Brook
Boston University
Carnegie Mellon
UMass Amherst
Cornell
NYU
WPI
RPI</p>

<p>Thanks so much in advance!!!</p>

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<p>U of Rochester, Case Western, UMaryland College Park</p>

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<p>US News Rankings</p>

<p>Computer Engineering</p>

<p>Schools With Graduate Programs
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
3 University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
4 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
5 Stanford University Stanford, CA
6 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
7 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
8 University of Texas–Austin Austin, TX
9 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
10 Cornell University Ithaca, NY</p>

<p>Schools Without Graduate Programs</p>

<p>1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN
2 Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA
3 California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
Cooper Union New York, NY
5 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
San Jose State University San Jose, CA</p>

<p>Electrical Engineering</p>

<p>Schools With Graduate Programs</p>

<p>1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
4 University of California–Berkeley Berkeley, CA
5 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
6 University of Michigan–Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
7 California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA
8 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
9 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
10 Purdue University–West Lafayette West Lafayette, IN</p>

<p>Schools Without Graduate Programs</p>

<p>1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, IN
2 Cooper Union New York, NY
3 Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA
4 California Polytechnic State University–San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
5 Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA
6 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
7 United States Air Force Academy USAF Academy, CO
8 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
9 Rowan University Glassboro, NJ
United States Military Academy West Point, NY</p>

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<p>:)</p>

<p>Hi, your GPA will likely exclude you from schools like WashU, Cornell, and such. WashU and Cornell get plenty of applicants from Mass with higher GPAs. Is that your weighted GPA?</p>

<p>What kind of school do you like? Big, small, quiet, single sex or evenly split, rah rah big sports, rural, city, big city?</p>

<p>If you need Financial Aid, will you qualify for any? Do you want merit money?</p>

<p>URochester is a good one if you don’t need merit (I think your GPA is too low for merit there.)</p>

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<p>Apply to Purdue, great CS program and renowned Engineering program.</p>

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<p>Wisconsin-Madison–might have a shot.</p>

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<p>try Purdue and Rowan</p>

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<p>If money is a concern, you really need to take that into consideration at this late of date. How much can your family contribute each year for your education?</p>

<p>If money is no object, then GREAT!! :)</p>

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<p>I have heard that U Md College Park needs more CS applicants- too many probably end up at UMBC and Towson. Why are you stressed? I don’t think that you will have a problem getting into a lot of your schools. You have the scores. The GPA may not be a problem either, depending on the exact grades. Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, and WUSTL are definite reaches for nearly anyone, but other than that I don’t see a problem.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the responses so far. My school does not weigh gpa’s, so I guess 3.3 is my unweighted gpa. My grades have been mostly B+, and I have taken the hardest science/math courses available at my school. Taking AP physics/stat/calc BC this year.</p>

<p>Money, for the most part, is not a major issue in deciding which college to go to.</p>

<p>I also know some schools are pretty far reaches, but I applied to them for the heck of it.</p>

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<p>Try Rose-Holman, I have a friend there and he loves it.</p>

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<p>I am a practicing EE in Massachusetts. Those math and science scores are very indicative of your chances for success in compsci/engineering. </p>

<p>Based on Naviance scattergrams from our school, I would forget Washington University but keep Carnegie Mellon and Cornell as your reaches. On our Naviance 80% of Washington applicants were waitlisted. Nobody got in with a 3.3. There were people with your stats who got into CMU and Cornell.</p>

<p>I like RPI on your list, maybe WPI, though I think RPI is stronger and I think you’ll get in. </p>

<p>You should add Northeastern for sure. I have been very impressed with Northeastern graduates because of the 5-yr co-op program. I think it’s better than Boston University and is in the same location. I don’t know if Northeastern going to a 4-yr co-op is going to affect the capabilities of their graduates, but I am concerned. I think the 5-yr is still an option and a good one. Nonetheless, what many people don’t realize is that doing a substantial co-op also gives you the perspective to do better in school when you come back from your assignment because the abstract stuff seems a lot more useful. I find Northeastern graduates ready to work, more so than any other local school except MIT (I don’t have any experience with Olin grads since they are so few). </p>

<p>NYU doesn’t have engineering except through Poly or Stevens. Unless you love NYC, I’m not sure that’s a great choice, though they have very good computer science. I think it’s also a reach, but I would drop it. </p>

<p>While UMASS has excellent faculty, I would be concerned about the effect of the state budget on the UMASS undergraduate experience. If money is not an issue for you, I think I would pass on it. As a full pay student, you will surely have better choices. Stony Brook may not have the social life that you may want since a large fraction of the student body goes home on weekends. I don’t follow NY State budget issues. </p>

<p>Given your math prowess, frankly, I think you can handle a tougher school than RIT. </p>

<p>Case Western is a great choice. I don’t know anyone who went to Rose-Hulman. </p>

<p>Purdue is an excellent choice. It’s a very good school that is easy to get into but difficult to get through. It may be a great choice for someone like you who is very strong in math but doesn’t have the GPA to get into an ultra selective school.</p>

<p>Georgia Tech may also be an excellent choice, though I don’t think it’s a safety for you, probably a match. It’s also “MIT hard”, so you need to decide if you’re up for that. </p>

<p>If you were ok with going to a snowbound school in Rochester, drive a few more hours and consider University of Waterloo in Ontario. That seems like a hidden gem in a technology bubble famous for Research In Motion who invented the Blackberry. </p>

<p>Those last three are also all public schools, so you should do your due diligence on how badly they have been harmed by state (or provincial) budget meltdowns. My sense is that those schools get a lot more local public support than UMASS does, but maybe it’s just a case of the grass being greener.</p>

<p>Barrons mentioned Wisconsin. While it’s a great school, I think one problem that you have is that Computer Science is in the school of Letters & Science, while Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering are in the school of engineering. I think you have to choose prematurely, before you know enough to know which direction you want to head. I don’t know how difficult it is to switch, but I have concerns about public school bureaucracy. That may be an issue with some other schools I mentioned. I’m just more familiar with Wisconsin. I also don’t know if the 3.3 gpa gets you in. The CC Wisconsin board has already had some excellent students denied, and you are late in the game putting you at a disadvantage.</p>

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<p>At Wisconsin you can double major in engineering AND liberal arts. Comp Sci is specifically noted. Admission is another question. I think he’d have a shot–not a lock but a decent chance.</p>

<p>[Additional</a> Major](<a href=“http://studentservices.engr.wisc.edu/advising/degrees/additionalmajor.html]Additional”>http://studentservices.engr.wisc.edu/advising/degrees/additionalmajor.html)</p>

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<p>Contrary to other posters, I think both Purdue and Georgia Tech are matches for you. It will be hard though to get into Cornell or CMU/SCS with your stats. CMU/ECE (CIT) might be doable, but it is still a reach.</p>

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<p>setoblade- you’ve gotten some good advice here but I’d give you one more tip- some places include CS under engineering, some do not (it’s usually then in Arts and Sciences), and some have separate CS programs in both schools. At RPI for example I believe CS is not in the engineering school. Cornell has programs in both. This may not be a big deal but it can affect technical, distribution, and free elective requirements as well as your day-to-day working environment. Decide which you like and choose accordingly. I like the addition of Northeastern to your list, keeping UMass as a respectable all-round saftety, and dropping NYU altogether unless you have some special reason for considering it.</p>

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<p>oh- forgive me, I just saw that the point about what school CS is located in has already been brought up (but I think what I mentioned specifically about RPI and Cornell should still be relevant to you).</p>

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<p>amazing info everyone, thanks alot!</p>

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<p>Northeastern; Case Western; Alfred; Drexel; Va Tech</p>

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<p>Rose Hulman is a wonderful school…for engineering. Students love it there and the school has the highest graduation rate of for engineers in the 90’s…trust me that is a BIG deal.</p>