hello. i hope i am posting this in the right place! this is my first post.
anyways, i have been accepted into a lot of schools to my surprise and i never thought i’d have this many to choose from. still waiting on a few more, but i’m having a hard enough time as it is narrowing down the schools i have to choose from. i would love and appreciate to hear your pros and cons of the schools to help me get more excited about some of them! i am from minnesota so most of these are oos, but i did get some merit money some places. i am fortunate enough to have a lot of money saved up so right now i just want to know your opinions on which of these programs would be the best?
i have been accepted so far into:
Berkeley (EECS) - i am worried about the vibe at berkeley and the unsafe area around it. but such an incredible program, but very insanely competitive vibe and i want to have fun while i am at school.
UT Austin Turing - i think this would be both a fun and rewarding program. the idea of 90% of the school being from texas is a little scary but i love the school
UIUC- computer science - not sure if i want to be in this state. but very very exciting program that i love
Cal Poly SLO- Computer science - ive heard mixed thing about slo, but i think this would be a fun & rewarding opportunity.
University of Minnesota- CSE - it is my in state & my safety. still a good program and would be fun, just feels like a down step from all of these other opportunities.
Georgia Tech- CS - i have never been to georgia and i worry about being in the south. but wow what a program.
Stanford- aaaa i did not expect to even have this opportunity idk i worry im too dumb to fit in at stanford and would be stressed and barely graduate
University of Michigan- not sure how to feel about this… i love the program and the campus and the school spirit and big 10 but i would feel bad passing up things like berkeley, cal tech, stanford.
Cal Tech- i dont really have any strong opinions on this school. obviously its a very strong program and its in CA but what else is there?? idk.
University of Maryland- i love maryland!! and their program is so strong and i really like the feel of the school. my parents would probably shoot me if i chose md tho. lol.
waiting on:
University of Washington- the campus kind of depressed me when i visited and i don’t think i will get direct admit. but seattle is such a cool city with great career/internship opportunities that are so exciting!
UCLA- not sure if i would choose this over all the other options i have. but it is in LA which is such a seller
Harvey Mudd- very exciting if i get in. i worry about it being too small but i fell in love with the consortium when i visited.
USC- didn’t get any scholarship. probably will not attend over the other opportunities i have.
UCSD- the campus is so ugly and there’s no spirit. but… it’s san diego??
anyways as you can see i am very split between most of my schools. so if you have any insight that would help me choose please let me know!!! thank you so much!!!
If money is no issue, then maybe Stanford. If they accepted you they believe you’re smart enough to be there. All the schools you mention have great reps, but Stanford is Stanford, and it’s a great credential to have. I also think you’ll find fun and school spirit there.
Wow…very impressive admits. Can you share your stats? What do you think stood out in your applications?
From your list, I would say CalTech is very theory and research oriented compared to the other schools (with Harvey Mudd being more like CT, I think). Stanford seems the best choice to me, but you should go with your gut on what you feel is best program for you, subject to costs.
Holy moly what were your stats?? Were you rejected anywhere? I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these. I’d go Stanford if the only thing deterring you from it is thinking you’re not smart enough. If you were able to get in all these places, clearly you’re pretty smart. Heck, even lots of people rejected from Stanford are smart enough for Stanford. Have faith in yourself- obviously you’ve worked hard to get here! Stanford has some great sports so I think you’d be able to find spirit and fun.
Please keep us updated!!!
@sunnyschool My stats include a 1550 SAT, a few subject tests with pretty nice scores. I took/am taking total 12 AP classes. have never gotten less than a A-. i don’t reallt know what made me stand out… i have done some cool internships, work a job, play some varsity sports and made a successful app, did a lot of clubs I guess. i talked about an interesting background in some of my essays as well. i feel like I just got really lucky or it’s a mistake or something
@vhsdad i applied RD and got a likely letter in my email recently from Stanford
@“aunt bea” would u say Berkeley is not worth the money then over some of these others?
does anyone have any insight to what students do for fun at Stanford? what is the social scene like?
choose stanford. i can tell that it’s where you want to go. i once read a post from a girl who felt the exact same way you do (feeling like you’re not smart enough to attend), but she’s thriving there. the only caveat you brought up is feeling like you’re not good enough, which i, and the stanford admissions team, wholeheartedly believe you are! congratulations on having so many amazing choices.
(p.s. binge-watch “Cath in College” on youtube. you’ll be very glad you did. she’s a senior at stanford, and she’s tracked her entire four years there via youtube videos.)
Among those that admitted you, Stanford.
Harvey Mudd and Caltech are sufficiently different from Stanford that it’d merit a visit to decide where you want to attend between those three.
Very distant 3rd would be UT Turing because it’s a unique program in an already top Dept. But not the same as what you’d get at the top three.
You should not let imposter syndrome deter you from attending Stanford. If you got into all of those incredibly competitive programs, you deserve your place.
If you are going to be paying 60K+ annually, Stanford is better value than OOS public options, IMO.
That said, I agree with @MYOS1634 that visiting Harvey Mudd and Caltech to gauge fit might not be a bad idea due to their distinctive vibes and programs.
I need to alter my suggested list after researching the Turing Scholars program at the University of Texas in Austin.
Univ. of Texas-Austin as a Turing Scholar because the required thesis can be tailor made to align with your interests. Also, Turing Scholars usually move straight into PhD programs at your other listed schools after graduation.
Stanford–because Harvard is now being referred to as The Stanford of the East & its proximity to the money & opportunities in Silicon Valley.
Harvey Mudd because of the undergraduate opportunities of the Claremont Colleges.
Georgia Tech
Caltech but isn’t this really a graduate school experience ?
UIUC or Berkeley
To be blunt, I really don’t see much point in going beyond your first two options of Stanford & Texas-Turing Scholars.
If you plan on earning a PhD, then you can experience both of the top choices.
You want fit and a place where you can thrive, not just prestige. Eg, Stanford can be tough, academically, even for highly prepared stem students. We know mostly nothing about how ready OP is, the actual rigor mastered, just stats and a bit about ECs.
Surprised no one pointed out, these are questions you should have explored before applying. Because the decision shouldn’t rest on thoughts from strangers.
Important among the reasons for suggesting the Texas-Turing Scholars program over your other choices is that the CS faculty reviewed the applications for admission into the program which suggests that at least one faculty member has an interest in working with you.
Also, you can apply for honors & scholarships as well as double major.
Cost should be a consideration.
If you do not have any interest in pursuing a PhD., then the Turing Scholars program may be less enticing to you.
@lookingforward: I think that although OP may not have shared extensive information with us, he has with the schools to which he applied &, apparently, their assessment is that the applicant should do well in their school or program.
Additionally, OP must have done extensive research on these options as he had to apply separately to the Turing Scholars program.
You have great options. At this point in the process, the decision is about who YOU are. Nobody here can help you with that. Find a way to do overnights at the school. Visit some classes, and most importantly talk to people. UCBerkeley and Harvey Mudd are very different places as is Cal Tech, Stanford, Michigan, Texas.
You owe it to yourself to do due diligence visits a few of your top choices and make your own decision. These visits are different from the visits you make in trying to decide. You will have to reject all but one school. Make the schools earn you.
BUT if you have the ability to do so, I’d do admitted student days at a few of these places…specifically, more east coast…Ga Tech and (maybe) UMaryland.
@Publisher The ability to do a thesis aligned with one’s interests is not limited to the UT Turing program. Nor is moving straight to PhD programs at top schools (if the student doesn’t want to go straight to a high-paying job).
I don’t know about the others, but one can certainly do an undergraduate thesis at Caltech. In fact, the sample degree plan shows either a year-long thesis or undergrad project being done during junior year. And, most Caltech students do either research or an internship each summer. I would suspect the same is true for many of the programs on the OP’s list.
OP, congratulations! There are so many strong programs on your list! I agree that you should visit as many programs as possible.
Caltech’s Prefrosh Weekend (April 19-21) is a great way to find out if Caltech is a fit for you. Note that a lot of people would say that your comment in the OP about Stanford applies more to Caltech, and that Stanford is an easier program overall. Also, if you worry about Harvey Mudd being too small for you, be aware that Caltech’s undergrad community is about the same size as Mudd’s. However, Caltech is not “really a graduate school experience” as there are a lot of fun activities that the undergrads do along with all the work. And, the vibe is a lot more collaborative than competitive because of the Honor Code. But, in order to choose Caltech, you should enjoy physics and math in addition to CS because of the Core requirements.
I would probably look first at Stanford and then Caltech. (Partly because you seem hesitant about red states and partly because OOS publics are large and sometimes impersonal.) After that, I’d suggest Mudd (if you are admitted). Then probably Berkeley and Austin next.
@Ynotgo: The University of Texas Turing Scholars program requires a thesis. Without such a requirement, it may not get done, and may not be easily arranged. There are tremendous benefits & opportunities of attending a highly ranked large public university with the advantages of a small school program geared specifically toward OP’s interests.
Regardless, visiting the various schools should make OP’s decision much easier.
Caltech has about 979 undergraduate students. How many graduate students are at Caltech ?
