Hello everyone. Applications are nearly around the corner and I am about to finish up my search for colleges. As of right now my applications are most likely going to be made up of this:
Cornell (Early Decision)
Regular Decision:
Carnegie Mellon
NYU
SUNY Stony Brook
Columbia
Penn
MIT
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
Maryland- College Park
Michigan
Berkeley
Cooper Union (no compsci but the rest is intriguing)
I am also considering Rutgers and RPI but neither of them really seem to “excite” me. RPI is just in a bad neighborhood. Are there any other schools that would place me in very good hands with great job placement or graduate school placement besides the ones I have listed? I also would like to stay close to Long Island, so while Michigan and Berkeley are on there, they are not as high on my list as others mentioned.
Here are my stats, and I know some schools I have listed above are pretty high reaches:
SAT 2350 (780,780,790) (2330 one sitting)
ACT 35 Composite (34 English; 35 rest, one sitting)
SAT II: 800 Math II and Physics
GPA: ~93.5/100, top 10% with essentially the hardest course load possible in my school.
Extracurricular: fairly standard, I have tutored an autistic family friend on a regular schedule for free and for over 4 years and I think that is a strong one, but otherwise normal.
Intended major: Computer Science and or Electrical Engineering
I come from a pretty mediocre public school in which about one to five kids out of 550 enroll in an Ivy each year. Our valedictorian and salutatorian, for example, did not break 1950 on their SATs last year. I do not know if this will help or hurt my chances.
If I am missing schools, or anyone can offer some critique of my list, maybe which would be the best choices and which would be worse, I would sincerely appreciate it. Also, am I an okay early decision candidate? Thank you for your help
Can you afford UCB, UMich and UMCP as an out of state student (or NYU for that matter)? I think in-state ED for Cornell is possible.
I “can” afford them, but of course would prefer the benefits of more generous financial aid as any student would. I don’t plan on finances swaying my decision unless the discrepancy between financial aid is giant and between academics is minor. But even 45K per year would definitely be possible, and I’m sure (hoping) schools would at least be that cheap. Thank you
A high school that sends 1-5 graduates out of a class of 550 to Ivy League schools is far above mediocre in that respect.
Considering that the list prices of some of the colleges are over $60,000, you need to talk to your parents now about what they will contribute, and run net price calculators, rather than waiting until April.
@ucbalumnus Really? I guess I just fell victim to the college confidential “I go to a feeder school that sends 15 kids to HYPS every year.” Also the fact that it is on Long Island does not help either. And I have spoken to them. The net price calculators are only accurate to a certain point, and it is impossible to figure out exactly what I would receive. I have a general idea, and I have given it some thought.
OK, so you would be a full payer at Berkeley, they only give some aid to OOS low income.
@BrownParent Our income is 100K flat. I would get nothing?
If your parents’ finances are fairly ordinary (income mainly from wage and salary and perhaps some interest or investment income, with no rental property, self-employment, or small business), then the net price calculators are more likely to give good estimates. Using the net price calculators before making your application list is much better than applying blindly and then finding out that all of your acceptances in April are to schools which are too expensive.
Berkeley’s net price calculator at https://saservices.berkeley.edu/calculator/Dependent.aspx will show you that you may get some grant offer, but the non-resident additional tuition of $24,708.00 will be completely uncovered. Net price is likely to be over $47,000.
Would anyone be able to give me a rough estimate as to if SUNY Stony Brook would give me good opportunities for graduate schools and or internships?
SB would be fine for graduate schools and internships. It’s close to NY and your Grad school options depend on how well You do.
Another school to research/consider would be Case Western.
They should give you generous merit aid, and are strong in your fields of interest.
If you would consider a smaller CS/Engineering specialized school, Rose-Hulman would give you an excellent education with much smaller class sizes than most of the schools you have listed.
Just some food for thought.
Good luck!
For smaller schools, South Dakota Mines and New Mexico Tech are engineering focused schools that are relatively inexpensive.
Thank you all. You have been very helpful and have given me a lot to consider
If you are intrigued by Cooper, then you should check out Olin College of Engineering
http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/swampy/E:C_FAQ.pdf
If you are interested in a teaching focused environment that offers EE,CS, and Computer Engineering and also has access to research, then you should consider Tufts.
http://www.cs.tufts.edu/About-CS/cool-facts-about-cs-at-tufts.html
MIT, Cornell, Tufts and Olin are my favorites in the Northeast, but they are all different so it depends on your personality and interests. I actually skew towards Tufts and Olin for undergrad and Cornell and MIT for grad, but it depends on the person.
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Our income is 100K flat. I would get nothing?
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I don’t see how you’d get much/any “free money” from Berkeley.
The UCs for OOS students tend to be FAFSA EFC plus $25k OOS tuition plus full loans and work study. For a $100k income, it would seem like that would about add up to the full COA.
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I don't plan on finances swaying my decision unless the discrepancy between financial aid is giant and between academics is minor. But even 45K per year would definitely be possible,
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I think you need to get a handle on finances. Finances often sway decisions because 18 year olds can’t pull money out of their hineys. Ask your parents how much they’ll pay.
@mom2collegekids I do have a handle on finances. I have a reserved amount of over 90K solely for college. It is simply a matter of how much debt I want to be in, and the education/college discrepancy will decide that. @Mastadon I do not like Olin’s admissions (too rigorous and stressful, on top of my lack of interest), and I have considered Tufts, but I will look into it more. Thank you both
It’s a fine list. Berkeley and Michigan make no sense since they award little merit and really want OOS dollars.
Not sure why you’d want to go to Cooper if they don’t have CompSci.
Consider Rochester because they are good in CompSci, should accept you, and provide good aid. Brandeis might also be a decent bet. Not sure if Maryland has merit scholarships, but look into it.
Otherwise, your list is fine.
@ClassicRockerDad I had both Rochester and Brandeis on my list, but removed them since my safety (SUNY Stony Brook) is arguably more renowned in CS and cheaper since I am in-state. I knew Berkeley and Michigan were poor with OOS financial aid, but it is actually THAT bad that I shouldn’t even bother applying?
They want and need your OOS dollars. You have a lot of schools that offer good aid. Even if money were no object, after all of your admissions, the chances of you actually ATTENDING Berkeley or Michigan would be very very small because you have a lot of schools anyway. Couple that in with the poor aid, I can’t see why you’d bother applying.