yucca10 There is no secret sauce for getting into schools like Caltech. My son is a freshman there and he came in with very little programming experience.
@vhsdad Interesting to hear that. I’ll be sure to apply to my schools just in case they’re looking for a guy like me. I guess you never really know what AOs are looking for.
@JanieWalker I thought I’d give you an update on the schools!
PSU- Added to my safeties. Oregon looks awesome, the campus looks really updated and comfortable, and the CS program seems pretty solid.
Stevens- Their Quantitive Finance bachelor’s degree looks incredible. I’m really interested in trading and betting, so I think that’d be an awesome major for me. They look to be a strong leader in that field (100% of grads go to Wallstreet or something like it). I’ll definitely add it to my list.
UW Madison- I’ll consider it some more and put it on my backup list. The party-atmosphere of that school is crazy (or so the reputation says) and I think I would prefer other state-schools over this one.
UMass Lowell- There isn’t much there that would tempt me.
Reed- Looks like a fantastic school but I think I would prefer a more standard college experience. The small classrooms and campus might give me more anxiety than anything else. I would still prefer a bigger school with a lot of options for majors, clubs, and all that stuff.
UC- My mistake! When I said how I liked the co-op program of Northeastern, I meant the combined majors. I really like the option to take something like “Computer Science and Statistics” or “Computer Science and Entrepreneurship” in the same course load as a normal major.
University of Minnesota- This school was actually on my backup! Great suggestion, I think I would really like it there. I will probably add this school somewhere on my list.
WPI and U Utah- Nothing really here that excites me. I think I would still prefer the colleges on my list and the ones I just added. UU has a great video game program, which could serve as an alternative to USC, so I will keep it in mind!
Thank you again!
Many solid options have been developed here!
Having interviewed thousands of college students, I find your story is compelling. Your motivation will win the race for you! Motivation is easily worth another 200 points on an SAT score!
Go for it!
@vhsdad Your son certainly had something else to distinguish him, and OP says programming is his only EC, so that’s the difference.
@vhsdad my son is also a frosh and he came in with little programming experience. That said, he will be most likely be taking classes over the summer to strengthen the languages he is learning this year. He did have stellar scores and targeted, long term tech/science/math based ECs.
@retiredfarmer I really appreciate that, thank you so much!
@yucca10 That makes sense. His son probably stood out in every other way, and I’m focussing exclusively on cs. Compared to others like me, I’m far behind on my programming skills. I’ll work hard and maybe I can become more competitive by the time I apply!
@lstix2018 Congratulations to your son! Also, thank you for the information. Believe it or not, hearing of actual people that got in is really helpful. I’m Canadian and since I do online school, I know very little about people getting admitted-- that’s why this forum is so helpful for me!
I don’t know what sources you used for you college research, but suggest you use the WPI website for ideas as it is really packed with information which go way beyond size and location.
It is a very self directed research program which focuses on the merger of an individual drive with group interaction… two important ingredients to making the STEM world happen. They do it all over the world. These “group comparison” sites have trouble explaining programs which do not fall into a traditional format.
See https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/interactive-media-game-development and hunt around.
They are also a bright group of students with an average, unweighted GPA in the last entering class of 3.89/4. They have a wide range of activities, but are a moderately sized university. We pay most sports, but not to entertain the national television fans.
WPI '67
Thank you for all that information. I’ve only really used some of the broad search sites in which you provide a location, size, major, etc. and comb through the results.
WPI looks pretty great! That video game development course looks like it would really benefit me. The only question would be if I want to go into that field or not. I am currently debating between a statistics/financial path in CS with some entrepreneurship classes or a direct video game development path.
I’ll be sure to add WPI to my list regardless-- their philosophy is fantastic. Thank you for the help!
@ JakeTheMan24
“I am currently debating between a statistics/financial path in CS with some entrepreneurship classes or a direct video game development path.” We even have a project center on Wall Street.
Interactive Media and Game development is just one area of study.
The following address takes you to a simple listing of departments and concentrations. When you click on the subject you can read about the identified area of studies. See https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments
Because of your cited interests check out these related areas. You may want to learn about fields you may have never heard about before:
Sub divisions of CS
Data Science
System Dynamics & Innovation Management
Systems Science and Policy Studies @ https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/social-science-policy-studies
Mathematical modeling as required by modern business takes on many forms. Thinking is very interdisciplinary so there is a great deal of crossover between departments. We break nature into little parts and pretend they are different disciplines. Some of these majors only have half a dozen majors, but all students work on real research in small teams to produce real answers
Entrepreneurship is one of WPI’s big things. The Foisie School of Business is focused in that area. Check out Data Science and other areas
As long as you are very comfortable with mathematics there are a very wide range of applications. It is a medium sized university with a broad focus on STEM areas that you cannot even find at most larger universities.
Look at Babson, ranked #1 for entrepreneurship. You can cross register at Olin School of engineering down the street. You are exactly the type of mindset the seem to look for.
@retiredfarmer Wow, thanks! I must have overlooked a lot of those majors you listed. You make an extremely strong case for WPI! I’ll be sure to revisit it and look a lot more into it, I think it could be a fantastic fit for me. The innovative philosophy paired with the really interesting, unique programs is a big incentive for me. The only concern of mine would be the unconventionalness of the school-- I always saw myself going to a typical college (somewhat like a state school), so I’m not sure how much I would enjoy typical day-to-day operations.
@waverlywizzard
That school could be a fantastic fit for me-- thank you for letting me know! I am still unsure if I want to go with the entrepreneur route or not. I might prefer to just minor in entrepreneurship at another school and focus more on computer science, I’m not sure yet. Regardless, I will add Babson to my list! Their concentrations look awesome, similar to WPI. I checked out Olin as well, but they seem to be a more prestigious/rigorous engineering school, I’m not sure if I would be able to cross-register as I won’t be taking AP Physics(?).
A few days ago I had no clue these kinds of schools existed, and now they are on my list! I’ll need to figure out if I would prefer a small community with a great, specialized education (a Babson, or WPI like school), or a larger community in a more standard setting. The anonymity that I originally wanted is somewhat important because I would be more comfortable in a crowded lecture rather than a discussion class. I’ve done all my work independently for the past 5 years, going to the complete opposite setting of group-reliant projects and I worry that my quality might deteriorate. I think a larger school would be an easier, safer choice for me, but I like a good, risky challenge, so I’m split at this point.
We often portray engineers and scientists as independent inventors. It seems to fit our inventors popular story line, of the lonely dreamer. Dreaming can help, but today’s technology often requires teams.
Today, problem solutions are, more often than not, developed in teams. By necessity, they often involve personnel from other disciplines and perspectives. It is the nature of modern technology. This “more heads are better than one” approach requires listening and interacting with others to design solutions. Consider a robot development as an example where the CS developer might work with a psychologist and an ME so the end product can interact with real people. Think of Tesla, Apple, GM and Boeing 737 aircraft, et al.
One caution on the Babson/Olin program. Both Colleges are at the very top in their respective fields, but I don’t believe you can just cross register as a Babson student to Olin courses yet. I believe they are still working on program design to make this happen, but they are not the same university. The Babson/Wellesley interaction is much easier as they simple take classes at each other’s colleges. If you are an Olin student it should be simple to take entrepreneurial courses at Babson but not so easy for Babson students to study engineering courses at Olin. It has to do with foundation work in the sciences for Olin work to fit in. You might have to approach it from the Olin direction.
I’m still looking around for schools, so if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!
@retiredfarmer
I appreciate your help. That definitely makes sense. Especially in entrepreneurship and video game design, I will need to learn how to work in groups, and what better place to learn than WPI and schools alike? I guess it’s just the matter of being thrown in the ocean and learning how to swim, or using water-wings in the 1-foot pool. One gets me a lot more knowledge and experience but with more risk and less comfort, the other is a comfortable, safe experience with less reward. I’ll be sure to take everything you said into consideration! Again, I really appreciate all the information you are giving me.
Thank you for the heads up. I don’t have much interest in Olin and, to be honest with you, I don’t think I am qualified for their engineering program. I am looking into Babson because of their incredible entrepreneurship program, but I would prefer to complete all my classes at that school-- is this possible?
It just so happens my brother is a Babson graduate and a sister’s daughter also graduated from Babson in the computer management area many years ago. Both have done very well. My brother told me if he needed calculus he would hire someone! As it turns out he was right!
Keep checking out the possibilities.
Yeah, when you said you loved the vibe at Chapman, my first thought was “Okay, so maybe not Reed” lol.
Another potential safety… I think you said you were less interested in the southern US, but… from what you said about wanting a larger school with a social, beachy vibe, but also solid computer science, game design, and business/finance with an entrepreneurial bent… you might want to look at College of Charleston. Charleston is an historic city that is the capital of SC, and it’s on the coast, so there’s beach access and even classes where you can learn to surf while studying the related physics. It would be a solid safety for general admission, but the Honors College is relatively competitive and attracts an accomplished and ambitious group of students. You’re not locked into a major on entry, so you’d have both CS and business paths - or both - open to you; plus there’s a specific program in Computing in the Arts. There’s a finance major, an entrepreneurship concentration, and a CS department that’s particularly successful in business-related competitions like the Wells Fargo Business Analytics Challenge. The Student Innovation Center sounds like something you would like. http://compsci.cofc.edu/ CofC is relatively affordable for OOS/international students. It could offer you a great mix of big & small (10K undergrads overall, but smaller honors college), urban & nature/beach, CS & business/entrepreneurship.
I think I am missing some target schools. I don’t think I would have a hard time getting into UofM, but USC is the next most difficult at a 17% acceptance rate which is probably even lower for video game programming. I think I need a school or two in between here that is more of a target. I think I only have safeties and reaches at this point (apart from the specialties). I put my updated college list below if anyone would like to check it out.
@retiredfarmer Haha that’s awesome. Thank you for all the help!
Southern US is so far from my Canadian lifestyle, I think it would be really hard to adjust; although, you are tempting me with the College of Charleston! It does pretty much check off all of the boxes (for a safety), but that location could be tough. I’m not even sure if my parents would help pay for me to go to the southern states. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they are great places to live, it’s just, for a lack of a better word-- different. I think I would prefer to have my safeties be CU Boulder, Chapman, UBC Okanagan, and PSU/UofM/LMU, but I’ll definitely add it to my backup list (now that I think about it, it’d probably be a good idea to have a low-price American college that checks all these boxes). You’ve definitely read me like a book, though! I’m impressed at my level of interest in all the colleges you’ve listed.
I still really want to go to the University of Washington, so I’m debating applying with a different major. Seattle is my favorite place I’ve ever visited, so I’d love to live there at a great school like UDub. If anyone has any suggestions for majors there, that’d be awesome to hear.
Here is my updated list copied directly from my notes: (excluded Canadian schools because irrelevant to this post)
Harvard (Stats)
Dartmouth (Computer Science)
Vanderbilt (Still a dream of mine. All around amazing and I think I’d fit in really well)
Northeastern (Programs and campus look incredible. Education-wise-- I know I’d love it.)
USC (Video Game design in a typical college in LA would be a phenomenal, enjoyable experience.)
**missing one or two here, i think
University of Minnesota Twin Cities (all round pretty good, not great in anything)
Maybe 1 or 2 of the following specialty schools: (depending on what I want for my future, e.g. do I want to start my own business, get into business, become a quant, or go with a more typical experience? If I want to do CS then I think I would prefer any other school on my list).
Stevens (Incredible Quantitive Finance program, not sure if I would like the ppl + location)
Babson (Entrepreneurship top-ranked, awesome programs, size, and location not ideal)
WPI (All around great education with project-based assignments which is a huge plus, big concern if I’d enjoy the small community)
UW Madison (Produces most CEOs and is an extremely typical college experience, “madhouse” reputation could pose a problem with parents)
CU Boulder
Chapman OR LMU (LMU better connections and STEM, Chapman more comfortable and better fit?)
Portland State University (kind of serves as a better, more expensive UBCO. Location and campus look amazing)
@JakeTheMan24 Earlier in the thread, you posted this - “By the way, I can’t actually apply to California state schools because they don’t accept online classes. “
Would you mind posting where you found this information? I don’t think it is correct - please tell me if I have missed something. I am curious because my D21 might be interested in two of the UC schools, and I haven’t seen anywhere where online classes wouldn’t fulfill an a-g requirement. In addition, there are UC schools that offer online classes of their own, so I would find it odd if what you say is true.
I will tell my daughter to email admissions and ask for herself - but if that info is on a UC website somewhere and we missed it, please let me know.
First, let me say that I have absolutely no clue what their policy is on other schools, but here is my experience:
At my school, there are “UC-APPROVED” courses and ones that haven’t been approved. The only main problem here is that they will not accept my online science labs. I don’t think there is any information on their sites that explain this, but it seems to be true. If you find any more information I’d love to hear it. A lot of UC campuses were on my list and would be perfect for me, I was bummed when I found they didn’t accept my science labs.
Anyway… after I noticed that the science courses didn’t have this approved tag, I emailed admissions and they said:
"If you mean you are enrolled in high school courses with the online _____ school, then yes, your school does have a University of California (UC) approved course list.
Courses on the list do meet the freshman admission subject requirements as listed by each subject area for admission to UC.
The California State University system (CSU) which San Diego State University (SDSU) is a part of also use the same approved course list.
Chapman University is a private college, we cannot respond as to whether or not Chapman would accept the online Laurel Springs School’s UC approved courses."
My reply:
“Am I to assume that courses which are not listed as approved do not meet the requirements? Specifically, the science labs at my school are not listed as approved. Does this mean I, an international applicant with an American online education, cannot meet your science lab requirements?”
Their response:
"You are correct, if courses are not on the list, then they cannot be used to meet UC’s subject requirements for freshman admission.
It doesn’t matter if you are an international student with an American online education; all applicants regardless of residency, citizenship, online or in-person high school enrollment must meet the same subject requirements. [And your online science labs do not meet these requirements]"
So, in short, my science labs aren’t approved by the UC system, the same system used by the California State University system. I can’t imagine they’d deny my lab for any reason other than for the online aspect of it. Nearly every other course, with the exception of some electives, is UC approved.
My recommendation is just sending a quick email to your counselor as well as a UC counselor (I sent my email to ASKUC@ucop.edu).
**Chapman and other private schools in CA seem to accept them. Note that “The CSU system uses the same approved course list” which is why I would guess California state schools don’t accept online science labs. With that said, my counselor said I can fulfill the requirement by doing SAT subject tests and AP exams. I haven’t really looked into this so I’d just recommend asking your counselor. There does seem to be ways to get around it-- that ship has sailed for me though.
Hopefully this is helpful. If you need any more information please let me know!
Thanks for your detailed response! I now remember why I wasn’t concerned about this before as far as the UCs go - my D21 is taking all AP sciences, and her exam scores will qualify her.
You can take the SAT2 (subject) tests in the sciences (and/or the AP exams) and qualify by exam instead of relying on the courses themselves being approved - have you considered going that route?
@JakeTheMan24 - meant to add this to my above post, but I didn’t edit quickly enough -
There is also an overall Admission by Examination option for the UCs. Here’s a quote from their admissions page:
“If you don’t meet UC’s minimum requirements, you may be considered for admission to UC if you earn high scores on the ACT with Writing or SAT and two SAT Subject Tests.”
You could take a look at their admissions site and send them an email asking if you can qualify for consideration of admission with your 1400 SAT and two high subject test scores (then take those subject tests).