<p><strong><em>I want to major in computer science. I've got an unweighted GPA of 3.8, weighted 4.2, with 5 APs: 2 last year (English lit. and Italian, 5s on both), 3 this year (English Comp. + Calculus AB and BC, compounded exam). I know that number seems low, but my school is small and these are all the available APs. I got about 2000 on the SAT taking it cold, but I'm taking it again in Oct having actually studied. In terms of extra stuff, I did 2 years of volleyball, piano for 3, multiple plays/musicals, choir; received a sonnet award from the Folger Shakespeare Theatre and high scores and awards on the national Latin and national Italian exams. I am an upper-middle class white female.</em></strong></p>
<p>Okay, now that we've got the statistics out of the way, on to the question. I'm already applying to 2 schools in state, one of which is well known for its computer/engineering programs, with the idea of commuting since i really don't want a lot of debt. What colleges (specific names and suggestions would be helpful) have good computer science/engineering programs and might give me enough scholarship money to offset the cost (considering I've got race and income going against me)? What kind of colleges could I get into? Do I need to add to/ improve what I've got as far as transcript/stats go? Please, I need lots of help, my parents are both immigrants so they know squat about the American college system, and I know nothing about how to find a college or how to prepare or anything. Sorry it's so long, thank you so much, any sort of advice is appreciated.</p>
<p>Home State? What can you and your family afford since OOS will be more expensive. Where in the US would you like to go?? Have you calculated your EFC?</p>
<p>Go to the financial aid forum and look at the pinned threads at the top. There is a thread for automatic full tuition scholarships in one of them.</p>
<p>If you’re a female interested in computer science, that might help somewhat in admissions, and your ECs look decent as well. Your GPA’s also pretty good.
Definitely focus on the Math portion of the SAT if you’re going for CS, and take subject tests in MathII and another science in November. </p>
<p>College Board’s a useful resource: <a href=“Home – BigFuture | College Board”>Home – BigFuture | College Board;
So is Princeton Review: <a href=“Sign In | The Princeton Review”>Sign In | The Princeton Review;
<p>As for schools, there are a lot of places that have good CS programs. It comes down to what you want in terms of location, environment, prestige, things like that. </p>
<p>Big State Schools: UMass, Penn State, Purdue, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), UCLA, UC Berkeley, a lot of schools in the UC system, University of Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, University of Washington, it goes on and on with these. </p>
<p>Small Private Schools: Carnegie Mellon, Cornell University, Harvey Mudd, Caltech and MIT (yikes in terms of admit rates), Wellesley College (all-female but near Boston), Northwestern, Johns Hopkins…these are really competitive and usually require essays about WHY you want to go there. So do some research on them.</p>
<p>Here are some less “off-the-top-of-my-head” lists: <a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/SubjectCS2012.html”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/SubjectCS2012.html</a>
<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/computer-science”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/computer-science</a>
<a href=“http://college.usatoday.com/2014/07/30/the-top-10-computer-science-schools-in-the-u-s/”>http://college.usatoday.com/2014/07/30/the-top-10-computer-science-schools-in-the-u-s/</a></p>