Well, after a terribly long and nerve racking time, I got accepted to many more colleges than I expected. Now I just don’t know where to go. I visited many of these places, and have some opinions, but it’s hard for me to sort. Money is not a huge factor, but of course it is one.
Im from pittsburgh majoring in computer science.
Acceptances from:
Indiana bloomington
Purdue
James Madison
Dayton- 12k a year
Allegheny-13k a year
Miami oh
Stony brook
Shippensburg
Still awaiting
Rochester university
Rochester institute of texh
Syracuse
Virginia tech
If any of the schools you are waiting on are schools you are keener on, then sit tight for a bit longer.
Meanwhile figure out your selection criteria if you haven’t already. Have your compared the computer science programs at each school? Curriculum and number of classes each quarter in the subjects you need? The career placement center support for student internships and job searches? Is there a part of the country where you want to end up (since the alumni network will be strongest in the part of the country where the school is located). You visited the campuses, so exactly what kind of student experience are you looking for and which schools provide it? Read up on each in the many college guides that are out there. (Housing, weather, student vibe, local community, ECs that interest you). What do Dayton and Allegheny have to offer that would be worth an extra $40k? (And would that $40k be debt?)
And congratulations on having a problem that many students envy - too many good choices.
@N’s Mom, I’m not sure Dayton or Allegheny would be $40K more - they might even be $40K less. We don’t know if the numbers are net cost or the scholarship. The OP didn’t list any costs for the other schools and certainly Some of those are OOS and don’t offer much in scholarships (Indiana, VA, NY, PA…).
Ignoring the money situation for now,
A. Im from pennsylvania
B. I have visited many of the schools and talked to many comp sci professors etc and most of the classes schedules are the same.
Obviously some schools have better programs than others, but I want to pick the best school overall as well.
OK then. Using some of the criteria that @moooop mentioned Dayton has a nice campus, very big basketball and some other sports (football is FCS rather than FBS), great reputation, internships with the AF research laboratories.
This calculator not only will allow you evaluate the money issues if there are any, but it also suggests other categories that you might like to consider. Try running several of your options through it, and see if it helps. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
Personally, I am HUGE FAN of the “no required courses” curriculum at U.Rochester. Thus, it would be my choice. It also is probably the most rigorous school on your list, if you want a challenge.
However, you have not yet been admitted to UR. Of the schools you have been admitted to, I have visited three; Miami OH, U.Dayton, and IU-Bloomington. Of those three, I would choose Dayton because of its strong sense of community. It is also strong in STEM subjects such as computer science.
If enjoying the college experience is high on your priority list, then IU-Bloomington has a lovely campus and Bloomington itself is a delightful town; especially near campus. I don’t know anything about its computer science program, but academically IU is excellent overall.