IT/Engineering Schools help

<p>I have a 93 unweighted average and about a 98-99 weighted average(Only counting junior and sophmore AP's). I have 720 math and i expect a mid 600 english and writing score on the SAT(Still waiting for results... but math was the only respectable grade from first SAT).</p>

<p>I either want to do go to school in information technology or computer engineering however i cant choose between the two and i also cant find schools that would be safe/reach schools for my grades...</p>

<p>My dream would be to go to Carnegie Mellon because they have a ton of computer majors however i dont think my grades are good enough..</p>

<p>Can anyone help me by giving a somewhat decent list of schools to start off with?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot!</p>

<p>CS is more about programming or softwares. ComE is more about hardwares. At a top school like MIT or Stanford or Berkeley, you can actually get training for both disciplines. They call the program, EECS. It’s a great program and many graduates of that program have been employed in top IT firms and enjoy one of the highest salaries. </p>

<p>Your GPA is extremely high. You can get into anywhere with that GPA. But your SATs are below the median score for the 3 IT schools. The good thing is, you can always retake SATs. Studies have shown that constant practice of the SAT mock up tests can improve SAT scores substantially. </p>

<p>If you do wish to major in CS only, the only school amongst the top 3 which I think you have a slight chance of getting accepted is Berkeley because the CS program at Berkeley is INITIALLY offered under the College of Letters & Science, which is not as selective as the College of Engineering at the same university. [L</a> & S Departments | College of Letters & Science](<a href=“http://ls.berkeley.edu/l-s-departments]L”>http://ls.berkeley.edu/l-s-departments)</p>

<p>If you don’t like Berkeley or you think you can’t hack Berkeley’s entrance or it’s tough and rigid teaching and research standard, you may consider applying to USC and Santa Clara University.</p>

<p>If you are looking at CMU you might also want to look at some of its peer schools like the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Georgia Tech. You may want to get those SATs up as both of those are pretty competitive as well.</p>

<p>Could you suggest some schools possibly on the east coast because i live in new york and im pretty positive it would be way too expensive and a hassle to visit and/or deal with going to cali, even though i want to go bad… But dreams can be dreams, and we are in reality :&lt;/p>

<p>In New York, UB is a good safety.</p>

<p>RPI is in Troy (near Albany - suggested by rico2). I would suggest it, or Stevens (Hoboken), or RIT (Rochester). WPI is in Worchester, Mass. Clarkson is in Potsdam, NY.</p>

<p>With your stats, you should be able to gain admission to any of them (well RPI is a little bit of a reach).</p>

<p>I took a look at all of the colleges suggested on the east coast and it seems like stevens would be a nice school… it looks like it has a decent rep and i think i should be able to get in… But are there any other schools to take note of before i go any further?</p>

<p>Edit: For example are schools like Virginia tech as good as say Stevens… Or do you think i should stay with this choice?</p>

<p>As far as majors go, “computer engineering” is usually hardware focused, “computer science” or “software engineering” is usually software focused, and “information technology” or “management information systems” is usually business focused with some low level computer courses thrown in.</p>

<p>If you do decide to go the IT route, a few CS courses in operating systems, networks, databases, and security should help you get stronger background knowledge than most IT people have, which can allow better adaptability to unusual problems and new technologies.</p>