<p>Computer Science and Software Engineering is a GREAT field to look into right now. I wish you guys nothing but the best with this search. Is he looking for a 5 year masters program? I work closely with our CS/SE department so I know how hard it is to find the perfect fit for a student looking to get into this field. </p>
<p>Best of Luck</p>
<p>You may be all done looking but I have one more suggestion if you are not:</p>
<p>University of Kansas.</p>
<p>It’s far from an LAC, but Lawrence is a fairly liberal, great college town. Not only good basketball, but also a pretty good music scene. While the school has its share of preppy, Greek types, it has all types.</p>
<p>The programs are all good and they have a full range of offerings. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about its CS department.</p>
<p>They accept applications until April 1, I think.</p>
<p>Holy Cross has a good computer science program with very nice campus-1 hour from Boston. HC is also one of a very few schools that is need-blind for admissions.</p>
<p>Just read through the whole thread…jennigarden what was the verdict? Anybody know? Great info!!!</p>
<p>Although not exactly CS (but close enough to imply their CS programs are strong)USNews lists the following schools as having the top 5 Computer Engineering programs for schools whose highest degree is a bach or masters:
<p>Bucknell is the most LAC-like of those 5, and Harvey Mudd is in that territory, especially with the resources of the other 4 Claremont undergraduiate schools.</p>
<p>Although I know Bucknell produces great engineers (who can communicate- thank you liberal arts), I was a little surprised at the apparent depth & history of their CS program, which provides both comp engineering and computer science majors: [Introduction||Computer</a> Science Department || Bucknell University](<a href=“http://www.bucknell.edu/x15819.xml]Introduction||Computer”>http://www.bucknell.edu/x15819.xml)</p>
<p>Hi again folks! Well the results are in. My son is, miraculously, into 9 of the 11 colleges he applied to, including Tufts engineering. He’s trying to decide between Tufts, Oberlin, Macalester and Occidental. You’d think Tufts is the obvious choice, with it’s “New Ivie” reputation etc. - and in fact we may end up choosing it - but in fact they all have their advantages. Tufts has a true engineering program, with over 100 CS courses, 20 FT faculty and great resources - plus a culture that would likely fit well. Macalester has a strong Math/ CS department for a LAC; Oberlin has quirky kids and very strong sciences, and a small CS department; Macalester has only a minor in CS, but has cross-registration with CalTech plus the advantage of proximity to home in CA. Chances are it will be Tufts or Oberlin - but we’ll visit, research, decide. </p>
<p>What do all you CC’ers think?</p>
<p>To summarize a bit: I’ve decided that the best match for a kid like mine (3.4 GPA, 2240 SAT’s, quirky, very math/science but also with broad interests) is either a small LAC with an unusually strong CS department or a mid-sized university with a strong LAC-like feel. For the first the best matches (in my opinion) are Carleton, Macalester, and Grinnell, with Oberlin close behind. For the second the best matches are Tufts and USC. Good safeties for both are Brandeis, U Rochester, Case Western, and U Puget Sound. We were denied, sadly, at Carleton and USC, and my son didn’t like Grinnell (too remote), but we were left with several good choices, happily. What a long process! I hope this thread helps someone else with similar goals…</p>
<p>Well I am biased towards Tufts. He will be able to explore more options by being in a college with engineering; he can take courses that interest him in EE, ME, CE etc. Lots of exposure to different yet closely related fields is so valuable and enriching. Even hanging around with lots of other engineering students is great! Plus there is the balance of liberal arts with engineering that is so great there - only 400 engineering students out of about 5200 students. Perfect for the student with diverse academic interests!
Plus the location is great - he can be in Cambridge or Boston in no time, yet he is on a real campus.</p>
<p>I would like to put in a plug for Oberlin. Their computer science department is small, but excellent. My daughter enjoyed several challenging CS courses there. The other science departments are strong as well, sending a large fraction of students on to graduate programs. I hope that your son gets a chance to visit Oberlin because it may be the kind of place he is looking for. If he liked Carleton enough to apply ED there, he should like Oberlin as well.</p>
<p>My feeling is that both schools are excellent, and it’s really going to come down to the people. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but the tipping point is the campus culture. My son has said he doesn’t care as much where he is as who he’s with. Oberlin strikes me as rigorous, free-spirited, political and close-knit. Tufts strikes me as equally challenging but a little preppier and pre-professional. Both seem like happy, relatively non-competetive places with plenty of quirky/ nerdy kids like my son. I do worry when my son reports the rumor that Tufts kids aren’t as “nice”. I of course realize these are all gross generalizations, but I also do believe in a general campus culture. We’ll gather much more info when we visit the admitted students events on campus this month - it may answer all questions. In the meantime, any thoughts on campus culture/ kids at Tufts and Oberlin?</p>
<p>Congrats to your son on having such great options!</p>
<p>D1 is a sophomore CS non-engineering major at Tufts. There have been ups and downs–sophomore year especially is stressful, where the curriculum difficulty takes a giant leap upwards–but she’s managing. Overall, the department culture does tend more towards the collaborative than competitive. Professors, grad students and upperclassmen have all been highly supportive and more than happy to offer D1 advice. She has strong interests in International Relations, a Tufts strength; I think Tufts has been an extraordinarily good fit for her because of this. Having Boston near at hand has been a great benefit. As to other students being “nice” or not–some winners, some losers. The food is great.</p>
<p>You’ll know more after your visits. Have fun with the trips!</p>
<p>Thanks SlitheyTove!</p>
<p>Compare the job-placement records for engineering students at each of the schools, plus average salaries for recent engineering grads at each school. The best indicator of the strength of any program are the alumni. Where are they and what are they doing?</p>
<p>Wish I knew this information before my applications. I have pretty much identical stats, but ended up applying to a different pool of schools because I didn’t give much thought into liberal arts schools. Hindsight is always 20/20 lol</p>
<p>Anyways, this is great information for those with lower gpa but good test scores. Hopefully others can find this info before applying</p>
<p>gcornelius, where do I find this information?</p>
<p>jennigarden wrote:
</p>
<p>That comment sums up Oberlin students very well. My daughter found her tribe at Oberlin. Her experience there helped her mature into a wonderful adult. She graduated a few years ago and keeps in touch with several of her Oberlin friends, including visiting them whenever possible. I have been impressed with how tight Obies are while in college and afterwards.</p>
<p>Although I do not know much about Tufts, I would say that Obies have more in common with Carls than they do with Tufts students (Jumbos???).</p>
<p>Okay the final decision is in. We’ve revisited both campuses and my son has decided to go to Oberlin! I totally agree with him, and think it’s the best of his available options. If he’d gotten into Carleton he’d have gone there, but Oberlin is wonderful. As predicted, it boiled down to the campus culture. The students at Oberlin struck us as a better match - smart, relaxed, big-hearted, liberal, off-beat. Deep thinkers, challenging, and very, very friendly. Tufts students were also great but were more amped-up in that east coast way: fast-talking, ambitious, super-engaged - not really my mellow son. Plus my son had a pretty strange overnight experience: he and a large group of prospies were ditched by their hosts - my son’s host to go to a frat initiation! - and left to wander the campus on their own. They still had fun (ish), but not very friendly or responsible. We also found out that the CS department at Oberlin is larger and healthier than we thought: 60 majors, a young and hot faculty, research and internship opportunities. I know there wont’ be the course selection/ opportunities/ employability as he’d have at Tufts, but I think it would be enough, and a better overall experience.</p>
<p>So that’s the end of this long, long journey! Thanks for the input folks. I hope this helps any others looking for what we were.</p>
<p>This is my first time posting so not quite sure how to start. I followed this thread and found it THE most helpful in our search so decided to reply to see if any of you still see this. I appreciate all the ideas that you all shared. My question is how does one pick colleges with good computer science programs that would be deemed most likely to get in? My son’s list looks to be mostly competitive schools.</p>
<p>He wanted a school with computer science that is liberal, challenging, small, and accepting of introverts. He is not sure if he wants to do computer engineering but does want to work in computer software. We live in Houston so he wanted to go somewhere else though I think he wants to apply to Rice since he liked it but doesn’t believe he can get in. His SAT was 2150 and he will take again in October because he was disappointed. ACT and SAT Physics/Math Subject test results are not back yet. His grade point average is currently 3.9. He will be a senior in the fall with four of his classes being AP. He also enjoys Spanish, Theater, Chess, and Fencing so he asks about those when we visit schools.</p>
<p>In Texas, the only school he liked beyond Rice was Trinity University. We were all impressed with UT’s computer science department but he is in one of the most competitive public high schools so will not be in the top 7% next year in order to get in. I wonder about UT for graduate school when he is older and more confident. We went to Minneapolis where I used to live for Spring Break so he could see how he felt about cold and snow. He actually loved it and his choices were Macalester as number one followed by St. Olaf and Carleton.</p>
<p>He is going to the Lead America Technology and Engineering Conference at Franklin Olin this summer. We will start our final college tours when we pick him up. In Boston, he visits Brandeis, Boston U, Tufts and MIT(loved their presentation here but knows it is not realistic due to finances and competition but I never want to tell him not to try for something). In New York, Rensselaer(received the Medal Scholarship this year should he be accepted), University of Rochester, and Rochester Institute of Technology. In Pennsylvania, Allegheny(friend loves it), Carnegie-Mellon, Juniata(friend on board and loved it), and Swarthmore. I just saw that Jennigarden’s son picked Oberlin which sounds wonderful and exciting for him. We did not look at Ohio schools because we had to limit our trips. I thank you in advance for any feedback or suggestions but particularly on how you pick a school to be a sure admission that is what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Re: #58</p>
<p>He should check if Texas A&M can be a safety for him, since he was considering UT Austin but will probably miss the auto-admit there.</p>
<p>Thank you. Also had given him your list of computer science classes to look into at each college. Very helpful. A & M was not a match for him and yes, the auto admit an issue there also.</p>