I’m a junior interested in majoring in computer science, but I’m also interested in art, psychology, design, and just being able to incorporate other subjects and have flexibility with my courses. I have a preference for liberal arts schools as opposed to technical institutes, but I’m unsure about which programs would be up to date and seen as legitimate in the workforce. (Harvey Mudd and Carnegie Mellon are ideal but insanely reachy)
My ideal situation would be:
-strong CS program
-interdepartmental classes (new media/game design/digital arts/cognitive science)
-artsy/liberal campus environment
-preferably not in the middle of nowhere
-not an overwhelmingly large male majority in the m:f ratio
-study abroad options
Any suggestions for realistic schools?
(I’ve read the similar posts but they are mismatched with stats, for reference:
GPA: 3.6 (4.2 weighted)
ACT: 34)
Hi, @zoe101 - You’re in a similar place to where my D was a year ago. Her stats were similar to yours as well (GPA a little higher, test scores slightly lower - probably comparable overall impact). FWIW, she ended up deciding to go to Scripps, which gives her the options of a CompSci major through Mudd or Pomona, or a CogSci major through Pomona (those two being the two intended majors she selected on the Common App). There is an Intercollegiate Media Studies program in addition to the traditional visual arts coursework. There are strong study abroad programs as well, and of course all of the “normal” humanities and social sciences. (I don’t know about game design specifically, though - that’s not really an interest for my D so far)
You didn’t mention costs and financial resources (or what state you’re in), which is pretty important when filtering what schools to consider; but my D got a half-tuition merit scholarship from Scripps, which made a significant difference for us. All of the programs I mentioned can equally be accessed by Pitzer and CMC students, but I don’t think the merit aid opportunities are quite as promising at those schools. (Plus, the Scripps campus and dorms are beautiful, and my D liked their core curriculum.) She didn’t initially see herself at a women’s college and didn’t apply to any other single-gender schools, but the way Scripps is situated on the larger, co-ed consortium campus seemed to strike a good balance. At any rate, I would recommend looking at all of the 5C’s, not just Mudd itself, to see where your best fit might be.
Most of the other schools she considered were larger:
UCSD for CogSci - there’s a Design track within CogSci and also a Computing & the Arts major and a Speculative Design major) (If you’re looking at UC’s, Irvine also has a good CogSci department, a really strong game design program, and an interesting Informatics major that combines a lot of CS & psych/human factors stuff. UCSC has interesting stuff too, including a Bioengineering track that emphasizes Assistive Technology for Cognitive and Sensory disabilities - so a lot of the coursework is CS and psych)
Northeastern for the CS+Design combined major (there’s also CS+Psych and CS+Linguistics) - check out the Scout student-led design studio there, as well http://www.northeastern.edu/scout/
U of Rochester for CogSci or CS
RPI for Design, Innovation & Society and/or CogSci (probably too tech-y for you, as it was for her as well)
UW Seattle for HCDE or Informatics (tough to get direct-admit to the major, though)
FWIW, she decided against applying to CMU after visiting. Both CS and Design there are very, very reach-y and in very separate worlds, despite how interdisciplinary things sound when you read about the BXA degrees. But, YMMV.
There’s also some interesting crossover CS/CogSci stuff, as well as Design stuff, at UPenn. (Look closely at those early on, because if UPenn were to emerge as a top choice, they are very Early Decision focused, admitting more than half their freshman class ED with a much higher acceptance rate in the early cycle.)