Bonus for a co-op program. These are the things my HS junior S is highly interested in. Expensive schools with no merit are out. In-state CO publics or WUE schools are great. I don’t want to a big laundry list, but wt GPA is 4.5 (doesn’t show uw), he’s taken all AP’s available except Chem (taking adv.) Involved in FBLA and hoping to move into leadership role this year. Let me know if providing more info could help. Thanks for any advice offered!
His list so far:
RIT
I’m guessing Northeastern is too expensive even with merit? Otherwise, it pretty much fits your criteria like a glove, offering both concentrations and solid overall majors. The CS security has a ton of government ties even for co-ops and beyond.
Finding all of that in one is pretty rare - which are more important? The concentrations or the co-op bonus?
@PengsPhils Thanks for the info. I actually looked into NEU for my class of '17 D who loved it. It’s too reachy for her merit-wise and maybe admit-wise as well. S has a more rigorous curriculum though and a few awards. I’ll definitely add it to the list. Maybe I’ll show him what they offer as encouragement to study for the PSAT, etc…
I figured finding all his requests under one roof might be challenging. I think the concentrations are the most important, especially if he could do an internship or two. I’d also say that he’s wanted to start his own business for longer than he’s been interested in computer security, so an entrepreneur-friendly business school is probably the top consideration.
Where are you willing to look? If you’re willing to look south, you may want to consider The Honors College at the College of Charleston. My son is a CS major and is part of the Entrepreneurial Living Learning Program .
http://honors.cofc.edu/admission/special-opportunities.php
Might be outside the area you are thinking about, but look at Northern Kentucky University. They have business with Entrepreneurship and CS with a cybersecurity certificate. Supposed to be one of the better security certs in that area. Plus they offer very good scholarships for students with good grades and test scores. (My D goes there, but for different degree)
If entrepreneurship is the focus, Babson may also be a good fit - they have cross-registration with Olin, where he would have solid CS resources to add to an amazing entrepreneurship community. I don’t think their merit will be as substantial, but will be a bit easier than Northeastern’s
@carolinamom2boys, S doesn’t have any particular preferences at the time outside the academic areas. Probably a good thing since he’s so specific about the program he wants! He would love that Entrepreneurial Living Learning Program I’m sure.
@raellis123, Northern Kentucky looks good too, especially the good scholarships part!
@PengsPhils, that’s funny, I’ve heard of Babson and Olin, but honestly didn’t even know they were in the same state – you learn something new every day I guess. Another one to add.
I forgot to tell you that CofC also has a 4+1 program where your senior year classes count toward a masters degree in collaboration with The Citadel with a specialization is Cybersecurity . You have to have a certain GPA and be recommended for the program, but it’s an interesting option. You may also want look at the ICAT program.
http://sb.cofc.edu/centers/icat/
I know next-to-nothing about ASU other than it’s a WUE school and gives out some pretty good scholarship money. It’s so big it must have some of what your S is looking for. I have heard excellent things about Barrett. ASU is a favorite for those who become National Merit Finalists for it’s significant scholarship money. If your son is a strong tester he might consider sitting the PSAT this fall and seeing if he can qualify for semi-finalist. That kicks him into a whole new category for potential admission and scholarships. UCF (Orlando, FL) is another option.
Consider, too, that his specific interests don’t have to translate directly into majors. At the bachelor’s level, “security” and “entrepreneurship” might be more a set of career goals rather than an actual major. While CS and business programs will have courses in these topics, they might be too specialized to be an actual major (although some schools will, indeed, offer them). We attended a college visit to a nationally ranked school of business recently and they highly recommended gradating with a set of skills (accounting/finance/marketing/OM/IS) rather than a field (international/entrepreneurship/non-profit); the reason being that the skills are actually transferable across many fields of work. Interesting food for thought!
Olin grants significant merit aid to all those admitted. Not sure about Babson. Both are very respectable programs (Olin is top-ranked!). Something to consider on the private side of things. However, Olin’s majors are engineering-focused. The closest he could get to a CS major would be Electrical and Computer Engineering or perhaps a Computing concentration under the general “engineering” umbrella. That might work very well for him given the very innovative and entrepreneurial environment for which the school is known. While cross registration with Babson is definitely offered, you/he would need to look into the possibility of a business minor (or if enrolled at Babson a minor in computing w/ classes at Olin).
Good info by @Mamelot - here’s a good rundown of how CS works at Olin: http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/swampy/E:C_FAQ.pdf
@carolinamom2boys, thanks for the ICAT link – that definitely sounds like something he’d want to check out. But I think the Citadel is a no-go as he would surely fail out of a military academy!
@PengsPhils, thanks for that link. After reading, I don’t think Babson/Olin would be a good fit. It’s too bad, as Babson looked intriguing.
@Mamelot, thank you for the in-depth reply! ASU does look good in terms of offering what he wants, so we’ll add it to the list.
S will take the PSAT in school and I think he could do quite well. He’s also taking the most rigorous curriculum available and only has one B so far. I am keeping my fingers crossed for merit (or in-state or WUE). NMF would be great, although I’m not always sure when I see so much worry and suspense about it here on CC.
I appreciate the advice on “areas of interest” vs. “majors.” I’m more familiar with the CS side. It seems that at some schools (including ASU as I’ve just found out) you can major in Information Assurance, which is kind of a cyber-security degree. Though at most schools it seems to be a concentration area, focus area, certificate, or various other terms that mean the same thing. This is really what I had in mind. If security wasn’t specifically mentioned as a focus area at a school, I’d want to see their course offerings in that area or whether the school is doing any related research.
As for business majors, I’m kind of flying blind. ASU does offer a “Business Entrepreneurship” major. But I think he’d be fine if the entrepreneurship part was a focus area rather than a major. I know nothing about types of business majors, but I’ve suggested that he start talking to his business teachers at HS about what direction to go in. His 16-year-old-self’s plan is to start his own computer security firm. It may change, but I’d like to see him someplace that would give him the best opportunity to go down that path if he sticks with it.
@snoozn if you are going off this year’s PSAT cut-off threads, a lot of that is driven by the redesign and requisite side-effects during this very transitory period. Next year’s amounts of worry and suspense should be at more “normal” levels 
Have you considered U of MD-CP? According to my son who is interested in cryptography, they have a strong program. They also offer business. Not sure of its strength.
I have not looked at the merit offers but here is some info:
@CT1417, another good suggestion. I was already familiar with the reputation of their cybersecurity program. Fortuitously, it looks like they’ve just made some changes to their business program that would meet S’s other requirement:
The list is growing!
@snoozn Just to clarify the MS program in conjunction with the Citadel would not
require him to participate in the military aspect of the school .