Demographics
Permanent Resident
VA
Public School
Male Asian
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science
4.4 (Weighted) 3.7 (Unweighted)
Class Rank: 25%
SAT Scores: 1380
AP Calc, AP Physics, AP VA and US History, AP English, AP Computer Science, AP MicroEconomics, AP Biology, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Psychology
Model UN, TSA
Preferably In-State or East Coast
Please provide recommendations…Thanks!
Any financial constraints?
You can try Va Tech or JMU. A CNU is more likely though or a VCU for bigger. .
So - why In state or east coast ? East coast I get but is in state cost or something else because you’d qualify for big merit in the south and Midwest.
You’d likely do well at WVU and back to the east coast W Carolina. Delaware, depending on the budget.
In the Northeast there are fine SUNY schools, regionals in pA like E Stroudsburg and Millersville and Pitt may be possible - but need to know the budget. Also URI and UMaine in the NE for affordability.
Make sure you check curriculums. Depending on school size, some may be more restrictive.
Need to know budget and school size you’d like etc to hone in.
Thx
He’s solidly in range for Lehigh, and it’s one of the rare schools where Asian applicants are advantaged, at least until SCOTUS decides they can’t be. Strong engineering and CS there. Cross-town rival Lafayette could be worth a look as well.
Tsbna mentioned URI; if your son also likes foreign languages and cultures (Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish), their International Computer Science program, which includes study and internships abroad, could set the school apart from others. https://web.uri.edu/cs/academics/icsp/
Definitely some strong and accessible programs (both admissions-wise and financially) in the SUNY system.
WPI and RIT could be worth a try.
A very early application to Pitt (as soon as the app opens in August, if possible) could be a great idea. Admissions are rolling so the earlier the better, both for chances at acceptance and for potentially having an early offer to relieve stress.
Tell us more about his personality and preferences as well as your budget, to get the best possible suggestions. Would he like a bigger or smaller school? Lively, nerdy, preppy, sporty…? Would he like being surrounded mainly with STEM kids, or would he prefer a more general-purpose school where kids major in a bigger variety of things? The more parameters you can give, the better the advice will be.
What did you score on the math portion of the SAT? I would advise taking the test again and concentrate on the math portion in your prep.
Looking mostly for public schools and fee less than 40K with good ranking on computer science and with intern opportunities.
Does that make sense ?
He scored 730 in math …reading/writing is where he scored lower.
Perhaps the University of Mary Washington, a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, VA might be worth a look. The cost for a Virginia resident for 2023-24 is estimated at around $32K, here: Cost of Attendance » Financial Aid . Here is a link to in-state merit scholarship awards: https://www.umw.edu/admissions/in-state-merit-scholarship/ . Here is a link to the computer science major web page: Computer Science - Majors, Minors, and Areas of Study
Assuming you don’t qualify for need based aid, you’re not going to get a top ranked CS public school under $40k COA. The closest will be Purdue which is low 40s, but that’s outside your preferred geographic area.
Most of the top publics for CS (Georgia Tech, UIUC, UMich, UCB, UCLA) will be reaches, over your budget, and outside your geographic area. UMD comes closest to your preferred region but will also be a tough admit and outside your budget.
You’re going to have to find less selective schools (lower CS ranking) that provide enough merit to get you to your price point. But you’re going to have to go south.
Don’t worry about internships. There are plenty of opportunities for CS students from all types of schools.
Don’t conflate ranking and good internships etc
Schools are good period. Especially in CS. Today jobs are found on LinkedIn and indeed abd the kids have to hustle or get shut out no matter where they go.
Your best bang for the buck is the southeast (Alabama, UAH, Ms State, WVU) or in state - you can try a Va Tech or JMU, etc. you may look at a Salisbury, SUNY Bing or Buffalo,URI, Delaware as possibilities. Maine for sure. If you have demonstrated need, you can find many LACs. U of SC may get you close.
Rankings sell magazine. They’re not real life.
I can’t even find my kids school on a rank but with 5 job offers at great money, he did just fime. He turned down near elite Purdue for that unranked school. Know why he did fine - he hustled.
My daughter’s friend is in CS at UTK. had several great internship opportunities. Making $30 an hr after 2nd year with free housing to boot.
So $40k - do you have demonstrated need ? Someone mentioned Lehigh - go to it or RPI and run the net price calculator (google it and you’ll go right there). See if they give you need aid or if you are full pay.
Tons of great schools out there - large and small. If your kid wants success and works toward it, they’ll find it.
Many kids are great academically but don’t hustle - those kids struggle no matter where they go.
Good luck.
thanks for detailed inputs. I will keep purdue in my list. When you say lower CS ranking schools and down south, please give me little more pointers to narrow my search ? Universities that i could be looking for ? Please ignore my fee constraint from the above response, I can try stretch a bit on the fee .
Please recommend some best public schools where the acceptance is highly likely based on his profile / SAT/GPA ?
Also do you recommend Early Action or Regular decision for those colleges ?
You always apply early action when available, unless when grades are shaky and another semester can help. But for you early action. Some schools are rolling so the earlier you apply, the better. But have a good app. October/November is typically fine.
For will make budget and then some savings - Alabama, Ole Miss, Miss State, WVU, Kentucky, Ohio U. Look at U Maine. Also, Iowa State, W Carolina, Arkansas, Mizzou, Kansas, Kansas State, etc. .
May make budget are schools like Miami Ohio, FSU (if can get in), U of SC, Indiana, Ohio State, Minnesota. .
Then there’s tons of smaller regional schools as mentioned b4 - CNU, Salisbury, many SUNYS…UTC, Tn Tech, UAH would also make budget. and great in state publics already mentioned. Va Tech, JMU, GMY, Mary Washington …W&M…not all are easy but.
York of PA is a private. And there’s others that could meet - lots in PA or Ohio - a Susquehanna or Gettysburg or Wooster or Allegheny or Furman. Dayton. Unlikely financially but you never know.
There’s more but this is some off the top of my head.
Focus on budget first. Then school. Don’t worry about rank
This all assumes you are full pay run a net price calculator for Rochester or Lafayette or Lehigh - see what they say ? Maybe $40k is possible with need aid ?
It’s almost always better to apply EA when it’s available, unless there is something still pending (in terms of grades, scores, etc.) that will meaningfully move the needle on the strength of the application. (And even then, an EA application can often be updated after the deadline.)
For in-state, if a larger, urban school would suit your son, VCU seems like it could be good fit. For less urban, JMU. Apply to VT, for sure, but it will be a reach for CS. If he badly wants to end up at VT, UVA, or W&M, the residential two-year option of Richard Bland https://www.rbc.edu/, which is administratively part of William & Mary but has guaranteed transfer agreements with UVA and VT as well, could be an option.
Virtually any school has internship opportunities, especially for CS. Do you think a co-op based program, where students do semester-long placements, would appeal to your son? Many schools have co-op options, but some programs are more robust than others, and some schools specialize in co-op education. U of Cincinnati pioneered co-op education and has a strong CS co-op program; and he might get some merit money there. There’s also Drexel, but I doubt he could get enough merit there to get to your budget. In the SUNY system, the Oswego campus has a strong co-op program and is quite affordable, even though VA isn’t included in SUNY’s new flagship match program. (Be prepared for lake-effect weather though!)
U of Maine is the one northeast flagship that has a “flagship match” rate, so it could be one to look at if he wants to go in the New England direction. The SUNY’s generally are relatively affordable for non-residents. And there are non-flagships that might give enough merit, like NJIT, Temple, or UMass Lowell. Otherwise, as tsbna says, many of the best deals are in the south and southwest. U of Utah has excellent CS and would be very attainable admissions-wise (Honors College would be a reach though), and they’re unusual in allowing students to attain residency after the first year. (So you’d be over-budget in year one, but well under budget in years 2-4). It’s far, but SLC is a good hub for direct flights. (And if he likes skiing, hiking, and other outdoor activities, it’s fantastic.) But obviously well out of your geographic target area.
He won’t have to go out of state unless he wants to; I’m sure he’ll have good options in VA, with such a strong slate of public U’s.
Some schools are very upfront that they fill the majority of their class in EA. Purdue and UMD are two. If your student’s profile isn’t strong enough to submit EA, I’d strike those types of schools from the list entirely because the likelihood of being accepted in the RD round, especially for a popular major like CS, is next to nil.
He is more an academic and responsible enough to keep up decent GPA . Mostly likes fun times with friends , if indoors playing video games with friends and outdoors games though not much into athletics at school.
Loves to get into a good school where he can enjoy the academics and fun times in a good group of friends. Loves Math and Computer Science and hobbies are making new video games and won regional second/third places during sophmore Junior years.
Loves Math
Does some volunteer work and kind with everyone ( but not so kind with his sister 
)
Specific questions:
I am in the process of refining to knock off the least likelihood with his current status… any inputs Just yes/no / worth trying … will be super helpful .
I am so new and my first time and neither me nor my husband did college here so absolutely any help is appreciated.
I don’t think any of those out of state schools will be under $40,000. Most if not all are reaches for Computer Science and many are reaches for admission to any major. The Virginia schools will be within that price range but admission is very competitive, especially for Computer Science.
Little to no chance for UNC-Chapel Hill. If you look at the Common Data Set for Carolina (and the other schools as well), Section C7 tells you how certain academic and non-academic factors are weighed for admission; and Carolina weighs standardized test scores more highly than GPA, which puts your son at a disadvantage for admission to Carolina. Additionally, out-of-state freshmen are limited to 18% of each incoming class at Carolina (same for NC State), which makes admission even more competitive for OOS applicants. Further, Sections C9-C11 of the Common Data Set will tell you the objective criteria for the entering freshman class (those who matriculated). You might want to look over Sections C9-C11 for all the schools on your list, and see how your son compares.
Don’t get hung up over ranking numbers for the colleges, which are subjective and in many ways a bunch of hooey.
Wake Forest - highly nlikely and not $40K.
UNC Chapel Hill - highly unlikely and not $40K.
NC State - unlikely. And not $40K. You want a Carolina school (OOS) under $40K. Western Carolina (much lower), UNC Chlarotte - both your student would get in.
UT Austin - no chance. UT Dallas - admission yes but not $40K.
Pitt (Pittsburgh) - potentially but little to no chance of $40K.
Penn State - potentially but little to no chance of $40K.
Michigan Sate - yes admissions, no to $40K.
William & Mary - highly unlikely but worth a shot since in-state
UVA - same as W&M
Va Tech - same as UVA and Va Tech.
If you want a Va school, make sure you apply to VCU or George Mason for big and Christopher Newport for smaller. These are GREAT schools.
It’s like you found names - but there are many “worthy” names above. And there can be more.
You don’t need a name - you need a school, at budget or less, and a kid who is hungry and they will then be successful. No matter where they go - if not hungry - they won’t.
Have you done this yet - to determine if you have need aid? This could open up more doors for you:
This all assumes you are full pay run a net price calculator for Rochester or Lafayette or Lehigh - see what they say ? Maybe $40k is possible with need aid ?
This is EVERY school - and especially for kids in CS if they are to succeed in getting a degree - you are assuming only certain names are good - and by the way, you named lots of schools that are big party schools. They’ll have both - the serious students, those kids who have fun, and those who lost control of their lives and fail out.
If your son decides to apply to Penn State, he should apply Early Action (everything must be received by Nov. 1), apply to DUS (undecided) rather than Computer Science (he can get into CS from DUS), and check the box that he is willing to start in the summer. Out of state cost is ~$50,000 (and higher for the last 2 years). Financial aid (merit or need-based) is pretty much non-existent at Penn State.