<p>I'm going to be attending college next fall, but I'm not sure where yet. I want to go to a school with a good computer science program with a relatively affordable price (roughly $10-30k COA). Here are some schools I've already picked out:</p>
<ul>
<li>RIT (Dream school; financial situation likely to prevent me from attending)</li>
<li>SUNY at Binghamton (Love the college's location, and CS program is relatively good from what I've heard)</li>
<li>Penn State (Behrend & Main Campus)</li>
<li>Bloomsburg University</li>
</ul>
<p>And here are my academics:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.8 Weighted, 4.2 Unweighted
SAT: 1670 (Taking the October test and shooting for a 1800-1950 after about 1.5 months of studying)</p>
<p>I'd like to go to a college in a small city (<100k citizens), so I've had some trouble finding schools in that setting with a good/recognized CS program. </p>
<p>Many thanks in advance to anyone that can help me out.</p>
<p>With a 4.2 Weighted (I assume that’s what you meant) and 1800 SAT, you’re in at Penn State UP as long as your math score is at 600+.
Bloomsburg is a super safety.
Another match would be Union, or Bucknell.
Will you need financial aid (need-based)? Or will you need merit aid (ie, your parents make good money but can’t afford their EFC)?</p>
<p>Yeah, I got the weighted/unweighted GPAs mixed up. I’ve looked into Bucknell before but ignored it because there’s no way I’d ever be able to afford going there. I’d also have to pass on Union since it’s a religiously-affiliated school (assuming I’m looking at the same Union you’re suggesting).</p>
<p>I’m not entirely clear on how EFC is calculated and how it ties into aid, but my parents would likely be able to pay a maximum of $2k. </p>
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<p>I have a friend trying to get into Carnegie’s CS department with a 2100 SAT and a higher GPA than mine and he’s still not confident he’ll get in. Beyond that it’s way over what I can afford to pay.</p>
<p>Run the Net Price Calculator on the website of the colleges you are interested in. EFC is what the school calculates the amount your family should pay. It is calculated on your family income and assets. Some schools will treat assets slightly differently, so your EFC might vary. The difference between your EFC and the college COA is your ‘need’. Some schools will meet need but most will not. </p>
<p>So at schools that meet need, you total cost will just be your EFC. At schools that don’t meet need the cost will be EFC plus the gap. Expensive schools that meet need can be cheaper for you to attend, if you can get accepted.</p>
<p>If Suny Binghamton is within your price range, then consider Suny Stony Brook. CS is well regarded there. However, not sure if current SAT scores within the ballpark for admission to CS.</p>
<p>Check the ABET website for schools accredited in Computer Science. A number of the PA state system schools (including Bloomsburg) are accredited, and these have the lowest sticker price of the schools you listed, if you’re a PA resident. However, depending on your family’s income, a private school may very well give better financial aid, as most PA state and state-related schools award little institutional aid, except for some merit awards for a small number of top students. If you qualify for need-based aid, PA state grant amounts are much higher for PA students attending school within PA than for those who choose an out-of-state school. As was already mentioned, run the Net Price Calculators on various schools’ websites to get an estimate of possible financial aid.</p>