SUNYs aren’t all big. Geneseo is more like a LAC.
However, Geneseo does not offer computer science.
https://www.geneseo.edu/academics/majors-minors-and-degree-programs
How about Lafayette, Villanova, or Stevens ?
Lafayette is on the list. We’ll take a look at Villanova and Stevens.
He is very firm in his geographical limitations. Very firm. And they are entirely his. We’d send him anywhere he wanted to go.
I floated the possibility of relaxing his geographic and/or gen ed standards to be able to add some schools to the list he’d really like, but he definitely doesn’t want to do that.
I do think he has a good chance both at Rochester EDI and Wesleyan, legacy EDII, so I’m not panicked about this list. But only 1 match does feel odd. But we both agree that we don’t want to add schools to the list just for the sake of adding schools. There’s no point in adding a match he likes less than his safeties, which right now are Lafayette, RPI and McGill.
I showed him the Fiske description of Hampshire early in the process, figuring he’d find it either really appealing in its quirkiness or just too weird. He found it just too weird.
Brown is off the table for the moment. It requires SAT with essay. He’s signed up for the 3/10 test w/o essay, because none of his schools require it. (I know Amherst recommends it and I know that recommends should generally be understood as required.) I don’t know if adding the essay at the last minute is generally an issue, but it would be for him because he gets a typing accommodation that can’t be provided at the testing center he’s signed up for. He’s trying to take a one and done approach to the SAT. Hopefully, he breaks 1500 on 3/10 and he’s done. If not and he decides to retake in the fall, he’ll consider doing it with the essay with Brown in mind. I think my son is all that and a bag of chips and any school should be delighted to have him, but we’re approaching this realistically. Average excellent, nothing outstanding or amazing about his EC’s. I’d be genuinely shocked if he got into Brown.
Hamilton is too remote, unless there’s a town or shopping area to walk to.
Villanova likely has a large core curriculum (most Catholic colleges do) so look into that online.
If he’s the one that wants a large school anyway, I would at least look into them. University at Buffalo might be one to check out as a safety. Between dual enrollment and AP, I’m pretty sure my d would only need to take 2 more general requirement type courses.
Anyway, I haven’t looked into Bing’s general ed requirements but at Buffalo, they sounded like they had a similar type of flexibility as U of Rochester’s did.
U Buffalo refers to theirs as pathways. I forget what Rochester called theirs, but students do need to take some other courses besides the ones in their major. I hope your son realizes that.
ETA: clusters! That’s what they are called at Rochester. Again, it seemed like a very similar concept to Buffalo’s pathways.
Shocked that UMD isn’t on your list for CS. I am really only familiar with the engineering program there, but I’ve heard its outstanding for CS as well. I would pin it at a Low Reach/Match as I think it is pretty competitive for that individual program but it is definitely a great option that you should consider. It isn’t vastly expensive and they give out a good number of small scholarships to help the cost.
In terms of SUNY schools like Bing and buffalo I don’t think they really have the rep you are looking for. It’s not a bad school, but its also not really looked at as a top program. Hence why it ends up being so cheap for the vast majority of students in state and out of state. I will say though, the SUNY schools have an unfair stigma surrounding them as being the inferior schools, when in actuality they aren’t too bad.
@MYOS1634 UEdinburgh has a great program and reputation - In the UK. I don’t think it is a great option for US students to ever go to another country for college unless it is for a big name school like Oxford or Cambridge. You simply won’t make the same connections and have the same opportunities elsewhere. If you want to work in the US, I suggest you go to school there. I know you’d like to believe employers know Edinburgh but the truth is most of them won’t even though they are well respected overseas.
The only reason I heard about it and did some research was because a friend of mine moved here from the UK last year and mentioned it to me.
My dad has worked in the CS division for his whole life at a pretty major company and has hired many graduates, and when I asked him about Edinburgh he seriously had no idea what I was talking about. Not a good sign to me.
I might not recommend Hamilton to a student who feels they need a city environment, but your son should still know that their college-run shuttle connects the school to nearby suburban amenities and runs hourly:
https://www.hamilton.edu/campuslife/transportation/the-jitney
The village of Clinton itself is quintessentially charming, is home to popular eateries (https://spoonuniversity.com/place/39-iconic-college-town-food-joints-across-north-america) and is reachable by the same service (5 mins.), or seems easily walkable at ~1.1 miles.
Yes, a Rochester student must take at least a cluster in each of humanities, social studies, and science. Obviously, the major covers one area; the other two areas need to be covered by clusters of 12 credits (usually 3 courses) each (total of 24 credits, usually 6 courses). http://www.rochester.edu/college/CCAS/undergraduate/curriculum/clusters.html
has your son tried the ACT with the essay? most teenagers, including myself, tend to prefer the ACT and its essay because it’s, honestly, much easier. i went in having only looked over a few writing examples in prep books, and i ended up scoring a 10/12 on it. just a little suggestion if he ends up wanting to apply to schools that require the essay portion of either test. 
@qow100 : American employers can’t be expected to know all programs. However a mention on the resume, next to the university’s name, that CS/AI+Machine Learning is top 3 in the world would suffice to inform any employer who’s not heard of it that they should ;). Major companies will know of the program as the students are heavily recruited even before graduation (as are Watterloo’s). It’s true that for Edinburgh the university’s reputation won’t help in the US so for some programs it’d make getting internships in the US harder, but for CS especially the AI option I doubt that’d be a problem.
@MYOS1634 you might be right about it’s rankings and strength of program, but having to explain things on a resume like that to potential employers is never a good thing. Although Edinburgh is a UK school (which are usually pretty cheap) it’s international fees are not cheap. OP would be better off going to a state school as the opportunities in the US would be about the same. They could stay close to home, save money and be in about the same situation post graduation. People traditionally come to the US for the best education and post graduation opportunities. Going overseas after you already have American opportunities is a step in the wrong direction. That’s just my take on it. I contemplated going overseas last year as I thought it’d be a good deal but looking further into it I realized it wasn’t really a great option.
^ It’s not necessarily a good deal but for a student who doesn’t want gen eds or distribution requirements, Canada and the UK are great choices. (All state schools will have requirements, except Echols at UVA, but it’s not urban and not NE/ east coast). So, within the parameters of urban+no gen eds, Waterloo, Imperial, Edinburgh, and Oxbridge are the gold standard. It all depends whether for op’s son along the two parameters (NE v. No gen eds) Trump’s the other. These parameters are very different from yours last year.