Hey all,
I am a high school student hoping to go to college next year to pursue computer science. So far things are looking pretty dark. I got either waitlisted or declined from all my schools except my safety schools, WPI, and UMass Amherst. My family and our current situation are not very well equipped to pay for much of the cost and we are depending on need based aid. But, neither of my safety schools are giving any recognizable amount, even after long phone calls and discussions. So, I am looking for a college to study computer science that will be affordable, either cheap to begin with or great financial aid. I would prefer a tech school as I do not want to waste my time with liberal arts, but at this point I’ll take whatever I get.
Some more info about me…
I have a 3.8 gpa
I am American but live in Kenya
My family’s efc on FAFSA is 0
I am a New Jersey resident
I’ll definitely check out Rutgers thanks. I am pretty confident that I still qualify for instate even though I live in Kenya, I am still considered a NJ resident.
Make sure you check the Rutgers-Camden and not just the Rutgers main campus. Rutgers-Camden has a Spring enrollment so if you get everything in by October you could possibly start then.
“Colleges that meet full financial need”–Google this. You’ll get a list of schools that CLAIM to make the school affordable for ALL accepted students. A couple of caveats: these include many of the wealthiest and most competitive schools (think Harvard), so admission is often not easy. But some are more accessible. Also, these schools may consider need (be “need aware”), so admission might very well be more of a challenge for a student who requires a lot of aid than for a student who will be full pay. Also, a school may calculate that your family can pay more than your family can in fact pay. You can get a good idea of this by running the net price calculator (NPC) for schools that seem like possibilities. You can google this as well.
Some schools that come to mind in this category (besides the most competitive ones): BEREA COLLEGE (an excellent LAC that is a “work college” designed for students without means and free to all students); College of the Holy Cross (actually very competitive but not as extremely so as Ivy-type schools); Connecticut College; Franklin & Marshall College; Gettysburg College; Grinnell College; Mount Holyoke College (all female); Reed College; Salem College (very small, all female); Smith College (all female); St. Olaf College; SUNY Polytechnic Institute; and Trinity College.
“Colleges that offer generous merit aid”–Google this You can also try to find schools that give a lot of merit aid to highly qualified students. What is your ACT/SAT? This is important here (grades too). Often this does not cover the full cost of attendance. But maybe you can research some schools where you might get a full ride. People often mention the University of Alabama, Huntsville as a school that gives a lot of money to high-stat, highly qualified students. Huntsville is home to a large NASA facility and is actually a high-tech town. Here’s a merit aid chart for Miami of Ohio. Note it covers tuition only, you’d have to work out the rest. For Miami, note the early deadline for merit aid. That is true of other schools as well. Note also that they super-score for admissions AND aid and the aid is not guaranteed for those numbers. They just qualify an applicant.
If you have NJ residency status, then look at colleges in NJ’s state university system or at community colleges.If your family has a home in NJ or if you have relatives there who can offer you a room, then you may want to find someplace within commuting distance (to save on room & board costs).
State universities typically do not offer very generous need-based aid to non-residents. Therefore, out-of-state public schools often aren’t good choices for families with low EFCs.
I know right!! I’m already in a four-year college CS program but I’m going to the piscine this summer, cause it’s just much more fun than my lab assignment lol
If you are eligible for in state, try Rowan, though you might be late for money. Kean is also a pretty safe bet for admission and I think the cheapest NJ state school.