Affordability has to be the first filter. UMD is 59K/year OOS, which is well above your budget. So the fact that it’s also a reach for CS is sort of moot. Rutgers and Purdue are under 50K/year but not by a lot. Purdue CS is a pretty tough admit - acceptance rate is in the 10-15% range, I believe. Rutgers isn’t quite as reachy but even if you can get in, is it worth being at the upper limit of your budget?
Again, it would help to back up and try to describe what you’re looking for. The schools you’re proposing don’t have a lot in common, which makes it appear that you’re just working your way down a CS-rankings list of some sort and trying to find the highest-ranked school that’s attainable. This isn’t a wholly worthless process but it shouldn’t be your entire process. You can get a terrific CS education at many schools; there’s no need to incur financial strain or to feel as if excellent-yet-affordable programs like Utah or even UNR aren’t good enough.
I’m probably over-posting, though - I’m sure others will chime in tomorrow!
Have you discussed budget with your family. You said $50k. Are they agreeable to that ? You can get a degree for less.
A U Miami as someone mentioned - would be a reach. I can’t imagine you getting in but you never know. A CMU/BU/Purdue - I’m not going to say don’t try but they are beyond reach.
If you study and retake the ACT/SAT, you could improve. That would help.
There’s lots of great flagships. You needn’t be so focused on prestige. And you have WUE if qualified.
Indiana - if you get merit - would bring you under $50k. You likely get in - but I’m not sure about for CS.
But Indiana or Arizona or Oregon State - you are splitting hairs. Find something affordable.
They say they consider geography and more are from California than Maryland so maybe. Not an easy in and you still need the stats and $$ (they are need aware but say only for some).
Do you have specific focus area(s) that you would like to study within your computer science major? If so, I would make certain that your ABET-accredited computer science program offers those types of classes or emphasis. Look at ASU (a stats-based safety) and ASU’s several sub-emphasis areas. Then view UNR (which offers fewer predefined sub-emphasis areas) and UNR’s CS curriculum. Does having a CS major with opportunity for predefined sub-emphasis area(s) appeal to you, or would you prefer a CS degree without sub-emphasis that may offer more flexibility in CS electives?
If studying out of state is very important to you, I would carefully review the CS admission requirements/stats/processes of those on your out-of-state “safety” and “likely” lists to make certain that they all provide “assured CS admission” and determine if they are colleges that you would be happy to attend.
For what it’s worth, we researched all of the colleges on your initial list for our student with a similar GPA range. Our student decided having a sub-emphasis opportunity was important and to not pursue highly competitive admission colleges. Our student ultimately chose a college offering assured CS admission (with honors college selection) not on your list.
As others have said, I think they do but in more of a “tiebreaker” kind of way - I don’t think it moves an applicant into a whole different category, but it could tip the scales between otherwise-equally-desirable candidates. I do think they’re hoping to “harvest” some west coast ORM kids who become URM only in the otherwise-very-white Lehigh Valley area. I have a South Asian friend whose spouse taught at Lehigh many years ago, and she recounts driving all over the area looking for black bobby pins, and ultimately resorting to mail-order! I expect it’s no longer that extreme, but it is still the rare pocket in that region where Asian applicants get a boost. Of course, SCOTUS could be changing this in the near future, but that’s a topic for the “race and admissions” thread!
You’ve been getting some great advice here, especially from @aquapt. But as it’s been asked, it’s not really clear what it is you’re looking for in a college. Here are some questions that might help you think about your preferences:
Do you prefer the anonymity of large classes or do you prefer smaller classes where the professor knows if you’re there or not?
How do you feel about Greek life (fraternities & sororities)?
How important is enthusiasm for intercollegiate sports?
Do you have a sense of what size school you might like?
Are there particular activities or interests that you would like to pursue while in college?
Do you prefer rural, suburban, or urban environments?
What kind of climate do you want (or want to avoid)?
Are there particular regions that you prefer (or prefer to avoid)?
Do you like being among the best students and having special opportunities presented to you, or do you prefer to have to constantly hustle to try and keep up with your peers?
Ohio State is worth a shot if you apply early. They take geographic location into account and I don’t believe they have a ton of applicants from Nevada. The National Buckeye would be a possibility because he would be compared against others from his state/hs applying.
They direct admit into CS/CSE and you can not transfer into that major at Ohio State, so he needs to indicate CS/CSE on his application. If he is rejected for CS they could still offer admission to the university.
The ECE department is well funded and a direct admit program, so a good plan B.
Declaring a CS/CSE minor has been another way to get registration privileges for the CS/CSE classes that are reserved for CS/CSE majors.
ACT info:
I’d be inclined to submit the test scores to Ohio State, I think they are in range. Is there any possibility of bumping the 24 up a bit in a retake? That might be needed for merit aid.
Please note: applications need to be complete by the EA deadline (that means scores, hs records etc. received) so plan to apply a few weeks before the EA deadline so that if there are any issues with getting those documents in there is time to resolve any issue and continue to check the applicant portal to verify that the items are received and the application is complete.
27 does not indicate struggles for a 10th grader. The ACT has high level math that might not be covered until JR year (Pre calc I believe). My daughter was pinned between 28-30 on the math practice tests. We got her a good prep class and she popped to 34 on her only official ACT. OP could greatly improve the test scores with work and prep.