I am a Junior in Ohio and I have been compiling some colleges together. I formed an list consisting of over 50 schools.I am not sure which too pick. I’m just hoping I can get into one of these schools. My GPA is a 2.8, at the end of this year it should be a 3.0. On the ACT I scored a 19, and I’m projected to get a 21. I have really great extracurriculars. I want to double major in in a Computer and Business. I’m looking at Computer Science, Software Engineering, International Business, Business Management, Marketing, or Entrepreneurship for majors right now. The only two important factors I want is the rigor of the major and the location. Can you take a look at my list and help me out, I’m gonna be applying soon and I can use all the help. Any other school suggestions would be great! Thank you!
Anyways here is my list…
Penn State
Indiana Univ
UC Santa Barbara
De Paul Univ.
Purdue
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Hofstra
UC Santa Cruz
UC Irvine
UC Merced
UC Riverside
UC Davis
NYU
Carnegie Mellon
Drexel Univ.
UMass-Amherst
Univ. of South Carolina
Illinois Institute of Tech
Clarkson Univ.
Seton Hall Univ.
Univ. Of South Florida
IU-PU Univ
Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County
Babson
Boston Univ.
Carnegie Mellon Univ.
UC Riverside
UC Berkley
UC Merced
UC Davis
UCLA
UC San Diego
Pepperdine Univ
Univ. of Colorado @ Boulder
Wesley College
Mercer Univ
Virginia Tech
Univ. of Washington
Georgia Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology
Syracuse
Univ. of Virginia
Rutgers-News Brunswick
Univ. of Iowa
Clark Univ.
Michigan State Univ.
Univ. of Vermont
Stony Brook Univ
Univ of Alabama
Florida State Univ.
Univ. Miss
Univ. of New Hamp.
Auburn Univ.
Univ. at Buffalo -SUNY
Univ. of Kansas
Univ. of San Francisco
Duquesne Univ
Michigan Tech Univ.
Univ. of the Pacific
Univ. at Albany-SUNY
New School, NY
George Mason Univ.
Kansas State Univ.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
San Diego State Uiniv
Univ of Illionois-Chicago
UMiss
Maryville Univ. of St. Louis
Miss. State Univ.
Texas Tech Univ.
Umass-Lowell
Virginia Commonwealth Univ
Univ. of Rhode Island
West Vrirginia
Univ. Arizona
UMass-Boston
UT-Austin
UnivWisconsin -Madison
UnivMaryland-CollegePark
Rochester Institute of Tech
Rutgers
Wake Forest Univ.
Brandeis Univ.
Duquesne University
Univ. of Arizona
George Mason University
University of Mississippi
Rollins College
OSU
Michigan
Yes this is a very large list of colleges! I think you should first focus on narrowing down where you would want to attend college ,and secondly I think you should also narrow down impossible reaches, and have a list of safes, targets, and maybe a few reaches. Many of the above colleges are extremely competitive, and if it is your goal to attend a prestigious university it might be a better option to first do community college and then transfer. I think your biggest concern however for your junior year is to try to raise your gpa above a 3.0. As a California resident I can tell you the UC’s are *Extremely competitive, so if you did want to go to CA then try looking at CSU’s. However also keep in mind the CSU’s are not Holistic so the system only looks at grades/test scores although most campuses are less competitive than UC’s. The above UC’s have very competitive stats, and because you are out of state it is even more competitive. That being said even if you were accepted OOS tuition is very high(approx $55,000 a year). So if I were you I would focus on applying to schools in Ohio, or the Midwest if your goal is to attend a four year university. If going to California is your goal then I would say work hard in CC then transfer. Some of the above colleges might be possible, but you will have to raise your ACT considerably for most of them. I hope I wasn’t too harsh but I am just sharing my honest opinion. As a high school senior going through admissions I have to say that you do not want to set too many unrealistic goals for colleges otherwise you will end up disappointed. I also don’t have the best stats in the world but still be hopeful. You have the rest of your junior year to show your hard work, and a well written essay can also improve your chances. If you have a strong growth trend in your grades and the colleges are holistic then you have a better chance of getting in. There is also no shame in going to community college. I have friends who attended CC and now attend UC Berkeley, NYU, San Jose State, and other good universities. My sister attends CC right now and she was able to save a lot of money even though she decided to not attend her dream college Boston University due to the astronomical price($68,000 a year). I hope this helped, and best of luck in your college search! -Ben
What was the criteria for this list?
What is your budget?
I agree with above (wall o’ text can’t read) that you can first remove all the unrealistic reaches, or put them in a 2nd list and just add a couple once you have your main list. You are not remotely going to get into Berkeley or UCLA for instance. Actually you may not qualify for any UC as your UC weighted gpa calculation has to be a 3.4 for out of staters. Once you weed it down it will be more manageable.
Also it is extremely unrealistic to think you can do a double major with CS and business. And fortunately it really isn’t necessary. You might do a couple of lists, one for business major and one for CS as some of these colleges don’t offer a business major. Also you have to apply to a major at some colleges so you will have to pick engineering when the CS is offered in engineering only, or Arts and Sciences when it is offered there, or Business when it is a separate college.
Penn State = need a 3.4/25
Indiana Univ = reach
UC Santa Barbara = impossible, need a 3.4 to apply
De Paul Univ. = reachable reach
Purdue = impossible
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology = impossible
Hofstra = reach to match
UC Santa Cruz = impossible, need 3.4 to apply
UC Irvine ="
UC Merced="
UC Riverside="
UC Davis="
NYU= impossible
Carnegie Mellon=impossible
Drexel Univ.= reach and you will be full price (65K/year)
UMass-Amherst = reach
Univ. of South Carolina = reach
Illinois Institute of Tech = reach
Clarkson Univ. = reach
Seton Hall Univ.= match
Univ. Of South Florida = reach
IU-PU Univ = match
Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County = reach
Babson= impossible
Boston Univ.= impossible
Carnegie Mellon Univ. = impossible
UC Riverside = "
UC Berkley ="
UC Merced="
UC Davis="
UCLA="
UC San Diego="
Pepperdine Univ="
Univ. of Colorado @ Boulder= reach
Wesley College= if you mean the DE college, match
Mercer Univ = reach
Virginia Tech = impossible
Univ. of Washington = impossible
Georgia Institute of Technology= impossible
New York Institute of Technology = match
Syracuse = impossble
Univ. of Virginia = impossible
Rutgers-News Brunswick = reach
Univ. of Iowa= reach
Clark Univ.= reach
Michigan State Univ.= impossible
Univ. of Vermont = reach
Stony Brook Univ = reach
Univ of Alabama = match if you don’t need any financial aid and can pay full costs
Florida State Univ. = reach
Univ. Miss = same as for UAlabama
Duquesne Univ
Michigan Tech Univ.
Univ. of the Pacific
Kansas State Univ.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Univ of Illionois-Chicago
Maryville Univ. of St. Louis
Miss. State Univ.
Umass-Lowell
West Vrirginia
= possible but won’t be easy.
Go to college simply, enter ACT 21 and see what colleges they suggest.
Buy a book called “A+colleges for B students” and start reading.
I have to agree that some of these are too unrealistic to be considered reaches (UCs, CMU, NYU, Brandeis). However, with those aside, I think you have a pretty balanced list.
When you say location is a factor you want, what exactly do you mean by that? All of the schools on your list have vastly different locations. Would you prefer a urban, suburban or rural environment? What part of the country? Location is a great way to narrow things down.
Another thing to think about what be size. Some of the schools on this list are huge, while others are tiny. Size can really affect your college experience (tight-knit community and relationships with your professors vs. lots of people and good research opportunities). Thinking about how big a school you want to go you will also help you narrow it down.
There’s also a few other factors to think about that will affect the type of people who attend each of these schools. These include a school’s political leanings, religious affiliation, party culture, and popularity of greek life. While these factors shouldn’t necessarily decide where you go to school (cost and strength of program are more important), they are definitely good to think about, especially when you have such a large list.
A good way to figure out which of these schools have those factors would be to use the SuperMatch tool on the left side of the screen.
I think your list is too large right now for us to go through all of those schools and pick out which have the best business and CS programs. It will be easier to do that once you’ve narrowed it down a bit more.
Pay attention to @MYOS1634 whose response (#3) is very accurate.
If you want to stay in Ohio, consider Ohio University in Athens. It is the best state school here that you have a chance at getting into (admission to OSU is not likely to happen). Other state schools to look at are Wright State University, which has a very modern campus in suburban Dayton, and University of Toledo. These last two might be considered “safeties” for you.
For private schools in Ohio, look at Hiram College for computer science, and John Carroll University for business. Both are excellent at turning average high school students into good college students. By the way, I agree with @BrownParent, you can’t double major in CS and Business. Pick one. If it is hard to decide, then try to attend a school that has both (John Carroll, for example).
Of the schools on your list, you might get into:
Seton Hall
Duquesne
Virginia Commonwealth
West Virginia University
IU-PU Indianapolis (You probably will get in, but getting into their business school will be hard. Also, unless you really like Indianapolis, you might as well choose Wright State for a lot less money)
If money isn’t an object, you might get into Pace. They are a good school for your areas of interest, because they are located within walking distance of the financial district in lower Manhattan. If finances are a concern, then it is not a good option. Possibly NJIT. Most of the colleges on your list range from unlikely to impossible for someone with your stats. You can figure out your UC-weighted GPA. If it is under 3.4, scratch all UCs from your list; you are ineligible, and you would be wasting $70 to apply. If it squeaks in at 3.4 or above, you have a shot at Merced. I replied before that any western public universities should be the ones in mountain states with high acceptance rates. I don’t know how you compiled your list, but many, if not most, of the colleges on it are way out of range for you to be considering.
OP - I just want to apologize for some mistakes in my last remarks. Your post was very similar, in terms of overall stats, to another one, but it was a different student’s inquiry. My general position hasn’t changed, though. You should do some more groundwork for yourself, and figure out the acceptance rates at colleges on your list. You do not have much chance at colleges with acceptance rates below 50%. Your outlook probably isn’t great at large public universities with overall acceptance rates in that range, either, because they tend to be more selective for out-of-state applicants, and your preferred areas of study are among the most competitive. I would suggest focusing your search on colleges with acceptance rates of 75% or higher.
Put your scores in the Supermatch tool over on the left. I do not think your scores would get you into many of these schools. Also look for public schools in your state so you can get in state tuition. No reason for you to pay out of state rates.
If you are up for an adventure, and want to save money, take a look at West Texas A&M University near Amarillo. Its business school is AACSB accredited. It has three different types of Computer Science programs in the engineering school, plus the business school has an ABET accredited Computer Information Systems degree (which probably is as close to having a double major in CS and business as you can get). http://www.wtamu.edu/academics/college-business.aspx
Best of all, WTAMU out of state tuition is lower than in state tuition at any of the state universities in Ohio. Total cost, including room and board, is about $20,000 per year. http://www.wtamu.edu/admissions/tuition.aspx
With only about 7,000 students, you won’t get lost in the crowd.
No, not really. I have never visited. The pictures look nice, and the map shows it to be relatively compact and easy to get around. In the small town of Canyon. So, not a rural campus, but obviously not big city either.
Fritzy, keep in mind that some schools will require you to attend for 1.5 years and then declare your major and apply to get into the program that will start Fall of your junior year. So, there is a 10-35% chance you won’t get into your major and you will have to transfer. You might be wise to remove any colleges from your list where this happens.
Also, you might want to consider taking a couple college classes in computer science this summer to prove to yourself and to colleges that you’ll succeed in it. Same idea for business colleges…get an internship for this summer or start a business and prove that you love business.