My son is a raising senior at a very competitive Texas school.
GPA: 4.0 unweighted
SAT:1560
Intended major: CS
Junior year:
Cal 3
Ap chemistry
Ap English
Ap computer Science
Linear algebra and differential eq
Senior year:
Ap US history
Ap micro and macro economics
Political science
Ap physics
Advanced computing dual credit
ECs:
Did research at a university
Siemens semifinalist
CS club director
Quiz team captain
Robotics team member
Over 50 hours of volunteering
Member of school orchestra and regional orchestra
Asian origin
Open to any size school and no financial restrictions.
Please suggest safety and match schools for his profile.
Thank you.
The problem with finding matches for your kid is that he is strong enough that the schools where he is a match are also extremely competitive and can’t be considered matches for anyone. So a lot of excellent colleges and universities will be safeties, but the places where he is a match with his statistics will actually be reaches for admissions. CS programs are often hyper-selective.
He is good enough that numerous schools could be considered safeties. So we need to refine the list down a bit.
You don’t include some things that we should know. How well does he deal with cold weather? Has he thought about the logistics of being very far from home on school holidays? Does he enjoy his school’s competitive atmosphere or is he looking for somewhere more collaborative for college? Could he deal equally well with a conservative or liberal campus?
As long as he’s comfortable attending them, safeties can be most large state schools, including UT. If he wants to travel OOS, consider somewhere like Pittsburgh (if he likes it) that offers rolling admission. Do a google search for rolling admission CS schools and see what comes up that he might like.
I suspect schools like RIT would be a good safety too. At the very least it’s a match. Does he like that type of co-op school? They are very highly regarded in CS around us.
For match schools I’d look at those in the 30-50 range to see what you like.
For a safety look into UT Dallas, excellent CS program, instate and he’d get full tuition plus with their AES award. I assume you’ve already got UT Austin on your list since they both use the apply Texas App it’s an eassy add on. He’d likely get into their Computing Scholars program too http://www.utdallas.edu/~ivor/ComputingScholars/
UT-Austin is an obvious match and you have a high likelihood of getting into the CS program. Texas A&M is also a top school, but be sure to apply early…CS is first come first serve. Great safety schools are University of Houston, UT-Dallas, and UT-Arlington.
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I have the same concern that most of the schools are highly competitive that they cannot be safeties. And not having enough safeties is making us nervous.
@ninakatarina, he is comfortable with cold weather and don’t mind the distance from home. In fact he is thinking UT Austin and OOS/private schools. He is very comfortable in a competitive school( one he is in now is very competitive). Thanks a lot for valuable feedback.
Carnegie Mellon University & the University of Washington are matches for your son–although direct admit into CS may be quite competitive.
Your son’s stats are very impressive and you have no financial restrictions. NYU is a terrific choice. Not needing financial aid will be helpful.
Other schools where the quality greatly exceeds the difficulty in getting in are
Privates:
Rochester
Brandeis
Northeastern
RPI
Publics:
UCBerkeley
UCLA
Georgia Tech
Michigan
Washington
Wisconsin
Purdue
UDelaware (great honors program!)
Penn State (even better honors program)
UMass
SUNY Stony Brook
Canada
UToronto
Waterloo (this one is really tilted toward CS, and is worth checking out)
McGill
UBC
UK
Your son has a decent chance at Cambridge and Edinburgh is practically a safety
Consider an Early Decision application at his top choice.
Northeastern, UMass Amherst (top notch CS), UWisconsin (also top-notch CS). Always apply to Honors.