So my son is going to Major in Computer Science. He’s a good student (well at least I think so). His stats are: 3.5 UW GPA (goes to an extremely competitive high school - if that means anything) 1440 on SAT (750 math/690 verbal - only took it once) took 2 AP Comp Sci classes and got 5s on both AP exams. Played Varsity Ice Hockey 4 years and was Captain this year. For Tech Schools he applied to: Stevens, RPI, RIT, WPI, Wentworth Institute of Tech and Drexel. He got waitlisted at Stevens (which we thought was the stretch school) and he did not get into RPI or RIT (surprised about RPI, especially since he received the Candidate’s Choice application, and shocked about RIT since I though his stats were above their average and considered it a safe school for him). Still waiting on Drexel and WPI, but now I’m assuming since he didn’t get into the above, its not going to be a positive outcome. He did get into Wentworth, but honestly we don’t really know much about the school, never heard of it and applied because he had a free app code. He also applied to DePaul University and Becker College (we chose those because they also had video game design/programming programs) and he got into those schools as well, but they weren’t our first choices.
So my question is what to do??? Is is better to go to a no name Tech school than a no name non tech school. I guess I’m just really shocked that we are almost in a place of no options and I never thought it was going to be like this, and also shocked that these stats mean he’s really not a good student. I guess I’ve been living under a rock! lol
I’m really surprised about RIT/Stevens frankly given the stats - something has to be up with the essay or rec or something.
That said, Wentworth is a fine option and has a solid location in Boston - I think it’d be a solid CS option given the circumstances, so congrats on that option! WPI/Drexel are probably better options, but not getting in won’t make any night and day difference.
Good luck with the final two decisions!
Thanks, I was thinking the same thing, but I can’t imagine any of the teachers who wrote his recommendation would write something disfavorable. We had his Calculus teacher (he has a 99 in the class) and his Comp Sci teacher (has gotten all As from him) write the recommendations. I guess it could have been his essay, he wrote about how important computers are to him and why he wants to be a computer programmer and highlighted a program/bot he wrote to run his fantasy football team (he hates sports lol). He won the FF league with his bot he wrote btw! lol
No other schools, like in state publics?
Cost not a problem?
he applied to 8 schools, got into 3 so far waiting to hear back from 2 more. And we are in need of financial aid. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get in because we need aid?
While the school as a whole has a high admission rate, RIT admits by major and they have become increasingly selective in the high demand majors. The median 50% SAT scores for last year’s accepted candidates to the CS major was 1320-1470 (ACT 30-34), and this year was expected to be higher. So while the OP’s son has fine scores when compared to the general population, they are only slightly above average when compared to other CS major applicants. I think the OP’s son would have better chances at schools which don’t admit by major.
I’m optimistic. Drexel and WPI are good options if he gets them.
Stats should be good enough to get into good CS program. A 750 on the math is good enough to do well.
I’m not impressed with any of these options (Wentworth, Depaul, Becker) for a 1470/3.8 kid. I live in the Boston area and I’ve never heard of Becker. My company hires tons of CS folks locally, and we don’t recruit at Wentworth.
Honestly, there is a list that comes out May 1 with schools still accepting applications. There are often some gems there.
There are also schools that are still accepting applications.
How much can you afford to pay? Where do you live?
Can you afford Tuition+Room+Board of 38-40K for his freshman year.
I have an idea. I went down the list of top computer science graduate programs in US News. I know he’s going for undergrad, but the grad school rankings are mostly about faculty quality and research, and I think for CS, it can be great to go to a research institution. These are all “name” schools".
The following schools are all ranked higher than RPI
Arizona State (T+R+B) $40K - No deadline
University of Utah (T+R+B) $38K - April 1 deadline
UArizona (T+R+B) $52K (not sure why so much)
UPittsburgh (T+R+B) $42K - no deadline
Indiana University $45K - no deadline
Michigan State $55K - no deadline
What I would suggest is that even if it’s a little pricey, have him try to go to one of these flagship programs for the first year and then transfer back to the flagship school in your state. In New Jersey that’s Rutgers, in New York, that’s Stony Brook. If you’re in PA Pittsburgh and Penn State are the flagships. If your in CT it’s UConn.
This will ensure that he has peers of his caliber who will hopefully work with him and motivate him.
Before you just have him apply, call and make sure the rolling schools are still accepting applications for the CS major. There is no point in going if he can’t get into the major.
Overall, I think this is a better plan for this student than Wentworth, DePaul or Becker.
Continuing down the list looking for cheaper options
61 Iowa State - TRB $31K - No deadline
64 Iowa - TRB $34K - May 1 Deadline
RIT is at #68
75 UNebraska $35 - May 1
75 UNew Mexico $32K - no deadline
Drexel and WPI are both at 82.
Wentworth may not have huge name recognition outside it’s region, but the people I know who have gone there have had great job opportunities upon graduation.
My point was that it didn’t attract the local recruiters. We go to UMass-Lowell but not to Wentworth. It’s lower on the food chain than UMass-Lowell.
This is a 1470/3.8 kid!
Have the guidance counselor check every piece of the application Asap tomorrow. Make it a priority. There may be a voluntary or involuntary red flag in that application (in a recommendation or in an essay).
Email Champlain to see if they’re still accepting applications. Penn State Behrend.
In May there’ll be a list of colleges that miscalculated yield. There are always surprisingly excellent colleges there.
hey all thanks for the suggestions. We did speak with the counselor and learned that it was due to the major, too much competition for comp sci and minimal spots available. There is hope though, we were given options of other computer majors there, so we are hopeful.
Just found out he got into Drexel!!
My son is in similar position, similar grades/SAT, also waiting on WPI, waitlisted at a couple of schools we thought he had a got shot at. It appears there were boatloads of good CS applicants this year. I’ve been hearing good things about Wentworth in CS, and they have a coop program similar to Northeastern’s, that is helpful to kids landing a job out of school.
If there is a WIDE DIFFERENCE in the average rank in class (RIC) of matriculating students and also a wide difference in test scores, there may be some difference in the classroom expectations. I would weight the GPA/RIC data more heavily than the average test score as four years of work is a better predictor than a day of testing. This is the latest data from the respective school websites as reported on their common data set. It is still very important that the student feels comfortable in their chosen university environment. Motivation still counts!
The data presented reflects the middle one half of the entering classes.
“Tests” are the ranges of SAT scores (verbal and math) of the reported SAT scores.
“RIC” are the percent of the entering freshmen who ranked in the top 10% of their secondary school. The top 10% RIC information was not reported by Wentworth. The Drexel data is from the class entering in the fall of 2017. The latest available from Wentworth and WPI is from the entering class from the fall of 2016.
…DREXEL…WENTWORTH…WPI
RIC:…36% fr top 10% HS class…no report…65% fr top 10% HS class
HS GPA>3.75:… 46% of class…8% of class…74% of class
SAT middle…580 to 670 V…480 to 580 V…570 to 670 V
50% of class:…580 to 690 M…530 to 630 M…630 to 720 M
I can see what you’re saying about 4 years of work, really more 3 though v. 1 day of testing but at least the test is tge same for everyone. Schools and curriculums and competitveness varies greatly, so to me SAT/ACT could be a better measuring guide.
I understand the need to try to make up differences between schools by way of a standardized test. Colleges have known for years that GPA’s are a better predictor of success than are standardized test scores. We did this years ago with simple, straight line regression analysis from secondary school GPA data and SAT test scores. We tested for the strength of the relationship between HS records and college GPA’s. Over reliance on standardized test scores is one of the reasons why so many applicants are surprised by college acceptance results.
The competitiveness of the HS does make a difference. Colleges try to keep track of that. I have jogged with faculty committee members who also try to keep a handle on results by high schools where they have performance data from past students.
Take a look at this Ted talk for some explanation @ https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance.