the big unis can feel really big to a prospective student, but irl college life is a cluster of pods: your first pals on your hall, the pals you make in your favorite ECs (eg, sports in this instance) and the ones from your major subject area- and engineering and CS are typically mini-worlds within the university. What looks like a huge place physically and daunting numbers becomes more than manageable, a place where you have a close community.
At UWi, there are about 1K are engineering UGs / year & fewer than that in CS.
Once you break it all down, it becomes a lot less daunting.
Finally, I know that MIT is the ne plus ultra for a math / science student- but it so so so much a âfitâ school. They are not just super-smart kids, but particular super-smart kids. The admissions team at MIT is pretty good at recognizing their own. One of the collegekids went and took a look, and realized that although she loved a lot of what they were doing, the fit just wasnât there. If he has a serious itch about MIT I urge a visit- he will most likely know for himself very quickly if he would fit in- or not. And if not, that can be put to rest and the focus shifted to places that are a good fit. Starting to get into the nuts and bolts of the programs will help. Engineering programs are much more varied than they seem at first glance.
ps, I agree with @DadTwoGirls- Yale is not at the same level for engineering/CS.
Some of my kids had the same stats (little higher GPA), we are in the donut hole of not being eligible for FA but definitely canât afford much more than instate tuition. Therefore, my kids applied to less selective schools where their stats put them at the top, no reach schools, and they were not c/s or engineering majors, which helped.
This is so very true. One of my kids thought of applying to MIT early all through high school until he visited them. Then it dropped to #4 on his list. He said it is claustrophobic (~50% of the school majors in CS, and another 20-30% minors in it â I donât think Stanford is much better; The kid himself was applying for a CS major, but thought this was too much), and has a maker vibe that is not him. The fit just wasnât there.
My son really enjoyed MITâs SPLASH program, but didnât apply there either. Too intense. He is at Boston University across the river and got excellent FA there (NMS from small school). Iâm doubtful that he had enough EC cred to get accepted into MIT anyway.
BU is huge, but the engineering department is similar in size to smaller engineering-heavy schools, so I donât think my son notices the size in regards to his classes. Size does contribute to how bureaucratic all the non-class processes work, and that hasnât been easy for him or his parents!
Lots of good advice but realistically you DS23 is probably looking at CU Boulder as his most likely option. That will be expensive OOS. There is more than just MIT and CalTech that are highly recruited engineering schools, probably 10-15 in that top tier. After that most state flagship universities will be the next tier along with a bunch of private universities. IMO its better to go in-state (or at least a school that matches in state tuition) and follow with a Masters then pay a lot more for just a Bachelors.
Thanks to you all for some fantastic options/advice! Itâs an exciting time, however, we need to set realistic targets. My son is competitive, and I know that he will keep his top reach schools and balance out with safety schools. Again, thankyou!