Hi, I am a high school junior interested in computer science and software engineering, my GPA is 3.3 and I have an SAT score of 1450. I’m also very interested in attending a college in or near a city.
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Not much info to go on, but the best place would be an in-state university. Computer science is ridiculously employable, so prestige is not a factor at all.
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Budget?
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Because CS is extremely competitive, what would be a safety for another major becomes a match, what would be a match for another major becomes a reach or out of reach.
Miami Ohio, Indiana University (thanks to Purdue snatching all the top STEM students from the state), UIowa = good college towns and good internship network.
Georgia State, UCincinnati (for cybersecurity not straight CS), Drexel, UMass Lowell, UNM, UT San Antonio, UHouston, Western Michigan University.
Depending on curriculum rigor, WPI might be a reachable reach, not sure.
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Yes, budget? Home state? Financial aid eligibility?
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Budget is not a consideration, my home state is Massachusetts.
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See that your GPA is 3.3 - if your weighted GPA is 3.5+, I’d have a look at Bama as your SAT score will get you close to full tuition ($28k). Has to be the best college deal out there for a high test score and average GPA. 60% +/- OOS and lots of kids from MA.
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UMass Amherst has a top-notch CS program, but it’s probably a long shot admissions wise with a 3.3 GPA. However, UMass Lowell also has a strong and growing reputation for CS, and it’s also a better fit in terms of your “in or near a city” criterion (easy commuter rail access to Boston). So that seems like the ideal in-state target.
Is that 3.3 weighted or unweighted?
If you want to go farther from home and don’t mind full-paying private or OOS public rates, there are lots of options, but I’d want to confirm that your unweighted GPA is 3.0 or above before making suggestions. If it isn’t, there are still options of course but it will be a bit more limiting.
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He is in-state and has great SATs. He should bring his A game during the application process, but I think UMass Amherst is within reach for him.
UMass Amherst CS is not admitting students with a 3.3. It’s one of the best in the country and has its pick of applicants. We’re talking 3.8/tons of AP’s, 1480 SAT students thirteen a dozen. (Generally speaking, CS is the most competitive major at any university that admits by major.)
UMass Amherst is possible, but not for CS.
OP may have a shot at the Informatics degree (reach).
UMass Lowell is pretty good and a target.
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3.9 gpa (assume that is weighted)
1355 SAT