To begin: I am an upcoming senior looking to major in Computer Science.
I am from Kentucky. My UW GPA is 4.0 and my ACT is 34 (36E, 35M, 33R, 31S).
My extracurriculars are solid, but not “ivy-quality.” I have no intel, Siemens, etc. kind of awards and am not a recruited athlete (though I do play varsity soccer).
Also, my parents can pay ~$27,000 a year, and I will NOT qualify for need-based aid. I am not opposed to taking loans, but the amount I would be willing to take is dependent on the strength of the program.
My goals (obviously subject to change) are to work out in the valley in software development. Clearly a university out in California would be ideal, but I’d rather stay closer to home for undergraduate (I’m open to going to a less prestigious, but cheaper, undergrad and rocking it then going to a prestigious grad school, though it may not be necessary).
It is very important to me that I go to a school where I am challenged and working alongside motivated, intelligent people.
My desired regions for a school are Midwest/east coast/southeast. I’d rather not go as far north as NY.
So far my list is as follows-
Safeties:
- U Alabama
- Either UK, UofL, or U Cinci (not sure which has the strongest program (input here is also appreciated) and haven’t visited any of them, will soon though)
Matches/Targets:
- Ohio State (visited and loved)
- Purdue (visited twice and “meh” sort of feeling, I thought the campus was very bland looking, overall not too sure)
- Maryland - CP (visited and liked)
Reaches:
Based on what I’ve liked so far, it seems I prefer larger universities. The smallest I’d be willing to go is about 10,000 students.
Essentially, I would like to have 1-2 more reaches and 1 more match/target. If you guys could suggest any it would be greatly appreciated.
If you’ve read this far, sorry for making this post so long, but thanks for any input you may have.
You have several out of state schools that exceed the budget set by your parents.
There are tons of students who get in without awards or recognition. Only a few students get those awards and there are roughly 60,000 students in Ivy League colleges! Don’t sell yourself short.
@CaliCash I’m assuming you’re referring to Illinois and potentially Purdue and Maryland as well. I figure it like this: Maryland, a 12k scholarship is fairly likely for me (potentially even more with B/K), Purdue, I have a shot at 10k, Illinois, I may get 8-12k. As Illinois is is the most expensive, I will only show the figuring for that school.
UIUC Total CoA: 50k
Parents pay: 27k
Remaining: 23k
University Achievement Scholarship (name of the OOS merit award): 8-12k (let’s assume 8)
Remaining: 11-15k a year, 44-60k total debt
AVG CS Starting salary: ~89k (I know this stat is correct, you can look it up if you want)
As Illinois’ starting salary is significantly greater than the national average (~55-60k), I have deemed this to be a fair potential school. Yes, a few things have to go right, but after all, that’s why it’s considered a reach.
I’d look into UNC Chapel Hill as high match, Duke reach, and UC Berkeley as high match.
You CANNOT borrow that much money per year. If you have to borrow past the set government limit, a school is not affordable for you.
It’s also worth noting that tuition rise every year, but if you got a scholarship, it wouldn’t. The amount left over each year would increase as well. So by the time you graduate, that remaining $23,000 can look more like a $26,000. Also, as someone who is good with math, you should understand that the average starting salary means HALF of people start their careers with incomes below that in CS.
How will you be able to afford Ohio St?
Lots of these schools are based on “If” you need to find something more secure.
UIUC is an exceptional school for computer science. It is our in-state. Tough to get money out of UIUC though. In the job market as a computer science major, it is less about where you went to school and more about what you can actually do
UMD- COA is $44K
Parents Pay- $27K
Remaining- $17K
IF you get a Scholarship- $12K
Loan (IF they even offer it to you) - $5,000 per year
Ohio State- $40K
Parents Pay-$27K
Remaining- $13K
Loan- $5K (IF they even offer it)
Uncovered- $8K+ per year
How would you be able to go to this school?
UIUC: 50k
Parents pay: 27k
Remaining: 23k
Scholarship: 8-12k
Remaining: 11-15k a year,
Loan: (IF they even offer it to you) $5K
Uncovered: $6K to $10K per year
Where is this money coming from?
You are really underestimating the setbacks of being an out of state student, especially when it comes to getting scholarships. You either need to add a lot more schools, or change the ones you have here. Good luck.
Boston U, U Pittsburgh, U South Carolina, Stevens Tech. Full-tuition awards available.
If you want to take out loans, you’ll likely end up with $75K+ by the time you pay everything off. An automatic (Alabama) or competitive full-tuition award is the ticket.
@calicash I’m sorry and I don’t mean to seem condescending, but when I read your last post, in my mind I thought: “This guy knows jack and isn’t in a position to give advice.” I’m not an admissions expert but it really isn’t too complicated. I know I can’t expect everyone to know everything about every school, but it’s a smart idea to research/know a little before you start commenting. At least for OSU, nearly everyone OOS (especially with my stats) gets a 12k scholarship by default. And then with 32+ ACT and top 3% of class (which I have) I’d get another 6k (these are yearly). So the OSU math is:
40k
-18k scholarship
22k
My dad said he’ll pay 15k and then up to 12k more to split the remaining after the 15k (which results in a max of 27k)
So:
22k
-15k parents
7k
- 3500 parents
Result: 3500 in loans each year
For Illinois, parent plus loans. For Maryland, you can do the 5500 federal loan.
Please don’t try to correct my numbers, my parents and I have both done the math. I don’t need you to comment on what I’ve already got, but rather answer the question I asked in the first place (I.e., more schools - reaches/targets).
Case Western in Cleveland is pretty generous with merit scholarships. It’s much smaller than Ohio State, etc. but is highly regarded for many STEM majors, etc.
UMD and UIUC are still too expensive for you and not all state schools offer federal loans to out of state students. You’re parents are gonna borrow an extra $10K per year for you? If so, fine. But if not, you need to add more more in state schools or private schools. Just because I don’t know everything about OSU doesn’t take away from those other schools. You deliberately ignored that. For the future, don’t ask for advice if you won’t accept it once it’s given to you.
And you made sure to come off as especially condescending, but it doesn’t faze me.
Good luck.