Hey, so I’m a junior and I’m wondering what schools i should be looking at. I want to major in computer science in college so what schools seem to fit me.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 M, 740 CR, 800 W 3 sittings
ACT (breakdown): none taken
SAT II: Math II 800, Physics 800, Biology-Ecology 740,
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6% ish- idk if i can push into top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC(5), Lang(5), Calc AB(5), Bio(4), APUSH(5), Micro(5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Pretty heavy. alot of APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): most likely NMS commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, National Honors Society, Honor Roll, co-author in scientific journal
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Guitar 8+ years
-Karate 7+ years
-FBLA- Committee Head
-Science National Honors Society- Committee Head
-Highschool Soccer- 9th and 10th grade JV (also played recreational level)
Job/Work Experience:
-Intern at Biomedical Pharemeucetical Company
-Intern at Internal Medcine clinic
Volunteer/Community service:
-volunteer at hospital for 3 years
-volunteer at STEM museum for 1.5 years
Summer Activities: research program at university(have a published paper)
Essays:should be solid
Teacher Recommendation:I know 2 teachers that will give me glowing recs
Counselor Rec:probably generic i guess?
Additional Rec: most likely from research mentor- should be good
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large competetive public- this year we had someone go to Caltech and other who will go to ivies
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Middle Class
I am pretty certain I will ED to Cornell since its close and I like it but if I get rejected, what other computer Science schools should i look into?
If cost and financial aid are considerations, run the net price calculator on each school’s web site with your parents to see what their reactions to the net prices are.
Rutgers is a fine choice that is somewhat less selective than Cornell. Unlike many other schools, where getting into the CS major is difficult, Rutger’s CS major appears to be open (just need a C or higher grade in five prerequisite courses: https://www.cs.rutgers.edu/undergraduate/admission.whtml ).
You have excellent stats. There are many great CS schools in the northeast/mid-atlantic if being not to far is important to you.
The private schools often provide financial aid. The publics not so much, but with your stats you might get some anyway.
Here are some good privates in the northeast for CS
MIT
Carnegie-Mellon
All of the ivy’s but of course there is the problem of getting in. Columbia and Penn have separate engineering schools that might be a tad easier to get into than their respective arts and science schools.
Johns Hopkins
Rochester
Northeastern
RPI
NYU
BU
WPI
Thank you. Price is not really an issue but I will apply for financial aid. However, even if financial aid is denied, the full cost can be paid by my parents.
Remember, start your list with a safety that you know you get be admitted to, know that you can afford, and will like.
Since you are looking at a popular major (CS), be aware that it may be more difficult to be admitted to the CS major at some schools, and such schools may make it difficult to switch into the CS major later, due to the CS major being at full capacity. There are some disappointed prospective CS majors this year who found that their “safeties” either rejected them or gave them general admission instead of admission to the CS major, due to the CS major being much more competitive than the school overall.
Fortunately, your state flagship Rutgers does not seem to have this problem.
Yes I will definitely be applying to Rutgers as a safety since it is my state flasgship. And as for costa, I have talked to my parents and I know we are fairly well off. My parents have a lot of money saved so finances are not a huge issue though financial aid is helpful. I am willing to move away from NJ but not like the West coast. Georgia Tech is a reasonable distance.
That’s great. Just be aware that most so called financial aid for you will be loans. Loans are not financial aid. They’re just kicking the can down the road, plus interest. When evaluating your options, focus in the net cost including loans. Also, just for you to really be sure, ask your patents if they’re ok with spending a quarter million dollars on your college. You might be surprised with the rest of the discussion.
Aside from cost, overall fit is key. There are many, many schools that provide an excellent CS option. What else is important to you, as far as size, vibe, location, activities, etc.?
Thanks guys. Just out of curiosity, how would you guys rank Duke engineering? I see that in Duke it’s possible to double major in CS and econ. I am interested in management so this seems appealing. What do you guys think since Duke is a lower ranked engineering school but still top notch