It is a large portion of all college students. Most domestic college students in the US receive federal financial aid.
However, it’s not as large a portion of students many of the highly selective private colleges on the previously linked list, which often have more higher income students than typical and fewer students taking on federal loans due to quality grant based FA. At Brown, the combination of Pell + federal loans was 15-20% of students at latest IPEDS sample, and I expect CS is substantially lower than this average at Brown.
I do think that the CollegeScorecard database is useful, and have referenced it several times in previous posts. However, one should also consider its limitations and what it is measuring. I find it more useful for measuring general trends than comparing earnings between college X vs college Y. For example, it’s useful to confirm that CS grads tend to have higher earnings than the vast majority of other majors. However, it’s not as useful for conclusions like a student who wants high earnings should choose Brown CS over other similarly selective private colleges since College Scorecard shows Brown CS grads have higher earnings than grads from MIT, Stanford, and all other Ivy+ colleges.
I’m guessing the Georgia instate students being accepted into CS, engineering at Georgia Tech are quite strong students, on par with many Brown students.
Why are you reaching for that explanation when the more likely reason could be that students who chose to go to an in-state school were perhaps more interested in in-state and regional opportunitiies rather than whatever amazing jobs are available on the coasts.
It is one state out of 50. They cannot fill a whole 500 or 800 person class with kids that are competitive at the national level. It is logical that the median student quality will be different than at a school which is not obligated to take a large percentage of students from within the state. I am not reaching for an explanation. It is not this or that. This is likely to be an additional dynamic in addition what others have identified, and what you yourself suggest.
I always love telling folks that my dad graduated from Berkeley with a degree in physical science in the 70s, after getting tossed out of UCSB, going into the military for a few years and then meeting and marrying my mom. My birth thwarted his plans for medical school. He saw a commercial for ITT tech, took a 9 month course, and after a few more years, landed at Apple as a young software engineer working for Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He helped launch the first Macintosh computer and worked steadily and happily as a programmer for the next 40 years.
Sure, it’s a different world now. But CS jobs have always made room for scrappy, self-taught folks who stay relevant and passionate about their field. I’m sorry GA tech didn’t work out, but something will, for sure. She’s a smart kid and she’s going to land on her feet!
I think your assumption that Georgia Tech in-state students are less strong academically than out-of-state students is a fallacy. Many in-state Georgia students turn down Michigan, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, Virginia, MIT, CMU, U Chicago, you name it to go to Georgia Tech. For many it is for financial reasons. Why pay $50,000 in tuition a year if you can go to Georgia Tech for free? The academic pool for in-state students is extremely strong at Georgia Tech. There are certainly some academic superstars that are admitted to Georgia Tech with international recognition OOS, but most seem in line with the kids admitted from in state who in our experience are typically the 1500+/4.0 unweighted/maxed out APs/top of class kids.
The out-of-state applicant pool has increased by almost 20,000 in the last four years. This is what is driving the OOS acceptances down. And if what is happening at other top schools is true at Georgia Tech, these huge jumps in numbers are not an increase in more qualified applicants.
I think the disparity in salary is explained by job location and cost of living not quality of graduates. A large number of Georgia Tech graduates, both in-state and out-of-state, fall in love with Atlanta and decide to stay there. Same is true of Emory grads – many opt to stay in Atlanta despite where they are originally from. From a large city standpoint, cost-of-living is very reasonable and salaries reflect that. My GT kid is interning in New York and making almost double what he made last summer in Atlanta. Of course his rent will more than double as well😂
My definition of balanced would include likely schools that accept more than 50% of applicants and that my student likes and would be willing to attend.
Your student has an excellent profile and will do well no matter where they attend.
Your D sounds like an amazing applicant, but at GT no one can count on admission, especially OOS. I have an amazing D as well who was deferred at Michigan. I can’t imagine what else they could possibly want from an applicant. But that’s how it is. There are many many factors that have nothing to do with the student (#OOS, #URMS, #in each major, etc.) that schools are looking at.
I feel your pain. My son (4.0 UW GPA and numerous AP/DE classes) was also rejected in the EA2 round.
While we knew GATech would be a tough admit for an OOS applicant we are still a bit stunned and very disappointed. I believe the acceptance rate for EA2 cohort was 10%.
A friend of my son from the same high school was also rejected (CS major). This friend had an equally excellent academic record, but stronger EC profile per my son.
Ultimately, there were more qualified applicants than available spots. My son is smart and a hard worker. He will succeed anywhere. Given your daughter’s high school record I suspect your daughter will as well.
Your child did nothing wrong at all. Read the blogs. It explains it.
There will be a great match for your child. In first semester of their freshman year they will tell you they love where they are at. Nothing to evaluate.
Yes he is. My favorite admissions writer. But his blogs speak the truth. I wish it was mandatory reading for all students and parents prior to applying to college.
You’re right that it’s a different world now. In the previous 40 years, most CS graduates (and those who were self-taught) have made good living as programmers. The next 40 years may be very different.
