<p>We went through the college search this summer and came up with what we thought was a good list. We went and visited and most of the colleges we visited came off the list. So we added new ones. </p>
<p>My S's list is at 11, however, now I listen to the other kids and parents and they are all talking about more competive schools. e.g. MIT, Boston College, Brown, Colby, UVa, Michigan.</p>
<p>I know that most kids and parents seem to 'aim high', and I was still content with his list. I thought that even if he was aiming a little low, it wasn't a problem, he'd probably get some merit money and that's not so bad. But then talking to the parent whose D is completely bored, that got me thinking. This year he is doing much better, with 4 AP classes and being with kids that seem to be brighter (than your average bear). So I hate to lose that by seeing him in a program that won't be challenging.</p>
<p>There's no need for super-reach schools if he's happy with his moderate reaches and matches. If you're worried, you could always suggest an honors program, such as the one at PSU.</p>
<p>Is your son interested in engineering? Because that seems to be a pretty common thread throughout the schools you mentioned. If he is, I'm not very familiar with all the schools you listed, but I know that both Case and Georgia Tech have very strong engineering programs (some that are equal or better than MIT in the rankings).</p>
<p>S wants to become a game programmer. We've been looking at schools with the engineering background (e.g. a good Computer Science program ) that are venturing into the game development / electronic media area. He's NOT a graphics / artistic person.</p>
<p>Carnegie mellon has 2 programs. One is in engineering school and other is just compu sci. Both are competitive, but he can apply to both with same application</p>
<p>Georgia Tech just recently added a new major called Computational Media. I believe it is aimed at video game engineering/design and is a joint effort between the College of Computing and the College of Literature, Communications and Culture. </p>
<p>thank you for the info. This sounds extremely interesting. Do you go to GA Tech / are you applying? My S hasn't applied yet, as they didn't have an EA date, I'm wondering if it gets more difficult to get in as the year progresses (we aren't in GA).</p>
<p>If you want a great reach, CMU is good. It uses the Common App. only, so if he's doing it for any other schools they just have one additional essay(quite easy, basicly why you want your major and why CMU) and the forms are easy. They claim to be the #1 Comp. Sci. school in the nation, so it would be a big reach since his grades arent great, but its a great school and when I visited I loved it.</p>
<p>We went to WPI this summer and were sorely dissappointed with the college. </p>
<p>When I'm looking at paying 40K a year for a college program, the reps should know what they are talking about. The WPI reps were not coherent and were rambling just about their own experience. While it may be understandable that they didn't know anything about the Electronic Media program that the college highly advertises, they also didn't know anything about other majors that kids were asking about. That, coupled with the seemingly outdated campus, really turned all of us away from WPI. </p>
<p>RPI was much more together and seem to want to answer questions and help students determine if this was the school for them. My impression was that this was a place where a student could chart a path and get a decent education.</p>