<p>We're looking for safeties for my son. He wants to major in Computer Science, and we're in Illinois. UIUC is his top choice, and we think he's very likely to get in there. But, you never know, so we're looking for some safeties.</p>
<p>He scored a 35 on the ACT, 33 on the ACT With Writing; he's top 5% at his high school, he's taken a rigorous schedule with about as many AP courses as possible; his ECs are good but not great.</p>
<p>We've looked at other publics in Illinois, but unfortunately most of them are far below UIUC. For instance, none of them have a 75% ACT number higher than 26. So we're not sure they'd be such good options. Other possibilities include OOS publics like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Iowa State, Purdue, Missouri Science and Technology. (We're looking at publics because they'd likely be the most affordable safety options; unfortunately, I don't think Illinois has any reciprocity agreements with any other states.)</p>
<p>Perhaps some privates that he'd be likely to get into and that are likely to offer merit (or need-based?) aid might also be candidates. I've looked at the Automatic/Competitive threads in the FA forum, and none of the schools mentioned there stood out to me.</p>
<p>Any other good suggestions for safety schools he should consider, or comments on ones I've mentioned?</p>
<p>I suppose it'd be OK to mention some non-safety schools that might be possibilities; we've looked at several of the other top CS schools, including visiting them, and none of them made a strong enough impression on him to rise above UIUC.</p>
<p>Not the Midwest, but Bama has an upper quartile of ACT 31+…and your son would get FREE tuition PLUS 2500 per year…which is why so many Illinois kids pass on UIUC and head to Bama.</p>
<p>Gorgeous campus and brand new mega-sized Science and Engineering Complex (900,000 sq ft of new STEM academic space). Your remaining costs would be about $12k per year…private room in Honors Housing. </p>
<p>Send the app in (easy, no essays, no recs), fill out the scholarship app, send scores and transcripts…have acceptance and scholarship in hand in a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>Michigan Tech (in the UP) has an great CS program. It’s definitely out of the way, but it’s a really cool environment.
They do offer some pretty decent merit scholarships, too, and it sounds like your son would almost definitely get the top one. Since they base their honors program on ACT scores as well, I think he would also be eligible for that.</p>
<p>I think admission to UIUC is likely.
If it’s his first choice, then be sure to apply during the priority filing period.
Notification comes out December 13. In effect, this amounts to an Early Action option for your first choice college. If you get bad news there is still time to apply to many schools in safety territory … though not necessarily to meet deadlines for merit scholarship eligibility.
Alabama’s merit deadline is December 15.
[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>
<p>For a very strong student whose first choice is CS at his in-state public flagship, it’s hard to recommend a private school. Case Western is pretty generous with merit aid and does have some respected STEM programs. However, it is not less selective than UIUC. Even after maximum likely merit aid, it may still cost you more (for a CS program that may not be quite as strong). </p>
<p>If you qualify for need-based aid, that’s a different situation. Chances are, you’ll get the best n-b aid from private schools that are more selective than UIUC. Depending on your circumstances, the net cost may or may not be as low.</p>
<p>About the financial situation: We can afford UIUC. EFC/NPCs suggest that the best we could expect from places that meet need is that they would cost us about the same as UIUC. So we’re looking for safeties that would not cost any more.</p>
<p>About the particular schools mentioned: Alabama is not going to make the list. We’re aware of Mich Tech – we found out about them at a college fair last year. Very interesting location-wise, although very out of the way, and not for everyone. I’ll have my son look into them further. Case is already on the list – I believe he’s definitely applying there.</p>
<p>@tk21769: We are already thinking about the deadlines. He is applying early to UIUC – in fact, I believe he has his application about done. But like you suggest, for the best FA packages, he may need to get applications in elsewhere in a similar timeframe. So we really can’t wait for the decision from UIUC. And what you say about private schools is kinda what we’re running into.</p>
<p>Although UIUC is relatively expensive as an in-state public, the only other midwest flagships that are price competitive as an out-of-state student are Minnesota and Iowa State. Some non-flagship schools in the region may also be price competitive with UIUC, although there may not be too much reason to choose them over the non-UIUC Illinois publics which are less expensive than UIUC.</p>
<p>Most of the [Association</a> of Independent Technological Universities: AITU](<a href=“http://theaitu.org%5DAssociation”>http://theaitu.org) schools have strong computer science and some also offer good merit aid. From what you say, he has an excellent chance of getting into UIUC though.</p>
<p>With merit, Iowa State would be the same or lower than UIUC.</p>
<p>Purdue has lowered its merit, so not sure if it would be the same or more than UIUC.</p>
<p>UIUC will likely accept your son, so this may all be for naught. Does it have rolling admissions? If so, apply early, get results, and then figure out what you need to do. </p>
<p>If you like Michigan Tech but feel it’s too far out of the way, what about IIT?
It’s a little less selective than UIUC, and it looks like their average merit awards are pretty big (almost $20K in 2011-12).</p>