<p>I'm going to be a senior in the fall. I've pretty much decided that I want to do computer science/computer engineering or some other type of engineering. I'm trying to look for some schools that will have smaller class sizes, accessible professors, and opportunities for a lot of undergrad research. I have pretty strong grades and test scores:</p>
<p>SAT II: Math 2-790, Chemistry-710 (low because I couldn't take AP/honors, might retake)</p>
<p>ECs: Jazz Band (lead trumpet), lacrosse, soccer, photography, 100+ hrs. of community service, NHS, and a lot more that I'm not gonna list right now.</p>
<p>So far I'm starting to look into CalPoly, UWashington, CMU, and RPI. I'd like to have the opportunity to get all pre-med requirements taken care of while majoring in CS/engineering with the possibility of a double major. Financial aid is also important. My sister goes to Reed College in Portland and gets no financial aid (not including loans), so it's like $60k per year for her to go there. My dad is a Ph. D. biochemist so we fall into the $150k+ income bracket and don't qualify for need-based aid, but we still couldn't afford to pay an equal amount for me to go to school. I don't want to take out any significant loans because I don't want to graduate in debt. </p>
<p>Do you guys/girls know of other schools that will fit what I'm looking for? I'd like to hear about safety, match, and reach schools.</p>
<p>You said your looking for smaller schools, but just how small is your ballpark? The most well known small engineering schools are extremely hard to get into (Olin, Cooper, etc.), though you should have a decent (decent being relative, as all elite schools are crapshoots) shot.
You’re much more likely to get merit aid at colleges where you are above/well above the average student, so you might look into a few public schools and their respective honors colleges. Also, if I were you I’d add Cooper Union in NY, as they pay your tuition (though you still have to pay for room and board)</p>
<p>I guess when I say “small” I’m talking mostly about class sizes. I want to avoid being in classes with a ton of other students, but I don’t really care about the size of the school itself. UWashington has 30k students, but the CSE program which I want to get into has small classes.</p>
<p>Ok awesome. Thanks for the responses. Bumping this to see if I can get some more. </p>
<p>Also, I have a few questions:</p>
<p>Should I bother retaking the SAT/ACT? My 33 on the ACT puts me in the 99th percentile, but I got it without studying and when I was on the wrong dose of my ADD meds. If I took it again I think I could do better, but is there any real difference between a 33 and a 35? </p>
<p>Should I bother retaking the Chem subject test? Didn’t study for it a whole lot and I know I could do better. I drank a ton of water before it and as a result I was more concentrated on keeping my bladder from exploding than doing chemistry. I know I could get a really good rec letter from my Chem teacher if that counts for anything…</p>
<p>And lastly, how good of a shot do I actually have at getting into these top-tier schools? My GPA and test scores (except for chem) are all in the normal range for the best schools. I know a lot of people with very similar or better “stats” end up getting rejected though. I’m a really good writer, so if I write killer essays does that help me a lot? College admissions’ decisions look like, for lack of a better word, a cluster****, so it seems like I shouldn’t expect anything.</p>
<p>If you are looking for merit money, try Santa Clara, Gonzaga , Case Western, Univ of Denver, Lafayette. Less merit money at Villanova, Bucknell, Lehigh.</p>
<p>Ok I’m still in the process of looking into all of these schools. Olin, Rose-Hulman, and Harvey-Mudd are all looking awesome. It seems like I’m going to have to retake my Chemistry subject test, though. I’m also interested in Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>You’d stand a decent shot at Stanford, where ~75% of the classes have fewer than 15 students. CS is a larger department and so the basic undergrad classes tend not to be very small (mostly medium-sized, a few large ones), although CS does offer 10+ introductory seminars (capped at 15 students). The ones in the 200+ range are more frequently small/seminar-based, and CS undergrads often take many of these (undergrads are free to take most grad-level classes in most departments). Professor accessibility and availability of [undergrad</a> research](<a href=“http://curis.stanford.edu%5Dundergrad”>http://curis.stanford.edu) are both great.</p>
<p>Stanford’s financial aid is also generous; for those making up to $200k and sometimes even more than that, it will give grants to reduce tuition, usually when a student has a sibling in college. You might qualify as well.</p>
<p>Try the University of Tulsa. Computer Science is decent there, and they have an amazing institute for cyber security. Engineering and computer science in general at TU are pretty strong. They also give a good amount of aid. If you’re National Merit, you can get full tuition and room and board. If not, you can still get a nice amount of money. They’re basically covering the cost of tuition for me with a combination of a few institutional scholarships</p>