I’m looking for a couple outside opinions on my current situation (HS Senior).
I have recently been accepted to the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering (in-state applicant). Given the prestige of this specific college, I am wondering if it would even make sense to apply elsewhere. For a variety of reasons, I failed to be proactive on my college applications and at this point have only applied and been accepted to three in-state colleges (U of M, MSU, Kalamazoo College). Family income is not necessarily an issue as long as I can obtain scholarships and some aid.
My main interest is Computer Science. Beyond that, I prefer engineering over a liberal arts curriculum. Given my test scores (35 ACT) and GPA (class rank #1 of ~350), I would consider myself a competitive applicant to most universities. And so after all of that, my actual question is whether I should invest the time to apply to the likes of Stanford, MIT, Cornell, and Carnegie Mellon. Is there a discernible advantage one of these universities would have over the University of Michigan that would make it not only worth the application/interview, but also the extra tuition?
No. It sounds like you would be full pay or close at those schools. I can’t see any reason to turn down UMich for them. And you’ve missed the boat for many scholarships (like full tuition at Alabama).
Assuming that they are affordable, UM and MSU seem like a perfectly good selection of schools to choose from (not sure why you applied to Kalamazoo if you want engineering, though). If you prefer a smaller school, there are smaller engineering-focused schools that you may want to consider.
If UM and MSU affordability is in doubt, start looking for schools with better scholarships and financial aid, or lower list prices, to apply to.
May not be your kind of thing, but I’ll throw Olin College into the mix. It’s one of a very few super-selective schools where you’re sure to get a scholarship even if you’re full pay, since every kid who gets into Olin gets a half-tuition scholarship (currently worth ~$22K). You’d still be looking at a COA in the high $30K’s, but that’s a lot cheaper than the Stanford and MIT’s of the world. Fantastic school, my daughter’s had a great experience there. Stronger in engineering than CS, though she is a computer type and it’s worked out very well for her.
ucbalumnus, I applied to K because they do actually offer CS (they have a very small department). I applied for the Heyl scholarship, which would be a full ride. I would only consider K if I received it.