Hello,
I am a aspiring Computer Science Major who is barely passing Algebra II. I am a Junior I’m Highschool. This past summer I participated in Girls Who Code and found a passion for coding and cyber security. My Sat Score is a 1270 and my GPA a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. I would just like to know how hard it would be for me to get into a decent CS College Program. My dream school is the University of Central Florida.
As you know, CS is very popular and requires a lot of math in well developed BS programs. Algebra II is most basic to calculus in a college program as you will be working with simultaneous equations. Find out what your problems are from your math teacher.
Here is some discussion on applied CS programs @ https://www.becker.edu/academic/academic-programs/design-technology/applied-computer-science/
NOTE: they still study calculus.
My son is a comp sci major and he’s had to take calc 1, 2, and 3 as well as linear algebra and something called “mathematical concepts in computing” 1 and 2. If you struggle with math, it’s going to be tough. But that doesn’t mean you need to give up on it. As suggested try to figure out what your math challenges are and work on them.
I’ll also add that from what I have seen from UCF’s Reddit page that the calc classes are ones that many students have mentioned struggling with. My daughter is considering attending there so I’ve been following their page for a bit to get a feel for what students chat about and calc struggles was a big one around finals.
Good luck to you, and keep seeking out coding events!
If your goal is to work in programming, then stay away from large public universities that weed.
(To ‘weed’ = to fill = to eliminate a large number of students on purpose. )
In addition, you’ll want universities where CS is not in the college of engineering or where they offer IST or other applied computing majors.
CS has become THE most competitive major to get into.
Are you a Florida resident? If so, look into Florida Tech. NCF has a good CS major but visit first as it’s different from most colleges.
Your SAT score is quite good for someone who’s only in Algebra 2. Plan to retake it in May or June, and again in August. The higher your score the better your odds of scholarship and admission.
What grades brought your GPA to a 3.0? Freshman year? Math& science every year?
Meet with your teachers and get a tutor. Spend time on Algebra 2. (Optimally, you want to master this so you can be recommended for precalculus honors. Minimally, you want to get over the ‘struggling’ bump and the same in precalculus, and do well.)
“Barely passing” math does not bode well for your chances in the highly competitive CS major. All is not lost, though. Get a tutor ASAP. Try Khan Academy in whatever Winter Break time you have remaining. Figure out why you are struggling then do what you can to remedy that and catch up.
Consider IT as an alternate/backup major. Your programming knowledge will help you in your career, but there will be fewer higher level math courses in college.
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Yes, it was Math and Science every year. I managed to keep about a C average every year and took Chemistry Honors sophomore year.
Then you can’t apply to straight CS or Engineering. Most colleges expect A’s in math through precalculus or calculus, CS (AP CS Principles or CS A) and Physics for that major. :s
BUT there are lots of CS-related majors with less math&physics.
Make sure you take all three from Bio, Chem, Physics (even conceptual physics works). Spend time on math, get a tutor, ask for advice from your teacher.
What state do you live in?
I live in New York. I mean honestly I want a degree program in which I can code and learn cyber security if that can’t be CS then it is what it is, but CS is kinda my dream. I will be taking an a AP Comp Sci course next year (Senior.)
I also go to a rigorous college prep school would that factor in as well?
If you really want CS and you are realistic about your options, you will get into a CS program. My son has been mostly a B student in math and science and is majoring in engineering. He has been accepted to 7 colleges so far. What he does once he gets there is up to him. He will have to work very hard and likely get a lot of help to do well, but he has been given the opportunity, and that is the first step. Best of luck to you!
You have to choose your major well (CS is a broad field, hopefully next year you can take both AP CS principles - an introduction to many of these fields - and AP CS A - programming) as well as your college.
Marist is likely a good choice. Very strong CS but less weed out than is typical. A strong teset score would also help. Try and visit if you can.
Wheaton (MA) would be a possible March, WPI a possible reach.
SUNY Plattsburgh has good merit scholarships and you’d likely qualify for honors college.
Avoid Bing and Stony Brook which would eat you alive with kids who got As in precalculus freshman year (wish I were kidding).
Does your prep school have connections with specific private colleges?
What’s your EFC?
Go to a liberal arts school that is supportive with extra help and tutoring, and has an easier program for CS and math (with fewer math requirements).
Yes, they have connections to Notre Dame, Sienna College, Fordham, Iona, Dominican College and various other local Catholic Schools. EFC is about 15,000 (I have a brother going into college a year after me)
They also have connections to like Rensselaer and Harvard but realistically I’m not getting into those. I’m looking into Clemson as a reach, the program there doesn’t seem to be very math heavy.
Clemson is a public university in SC- you’ll pay OOS fees with no financial aid.
Wheaton MA has a supportive department. They don’t admit by major and only require 2 math courses (you can then take more CS courses or more math).
https://wheatoncollege.edu/academics/programs/computer-science/
This is the type of Major you’d likely do well in at a larger, less supportive university:
https://cech.uc.edu/schools/it/academics/undergrad-programs/bachelorsofscienceininformationtechnology/bsinformatiotechnology.html
It focuses on programming software, apps, etc. as well as cybersecurity. You’d also pay OOS but it’s lower than Clemson and
U Cincinnati has a co-op system which means you can spend a semester in industry being paid.
Definitely apply to Fordham, Siena, etc. Run the Net Price Calculator on each of them since they don’t “meet need” and may well be unaffordable.
You have two different constraints here that bump into each other.
One is that you have a 15K EFC, and while you’re a solid student, you’re not going to attract the kind of huge merit awards that would get the cost down to 15k/year. So, you’re going to have to choose a college that will meet your full documented need on the need-based aid side.
The other is that if you want to major in CS at a program where you can be admitted and succeed, you’re going to have to aim below the level of your overall stat profile (i.e. make sure that even the weakest aspects of your profile are above average within the program you attend). Unfortunately, this puts all of your targets below the level of competitiveness where full-need-met aid happens.
It’s moot whether you can get into UCF - you cannot afford the out-of-state cost, and your stats aren’t strong enough to get merit aid. It’s clear that you’ll need to work within the SUNY/CUNY system in order to get the education you want at a cost you can afford.
Here’s the important question: Do you want a broad liberal arts education as well as a CS/Cybersecurity degree? Or are you primarily focused on getting a tech credential so that you can work in the CS/Cybersecurity field?
If the latter, I’d suggest taking a close look at Alfred State. Within Alfred State, you would have two options:
If you want a SUNY where you could commit to a four-year CS degree from the get-go, look into which campuses you can be accepted to with your stats. I’m sure you can get good advice from your guidance counselor, if you go to a college admissions focused prep school.
But I really think the Alfred plan could be wise, as it keeps your options wide open. If you discover that the academics there feel very manageable after your tough high school, and get excellent grades in the AS program, you’ll be able to transfer to one of the top SUNY CS programs that you have virtually no chance of getting into as a freshman; and by that time you’ll be prepared to succeed in the upper-division classes in one of those programs. You could end up with a CS degree from Buffalo, Stony Brook, Binghamton, Geneseo, or Oswego (which has a great co-op program), whereas acceptance to one of those schools straight out of high school is simply not only wildly unlikely, but also a setup for failure in the lower-division “weeder” classes for CS if you did manage to get in.
Conversely, if you continue to feel that you love the practical coding and cybersecurity aspects of CS, and do not love the theoretical/math side at all, the BTech program could be the perfect route. And the beauty of Alfred is that you don’t have to burn any bridges when choosing a school, because both tracks are available in the same place.
Make sure you are running the net price calculators to see what your first year of college would cost without your brother being in college yet. It sounds as if you’re saying that your family can only afford 15K because of your brother’s impending college expenses; but the FA formula won’t care about that until he’s actually attending. It might benefit both you and your brother, financially, if you were to plan a gap year so that you’d both be in college at the same time for the whole four years.
I’m from definitely more interested in receiving a tech credential and going into the field but I do like the idea of a broad liberal education. When it comes to scholarships I’m expected to receive about 10k and while I’ll be considered OOS my first year (UCF) my parents are planning to move to Florida when my brother graduates hs. Without him being in college my EFC would rise to about 20k. I am primarily looking at schools out of New York (East Coast (Georgia, Fl, Boston, Perhaps even Washington)) and for programs like NYU’s CAS CS Program https://cs.nyu.edu/home/undergrad/major_programs.html.
I also want to add some other info I don’t know if it’ll be relevant but I am an African American (Jamaican) female. My Father is a Military Veteran and I am First Generation both on my mother and father’s side (my parents were both born in JA).
You won’t be a Florida resident until a full year after your parents relocate.
For rough projections of your acceptance odds to the schools you have in mind, I would refer you to the PrepScholar website, which shows a given school’s median stats and acceptance rates, and from these calculates an estimate of your odds of acceptance. The projection for NYU with your stats is a 1.77% chance of acceptance. AND, NYU does not meet full need so you likely couldn’t afford it even if you miraculously did get in.
Out-of-state COA at UCF is over 37K/year, so even with 10K of merit it’s significantly over your budget. And the PrepScholar calculator projects a 4.98% chance of acceptance with your stats. That’s without taking into account that CS is more competitive, and out-of-state is more competitive.
The good news is that you’re doing this research now, so that you can have a more realistic strategy in mind by the time you apply in the fall. One viable path is to do the AS in CS at Alfred, with in-state tuition and financial aid, and then transfer to UCF as a junior, which is when your residency will change.
Make sure your parents and brother are aware that he also won’t be considered an in-state student there until your family has lived in FL for 12 months.