Test Scores: ACT - 34C (36E, 35M, 33R, 31S)
UW GPA: 4.0
W GPA: Roughly 4.8-4.9
Decent EC’s
White Male
So far in my list of schools that I’m considering are:
- Ohio State
- University of Maryland
- Purdue
And then the super top tier I’m looking at are UMich, UIUC, and Cornell.
The only safety I’ve heard mentioned is Univ. of Alabama, but I’m not sure how strong their program is.
What are some more safeties I could look at? As well as other “matches” and reaches as well?
Keep in mind that I prefer larger universities (no less than roughly 10,000-15,000 people).
Cost constraints? Those will affect what can be a safety.
Your stats will give you automatic full rides at a number of schools if you really need low cost.
@ucbalumnus cost isn’t necessarily an issue; however, places that offer decent merit scholarships would be ideal.
For safeties, I’d want schools where it’d be pretty certain I’d get a good scholarship (such as Alabama).
Drexel, NJIT come to mind as safeties with good merit scholarships and engineering majors in CS. I’m not sure how big NJIT is, but for social life it is right next to several other Universities/Colleges.
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The only safety I’ve heard mentioned is Univ. of Alabama, but I’m not sure how strong their program is.
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Alabama has a very good College of Engineering. It has brand new state of the art facilities. You should visit; you’ll be impressed.
What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay per year. You say that money isn’t much of an issue, but many parents won’t pay a lot for an OOS public.
What is your home state? (ANSWER: Kentucky)
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cost isn't necessarily an issue
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EDIT!!! You state in another post that your parents have a high income BUT your dad will ONLY pay $15k per year. If that is true, you shouldn’t be saying that money isnt’ an issue!!!
MONEY IS AN ISSUE!
You need to provide correct info if you want relevant answers. UMich is over $50k per year. You’re not going to get a full tuition award there or at a number of the other schools listed here.
You need a full tuition award for your parents contribution to pay for room, board, books, fees, etc.
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For safeties, I’d want schools where it’d be pretty certain I’d get a good scholarship (such as Alabama
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Except for maybe Temple, you won’t find a higher ranked school than Bama that will give you full tuition. At Bama, you’d get more than full tuition.
@mom2collegekids I’m say money isn’t an issue insofar as I want to create a very broad list and then begin narrowing; I don’t want to eliminate schools right away. If I find a school I like, but said school is too expensive, then I now know what I desire in a school and will find a more affordable option that is similar to said school.
If your parents have high income, but will only contribute $15,000 per year, your total net price limit is about $25,000 per year after you add federal direct loans and a reasonable amount of your own work earnings. But lower price is obviously better than living on the very edge of affordability.
Your safeties likely have to be chosen from this list:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
plus it looks like Kentucky public in-state costs are under $25,000.
Start with safeties first – students who start with idealized dream schools often end up having difficulty finding safeties because the possible safeties will be seen as having “defects” relative to the dream schools.
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@mom2collegekids I’m say money isn’t an issue insofar as I want to create a very broad list and then begin narrowing; I don’t want to eliminate schools right away. If I find a school I like, but said school is too expensive, then I now know what I desire in a school and will find a more affordable option that is similar to said school.
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that may seem like a logical method at first glance but it’s not only not a good idea, but it’s a risky idea.
Imagine that I said, “Money isn’t an issue (when I really only have $15k to spend), but I want to create a very broad list of cars. If I find a car that I want but it’s too expensive (and wow, that’s super EZ to do!), then I know what I desire in a car and will find a more affordable option to said car.”
Guess what? I’m going to end up compiling lists of luxury cars with all the options that have $65k+ price tags. How likely is it that I’m going to find “an affordable option” to said car when I only have $15k to spend? Sure I can find a lesser car that might have a rebate offer going, or one that’s been marked down, but I’m not going to find anything close to that $65k car.
it’s ok to apply to a couple of the UMich or Cornell-like schools “just to see,” but you already know that those aren’t affordable, and those apps will just be a donation of XX hours and XXX dollars for the app process. You don’t want to waste a lot of time with essays, etc, and cost applying to schools that won’t be affordable.
You need to be asking for two types of schools with eng’g.
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Those with competitive merit that will bring costs down to about $15k. (apply to 2-4 of these)
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Those with assured merit that will bring costs down to about $15k. (apply to 2-3 of these)
Once you’ve identified schools THAT YOU LIKE within those 2 groups, then if you still have time and application money, apply to some top schools “just to see”.
If I say Purdue is an excellent safety because it has rolling admission and McGill because they admit students strictly base on minimum SAT and GPA.
Safeties may be your instate public universities.
safeties MUST be KNOWN to be affordable otherwise they are NOT safeties! How could they be otherwise???
Schools live VT or similar that no one knows whether the net cost will be within the family’s $15k budget cannot be safeties.
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If your parents have high income, but will only contribute $15,000 per year, your total net price limit is about $25,000 per year after you add federal direct loans and a reasonable amount of your own work earnings. But lower price is obviously **better than living on the very edge of affordability.[/]
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Exactly! That’s why I would aim for a $15k net (maybe $17k). There could be a year or two where parents can’t pay the $15k…or there could be a summer where the student needs to take a class or two and can’t work much. Or the student could do an REU which does pay, but doesn’t pay a lot.
You are a top student. Unless you really need the money, I don’t think that you have to settle for Alabama.
University of Pittsburgh is a better school for CS, has cross-registration for 1 class per semester at Carnegie Mellon, and also awards terrific scholarships. It is certainly a rolling safety for you.
A properly completed timely application to Purdue will surely get you admitted. Probably UWisconsin too.
Other places to consider might be University of Waterloo. Check out their CS department. They are very impressive.
If you do have financial need, you are certainly competitive for private schools that meet full need. I wouldn’t rule out places like Northwestern or Cornell. They might come out cheaper. For easier admission, consider Rochester, though it’s smaller than you want.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18360049/#Comment_18360049 says that the OP’s father makes a lot of money but will only contribute $15,000 per year, so the OP really does need the money (probably in the form of merit scholarships, since if the father makes a lot of money, need-based aid would likely be insufficient).
Pitts does give full tuition right? How about Northeastern because it also gives full tuition from what I’ve read.
I believe Pitt does have full tuition scholarships which are Competitively awarded. How would that make them a safety? Same with Northeastern.
I was refer to affordable safety schools so I think they are in that category.
Safety = Assured of admission, happy to attend, and affordable. If the parents will only contribute $15K then it MIGHT be affordable. Not a safety but a match in my eyes (maybe I’m a pessimist)
If a scholarship is needed to bring the price down to affordability, it must be somehow assured for the student (by stats, NM status, etc.), not competitive, for the school and scholarship to be put in the safety category.