I’ve done a little research but was hoping someone could give me suggestions as to what engineering schools I should apply. I am very passionate about computer science and will be going into that field. I am a white male and currently attend an early college. I live in Michigan. My grades is 4.0 but I’m only in precalc junior year.
Here are my stats:
Act/SAT: 35, 1530
AP: none
College Credits: 52 (some are more advanced CS classes)
GPA: 3.95
ECs:
Founder of a business (web/app design with a little AI research)
Job at Michigan Scientific (computer engineer)
FIRST robotics team (team captian)
Created a hacking team
Helped a prof with some of his projects (got a good rec letter from him)
Ran sound at my church freshman year
Sorry, I meant my math grade was 4.0 but I’m only in precalc junior year
in state tuition and any merit scholarship at U. Michigan seems smart. Also, Malcolm Gladwell has great youtube on how the bottom third of STEM majors drop out whether they are at Harvard or Haverford. He strongly suggests don’t go anywhere you are in the bottom third of a tough major. He argues go to big state school for engineering and be top of class not bottom at elite place.
Some schools have CS in schools of engineering, some do not, some have one program in engineering and another CS program in Sciences (UofM). There is also programs called CE and SE (Computer Engineering and Software Engineering). For AI, I think you want more of a CS program. So, you may need to do a little more research into exactly what you think you want to focus on, as that will guide your selection.
That being said (rant coming):
I’ve said it before and I’ll do it now again. For undergraduate engineering programs, if your state engineering school is reputable, you should run there as fast as you can. Fortunately for you, you have three state schools of engineering that are reputable (UofM, MTech, and for some programs Mich. St.). There is so little difference between undergraduate curriculum to warrant paying OOS tuition in engineering. Even if you hate UofM, you’d be hard pressed to find a CS program worth paying twice as much (or more) than a degree for you at UofM. If you can’t tell I’m biased towards another Big 10 engineering school, but I wouldn’t pay twice as much to go there over UMich.
If money is no issue. Go where you are most comfortable, go where you like the ECs, go where the weather is nice, go where your favorite sport is best represented, but the academic programs from one engineering school to another vary little.
Precalculus junior year of high school is +1 math track, so that is perfectly fine.
Michigan publics are obvious options.
Unlike at many other schools, CS is not that heavily impacted at University of Michigan. CoE students need a 2.0 prerequisite GPA in college to declare the CS (or any CoE) major, while LSA students need a 2.5 prerequisite GPA in college to declare the CS major.
Do you want to transfer your college credits to your four year college? GaTech and Case Western both are generous with transfer credits. If you are at a Michigan community college, check how all the Michigan public engineering colleges will treat your credits.
Good CS programs relatively near Michigan
GATech , U of Michigan, Purdue, MIT, RPI, UIUC, Case Western, CMU. Quite a few of those are stretch for anyone.
Some have separate CS, like GaTech. Purdue offers CS in Arts and Sciences and CE in Engineering.
GaTech CS program offers plenty of engineering content if you pick the right thread, they offer six threads with various
focuses like AI, Networks, Media, theoretical CS and mathematical modeling. . GaTech also offers a computer engineering major in engineering and an industrial engineering degree, thats a lot of computer modeling, as well as manufacturing, statistics, and supply chain focused.
MIT just announced a CS college that is interdisciplinary,
but the also offers EECS department with varying focuses.
Its good to aim high in CS, but then figure out safety schools too. CS degrees are NOT all created equal as much as the ABET supporters on College Confidential want you to believe that. Look for high math content in a CS degree,
so for instance how many semester of linear algebra are required?
Jobs options in CS can vary a lot, in challenges and rewards, and the better school you can afford will open up
more job options and much better graduate school options.
Reach: Harvey Mudd. Some kind of match: RIT, Case Western. Michigan is a high match, since you are in-state. Safety: Michigan Tech (w in-state tuition)
Im sorry but as a graduating civil engineering senior from college most of the advice that you have been given is nonsense!!!
Listen. The best thing you can do for yourself is attend a community college in the area you want to live in. You will save a TON of money and receive just as good if not a better education than your peers who are spending tens of thousands of dollars for a school with a big name.
All engineering students have to take the same college classes in the first two years. Statistics, physics, calculus 1- differential equations, mechanics of materials, statics, dynamics, and so on. Just about all community colleges offer these classes. And you will get much more one on one time with your professors there. I went to Sierra college (a CC in Rocklin, California) and am friends with people who transferred to Cal Poly, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis. You know what they told me after transferring? That they were better prepared than the peers at those institutions and they actually found some of the CC classes to be more challenging.
Transfers from CC’s also have a much better chance of getting in than applicants straight out of high school. For example, in California, if you attend a community college for two years, you have guaranteed admission to at least one UC AND you have priority status to any UC school you apply too.
Please save yourself a huge headache and amount of money!
The OP lives in Michigan, not California. Michigan CCs do not have as good course articulation to UM as California CCs have with UCs and CSUs, and Michigan CCs are much more expensive than California CCs, so the option of starting at CC is less attractive in Michigan than it is in California.
@ucbalumnus yes I am aware that he lives in Michigan, I was using my CA community college as an example. He doesnt have to stay in state if he doesnt want to. He could still go to an out of state CC pay a bit more than the normal price and save a lot of money. Out of curiousity how much is a Michigan CC?
In-state tuition at Michigan CCs is roughly comparable to out-of-state tuition at California CCs, although some Michigan CCs may give lower tuition to in-district students (still significantly higher than in-state tuition at California CCs). California CCs’ in-state tuition is among the lowest in the US, so the great value of starting at CC in California is not as good in most other states.
Going to an out-of-state CC (even California) will not really save money (plus will definitely add living expenses), and will generally not gain in-state residency in the new state. The OP would then have to return to Michigan for upper division course work, and course articulation is likely even worse from out-of-state CCs compared to Michigan CCs.
@ucbalumnus I disagree. Most engineering courses, at least in the first two years tend to transfer pretty easily because all engineering schools teach these subjects. I was able to transfer CC units in claifornia to a private college in Texas no problem!
Also, what kind of math are you using? Some of the recommended schools here can cost over 30k a year! Thats 120K for an education before youve even considered living expenses. Even if he pays an out of state tuition rate of 200 a unit and takes 15 units a semester, he will still only pay 6000 for one year. Thats is a fifth of the cost. He would also qualify for resident tuition in his second year, which is 47 bucks a unit. Its true that california is a more expensive state to live in, but the gross difference between the 2 states wouldnt get you anywhere near the cost of what was suggested.
The OP has 52 college credits, he has in effect already started at a community college (although while still in hs which maintains his eligibility for freshman scholarships). There probably isn’t anything left for him to do at a community college that would actually reduce the number of semesters he’ll need to complete his degree.
The college navigator site https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ can search for community colleges by state and has tuition information. The tuition varies by school in Michigan and sometimes by home address “in district” not just in state and out of state rates.
@BuckeyeMWDSG its going to depend how many count towards an engineering degree. If most of those are GE’s then CC is still a valid option. Most of the 50-60 engineering units you can take at a CC have some kind of prerequisite so its not likely that someone will graduate from high school with an equivalent of two years or an associates in engineering. (I mean if he is, wow, more power to him, thats awesome!) But he did say that he is only in Precalc so that rules out his eligibility for most engineering classes.
http://www.ugadmiss.umich.edu/TCE/Public/CT_TCESearch.aspx is University of Michigan’s transfer credit listing.
Even for Michigan community colleges, it is often the case that courses like calculus 1, 2, 3 do not count as such when transferring to University of Michigan. For example, from Kalamazoo Valley Community College, calculus 2 and 3 transfer only as generic math credit. University of Michigan may be stingier than most schools with respect to transfer credit.
Thanks for all the help!! For me personally the CC might not be the greatest choice because by the time I graduate I’ll have 60+ credits past calc1 in almost all the gen eds I need for college. I’ve also been taking online computer science classes through edx at colleges like MIT, Dartmouth, and Stanford. How much do you think that will help admissions and scholarships?
@Cskindaguy as an example Michigsn is extremely picky on transferring Math and sciences. They have transfer Tuesday session and they will go over your courses and let you know what transfers. Many have to retake many classes. Also you can only transfer so many credits. An admission counsker should help you so you don’t take classes you don’t need.
https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/prospective-students/transfer/transfer-credits.html
OP you have stats that can win full rides, or possibly admission into selective schools where the four year experience with classmates is cherished or the possibility of paying instate for “That School Up North”
Don’t overlook Michigan State’s PA program https://honorscollege.msu.edu/programs/professorial-assistantship.html
Run the npc for: Rice, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Stanford ← Are these all affordable for you, or just some? If these prices don’t work you may need to concentrate on full rides.
Case Western offers merit and is worth an application with your stats even if the npc is a bit high (in the past a visit or showing some interest resulted in an offer to waive the application fee)