What is an option for my Son

His GPA is 3.507 out of 4.00 In Junior
2 APS and 2 Honors ,1 DE in Junior
2 APS and 2 Honors, 1 DE in Senior
Lot of Extra Circular Activities, Attended Pre College Cyber Program at GMU and lot of Computer classes at GMU
has his own non profit organization
ACT is yet to Take practices test he is scoring around 22
Looking for BS information System East Coast <private, public="" does="" not="" matter="">
Please guide us as we are lost in this admission maze.</private,>

Well, to start with, how well did he like his experience at GMU? Is GMU in your budget? Would it work for him as a safety/match?

Do you have a figure that you are truly ready, willing, and able to pay each year for four years? If he needs a fifth year or an extra semester, do you have the money for that too?

What suggestions has he had from his guidance counselor, high school comp sci teachers, and his instructors at the GMU program?

How about GMU?I

I am sure you know…he needs to up the ACT score. Has he tried the SAT?

Where he currently stands try:

Christopher Newport University
College of Charleston
UNC-Wilmington
WVU
West Chester University (CS)

Not sure this link will work. https://digitalguardian.com/blog/cybersecurity-higher-education-top-cybersecurity-colleges-and-degrees

What’s your budget per year?

Gmu has a test optional application. He could use it. However you’d likely be full pay (either in-state or out of state rates) meaning 28k in-state, 50k Oos…

See if he can take the SAT in August but as of now he should focus on test optional colleges, especially with anything CS related so competitive.

Side-note: I really love the “extra circular activities” typo. I may use this to describe my own life from now on.

He sounds like maybe he’s most inspired by “real world” activities - do you think he would thrive more in a co-op program where work experience is woven into the curriculum?

Drexel could be within reach although he’d be a much more solid candidate if he could pull up his test score a bit
http://drexel.edu/cci/academics/programs/undergraduate-programs/bs-information-systems/

And U of Cincinnati, where the co-op model was pioneered, is a match for his stats, though I’m not sure how much more competitive his major would be than the general case. (And not sure if he’d want the Info Systems major in the business school or the Info Technology major in the IT school.) A 26 ACT or 1240 SAT, combined with his >3.5 GPA, would qualify him for in-state tuition if you’re in VA/MD/DC.
https://business.uc.edu/undergraduate/program-options/bba/information-systems.html
http://cech.uc.edu/it/undergrad-programs/it.html

RIT is another great co-op school which is a bit more competitive than Drexel - worth a look if his scores come up, but in computer-related fields there are a lot of high-stats applicants.

It would be worth having him try the SAT, particularly if running out of time was an issue on the ACT, and/or if his science subscore (which the SAT doesn’t have) was particularly low. There’s free SAT prep available on Khan Academy, and there’s a phone app to make practice convenient.

My DS1 did much better on the SAT. He should try that too. Does he have a psat score to gauge? Can you afford full pay oos? That may open up places like njit. It’s very hands on and have a variety of cs type options. Also can look at vcu . My kid is a cs major and is thriving in college even though his high school stats were so so. He also did a lot of cs stuff on his own in high school.

Thank you, yes I can afford full pay also I have 529 prepaid allocated for 4 years. He is interested in BS information system not pure computer science. In state out of state does not matter all I am looking is 4 to 5 hours of max distance from DC.

Are you DC residents? (Or Maryland or Virginia?) Your cost could be double for a public university out of state, so this matters.

I assume you mean you have a 529 account for him with a considerable amount of money in it. (by “529 pre-paid”). Is that right?

Are you open to Jesuit universities? You can check out University of Scranton. They have a Comp Info systems major. It’s a respectable university, and many students from our area go there. NJIT also has a variety of IT/IS options - I meant to include that in my earlier post. UMBC may be accessible - but not sure unless your son can get a higher test score.

Check out cyberva.virginia.gov - a state site that lists education programs, degrees, certificates at institutions in VA. There are a lot of opportunities in VA, and that prepaid tuition 529 will go far if he finds an applicable program at a state school.

We are VA residents and don’t mind sending him to a good school with out of state tuition. Yes, we have on his name VA 529 prepaid plan.

U Cincinnati Information Technology majors are very good and offer excellent co-ops. He’d need to increase his SAT or act scores though.
Look at test optional colleges too.

4 to 5 hours by car, or is air travel OK?

If U of Cincinnati is considered also look into the U of Toledo as a safer opportunity. Since it’s through their school of business there aren’t coop opportunities but most students get at least one paid internship. They accept over 90 percent of the students who apply so I’d call it a safety. Nice campus in the gothic style.

WVU has a cyber security program:

http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/collegeofengineeringandmineralresources/lanedepartmentofcomputerscienceand/cybersecurity/

Depending on his test scores, he might be eligible for some merit. I also recommend that he try a practice SAT to see how it compares.

Thank you all. He is taking ACT next week fingers crossed. will get ur input once score comes. Thanks once again ^:)^

Yes 4 or 5 hours by car is fine

I’m confused. What is your exact state or district residence? If you have a prepaid 529, what state, and what are the rules for using it within vs outside of that state?

we live in VA and have prepaid from VA