Since you value a collaborative atmosphere, research Hamilton’s CS department. Statistically, you’d match well with the students there. Hamilton becomes a stronger choice if you also have academic and extracurricular interests outside of CS, so that would be something to keep in mind.
https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/departments/Home?dept=Computer%20Science
https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/comp-sci-department-hosts-college-computing-conference
Hamilton’s CS faculty has 3 tenured, 2 tenure track, 1 visitor, 1 non-tenure-track, 1 retired: https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/departments/Faculty
Upper level CS courses seem to be limited: https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/departments/Courses-and-Requirements?dept=Computer%20Science
@ucbalumnus: Note that Hamilton’s approach to CS instruction appears to have evolved beyond conventionally defined topic material:
https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/departments/Home?dept=Computer%20Science
I’m not sure if I plugged something in wrong, but my net price for Hamilton, according to their NPC, is somewhere around $40K. The calculated EFC looks quite off from what was given by FAFSA.
As a check, try an alternative cost estimator: https://myintuition.org/.
@apple23 Exactly right
How would you say their CS department stacks up against other top programs? I’m intrigued by the teaching style described on their website, but how will that translate into opportunities, given the campus’s rural location?
I think $40k sounds high for a $120k income. Does your family own a business or have other assets? The FAFSA EFC only tells you if you qualify for a Pell Grant. It doesn’t tell you what colleges might cost you. That’s what the NPCs are for.
Hamilton’s CS program distinguishes itself on a few levels. Class sizes are notably small, with from 6-26 students. Its professors participated in the design of a model computer science curriculum for liberal arts colleges. Two cowrote a CS textbook and other materials that have been used nationally. As appropriate for a liberal arts college, you would be asked as a student to consider the impact of computer innovation across society. As you can see from Hamilton’s site, its CS graduates have access to a choice of careers, from software engineer (as you’d expect) to Marine Corps aviator.
My parents own a business and they both work there, but they don’t have any other assets (aside from our house). All of the $120K comes from the business.
I don’t think the NPCs work for families who own businesses. @thumper1 will probably have more insight about how owning a business might affect net costs. I think it matters whether the $120k income is gross or net. The value of the business may matter too.
“Aside from our house” is a big variable. Between the business and the home, different FA formulae will yield widely differing EFC’s - which clearly is what you’re seeing. Have you run the NPC’s for all the full-need-met private schools that have been suggested? It may in fact be that the super-reaches are the only ones worth applying to, from a financial standpoint. (And the financial safeties where merit would put the cost below PSU/Pitt.)
Hamilton uses CSS PROFILE. Very possible it expects $40k.
You might look at Case Western. It is one of the few schools that can offer significant merit. The npc won’t be good, but it is popular among families in our area with business income and significant non retirement assets for providing FA offers competitive with our state flagship’s in state sticker for some students. Case is not a safety school - merit there is unpredictable.
Have you had the ‘money talk’ with your parents? Have you set up a cash flow worksheet for Penn State? Penn State increases tuition once a certain number of credits have been earned. http://tuition.psu.edu/tuitiondynamic/tabledrivenrates.aspx?location=up
If you plan to take out loans have you and your parents utilized online student loan calculators to review what your (and possibly their) monthly payments will be? It is shocking to a lot of parents that the interest rate on loans is as high as it is and that there are fees, too.
Have realistic plans to pay not just for the first year, but all four - and one for making payments if loans are used, too.
What about Haverford or Lehigh? These are rated higher than Hamilton for CS on Niche.
Yeah, my parents basically told me that I shouldn’t apply to any safeties and that I should just shotgun T10 schools for CS (not for financial reasons, however). I obviously know that only shotgunning super reaches is a horrible idea, so I’ve gotten some security by applying to Pitt and Penn State. Other full-need-met private schools appear to cost around the same as those two.
After running the NPCs, the super reaches do turn out to be comparably cheaper (Harvard and Stanford would both be under $20K, for example); the only problem is getting in.
My daughter is a current freshman at Colgate. She is leaning towards doing a CS major and a double minor. Her stats are close to yours and similar achievements (AP scholar, NHS etc). Fall 2020 the school will offer the no loan initiative as part of their third century plan which I think will mean upping the grants. The school is also expanding diversity in campus. Our combined income is more or less around 100K from family of 5. My daughter received the best FA from Colgate compared to RIT, RPI and Clarkson. We also considered Colgate’s active and wide network of alums who from what I researched are a great support for students after grad. Good luck with your search!
Undergraduate CS programs differ in their emphases, so I’m not sure that you will be able to find a general ranking relevant to your interests. For example, for graphics and other direct applications, RIT would place among the top schools, though its programs may not place at this same level for CS theory. The best program for you, then, will depend on what you seek. Nonetheless, for well-rounded programs, suitable for various interests, Lehigh and Brown represent schools you should research further based on what you’ve indicated so far. Penn State and Northeastern from your current list offer similarly diverse programs as well.
Regarding the excellent Colgate (reply #56), it’s recognized as “one of the first colleges to introduce an independent computer science program.”
Re: #42
The quoted statement is not unique to Hamilton’s CS department.
Hamilton has only seven 300-level CS courses, five offered this year. Only one (307) seems to have relatively unusual content compared to offerings by other CS departments.