need help with college selection

[Anonymous]

We have a Senior in our house who is making decisions soon as well. How we’ve prioritized decisions (also for engineering, but not CS):

1) Cost

2) Program Strength (size, prestige, career outcomes)

3) Quality of life (amenities like culture, food, nearby cities)

[Anonymous]

My DC is at Purdue and loves it. The tuition has not been raised for 6 years. As an out of state option, it is not nearly as expensive at UMichigan. If your DC is interested in being an RA, they pay really well. They get their housing (single room) and full board plus a stipend.

[Anonymous]

State universities have had a rough decade. The state of Illinois has been paralyzed by a massive budget crisis and it has hit their universities hard. In other states, hostile state legislatures have cut funding or done other things that undermine their higher ed systems. Not all of this affects undergraduate education but some of it definitely does. It's important to be an informed consumer. Look carefully at the finances of the institutions to see just what all that out of state tuition you'd be paying is going toward. Look beyond the marketing materials and pay attention to class sizes, percentage of courses taught by tenure-line faculty, four and six year graduation rates, caps on popular majors, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State universities have had a rough decade. The state of Illinois has been paralyzed by a massive budget crisis and it has hit their universities hard. In other states, hostile state legislatures have cut funding or done other things that undermine their higher ed systems. Not all of this affects undergraduate education but some of it definitely does. It's important to be an informed consumer. Look carefully at the finances of the institutions to see just what all that out of state tuition you'd be paying is going toward. Look beyond the marketing materials and pay attention to class sizes, percentage of courses taught by tenure-line faculty, four and six year graduation rates, caps on popular majors, etc.

I don’t want to hijack this thread, but I think it would be great if you could start a thread just listing states and putting a giving a yay/boo/? rating for what’s happened to states’ flagship universities.

Even if some of your ratings were controversial, maybe that would spark some useful discussions.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
Thank you for all of your responses.
The whole applying for colleges is a new process for us.
So did not think much about OOS tuition, affordability at that time of applying.

kind of disappointed that UIUC, Purdue, Georgia tech, UMD did not give any scholarships in spite of high stats, dual enrollment and leadership roles.

I will post back on this thread after a few days after other colleges announce any scholarships.
That will give some idea how much each college actually costs.

[Anonymous]

UIUC, Michigan, UMD and Georgia Tech are all top 20 for Comp Science
I would try to choose between these as long as the finances make sense.
Does your kid have any preferences wrt campus culture etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
Thank you for all of your responses.
The whole applying for colleges is a new process for us.
So did not think much about OOS tuition, affordability at that time of applying.

kind of disappointed that UIUC, Purdue, Georgia tech, UMD did not give any scholarships in spite of high stats, dual enrollment and leadership roles.

I will post back on this thread after a few days after other colleges announce any scholarships.
That will give some idea how much each college actually costs.

None of them give merit really. You should have looked into that before applying. Purdue gives $8K max and it is never to the most applied schools. GT has to give so much to their state, they make that school run on OOS tuition alone. UIUC has financial issues and I have yet to see anyone get a dime from that school OOS. UMD is hit or miss. They can sometimes give a huge scholarship and other times nothing. But again, state schools depend on OOS tuition. Michigan is pretty good with financial aid, but not great with merit aid. So unfortunately this doesn't help you.

Out of all of those Purdue and UMD are the most cost effective. Living at Purdue is probably much cheaper but when adding in travel (even if you drive) they probably even out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
Thank you for all of your responses.
The whole applying for colleges is a new process for us.
So did not think much about OOS tuition, affordability at that time of applying.

kind of disappointed that UIUC, Purdue, Georgia tech, UMD did not give any scholarships in spite of high stats, dual enrollment and leadership roles.

I will post back on this thread after a few days after other colleges announce any scholarships.
That will give some idea how much each college actually costs.

If all things are equal, also consider campus life. I was in state for Rutgers but the campus wasn't the traditional experience I wanted. What activities does your child want to do? Are they into sports? Things like that. I went to UMD and my brother was always jealous of the sports culture we had that his school lacked. Obviously this won't be a high priority but just another consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a Senior in our house who is making decisions soon as well. How we’ve prioritized decisions (also for engineering, but not CS):

1) Cost

2) Program Strength (size, prestige, career outcomes)

3) Quality of life (amenities like culture, food, nearby cities)

Hi PP. I’d add program characteristics to 2). Some schools weed kids out more than others. Direct admit doesn’t always mean the same thing. Some have more entrenched coop programs than others.... there are a ton of differences. Go on like to each school’s website and read the information for continuing students (things like how to declare a major, can I study abroad, career fair...). Stop looking at the admissions info because that is all sales.

The schools are surprisingly different, so due diligence is in order before spending the money.

Good luck and congrats to your kid! We were in your shoes a year ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ann Arbor is a MUCH nicer town than College Park. It is a fun, safe, Big Ten college town & campus.

OP said nothing about the University of Maryland. What are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
Thank you for all of your responses.
The whole applying for colleges is a new process for us.
So did not think much about OOS tuition, affordability at that time of applying.

kind of disappointed that UIUC, Purdue, Georgia tech, UMD did not give any scholarships in spite of high stats, dual enrollment and leadership roles.

I will post back on this thread after a few days after other colleges announce any scholarships.
That will give some idea how much each college actually costs.

UMD has not yet awarded merit money, other than inviting candidates to Banneker Key interviews. I think it prioritizes in-state applicants.

[Anonymous]

First your D needs to decide Engineering or CS. Those are two different animals. If she can't yet, go for school that is good for both.
I am GT alumni and I am biased. However, if it is Engineering GT is hard to bit. I am not sure it makes sense to pay for GT for CS. On the other hand in GT you are admitted to college, not major and switch majors are not hard. Is she admitted to school of Engineering?
Anyway keep us posted. I have 11th grader with similar list of schools and interests, so we are going to be in the same situation next year.
Do you mind to share stats of your daughter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State universities have had a rough decade. The state of Illinois has been paralyzed by a massive budget crisis and it has hit their universities hard. In other states, hostile state legislatures have cut funding or done other things that undermine their higher ed systems. Not all of this affects undergraduate education but some of it definitely does. It's important to be an informed consumer. Look carefully at the finances of the institutions to see just what all that out of state tuition you'd be paying is going toward. Look beyond the marketing materials and pay attention to class sizes, percentage of courses taught by tenure-line faculty, four and six year graduation rates, caps on popular majors, etc.

....cuts largely due to Republican governors/state legislatures. People don't realize that when they vote R, they are voting for tuition to go up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First your D needs to decide Engineering or CS. Those are two different animals. If she can't yet, go for school that is good for both.
I am GT alumni and I am biased. However, if it is Engineering GT is hard to bit. I am not sure it makes sense to pay for GT for CS. On the other hand in GT you are admitted to college, not major and switch majors are not hard. Is she admitted to school of Engineering?
Anyway keep us posted. I have 11th grader with similar list of schools and interests, so we are going to be in the same situation next year.
Do you mind to share stats of your daughter?

some colleges have computer science in college of science and some have it in school of engineering and some have only computer engineering. hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UIUC, Michigan, UMD and Georgia Tech are all top 20 for Comp Science
I would try to choose between these as long as the finances make sense.
Does your kid have any preferences wrt campus culture etc

Agree, all other things being equal these 4 should be your top 4. But if Ohio State comes in least expensive and cost is a big factor, it’s fine for CS too. But the 4 programs you listed are really top tier.