Tell me about the CS program at William and Mary
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Anonymous
Kids' stats are higher at WM. |
Anonymous
not for CS. |
Anonymous
They are one spot apart given that a bunch of schools are 65 and a bunch of schools are 72 with no numbers in between. So all those schools are essentially the same. |
Anonymous
2023-2024 According to their data page, Virginia Tech CS acceptance rate roughly matches their overall acceptance rate (57%) which is overall higher than W&M 36.5% rate. Overall, VT's SATs are: 1250-1410, (54% submitted any standardized test scores) WM are 1360-1510, (62% submitted any standardized test scores). Overall average GPA at VT is 4.33 at WM it's 4.53. So unless you can point me to a data page where the average CS kid at VT is above WM average overall GPA of 4.53 and mean SAT of 1450 (which is above VT 75th percentile)--there's nothing in this data that suggest VT is harder to get into. |
Anonymous
Those are grad school rankings. Which is odd, because WM has virtually no CS grad school. |
Anonymous
No those are undergraduate rankings... It's in the title: "US News 2023 Ranking of Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs" |
Anonymous
UVA also offers a BA in Computer Science. |
Anonymous
Some are; some aren't. There's a range everywhere. |
Anonymous
The 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles are all higher at WM by quite a bit. And since fewer kids have higher stats, that means it's harder to get into. The admissions rate is also lower at WM. Doesn't mean there will be some kids who would get into WM vs VT--admissions isn't 100% predictable on a person by person basis. If I were a kid who was interested in CS for sure but wanted it in the context of a broader degree (i.e., through arts and sciences not through a college of engineering), UVA and WM are the key options in-state. If I had the stats for both (they are nearly identical) and I liked both schools I would say the best strategy would be to ED at WM because once you're in, you can major in CS with no further hurdles. And WM has a higher acceptance rate than UVA. It's a limited enrollment major at UVA, which means you would have to major in something else if you don't make the cut--and if you really wanted CS then you would need to transfer, which would suck if you were settled into the school. |
Anonymous
| Something wrong with a list that has W&M CS above Cal Poly SLO CS. |
Anonymous
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OP - not a cutthroat school. Lots to do and lots of good stuff to eat & shops within walking distance.
Morning runs through CW, tons of clubs, Greek life is great for mine but not necessary. My DC is very very happy there Good luck with your search |
Anonymous
| Parent of a W&M STEM major but not CS. Pretty happy place with lots to do on and off campus. Rigorous but not cut-throat. |
Anonymous
Is W&M good with merit for high stat kids who don't meet need or are they stingy like VT and UVA? |
Anonymous
Overall averaged difference is actually much less than I thought. CS/STEM at VT is most likely at least on par if not higher. |
Anonymous
Nope--W&M offers virtually no merit aid--and has so many high stats kids it's hard to differentiate yourself that way. There are a couple of big merit grants each year. Others get funding for a summer project. The one good $ thing about WM is that they are very good at funding kids with need, and will use grants when possible--I guess the other good thing is that most kids who wants one can probably find a research job on campus that pays $18-20/hr. My kid regularly did 10hrs/wk from Freshman spring on and then worked winter break and summer break. The nice thing is these jobs build up the resume and are real research work, not just an inflow of cash. |