Our Current Situation - Not thrilled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this isn't even a legit post. First it's a son then it's a daughter who applied. Then, you've got a straight-A kid with great stats and EC's and you don't even apply to the UVA or VT in-state CS programs? I'm getting strong BS vibes on this whole post...

OP said kid DID apply to UVA and did NOT like VT for many reasons and did not apply there. If you would have read the thread you would know that. Just bc the school is ranked highly and in-state (VT) doesn't mean the kid has to apply if they can't see themselves attending.

Why isn't UVA in the OP then? And if you don't like your best "match" in-state option and so you don't even apply there, and don't really apply to many match schools at all, how can you be shocked that you end up with safeties as your options? I also find it weird to hate VTech so much you don't apply there as an in-state CS major unless you legitimately would rather go to JHU or whatever... which seems dumb.

[Anonymous]

^^ Sorry, should be JMU (James Madison) not JHU, which would probably mean Hopkins for most people, which is obviously a fantastic school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Purdue cs is not a likely for anyone, unless you are one of the 10 best computer scientists in Indiana.

LOL, +1. Purdue CS is ranked 16 and probably will be in the top 10 soon at least for AI where they are making a major push. I know they let a lot of average kids in to study farming or whatnot but for CS, it's not a safety. Purdue is also top 5 for engineering in most disciplines so technical crowds are well familiar with it's merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Purdue cs is not a likely for anyone, unless you are one of the 10 best computer scientists in Indiana.

LOL, +1. Purdue CS is ranked 16 and probably will be in the top 10 soon at least for AI where they are making a major push. I know they let a lot of average kids in to study farming or whatnot but for CS, it's not a safety. Purdue is also top 5 for engineering in most disciplines so technical crowds are well familiar with it's merit.

Please. Either stop with the flyover bias or stop eating. Multi-generation family members have attended Purdue ag school, then return to family farms and contribute to their communities, including being school board members/presidents and Dem County party chairs/state officials who are trying to keep the party alive in the state.

Yeah, Purdue allows in a lot of in-state folks because that is what state schools do. But anyone who DNK Purdue's rep in STEM/related fields does so at their own peril.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Purdue cs is not a likely for anyone, unless you are one of the 10 best computer scientists in Indiana.

LOL, +1. Purdue CS is ranked 16 and probably will be in the top 10 soon at least for AI where they are making a major push. I know they let a lot of average kids in to study farming or whatnot but for CS, it's not a safety. Purdue is also top 5 for engineering in most disciplines so technical crowds are well familiar with it's merit.

Please. Either stop with the flyover bias or stop eating. Multi-generation family members have attended Purdue ag school, then return to family farms and contribute to their communities, including being school board members/presidents and Dem County party chairs/state officials who are trying to keep the party alive in the state.

Yeah, Purdue allows in a lot of in-state folks because that is what state schools do. But anyone who DNK Purdue's rep in STEM/related fields does so at their own peril.

meh

[Anonymous]

Bumping this to hear how OP’s DS did with GT, Rice? Hoping everyone is feeling better about results. FYI I think Pitt is great option.

[Anonymous]

OP Here

Accepted as CS major at:
Rice (so I guess you can have 2 STEM LORs)
GT (after deferral)
Purdue (after deferral)
VCU
GMU
PITT
Boulder (exploratory)

Rejected:
Duke
CMU
UIUC
UWash

WL:
UW Madison

Currently still deciding and leaning towards Purdue

[Anonymous]

OP - forgot

Rejected at UT Austin

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Here

Accepted as CS major at:
Rice (so I guess you can have 2 STEM LORs)
GT (after deferral)
Purdue (after deferral)
VCU
GMU
PITT
Boulder (exploratory)

Rejected:
Duke
CMU
UIUC
UWash

WL:
UW Madison

Currently still deciding and leaning towards Purdue

So after all that angst kid ended up with some pretty great options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eagle Scouts are only seen as a significant achievement by people who are into scouts ..which is a fast declining minority. It’s not a particularly difficult rank to achieve as long as you don’t want to quit scouts. Decades ago the projects and community service aspect was unique but now it’s lackluster compared to what other top candidates are doing. It might carry more importance if the kid is applying to a military service academy but it’s non consequential for a good CS program.

Frankly, it is a huge benefit for CS kids. Why? Because kids who stuck with Scouting to get to Eagle have had to take on leadership roles, conduct meetings, make presentations, speak in front of groups, teach younger Scouts, research, review and plan group trips, research, review and plan budgets, and communicate effectively with younger and older kids, and adults. They are largely “nerds”, but they have started down the path of learning all the skills a good and effective manager needs to do well. Something most CS kids have no clue about.

If you think your kid is a potential engineering/CS kid - get them in Scouting.

Hilarious, scouts is the last thing to encourage if they are interested in CS. Tutor underprivileged kids in math, get on math and science competitions teams, execrable at an instrument, compete in hackathons, start a stem club, build apps for non profits, take a linguistics class at community college.

And, while worth while (if actually done), none of that provides leadership, communication and group management skills and experience.

How does that work?

My kid was accepted as part of a “Presidential Scholarship” group at a college not far from us. It was a safety for him, but —- if he could go for free that would certainly put it high in the list. The candidates all had some academic money in their pockets, but this really was one of those enticements to get higher level kids. He and I went. Parents were invited so they could pitch us while the kids were doing what they did. As related to me later - the kids were separated into groups of 10 at round tables. They were given an esoteric project to prepare for a group presentation in 2 hours. (They never actually did any presentation. The point was to see who could work together and come up with a basically presentable plan and school leadership were watching 1 per 2 tables. And - really - they were looking to see who were potentially effective leaders. My kid said he sat back for a couple minutes while 2 took over and said -you take this, you do this etc. People at the table complained quickly. And, he applied what he learned in Scouts as a Troop Leader. Asked everyone around the table to think about what they wanted to do for 3 minutes then everyone would go around the table to make their pitch. “I’m pretty good at ….I can do that….” Still didn’t work to get one of the 3 full rides. He was offered free tuition for 4 years. He did better elsewhere. But - that’s the kind iof leadership and management skills you start to build with Scouts. The reality is you don’t get that stuff anywhere else. It doesn’t make you an expert, but it does start you down the correct path.

Where did your Scout end up going?

[Anonymous]

OP seems like it all worked out just fine! Congrats!

[Anonymous]

Talk about 26 pages of crying over nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Here

Accepted as CS major at:
Rice (so I guess you can have 2 STEM LORs)
GT (after deferral)
Purdue (after deferral)
VCU
GMU
PITT
Boulder (exploratory)

Rejected:
Duke
CMU
UIUC
UWash

WL:
UW Madison

Currently still deciding and leaning towards Purdue

Georgia Tech for CS or Purdue CS appear to be the best options. (Rejections from UTexas-Austin & UWash_Seattle for CS should be the expectation.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk about 26 pages of crying over nothing.

Perspective matters. When OP first posted, OP's son was looking at rejections or deferrals probably at the schools he wanted to get into (reaches and targets), and acceptances at the safety schools. In the end, it worked out -- but given that many well-qualified kids were deferred then rejected, it was cause for concern at the time.

[Anonymous]

OP - congratulations to you son on his great choices. This whole process is brutal.