Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While SAT is okay in general, it isn't for engineering. What is his math component?
I would scrap that list and focus on a solid tier down - look at U of South Carolina, U of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, if you don't like the South find those equivalents up north.
I advise looking at the scattergrams on Naviance or whatever your school has, which will show his GPA in relation to his peers. I think this will be very enlightening - and whatever you see, it will be harder for an engineering student.

Math 750. Yes, avoiding the south. I don't have a login to Naviance or a code.

Avoiding the south, test you have UT Austin, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech on your list. These are all in the south, OP.

Need to look at
Michigan State
UNH
Delaware
RPI
Stevens
WPI

These schools are your targets

Anonymous wrote:PP. Also have a fallback strategy.

If all the details check out and the major can be guaranteed, consider these for one to two years:

Pitt - branch campus (Johnstown?)
Penn State - branch campus
Michigan - UM-Dearborn, UM-Flint

Maybe DMV community college --> flagship integrations

Also look at colleges that offer co-ops in areas where your son wants to live after graduation. Once you have work experience, school brand matters less (beyond the MIT, Stanford schools).

for UMD, there are only 100 transfer spots available for CS, and that includes both internal and external xfers.

PP. Also have a fallback strategy.

If all the details check out and the major can be guaranteed, consider these for one to two years:

Pitt - branch campus (Johnstown?)
Penn State - branch campus
Michigan - UM-Dearborn, UM-Flint

Maybe DMV community college --> flagship integrations

Also look at colleges that offer co-ops in areas where your son wants to live after graduation. Once you have work experience, school brand matters less (beyond the MIT, Stanford schools).

[mastodon]

Anonymous wrote:Suggestions - WPI, Fordham, Michigan State, Arizona State, University of Rochester, Santa Clara

I'm in Michigan. Michigan State is very popular with 3.5-3.75 students at our high school. It's considered a very fun, solid school.

You need to research the stats and any admissions limitations on CS majors. MSU has capacity constraints on undergrad business that are quite firm. Kids transfer out because they can't get in.

For Naviance, see if your kid knows any seniors who can spot him a few screen grabs. Or request an appointment or screen grab from a guidance counselor.

CS is ultra-competitive. You and DC do need to get on top of what is required.

Prepare to apply very early. Especially to OOS schools where they may be looking for evidence of whether you seriously are interested.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgia Tech has a 6% admission rate for OOS. My son's friend at a top private, with a 4.0 UW and 1580 SAT, was just deferred.

U Washington and Wisconsin might be reasonable reaches.

Not Washington, but maybe Wisconsin . . . .

Neither. Both have gotten more competitive. I have two kids in Engineering - not CS - but good safeties for them were University of Arizona, University of Minnesota, Pitt and even Penn State. I have also found the College Confidential forums to be very helpful with this. Check there and good luck. I would also tell him - if he can be motivated to enter some coding competitions - Congressional App Challenge is a good one. Or to try to develop his own apps/tools/websites. Non-profits can be a great place to start.

Thank you for this information. Arizona, Penn State, and Pitt are definitely good ones to add. I will check out College Confidential.

Apply to Pitt before school starts in the fall an he'll likely hear back in the first two weeks of September.

Good grief NO. No way.

Anonymous wrote:DS wants to major in computer science or engineering. 1350 SAT, will graduate with 5 APs (math, science, foreign language), 3.8 weighted GPA (unweighted 3.5), extra curriculars include 1 varsity sport, one club, and a part time job he's had for years and where he works quite a few hours. We are still hoping he might get that GPA up before the end of the year, but he doesn't seem very motivated. Based on what I usually see on dcum, these stats aren't great, but is the list below reasonable? What should we add?

Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech
UT Austin
U Wisconsin
U Washington Seattle
U Maryland
Ohio State
University of Florida Gainesville
Boston U

He'll have more luck if he can get that SAT score up to 1500 or above.

I’d suggest looking at U of Alabama, Huntsville: https://www.uah.edu/about. I’m pretty sure that GPA represents weighted GPAs.

UAH is strong in STEM areas, well-known in the right fields, and easier overall to get into than the Tuscaloosa campus. Huntsville is a pretty nerdy tech city, too, with lots of scope for internships and co-ops.

My kid with slightly higher stats got into JMU this year from a NOVA public. But he has friends with similar stats who were rejected or deferred. JMU is a target for your kid coming out of NOVA and not a safety. GMU is also a target given the major.

The GPA dropping this year is a problem unless he has a good spring semester. He'll be applying to most schools using "thru end of junior year" grade reports. Downward trends are a red flag. Fall semester grades could help but those aren't typically added until late January. Engineering will be a tough admit regardless. Expand your search into other schools in the northwest, midwest, and the south. Don't expect much merit money, but maybe an offering of in state tuition at some of the larger schools in the south. Look for a few rolling admission schools to maybe get an idea of where he stands early in the fall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he hasn’t been motivated in high school, he would likely struggle in a CS or Engr program at any of these schools. Has he done any CS/Engr extracurricular with leadership roles, or extensive community service?

No leadership roles, plenty of service hours but I think that's not going to be that impressive anymore, but he does have CS related extracurriculars. But it's odd that people keep thinking he will struggle in a STEM program, when that's the only thing he doesn't struggle with in HS. He breezes through math and most science courses, but struggles with anything that involves a lot of reading and writing (English and History mostly). He has A's in all math and science courses (except bio freshman year), and managed A's and B's in English and History until this year, when he is barely keeping it above F.

750 math is not wowing anyone, and getting As in HS math and science in high school doesn’t really mean much if he lacks motivation. I know you don’t want to hear it but my son had 4.0 UW, 800 math, leadership in robotics and still finds Va Tech engineering very challenging. Doesn’t drink or party and is extremely motivated. It’s not just about getting in, but also succeeding while you’re there. Consider ODU, JMU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgia Tech has a 6% admission rate for OOS. My son's friend at a top private, with a 4.0 UW and 1580 SAT, was just deferred.

U Washington and Wisconsin might be reasonable reaches.

Not Washington, but maybe Wisconsin . . . .

Neither. Both have gotten more competitive. I have two kids in Engineering - not CS - but good safeties for them were University of Arizona, University of Minnesota, Pitt and even Penn State. I have also found the College Confidential forums to be very helpful with this. Check there and good luck. I would also tell him - if he can be motivated to enter some coding competitions - Congressional App Challenge is a good one. Or to try to develop his own apps/tools/websites. Non-profits can be a great place to start.

Thank you for this information. Arizona, Penn State, and Pitt are definitely good ones to add. I will check out College Confidential.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While SAT is okay in general, it isn't for engineering. What is his math component?
I would scrap that list and focus on a solid tier down - look at U of South Carolina, U of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, if you don't like the South find those equivalents up north.
I advise looking at the scattergrams on Naviance or whatever your school has, which will show his GPA in relation to his peers. I think this will be very enlightening - and whatever you see, it will be harder for an engineering student.

Math 750. Yes, avoiding the south. I don't have a login to Naviance or a code.

Then get one. Or have your kid get one and sit with the computer and look at it.
We are trying to give you advice, but we don't know your school. A 3.5 unweighted could be a phenomenal GPA or an absolutely terrible one - only you know that. Your school is one of the most important variables and it makes zero sense to crowd source information when you won't do your own homework.

I didn't even know Naviance existed until now. I have done a lot of research, but I can't know what I don't know. I"m not sure why you feel the need to be so rude. Perhaps don't post if you don't feel like being helpful.

I am sorry. Really. I should have said that in a nicer way. Please get this information. It is the number one way for you to come up with a realistic list and it would be far more crushing for you and the sooner you develop a realistic list, the happier you and your kid will be. Again, no need for rudeness and that's my fault.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgia Tech has a 6% admission rate for OOS. My son's friend at a top private, with a 4.0 UW and 1580 SAT, was just deferred.

U Washington and Wisconsin might be reasonable reaches.

Not Washington, but maybe Wisconsin . . . .

Neither. Both have gotten more competitive. I have two kids in Engineering - not CS - but good safeties for them were University of Arizona, University of Minnesota, Pitt and even Penn State. I have also found the College Confidential forums to be very helpful with this. Check there and good luck. I would also tell him - if he can be motivated to enter some coding competitions - Congressional App Challenge is a good one. Or to try to develop his own apps/tools/websites. Non-profits can be a great place to start.