I don't know what the admissions process looks like these days so I'm next to no help, but that's a nice looking list. Good luck!
GTech is great, but it can get pretty soul-crushing. This is probably true for most engineering colleges though, now that I think about it. Also, as a native Georgian, I think Atlanta is pretty ick personally. One of my least favorite cities.
I have a huge soft spot for UMich despite being completely unaffiliated. I've heard really great things about Ann Arbor too. Sigh.
Only thing I can say is to apply for schools you can see yourself attending; don't toss applications at schools you'd never attend even if you were accepted.
Ah about the verbal.. that is disheartening T_T.. I took the October SAT and to be honest, It was a lot harder than I hoped for I hope I can improve my Verbal in the very least..
Your stats put you in range for top 30 schools (not top 10-15, but anywhere outside of that you should stand a decent shot). Writing is going to be very important for you-- your AP and SAT scores say that's your weak point, but the essay is what really counts for college applications. I highly recommend reading the Elements of Style if you haven't already, it will do wonders. Show your essays to anyone who has writing chops, don't worry about being embarrassed, better they see it and help you revise than you send it in unrevised.
Your college list right now seems pretty basic-- do a little research on schools which have good programs in Engineering or Psych first (or something else that piques your interest), put them in an Excel spreadsheet with tuition costs, SAT scores, deadlines, scholarships and other info there. Keep an eye out for scholarships-- there are a lot of them floating around, and most schools outside of the top 10-20 offer some sort of scholarship program to apply through/ take advantage of.
I'm in Atlanta in college (at the other school, not GTech). Atlanta is not a bad city to go to college in, though you will need a car or learn to plan life around MARTA.
Admissions probably have gotten even more crazy than when I applied just a couple years ago so I don't know how some of the public schools are nowadays. Ivies are even more insane than when I looked (like they're what, 7% admittance rate now? I think my year I was looking at 11-13%).
Though obviously you have good credentials, class rank isn't end all be all considering that you have a 3.9 with good stats and that's "only" top 50% 0_o
I'll graduate georgia tech this spring for engineering, so I don't know as much about comp sci (I mildly know a couple people in comp sci, but not anything to give any special insight). But I was going to say that all the reputable public engineering schools probably have good comp sci as well (or really any STEM)-- georgia tech, virginia tech, michigan, illinois, purdue, texas a&m, california schools--and you already have identified that sentiment on your list. Though as you have also identified, going to school out of state is expensive.
I emphasize public schools there because, at least for undergraduate course work, I have grown to doubt that it really matters where you go all that much, and in general public schools are going to have good atmospheres, lower costs, and equivalent opportunities and education.
Georgia tech's first deadline when I applied 4 years ago was nonbinding and super early, like I heard I was in first week of november or something ridiculous. You may have actually already missed that first deadline but it doesn't really hurt to apply sooner than later (compared to other schools that have binding early decision or you don't hear until like march after applying by December 31).
Anyways but that's not necessarily to plug georgia tech, but it has a strong reputation for a reason.
Private school wise I dunno hwo their finances work as much, but for instance rensselaer is in new york. Dunno if that would be relevant.
I think my friend got offered a pretty hefty scholarship thing to alabama for comp sci; if finances really matter, various public schools may have good financil incentives (or at least, sometimes make up the difference between out of state cost so you're basically instate). That gives some flexibility on where you can go, but you should choose something that would make you reasonably happy.
But what people said is true, internships or coops etc matter a lot more. Actually, I can't really say that since I'm about to graduate and only had 1 brief summer internship (don't know whether I will get a job easily or not), but in STEM fields you will learn lots of "hard" skills [meaning specific/technical as opposed to soft skills] that you may never use again (eg formal math theory stuff, etc) while also not learning many of the "Hard" skills that will be used in the job. School is supposed to show you can handle the material, but when you apply for stuff they aren't exactly interested in whether you have coded XYZ before, just if you could do it if needed to be trained.
Are you thinking top-20 schools + Ivies? Or more like good, but not great schools? So like, Yale/Brown level, or Vanderbilt/Georgetown level, or the UC schools level?
Umich is an amazing place speaking as a current student. As long as you're committed to going out and getting it, you can easily have access to resources that are on par or beyond what the Ivy League can offer you. Particularly in engineering we have most of them beat in terms of quality of the program.
Admittance into the Engineering school can be kind of tough. I had a pretty easy time getting in because I somehow got a 35 on the ACT. I'd say you probably have a pretty good shot though as long as you write your essays well.
Other than that, glhf. Start your applications early (I started applying here on october 30th for a Nov 1 deadline. bad decision). Also, don't stress too much. Wherever you end up will probably be awesome, and you'll look back and laugh on these 6 months a lot.
Lastly, how do you have like 9K posts without even being out of high school...
Its pretty funny that you care so much about going to a good school yet at the same time you're considering majoring in psychology. "Prestige" won't pay the bills after graduation.
Also, don't discount how important costs are, especially for out-of-state and private schools. Taking on $50k+ debt will put a huge burden on your standard of living for around a decade after graduation (unless you're shifting it onto your parents).
On October 07 2013 13:54 Whatson wrote: Are you thinking top-20 schools + Ivies? Or more like good, but not great schools? So like, Yale/Brown level, or Vanderbilt/Georgetown level, or the UC schools level?
Probably like UC school level
On October 07 2013 14:18 packrat386 wrote: Umich is an amazing place speaking as a current student. As long as you're committed to going out and getting it, you can easily have access to resources that are on par or beyond what the Ivy League can offer you. Particularly in engineering we have most of them beat in terms of quality of the program.
Admittance into the Engineering school can be kind of tough. I had a pretty easy time getting in because I somehow got a 35 on the ACT. I'd say you probably have a pretty good shot though as long as you write your essays well.
Other than that, glhf. Start your applications early (I started applying here on october 30th for a Nov 1 deadline. bad decision). Also, don't stress too much. Wherever you end up will probably be awesome, and you'll look back and laugh on these 6 months a lot.
Lastly, how do you have like 9K posts without even being out of high school...
Lol I joined TL the summer before my 8th grade. (August 2009) LR Thread and Liquibet boosted my post pretty fast. Plus I played 30+ games of mafia >_>
My school actually has connections to Umich. Roughly 10% of our school goes there.
On October 07 2013 14:28 iamho wrote: Its pretty funny that you care so much about going to a good school yet at the same time you're considering majoring in psychology. "Prestige" won't pay the bills after graduation.
Also, don't discount how important costs are, especially for out-of-state and private schools. Taking on $50k+ debt will put a huge burden on your standard of living for around a decade after graduation (unless you're shifting it onto your parents).
If I were to major in psych, it would probably be a different set of schools I'm trying to get into. maybe i shouldn't have said that I considered it. It's just on my mind as something I like to learn about >_>
i had similar stats to u out of high school and i got rejected everywhere.
my advice would be to go to community college, do well, and reapply as a transfer (srs). if u don't phuck around and work hard u'll save a lot of $$ this way.
You should only go wherever you can get a free ride. College education is vastly overpriced and you don't learn anything anyway. No piece of paper or name on your resume in this economy or in the future economy will be worth the heaps of debt you would incur by going to a school that lets you in at full or near full cost. You are seriously making a huge mistake if you go to a school that is slightly higher ranked but will cost you actual money. You can learn all you need to know by reading books on your own and/or working in the industry you want to work in.
On October 07 2013 17:00 IgnE wrote: You should only go wherever you can get a free ride. College education is vastly overpriced and you don't learn anything anyway. No piece of paper or name on your resume in this economy or in the future economy will be worth the heaps of debt you would incur by going to a school that lets you in at full or near full cost. You are seriously making a huge mistake if you go to a school that is slightly higher ranked but will cost you actual money. You can learn all you need to know by reading books on your own and/or working in the industry you want to work in.
To a point, I agree that college costs way more than is reasonable.
On the other hand (unfortunately), connections do matter. For example the big consulting companies only recruit through certain top-ranked schools, so its near-impossible to get an internship from one of them through applying through their website/ off-campus recruiting. The relationships a school's career center with a company, and your relationship with the career center, go a long way towards getting a job. Then there's the people you meet-- go to a more fancy school, chances are you'll go to class with some rich or well-connected people. That kind of stuff isn't solely restricted to business either-- higher ranked schools have better funding for research and stuff and better reps, which will also help you.
I don't think its right to go in with the mindset "college is overpriced (it is), I'm going to go for as little as possible". Think of it more as investment-- you will get a certain set of technical knowledge (most of which you will never use), but also memories, friends and connections. It is best to pay something for a decent college you will be happy at rather than be on scholarship at some huge school with 40K people, very few of which are your type. Either way, weigh the costs and benefits carefully.
I do ask myself why I didn't just go to some random public school on full scholarship sometimes. Classes would be easy and I would theoretically receive special attention because I'd be honors or something. Still, I would probably have been bored as heck and spent most of my time playing video games and on TL (I'd probably have a much higher post count). My school now is a lot of work (my fault for double-majoring), but I've met a lot of really cool people as well, and gotten to do a few cool things.
I'm probably not going to reply for a day or two, as I want to save my 4K post for something a bit more special.
On October 07 2013 15:00 vlaric wrote: i had similar stats to u out of high school and i got rejected everywhere.
Where did you apply? I know people with significantly worse "stats" than that who got into some (if not all) of the places that they applied to.
UC Berkeley, Irvine, San Diego.
Those must be some of the more selective schools in your state system. I know in particular UC Berkeley is probably pretty high demand.
I come from Kansas, and here if you have a 21+ on the ACT or 1000+ on the SAT (I forget which 2 sections, but one is math) then you're guaranteed to be able to get into the liberal arts school at KU. Just about nobody that I know (including people not from kansas) was unable to get into one of their state schools.
Good luck dude. Just remember that the college process does not define you. Don't do what I did and cry at every denial (I fell through the cracks so I cried a lot lol), buck up and with every acceptance look at a possible amazing new life .
Btw, I just checked up on it and your "stats" are within the middle 50% of all of the SUNY schools that I know off the top of my head. I think you'll do fine as far as getting in somewhere.
On October 07 2013 17:00 IgnE wrote: You should only go wherever you can get a free ride. College education is vastly overpriced and you don't learn anything anyway. No piece of paper or name on your resume in this economy or in the future economy will be worth the heaps of debt you would incur by going to a school that lets you in at full or near full cost. You are seriously making a huge mistake if you go to a school that is slightly higher ranked but will cost you actual money. You can learn all you need to know by reading books on your own and/or working in the industry you want to work in.
To a point, I agree that college costs way more than is reasonable.
On the other hand (unfortunately), connections do matter. For example the big consulting companies only recruit through certain top-ranked schools, so its near-impossible to get an internship from one of them through applying through their website/ off-campus recruiting. The relationships a school's career center with a company, and your relationship with the career center, go a long way towards getting a job. Then there's the people you meet-- go to a more fancy school, chances are you'll go to class with some rich or well-connected people. That kind of stuff isn't solely restricted to business either-- higher ranked schools have better funding for research and stuff and better reps, which will also help you.
I don't think its right to go in with the mindset "college is overpriced (it is), I'm going to go for as little as possible". Think of it more as investment-- you will get a certain set of technical knowledge (most of which you will never use), but also memories, friends and connections. It is best to pay something for a decent college you will be happy at rather than be on scholarship at some huge school with 40K people, very few of which are your type. Either way, weigh the costs and benefits carefully.
I do ask myself why I didn't just go to some random public school on full scholarship sometimes. Classes would be easy and I would theoretically receive special attention because I'd be honors or something. Still, I would probably have been bored as heck and spent most of my time playing video games and on TL (I'd probably have a much higher post count). My school now is a lot of work (my fault for double-majoring), but I've met a lot of really cool people as well, and gotten to do a few cool things.
I'm probably not going to reply for a day or two, as I want to save my 4K post for something a bit more special.
Connections only matter if you are going to an ivy or ivy+, are "ambitious", want to get a job in consulting, and are good at networking. Yeah, if you go to an ivy you might get some nice alumni connections for getting in at goldman sachs so you can work 70 hour work weeks for a bigger than usual salary. But why would you want to do that?
You are vastly overstating the value of mid tier college's alumni network. It's definitely not worth an extra $20k a year. The most important thing in determining your success after college is figuring out what you want to do, which usually requires figuring out why you want to do it. This is necessarily an individual thing. There is a path that society says will get you what you want:
1. join a bunch of extracurriculars and volunteer so you can get into a good college! 2. apply to all the colleges and go to the best one 3. get into a great college that costs a lot of money, is the most prestigious one you can get into, and has great amenities 4. graduate and get your degree 5. enjoy your high paying job, you are well on your way to the american dream, and you've earned it!
here is what it actually is:
1. join a bunch of extracurriculars and volunteer so you can get into an expensive college! 2. apply to a bunch of colleges so you can avoid going to the cheap state option, even though the education is roughly the same for 90% of colleges 3. go to the really expensive college, but you can afford it because of students loans, no biggie 4. graduate in the middle of your class after spending 4 years partying and learning about life while in the middle of an educational resort paid for by student loans 5. oh you aren't qualified for any job you want!, better take some unpaid internships! 6. what, you need to pay bills? are you too good to flip burgers now with your big fancy degree? welcome to the service industry 7. you still aren't qualified for any jobs and no one is hiring, time to take some more internships so you can get the 2-5 years experience for an entry level job 8. ???????? 9. finally get an acceptable job in your mid to late 20s where you are overworked and underpaid as all the profit from your toil goes to the owner and as you realize you will have to look for another job to ever get a significant promotion, because there's no room for job growth at your current company, but continue paying bills on your vastly overpriced education that you could have gotten pretty much anywhere
So like I said. You are making a really dumb decision if you can go somewhere for free or nearly free and you decide to go to a "better" school. Don't let those who have already made their decision to waste a bunch of money dissuade you of this. You sound like a guy with above average intelligence, from a middle class upbringing, with no connections. Some part of you wants to believe people when they say that the college you pick can change your life, but the reality is that you aren't a genius level prodigy, you have no money, and you have no connections. You likely don't even know what you want to do with your life. Spending 25k-40k a year is not worth it and won't help you figure those things out. It's much better to be debt-free. Any true success for a person of your background requires inherent motivation and soul-searching. You can't just follow the path that your teachers, friends, parents, and society at large tell you will make you happy. They are lying.
EPT
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