adding on to the previous ask about target schools for tj students: current gpa projected to be a low 4.2 post junior year :( and a low-mid 4.3 realistically post 1st sem senior year - trying to major in cs btw are t20s/t-20 cs schools out of the equation - seems so based on naviance scattergrams.
Response from Penelope:
4.2 and 4.3 are not bad! My friends that applied CS mostly just said to not put all of your eggs in one basket when it comes to applying CS. T20 (+ CS) is a nightmare for everyone, even if you have the coveted 4.0 UW and 1600 SAT/36 ACT. If you have any interests outside of CS or CS-adjacent (ECE, math, stats, data sci, etc.), consider applying to some schools under those majors instead if it's possible to combine CS either as a double major or minor or even the potential of switching majors. Make sure you do enough research on that to make sure if it's a good idea / possible.
I think my previous answer to the ask still holds — UMD and Purdue are great choices. UMD is literally closer to home and possibly comparably expensive to state schools. They also love TJ students (and we love them too)! Purdue might be a bit more of a tossup like I said.
T20s (be it overall or major) are just a black box. You don't know till you apply, but also keep in mind that it really doesn't matter where you go for CS unless you're going into like ... quant. Under ABET accreditation, every school teaches the exact same curriculum, so you'll have the same skills in the end.
