Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Vanderbilt - The Southern Ivy Asian Parents Haven't Heard About

Vanderbilt proves my theory that the difficulty of getting in has much more to do with how many Asians know about that place than the ACT or SAT score. Every Asian parent knows about Harvard (17) , Stanford (24) and MIT (26), but not so much Vanderbilt which is only 7% Asian. There are even questions on college boards on whether it's OK for Asians because it's so "low". Heck MIT was 5% when I went in 1976-1980 and we thought that was a lot of Asians. Sure, some Asians are from schools that are 50% Asian, and so are some campuses like UC Irvine, but then most of the US is 70+ white, so maybe 7% is a good number. They have a good sized Asian club, and everybody who has actually been there says it's just fine for any race or group, as long as you don't need to be in a city with a China/Asia town or an Asian grocery the size of a Walmart. Macalester in St Paul is a lower version of the same thing, test scores about even with Brown or Cornell, but with a 46% admit rate, you'll actually probably get in if you have an average test score, instead of being turned down at Cornell. Same with Vanderbilt, if you have a Harvard level test score, you'll actually get into Vanderbilt, but your chances will improve from impossible to highly unlikely if you "only" have high test scores at Harvard. Kids from Bothell high went there and they said the campus and city of Nashville look great and the people are friendly if with funny accents.

From my ACT ranking
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Apd_BaQPgLcSdDljYlA1MzlfcjhnQkhxbEctb3FHSEE&hl=en

ACT        Admit
31 35 08 Harvard
31 34 12 MIT 

29 33 10 Stanford 
29 33 38 Carnegie Mellon University
29 33 33 Vanderbilt Nashville
28 33 14 Brown University
28 33 35 University of Chicago
28 32 21 Cornell
28 32 46 Macalester College St Paul
 

Here is the money that gets awarded:
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/financialaid/2010-Financial-Aid-Brochure.pdf
$55,368 is full price

Income Range     Avg. Award #Awards Award Range

$0 – 39,999        $52,727  107 $30,789 – 59,156
$40,000 – 59,999   $49,903   85 $28,399 – 56,390
$60,000 – 79,999   $47,588  100 $20,917 – 56,169
$80,000 – 99,999   $43,902   97 $22,819 – 55,057
$100,000 – 119,000 $40,062   62 $22,314 – 50,510
$120,000 – 139,000 $34,370   64 $11,379 – 49,110
$140,000 – 159,000 $29,805   54 $ 7,323 – 43,414
$160,000 – 199,999 $24,040   63 $ 4,221 – 42,569
$200,000+          $18,408   34 $ 2,585 – 30,679

So if you have one software engineer at $60,000, the average award is $47,000 so it would cost $10,000. Even if you have two, the average award is $35,000, so it still doesn't cost more than some state colleges with dorm.

So if you want a school with Ivy level students, but isn't a lottery to get into if you have the test scores, and don't mind going to a school most people in Seoul haven't heard of, give Vanderbilt a try as the "southern" Ivy.

Friday, April 9, 2010

How to program Sony STR-DE675 and other AV Receivers on FIOS remote

Leave a comment if you found this useful

Comcast Custom DVR
Xfinity on demand Nov 2011
3 device red button
Hit aux button
Press Setup until aux flashes
type code 30158
press power to check
Buttons: 3=DVD/LD 9=MD/TAPE 1=video 1 2=cd
Mute Vol
Down = sleep timer

FIOS: 4-9-2010
Programming your Philips RC144 Remote To set up your Philips RC144 remote, follow the steps below:
  1. Find the remote codes for the devices you want to set up. You can find the latest codes below:

    Codes
    Televisions
    DVDs
    VCRs
    Audio Receivers
    Audio Amplifiers

    In addition, remote codes are listed in the Philips RC144 Remote Control User Guide.
  2. Write down the remote codes for the devices you want to set up.
  3. Turn on the device you want to program into your remote, for example if you are programming your remote to control your TV, then turn on the TV.
  4. Press and hold the appropriate device button and press OK.
  5. Release both buttons. The device buttons blink twice. STR-DE675 3714
  6. Enter the remote code for the device (if there is more than one remote code listed for your equipment, start with the first remote code in the list).
1085, 1285, 1468, 1585, 1685, 1785, 1786, 1885, 3606, 3621, 3622, 3631, 3640, 3641, 3642, 3643, 3648, 3651, 3657, 3671, 3672, 3673, 3674, 3684, 3685, 3714, 3716, 3717, 3730, 3735, 3739, 3744

    The device button blinks three times.
  1. Point the remote at the device and press the Power button.
  2. Did the device turn off? Yes: Keep the code you wrote down above for future reference. You may need it again if the remote code is accidentally erased. No: Repeat these steps using the next remote code listed for your equipment. Note: If none of the listed codes work for your equipment, you can use your remote to manually search for a valid code.
  3. Repeat this procedure for each device you want to program into your remote control.

Audio Receiver Remote Codes
DeviceManufacturerCode(s)
Audio ReceiverADC0558
Adcom3725
Aiwa0148, 0216, 1415, 1432, 1668, 3614, 3615, 3616, 3617, 3627, 3636, 3670, 3680, 3718
Alco1417
Amphion Media Works1590, 1642
AMW1590, 1642
Anam1101
Anthem3757
Apex Digital1457
Audiotronic1216
Audiovox1417, 3754
Bose0666, 1256, 1280, 1960, 3741
Capetronic0558
Carver0216, 1216, 3636
Classic3664
Coby3751
Denon1387, 3602, 3633, 3662, 3663, 3676, 3681, 3682, 3691, 3694, 3700, 3702, 3703, 3704, 3709, 3721
Emerson3603
Fisher1828
GE3635
Harman/Kardon0137, 0216, 0918, 1331, 1333, 3626, 3636, 3699
Hitachi1828
Integra0162, 1325, 1347
JBL0137, 1333, 3626, 3752
JVC1401, 1522, 3618, 3659, 3668, 3686, 3695, 3706, 3712, 3713, 3715, 3729, 3737, 3738
Kenwood1340, 1596, 1597, 3619, 3646, 3649, 3656, 3658, 3675, 3688
KLH1417, 1455
Koss1393, 3749
Lexicon3758
LG1320
Linn0216, 3636
Magnavox0216, 0558, 1216, 1296, 1541, 3636
Marantz0216, 1216, 1296, 1316, 3636, 3727
McIntosh3759
Mitsubishi1420, 3708
NAD3637
Nakamichi3638, 3639
Onkyo0162, 0869, 1325, 1347, 1558, 3628, 3650, 3653, 3660, 3666, 3669, 3687, 3693, 3697, 3705, 3707, 3710, 3711, 3719, 3753
Optimus0558, 0697, 1050, 1101, 3634
Oritron1393
Panasonic1315, 1335, 1343, 1545, 1575, 1660, 1790, 1791, 3629, 3630, 3667, 3683, 3701, 3723, 3728, 3731, 3732, 3733, 3734, 3736, 3742, 3743, 3745, 3746, 3747, 3750
Philips0216, 1216, 1293, 1296, 3636, 3698, 3749
Pioneer0041, 0177, 0558, 0657, 1050, 1411, 3607, 3608, 3625, 3644, 3645, 3652, 3654, 3677, 3678, 3679, 3689, 3690, 3722, 3740
Polaroid3605
Polk Audio0216, 1316, 3726
Proscan1281, 3635
RCA0558, 1050, 1101, 1281, 1417, 1538, 3609, 3620, 3635, 3748
RCA & Dimensia3610, 3611, 3612, 3613, 3635
Rio1896
Rotel3760
Samsung1322, 1527, 3720, 3755
Sansui0216, 3636
Sanyo1496, 1828
Sherwood1104, 3632, 3724
Sonic Blue1896
Sony1085, 1285, 1468, 1585, 1685, 1785, 1786, 1885, 3606, 3621, 3622, 3631, 3640, 3641, 3642, 3643, 3648, 3651, 3657, 3671, 3672, 3673, 3674, 3684, 3685, 3714, 3716, 3717, 3730, 3735, 3739, 3744
Soundesign0697
Sunfire1340
Teac1101, 1417
Technics1335, 1545, 3629, 3630, 3661, 3665, 3667
Thorens1216
Venturer1417
Wards0041, 0216, 3625, 3636
Yamaha0162, 0203, 1203, 1303, 1358, 1402, 3600, 3601, 3604, 3623, 3624, 3625, 3647, 3655, 3692, 3696, 3756
Zenith1320

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

University of Washington Computer Science: Good News and Bad News

The good news is that the University of Washington has an awesome computer science department. They claim to be in the top 10 undergraduate or graduate, but my feeling is that they are just as good as anybody but the top 5 schools, which would include MIT, Stanford, Berkeley and CMU. They have a terrific new building funded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates of MIT with a dramatic atrium, and a building that's built to be wired and rewired with visible cable tracks in all the hallways. Technology review in one year had TWO UW people highlighted for their research one year and they had one in another year when most colleges don't get any. The University of Washington overall is about the equal of UCLA, but relatively easy to get in with an admit rate of 65 percent, SAT math range of 560 and 670 and ACT range of 23 to 28. I know of many high school students with 99 percentile test scores good enough to get into Stanford and Harvard, or got into places like USC who still put UW at the top of their list, and Asian parents who moved here from Texas and Kansas who put their kids through academic hell to get their kids into the UW.

The BAD NEWS ... the student I called for was admitted to the UW, but did not get notified that he was admitted into the computer science department, like he was for every other college he was admitted into (Santa Clara University ,Worcester Polytechnic, Villanova, Seattle University). When I called they said that all students who applied for the department who had taken enough classes (mainly calculus by graduation) were considered, but if he wasn't notified, he wasn't in. Most students have to take and do well in all of the required courses (chem, physics, calc etc) and apply in the spring. She said about 50% of applicants get in. HALF? That cuts the overall chance of 65% overall to more like 35%, which would be approaching Ivy League admission odds. Add that to the recent Seattle Times coverage of ridiculously huge freshman classes (budget swells class sizes) and rowdy frat crowds throwing bottles at officers checking out open bonfires, and the usual stories about crime in the area, and it's not such an easy call.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Northwestern University National High School Music Institute = College Application?

Northwestern University National High School Music Institute in Evanston Illinois is June 27-June 30, 2010. This is what they need for an application (?!), it looks like a college application, plus an audition:


http://www.music.northwestern.edu/pdf/nhsmi/nhsmiapp2010.pdf


• Complete this information form and mail it to the address listed below.
• Write a brief history of your musical background on a separate sheet of paper. Please include information about your activities in music: length of study; private teacher(s); participation in special workshops; a list of works you have studied and performed in the last four years; solo performances; choral, jazz, orchestral, or wind ensemble experience; chamber music experience; roles in school productions; secondary instruments, etc.
• Request that your guidance counselor provide us with information on
your academic background. Please provide your counselor with a stamped envelope addressed to us and ask that the following items be sent:
• A transcript of your high school record
• Your grade point average
• Your high school class rank
• Your PSAT, SAT, and/or PLAN, ACT scores


The application fee is $50, about on par with college applications


It's five weeks for $4700 (by contrast Marrowstone Music Festival in WA is 2 weeks for about $2500)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Macalester College St Paul Minnesota



Macalester College

Location: St Paul Minnesota
Similar ACT Scores:
 

Links:

 
 

Similar ACT Scores

It's at the bottom end of the best schools. It's not as well known as NYU, USC or Brown (an Ivy League), but because of that, it's 46% admit rate means it's not impossible to get in even if you meet their standards which is often the case at the most competitive schoos.
 
  • 95 29 Columbia University NYC
  • 29 33 Vanderbilt Nashville
  • 28 33 Brown University
  • 28 32 Macalester St Paul
  • 28 32 Kenyon College Ohio
  • 28 33 University of Southern California
  •         University of California at Berkeley
  • 28 31 New York University
  •  

Brag points:

 
  • admit rate 46% (means it's relatively easy to get in for a school with very high test scores and quality vs more famous schools)
  • The New Ivies: 25 Hot Schools
  • One of the top five liberal arts colleges chosen by National Merit Scholars
  • Class size 17
  • Student faculty ratio 10 to 1
  • 80% of science majors conduct independent research
  • 313 students studied in 50 countries through 119 program
  • 2 out of 3 complete internships, 301 students at 200 sites
  • 63% of grads attend graduate or professional schoosl within 5 years
  • 90% admission rate to grad school
  • Medical school admit rate 40% above national average  
  • 80 languages spoken on campus
  • 21% of US students are "students of color" (that's a bit less than US population, and including Asians)
  • 18% students are citizens of another country
 
 










Thursday, February 11, 2010

Washington University in St. Louis

Ranks with Harvard for ACT, but below Tufts and Brandeis, Rice on Forbes rating

Here's some similar ACT composite score schools:

31-35 Harvard
31-34 Washington University in St. Louis
31-34 MIT

Forbes 2009
38. Brandeis University (MA)

39. Tufts University (MA)
40. Barnard College (NY)
41. Lawrence University (WI)
42. DePauw University (IN)
43. Rice University (TX)
44. Reed College (OR)

45. Washington University, St. Louis (MO)

46. Bucknell University (PA)
47. Mount Holyoke College (MA)
48. College of William and Mary (VA)
49. Hamilton College (NY)
50. University of Notre Dame (IN)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Payscale Top Colleges by Mid-Career Salary MIT Beats Harvard (and so does WPI)

Complete list:

http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-us-colleges-graduate-salary-statistics.asp

MIT beats Harvard. But so does Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which is a LOT easier to get into. Santa Clara University does well compared to Corell. Stevens Institute also does relatively well. Local favorite University of Washington is way, way down compared to Santa Clara or WPI.

And here is the ranked spreadsheet: http://tinyurl.com/collegemidpay
College - Starting - Mid Career

1 Dartmouth College Ivy League $58,200 $129,000
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Engineering $71,100 $126,000
3 Harvard University Ivy League $60,000 $126,000
4 Harvey Mudd College Engineering $71,000 $125,000
5 Stanford University Engineering $67,500 $124,000
6 Princeton University Ivy League $65,000 $124,000
7 Colgate University Liberal Arts $51,900 $122,000
8 University of Notre Dame Private $55,300 $121,000
9 Yale University Ivy League $56,000 $120,000
10 University of Pennsylvania Ivy League $60,400 $118,000
11 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineering $62,500 $116,000
12 Duke University Private $56,800 $116,000
13 Bucknell University Engineering $56,100 $116,000
14 Bucknell University Liberal Arts $56,100 $116,000
15 California Institute of Technology (CIT) Engineering $69,700 $115,000

Top 25 colleges ranked by starting salary
http://tinyurl.com/payscalestart
1 Loma Linda University Private $71,400 $88,500
2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Engineering $71,100 $126,000
3 Harvey Mudd College Engineering $71,000 $125,000
4 California Institute of Technology (CIT) Engineering $69,700 $115,000
5 Stanford University Engineering $67,500 $124,000
6 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Engineering $65,300 $113,000
7 Princeton University Ivy League $65,000 $124,000
8 Polytechnic Institute of New York University Engineering $62,700 $114,000
9 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineering $62,500 $116,000
10 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Engineering $61,100 $110,000
11 Cooper Union Engineering $61,100 $102,000
12 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) Engineering $61,100 $98,800
13 University of Pennsylvania Ivy League $60,400 $118,000
14 Harvard University Ivy League $60,000 $126,000
15 Colorado School of Mines Engineering $60,000 $109,000
16 Colorado School of Mines State Schools $60,000 $109,000
17 Stevens Institute of Technology Engineering $59,400 $101,000
18 Georgia Institute of Technology Engineering $58,900 $105,000
19 Georgia Institute of Technology State Schools $58,900 $105,000
20 Claremont McKenna College Liberal Arts $58,300 $102,000
21 Dartmouth College Ivy League $58,200 $129,000
22 Santa Clara University Private $58,000 $111,000
23 Cornell University Engineering $58,000 $106,000
24 Cornell University Ivy League $58,000 $106,000
25 Rice University Private $57,900 $105,000

And some other colleges we looked at:
40 Villanova $56,700
45 Yale University Ivy League $56,000 $120,000
62 San Jose State University (SJSU) State Schools $53,400 $96,300
68 Brown University Ivy League $52,300 $107,000
80 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) State Schools $51,600 $97,000
128 Boston University Private $48,800 $91,100
132 University of Washington (UW) State Schools $48,600 $85,000
145 University of Massachusetts (UMass) - Lowell State Schools $47,900 $90,000
433 Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) Engineering $41,600 $72,900
502 Seattle Pacific University (SPU) Private $40,000 $77,900
631 College of the Ozarks Liberal Arts $31,900 $54,900