My son was accepted direct into EECS at Berkeley, and CS at Vandy, Georgetown and Washington University. Any recommendations? On paper Berkeley seems the obvious choice for CS (and EECS has great flexibility for class choice so similar to CS per advisor), but appears to have a reputation for very miserable students (which has him concerned). We know GU well - older son graduated GU and loved it, but CS dept is small, plus far and away the most $$$. Vandy CS is a bit of a concern - their dept phone for CS from website is disconnected and engineering desk couldn’t provide an active phone #???
UCB has a lot of pre-meds, and it looks like about three quarters of them will not earn high enough grades to have a chance of getting into medical school, so that may be a source of misery. But since your son is presumably not a pre-med, that may not apply to him.
At UCB, most EECS students do emphasize CS; upper division EE courses are quite small, while upper division CS courses are quite large. EECS + L&S CS is huge, with 401 EECS and 557 L&S CS graduates for 2017.
Net price and debt at each?
If he’s serious about CS, Berkeley is the obvious choice. Vandy, WashingtonU and Georgetown are not known for their CS programs, and I’m not surprised that no one answer phones at Vandy CS.
Large public schools all have the crowding problem. Ask your son if he can handle it. I heard this analogy during a college tour and thought it’s pretty good: private or small LAC are like a high end restaurant where you’ll be waited on and catered to; large public school is like a all-you-can-eat buffet, cheap and crowded and no waiter; you have to go find what you want. If you are proactive, it’ll work out and provide you with a lot of resources and choices; if you are not proactive, you’ll be miserable.
Hi Bogeyorpar,
Thanks, matches my thinking as well and being a EE (from a state school) who has worked his entire career in tech on the W Coast I do understand. I also know first hand the access a private like GU or Vandy can bring, I’ve met children of billionaires who were friends of my oldest son that he met while at GU, and access to some of the most powerful people in the world is there if you seek it out. But, like a big state school it’s up to you what you do with that (but you are much more likely to find it at a private like GU or Vandy than at a big state school). In terms of financials, Berekeley and Vandy come out virtually identical. So then following your analogy the question is, you can go to a Michelin two star or a hometown buffet and the bill is the same. Where do you go? State schools in Ca are not a bargain like they were decades ago (given privates often give scholarships and state schools give absolutely nothing).
Hi Ucbalumnus,
The money is the same between Berkeley and Vandy… Part of the difficult decision.
The good thing is my son was accepted direct into EECS at UCB. Most students end up admitted as undeclared at L&S versus engineering, then spend 2 yrs fighting it out on GPA before getting a 50/50 chance of being admitted to CS. I think he was was very fortunate, and have been trying to council him on that and the benefits UCB brings in terms of class offering, profs, and internship access in the Valley.
That said, this is our last child so we have learning under the belt. One went to GU and absolutely loved it. One went to Tufts and loved it. All went to a big public high school and no trust funds in our familiy ;-). In the end I’ve concluded it’s like shopping for shoes, highly personal in terms of fit and style. What works for one is terrible for another. Our son is attending Anchor Day at Vandy tomorrow, then Cal Day the 21st. Also bringing him to GU on a business trip to meet the CS dept in person. Something to be said for using actual on campus in person Interaction with students and profs to make an informed decision! We feel fortunate to have this tough decision to make.
Yes, they are all great schools, but they have different strengths. Berkeley is known for CS (#1 ranked forever, best location for tech, best industry connections); Georgetown is known for politics and international relations; WashingtonU is known for pre-med; not sure what Vandy is known for but it’s definitely not CS. That’s why I asked if he’s 100% sure he wants to do CS in a high tech company. If so, Berkeley all the way. If he wants to change to politics or pre-med, maybe the other schools will provide better connections.
Berkeley has the most resources and since he got directly admitted, probably the best choice.
Its got a lot to offer, socially, academically and job connections too.
However, if he cannot stand Berkeley, and it takes a lot of responsibility, as Berkeley does
not provide any housing after freshman year, so students need to be mature to go there.
If he needs more hand holding, or immature in any way, or just cannot stand Berkeley when he visits.
I like Wash U St. Louis the best for CS of the private choices. (although none are really that good for CS)
They have focus on cybersecurity if that interests him. Many students from LACs come to Wash U
to complete their 3/2 program in engineering.
https://cse.wustl.edu/Pages/default.aspx
St. Louis is a youthful and fun city, with a lot to do and Wash U has arguably one of the nicer
campuses near a huge city park in St. Louis as big as Central Park in NYC.
Vanderbilt is a very strong all around school with top music, business, arts and sciences.
Engineering is OK there, we spent time looking it over, and talking in person to the engineering
department office. Its more of a premed/prelaw/prebusiness with strong humanities and social sciences.
Georgetown, would only make sense if you can afford the 3/2 program with Columbia U in NYC.
https://college.georgetown.edu/academics/majors-minors-and-certificates/science-engineering
Georgetown is the least technically focused college on his list. U of Maryland is way way better for CS,
he could start at Georgetown and transfer maybe? I love U of Maryland and find it to be easier going
than Berkeley, its the best kept secret for computer science/math/physics degrees on the east coast.