<p>Might being closer to Silicon Valley or other major technology regions help? Which of these schools see many recruiters from big companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, etc? For these big companies just how important is the one's undergraduate studies? If I were to pursue a masters degree in CompSci, would my chances increase with these big companies? Do big tech companies give preference to masters degrees over bachelor's degree?</p>
<p>Carnegie-Mellon University
Cornell University
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of California - Berkeley
University of California - San Diego
University of California - Los Angeles
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland - College Park
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
University of Southern California
University of Washington - Seattle Campus
University of Wisconsin - Madison</p>
<p>All these colleges, from various sources, have been regarded as top colleges in computer science. Not TOP top like, say, MIT or the like but still really good programs. The only exception is CMU which also has a very high standing close to the likes of MIT.</p>
<p>Berkeley’s computer science can make a strong claim that it is as good as CMU’s and MIT’s. With the exception of Stanford, it has perhaps the best connection with Silicon Valley, better than either MIT’s or CMU’s.</p>
<p>Ah right I forgot Berkeley. I know Berkeley is also way up there in ranking. Silicon Valley does a lot of recruiting there I here and its extremely selective.</p>
<p>Berkeley isn’t that extremely selective. I mean, not on the level that Stanford and MIT (and HYP) enjoy. In terms of selectivity, I think it’s somewhat similar to schools like Cornell, CMU or Michigan (all of which have a superb and very rigorous computer science program.) The advantage of Berkeley is that the campus atmosphere is tech-oriented, so the engineering, tech and IT departments are highly emphasized. And, being near to SV and having a lot of alumni that work there, makes it an advantage over its peers. So, if I have to choose between Berkeley vs an Ivy for CS (except H and Princeton), I’d pick Berkeley in a heartbeat. That said, I would still go for MIT, if I have the stats to back me up, despite the absence of valid reasons to the argument that MIT is superior to Berkeley for CS.</p>
<p>I wish i had the grades to get into Berkeley but alas, my grades are not enough. I regret not having pushed myself. I’m sure if I had, I could get much more then a UW GPA of 3.79. Should of done more extracurriculars too. Alas, I was a fool who wasted hours a day reading books, tech and world news, etc, Yes, I know these things are good to read but I simply read them too much instead of studying when I ought to.</p>
<p>My apologies if I come off as “whiney” by complaining over a 3.79. </p>
<p>Also… Wow. I hate how CC won’t let me edit older posts. Future repliers, please disregard the following schools as I don’t nearly have the grades to cut it. I’m quite sure an unweighted 3.79 and a few extracurriculars are not enough for such high level schools. For more detail on my stats, look at my other posts where I ask others to chance me in the above schools.
Carnegie-Mellon University
Cornell University
University of California - Berkeley </p>
<p>I am particularly interested in career prospects at the University of Washington at Seattle and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign as my research and others have shown me to have a good if not absolute chance of getting into them. Between the two, I want to choose the one with the best hiring prospects as both of them are on great, for colleges that are in my reach and based on various rankings, colleges.</p>
<p>That GPA is a fine one for a solid chance to Berkeley… Just present yourself well. And CMU has a large connection with Google due to the new Google campus close by in the same area as the CMU campus.</p>
<p>Woah woah woah. Hold it there. If you don’t mind, please take a look at my other post asking people to chance me. Please tell me my chances then. I would absolutely love if i could get into Berkeley.</p>
<p>I prefer not to have my hopes up. So if my chances are at least decent, I’ll apply to it as a reach. Asides from maintaining a my GPA and continuing the extracurricular I’ve been in, there osn’t much i believe i can do to make myself lok good when applying to Berkeley.</p>
<p>May depend on your career goal. Berkeley is better recruited by Silicon Valley computer companies. Ivy League schools are better recruited by investment banks and management consulting companies. MIT and Stanford are well recruited by both.</p>
<p>If ABET accreditation matters (not generally in CS, but may if you want to be a patent agent or patent lawyer), then Berkeley EECS-CSE (not L&S CS), MIT, and Penn are ABET accredited for CS, while the other Ivy League schools and Stanford do not (but Cornell and Brown have it for computer engineering).</p>
<p>^^^ I don’t know about that. But I think it’s more difficult for say, a Columbia grad, to break into top SV companies than it is for Berkeley CS/EECS grad to break into IB or MC. A friend’s friend who just graduated CS from Berkeley was lured by a top bank, but chose to work for Microsoft, a position he thought would be highly coveted and pays very handsomely.</p>
<p>A 3.79 UW isn’t solid for Berkeley L&S, more so, for EECS. There is a chance, however, that you will get an offer. But I really wouldn’t count on it. </p>
<p>Both Washington and UIUC are fantastic schools for CS. Washington is really gaining a name in the CS field, so you should take a look at it quite closely. Your chances of getting admitted at Washington is way higher than at Berkeley, and Washington CS is respected in the industry.</p>
<p>However, Washington CS is supposedly very difficult to get in as a freshman direct admit, and even more difficult to declare as a current Washington undeclared student. If you get into Washington, but not in the CS major, check on the Washington forum about how difficult it is to declare the CS major.</p>
<p>^^^ Thanks for that information, ucb. I always have this suspension that CS at the top 20 schools (by USNews ranking) are highly selective. Adn, both Washington and UIUC are top 20 schools for CS, according to that ranking. </p>
<p>Do you happen to have the stats for Washington CS admits? It would help the OP if you can post them here.</p>
<p>Many of the universities are highly selective to begin with.</p>
<p>But whether CS is specifically more selective depends on the university.</p>
<p>For example, at Berkeley, the EECS major is considered one of the more selective majors for freshman admissions, and switching into it (especially from outside of the engineering division) is considered very difficult. But L&S CS does not currently have limitations on declaring the major after passing the prerequisites.</p>
<p>I meant the 3.79 GPA is a solid enough for a chance at Berkeley. Of course it isn’t a sure shot. Just don’t go discounting all the chances for it and think realistically. Of course the in-state competition will now go up due to the newcomers funding Berkeley from out of state but its not ruling you out. Research at UIUC might be harder to obtain since it is such a large school, similar to Washington although I do not doubt the strength of their programs. A smaller program like CMU would give you a more hands on approach although SCS at CMU is a rival in strength to MIT and might need comparable stats to get in. Check it out. I have a friend at CMU who got a very nice paid internship in Silicon Valley this summer fairly easily so the demand is there.</p>
<p>If I have a decent chance for Berkley, what are my chances for University of California - Los Angeles? A bit better or much better? Besides GPA which I expect to remain at arround 3.8, what sort of SAT scores are needed?</p>
<p>Based on [University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) for the 2008-2009 admissions year (latest available), you probably want to get >700 on each SAT section to be in the running with a 3.8 unweighted GPA. Berkeley L&S (in which you can later declare the CS major) and UCLA CS appear to have slightly better chances than Berkeley EECS.</p>
<p>Selectivity has likely increased since then.</p>
<p>One of the best options for you would be Cal Poly SLO. It is in the central coast of CA and tons of Silicon Valley recruiters come here to recruit for internships, coops and jobs.</p>
<p>Possibly your GPA will qualify and quite frankly, this school should be on your radar. My kid was accepted to most of the schools (only in-state for CA as he had no interest in out of state schools) in your original post. He turned down all the UC’s for Cal Poly as many other students have.</p>
<p>You owe it to yourself to check it out. Cal Poly SLO has a lot of credibility in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs.</p>