Got off the waitlist for Carnegie Mellon School of Design+(HCI dual major possibly) and I have ~48 hours to accept or decline.
I also got in University of Michigan LSA for Computer Science and Stamps(art school) dual major. As a Michigan resident I only have to pay in-state tuition whereas for CMU i would be looking at 80k+ a year(did not receive aid). I’ve always been more interested in art & design and have not had much exposure to CS but on the other hand 300k+ for a design degree is something I’m not so sure about. I’m hoping that adding HCI makes it more worth it still not sure if it’s worth 300k+ and possible student debt(at least 50k).
I like CMU’s private school environment with smaller class sizes and I have heard bad things about large class sizes for CS at umich. I’ve also heard many negative things about Umich Stamps(the art school).
I am also considering grad school for HCI if i go to umich, not sure if i can afford it if i go to CMU though.
I have visited CMU and i liked Pittsburgh although I also like the umich campus, ann arbor is a really nice city.
I’m very lucky that my parents are letting me decide but it feels unfair to have them pay so much.
I know some people at umich who’ve said its difficult to get seats in classes and class sizes are large. The CMU design program only accepted 37 students this year so I’m assuming class sizes would be much smaller.
according to CMU design+HCI major median salary is 112K, CMU (only)design major is median 90k while umich computer science is 100k so not that different? it ranges a lot for both though
I attended CMU and have a child at Michigan. In your situation, I would choose Michigan every day and twice on Sundays.
Though the schools are quite different, I like both universities very much. If the cost difference were negligible, I would encourage you to choose based on fit.
It sounds like a $200,000 difference isn’t negligible for your family, as it wouldn’t be for most families. You would have to find really compelling major-related reasons to change my mind. Ann Arbor is an amazing place to go to college. I wouldn’t pay $200,000 to go somewhere else.
Congratulations on having a hard decision to make! I commend you for taking your parents’ finances into account, although if they’re saying that it’s manageable for them, then you should probably take them at their word.
I too would be concerned about the cost. But OTOH, when a student without previous interest/experience in CS expresses that they plan to major in CS because they think they should, I tend to be skeptical that they’ll actually remain in a CS major. You must be very talented in art and design, to have scored these acceptances, and it sounds like that is really what you want to do. (Note that both majors are incredibly time-consuming, so doubling up is not something to take lightly - it could affect the quality of your work on both fronts.)
I don’t really know anything about UMich Stamps, so I can’t speak to the unspecified negative things you’ve heard. I did take a tour of the CMU Design program with my daughter, though, and it was very impressive. As painful as the cost is, this is at least a program where the school invests heavily in a small cohort of students. The program is rigorous and looks like a wonderful experience, and the employment outcomes seem quite good.
My opinion is, disregard the CS piece for now. Who knows if you’ll even go through with that? Art/Design is your primary major - make the decision on that basis (especially since the CS/HCI coursework is available at both schools). Look more closely at why you have a negative impression of UMich Stamps, and how the two programs compare. I can’t say whether CMU is worth the cost for you, but it might be.
Programmer here…no it’s absolutely NOT worth the cost. Computers is one industry where prestige doesn’t matter. After about 3 years experience, employers don’t even ask where you went to school. 99% of your credentials will be built from on-the-job training. I would stick with Michigan since you would graduate with zero debt.
One thing about student debt…it’s NEVER what you thought it would be. That $50k will likely be $75k or more. You have a top notch CS school at Michigan with plentiful job prospects when you graduate.