CMU vs UT vs Rice in CS

I am luck to be accepted to CS in all three schools.But I am still agonizing over which school to go to. CMU full pay. Rice with big scholarship, cost cut near half. UT instate tuition. The total cost is about 1 CMU = 2 Rice = 3 UT. I like CMU CS but the tuition is a heavy burden for a middle class. Parent can only help with 50% tuition. I have to take loan for the rest. Also I am worried if the workload is too heavy. UT since I am not in the honor program, heard that it is hard to get into the class I need. Rice’s CS rank about 20, much lower than the other two. Not sure if I can get as much good CS education as the other two, and if the CS degree in Rice help me land a good job in top company. Can anybody help me to make final decision? What would you choose?

Do not burden yourself or your family with student loans and heavy tuition costs. Take CMU off the table and get information to decide if you will be able to get the classes you need to graduate from UT in 4 years. Otherwise, the price of UT compared with Rice might come out around the same. UT and Rice are very different schools in size and atmosphere. Have you visited both schools? If not, and you are in TX try to fit in a visit to both ASAP.

Thanks for your suggestion. I have visited these schools. It is hard to make decision.

50% of CMU list price cannot be borrowed without a cosigner. This is typically a bad idea.

So your choices are Rice and Texas.

I vote for Rice. Rice has a high quality student body and being smaller, has more faculty attention, so alums do better than research rankings would indicate.

Rice CS grads do about as well as UT-Austin CS grads (and all 3 are top quality CS schools so it’s silly worrying about not getting a high enough quality education to get a top job):

https://m.slashdot.org/story/208691

I would recommend UT. Awesome CS school and great city!

Note that Texas requires CS majors to earn a 2.75 GPA in introductory CS courses to avoid being weeded out.

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/node/69868

If it was me, I’d choose Rice. Don’t worry about rankings.

I would not worry about weed out.I could finish CS in UT within 3 years with AP transfer.

Rice. But UT has a lot going for it

What are your total debt at graduation between Rice and UT?

Rice would be worth taking the standard federal direct student loan for, but you should be careful after that. Yes, CS pays very well after graduation, but many of the exciting opportunities are in expensive areas such as Silicon Valley or NYC. Paying off loans and living in a high cost of living area is a tough combination even with a good salary.

If you want freedom to go wherever you want after graduation, you will minimize debt.

Standard federal direct student loan? It worth to explore it. Does it come with high interested rate? Anybody would be qualified for it?

CMU full pay won’t work for you. You can’t borrow the money and it’s not worth the debt.

If your parents can afford Rice (with no more than the $27k that you can borrow) then consider that. If debt is more then that go to UT. You can get a good education there.

Rice is a great school, but if you aren’t 100 percent sure you want to go there, UT might be the best option. If you decide to go to graduate school after UT, you won’t have any undergrad debt. My best friend’s son just graduated from UT in computer science and has a job with Amazon in Austin. He had paid internships in Houston and Seattle during the summers while he was at UT. Amazon offered him a job in Seattle or Austin. He chose Austin. Austin is a great town for a young professional.

UT is in doubt a great school. Rice is great too. That makes the choice so hard.

@wendyez If you filed the FAFSA, you are eligible to receive the federal direct student loan.

The maximum yearly amounts are
Freshman 5500
Sophomore 6500
Later years 7500

Information here https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized

@AroundHere Great information. Thanks.

Whichever college you choose, you’re going to be just as employable. Just pick the cheapest option. Debt is not your friend.

There are higher chance to go to top companies for CMS students. The tuition difference might be paid off after a couple of years employment.

@wendyez Can you apply to the Honor CS program at UT Austin in freshman year? Ask. (GaTech allows students to apply after they get to GaTech, not sure about UT Austin.) Seniority helps with getting into the classes you need. How much AP Credit do you have at UT Austin? If you are have at least one semester of college credits coming your way, that may help you with registration as well, but ask a UT Austin student about this. Ask about the four year graduation rate.

Do you like Rice U better? It is in a very nice part of Houston and offers nice four year houses, that are unique and supportive.