Need to decide which undergraduate Computer Science program to attend out of
- Virginia Tech
- University of Virginia and
- William and Mary.
Am wondering which college should I choose.
My research for each college shows that
- UVA has a higher ranking for graduate program. But it seems that the undergraduate courses are more researched based than application based. The program also had a less than desirable ranking some years back before UVA concentrated on improving the ranking as per a report I saw online. See some concerns about the teaching staff for undergraduate level courses - not enough staff, staff borrowed from math department etc.
- Virginia Tech - is known for its technical and engineering program and seems to provide a lot more opportunities.
- William and Mary, courses are taught by full-time professors and that William and Mary focus their courses around these questions:
As an in-state student with no scholarships in any of the colleges, was wondering which one should I select.
Location, Size, Campus, Sports teams are NOT as important to me.
Academic program, Job Opportunities, Networking etc are more important to me.
Thanks
My view is you should not choose an undergraduate school solely based on your intended major. First, research shows the majority of students change their intended major at least once. Second, you will actually take the majority of your classes outside of your major (although they may be complimentary areas like math or other integrated sciences). Third, rankings of undergraduate programs outside of areas like business or engineering are often based on graduate programs. Anyone who has been around universities can tell you graduates and undergraduates don’t necessarily get the same treatment.
So, back to your choices. I’m sure they could all might provide you with what you are looking for. UVA and W&M are better regarded overall than VT, but as you pointed out, VT’s strength is engineering. While strong, they are not necessarily known as computer science specialists like Carnegie Mellon. Computer science programs can attract a lot of students, so you might want to see if you can find information on class sizes, accessibility of professors, and use of TAs. Niche might have some good student comments. Second, you might want to contact the department or the career services and ask if they can provide any placement information. In general, good computer science majors are in pretty high demand, but it might help to understand the types of jobs they get. Third, you should be able to see the class catalogs online. Fourth, if you go to accepted student days, you can probably get to talk to some students or department reps. I’ve found students commenting online seem to give very favorable comments about their program in general. Talking directly to students might make it easier to discern differences.
One last thing. I work in high tech software and what I have seen is that the computer scientists that get ahead the fastest are often more “well rounded”. They can combine business and communication skills with technical.