How is the Computer Science program at Wash U? My child is thinking of majoring in Computer Science. Thanks!
You can take a look at the CS curriculum that WashU offers online. From what I’ve heard it’s not bad but it lags behind compared to some of the other majors that the university offers. Most employers probably won’t be flying out to Missouri to recruit CS undergrads from WashU or expend resources looking for interns. A friend of mine started out as a CS major at WashU but eventually transferred to Michigan later on.
If your child can get into WashU (and if they’re sure they want to major in CS), they can probably get into more reputable CS schools with stronger undergraduate CS departments and faculty like UIUC, Michigan, UCSD, and others. If they want to aim higher, they could consider schools like CMU, Stanford, Berkeley, and MIT, but all four would be more difficult to gain admission to.
Personally I find this absurd. My D said her RA got a job with the number 1 software company in the world which is Microsoft. That’s too bad your friend transferred. I hope they are doing well. Also my son and his wife atteded SMU and they were both recruited by both Google and Microsoft for computer science. The key to being successful is being happy where you are and learning as much as you can. Happy students are successful students. We were advised this motto by a physics professor friend and it’s so true. My son LOVED SMU. Going after prestige doesn’t always work. My D friend went to JHU only because it was the most prestigious college he got accepted to. Guess what? He transferred to a state school because he was miserable! He hated the competitive cut throat atmosphere at JHU. I’m sure WashU comp sci program is great!
My D took couple of comp sci classes and they weren’t great. She was considering minoring in CS, but now she’s not so sure. She loves WashU but I don’t think I would of send her there for comp science.
Thanks so much. Good to know!!
Microsoft hires WashU comp sci students so it’s an exceptional program. However, comp sci is not for everyone. It can be very difficult to learn. For my son it was easy but I couldn’t do it if I tried! So it depends on you. 