Computer Science Colleges in Midwest?

<p>Hello all, Ive been researching nonstop for the past two weeks about colleges and i think ive got it narrowed down. I am thinking either Purdue or Ohio State, our family has a residence in both Ohio and Indiana so i would be able to pay the in state tuition for either college. Even considering that other state colleges such as UIUC or UMich are more prestigious in this field, I am thinking that paying the out of state tuition will not be worth it(correct?). Now I am moving on to private colleges. In a perfect world my number one choice is Rose Hulman, however the cost is outrageous. From what ive read, ive seen nothing but good reviews on Rose, small class sizes, personal professors, etc. Any other small colleges in the ohio indiana illinois kentucky pennsylvania michigan area that have somewhat of a reputation in Computer Science? Ive seen many liberal arts colleges on the list, however their focus does not seem to be on Engineering/CS...Ideas or tips? thanks!!</p>

<p>I think you’re correct in wanting to avoid the LACs for CS, generally. So what we’re really talking about is not a small private but a private university, yes?</p>

<p>And I applaud you for making costs an important criterion in your list. Could you tell us what your stats are so that we can narrow down our focus?</p>

<p>Just another nothing but good things vote for Rose Hulman. I would apply and see what you can get in FA. I got a very nice offer last year. I think there is a line where Rose Hulman is worth it\ if you can get the cost down enough because there really is a unique experience there.</p>

<p>Most state flagships have excellent CS programs. So from an academic point of view you can’t go wrong with either Purdue or Ohio State.</p>

<p>If you are very likely to stay in the Indiana area post graduation then a small college with an engineering focus such as Rose Hulman might be a good choice (and a credible path for local intern positions and a path to a local first full time job). But if you want to leave open the post graduation possibility of branching out of the midwest you would be wise to pick a private college that is reasonably well known (by CS hiring managers) outside of Indiana.</p>

<p>You haven’t shared your stats with us so it’s unclear how selective the college can be and still be a credible place for you to apply. Larger universities are typically much better choices for CS than small LACs, this from the point of view of course selection, fellow CS students for class (and even out-of-class) projects, intern assignments (possibly even on campus), etc. In Pennsylvania, for example, (in order of selectivity) there is Lehigh, Carnegie Mellon, and UPenn. Post your stats and I’m sure you’ll get some detailed advise.</p>

<p>Grinnell (Iowa) and Carleton (Minnesota) are not exactly in your target area, but they are LACs that have strong CS departments.</p>

<p>Wisconsin has a top CS program ranked ahead of UM/Purdue/OSU and behind UIUC. </p>

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<p>That isnt often true. Where do your parents LIVE and file state taxes? That will typically be the state where you get instate tuition. Simply owning property doesnt work.</p>

<p>and, you are right…paying OOS rates isnt worth it. However, some OOS schools may give you merit money…depending on the school and your stats.</p>

<p>Wow all your responses are very helpful! My expected stats by the end of Junior year (I am currently on summer break before Jr year) will be a 3.7 gpa and 31 ACT…and to jkeil911, i just want a college without an outrageous number of people, like Rose-Hulman…i hear that most professors know students personally and are not just a number…i obviously wont get this experience in large universities such as OSU and Purdue, however i think if the cost is more substantial at Rose (or another engineering college like Carnegie Mellon,etc) i will just have to deal with it. Whether it is private or public I really dont care, however if it is public id prefer to stay in either Indiana or Ohio so i dont have to pay for out of state costs. and to mom2collegekids, we live 50% of the time in Ohio and 50% in Indiana, so we can claim either. dad is real estate guy and knows a lot about taxes and all that so i figure he knows what he is talking about. Anyways, to clarify, im looking for a small engineering focused college like Rose or Carnegie Mellon where CS majors can have choices of good internships/co ops/ job placement…however carnegie mellon seems a bit of a reach for my credentials…I read that Rose Hulman’s average starting salary is about 20k more than OSU and Purdue, which is why I am so interested in it. The only drawback is the cost…Thanks!</p>

<p>What is your financial aid situation like?</p>

<p>I have not calculated our exact EFC, however based on our income bracket it is about $10000-$12000…I am not familiar with the financial aid part of applying to college, is this what you are asking for?</p>

<p>I got that number from this website: <a href=“http://www.stratagee.com/resources/efc_quick_reference/1213_efc_quick_reference.html”>http://www.stratagee.com/resources/efc_quick_reference/1213_efc_quick_reference.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>@profamous stratagee is a little off in it’s calculations (low EFC). They clearly know what they are talking about and there’s a lot of good information there but they have another site (<a href=“http://forbes.stratagee.com”>http://forbes.stratagee.com</a>) that calculates EFC at multiple colleges and it is not accurate. Also that page you linked to is from 2012-2013 and things change rapidly.</p>

<p>The only way to really know is to find and run the Net Price Calculator for the schools you are thinking about applying to. This is not a quick process and will require some information from your parents (and will be complicated if you dad is self employed/small business) but will give you a much clearer answer from the school itself.</p>

<p>Check out U of Rochester and U of Pittsburgh which are smallish Unis, have decent CS programs and tend to give some merit aid. Sounds like you also might qualify for some need based aid.</p>

<p>Also I don’t think a 3.7/31 will disqualify you for CMU CS but it’s not really a match either. Maybe worth a shot if you can afford it (run the NPC).</p>

<p>Thank you ormdad! I will do the net price calculator for each school…the reason I have avoided it is because he is indeed self employed with a small business along with many rental houses and is quite a hassle, however I guess I need to get serious. University of Rochester seems a bit far away, I am in southwestern corner of Ohio and I want to be able to drive home if need be, <8 hours…dont want to have to fly each time. I will look at University of Pittsburgh though. Do you know of any other small CS schools within my range?..the only ones I really see is CMU and Rose…I just hope Rose will give good aid…</p>

<p>^^ Sorry I don’t- I think you’ll have to give one of those criteria up- class size, affordable, location.</p>

<p>Maybe Case Western but it’s CS dept is not highly regarded.</p>

<p>I was curious so I took a look at the USNWR rankings. Purdue is #20? Did not know that. Ohio State is #34, which is not bad. IU is ranked somewhere around UofR and Pitt in the 50s. Rankings are not everying but your two in-state options are pretty decent.</p>

<p>If I were you I’d look closely at both Purdue and Ohio State as a good match overall and hope you get lucky at CMU or Rose.</p>

<p>Purdue sounds like the perfect option- good CS, close to home, affordable and an academic match. You might just have to drop the small school/class size requirement. CS classes are getting bigger everywhere.</p>

<p>With a 3.7 GPA you are probably out of the running for some of the better schools (HMC, Pomona, Carleton, Williams, etc) that have smaller class size and plus they are not in your neck of the woods.</p>

<p>You should look a little closer at UofR though- it is a smaller private uni with decent CS. It will probably be more than in-state Purdue though, even with aid. It’s probably around 8 hrs drive from the “southwestern corner” of Ohio.</p>

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<p>I doubt that has anything to do with being a RH grad. Companies dont pay new-hires more because they graduated from RH instead of Purdue or OSU. </p>

<p>Right, you have to compare like with like. History majors at OSU will not make as much as much as CS majors at RH, but they won’t make as much as CS majors from OSU either.</p>

<p>BTW, the same company would pay all starting grads roughly the same, but different companies may have different starting wages (and at smaller companies, it’s completely negotiable depending on your skills and negotiating). Actually, even at bigger companies, there’s some negotiating room, depending on how badly they want you.</p>

<p>So RH reports an average starting salary of 80.6K for CS majors: <a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>404 | Rose-Hulman;

<p>Purdue reports 74K for CS majors: <a href=“Employment - Department of Computer Science - Purdue University”>https://www.cs.purdue.edu/undergraduate/employment.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>OSU reports 62.2K (but they combine computer science and engineering): <a href=“https://ecs.osu.edu/sites/ecs.osu.edu/files/uploads/salaries_08-21-2013.pdf”>https://ecs.osu.edu/sites/ecs.osu.edu/files/uploads/salaries_08-21-2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That 62.2K still seems low, however.
As I said, different companies may have different salaries, and that difference may be due to certain higher-paying companies recruiting at PU & RH and not OSU or a larger percentage of OSU CS grads not getting well-paying programming jobs.</p>

<p>For completeness, here’s IU’s CS major numbers: <a href=“Careers: Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering: Indiana University Bloomington”>Careers: Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering: Indiana University Bloomington;

<p>$56.3K average for CS grads.</p>

<p>Or it has to do with the costs of living in the region where the graduate will land.</p>

<p>RH offers primarily technical / vocational degrees, while Purdue and OSU are more broad in the types of degrees they offer. Since engineers / computer scientists have among the highest starting salaries, it would only make sense a RH grad would come out making more on average than a Purdue or OSU grad.</p>

<p>I am sure that if you compared the RH, Purdue, and OSU engineering grads (by discipline) you would NOT see much/any difference in salaries…and any difference would be because of regional cost of living. An employer hiring engg grads from each school, would pay them all the same. </p>