<p>Hello everyone. I am very interested in pursuing the computer field for college, but I have not necessarily picked a decisive branch that I would like to take. Does anyone have a list of schools that will be good for me to look at? I knwo about the Stanfords and MITs and so does everyone else in the world. Are there any colleges that really stand out in this particular field and will be a strng undergraduate location especially if I am planning to receive my doctorate from Stanford after I graduate from undergrad.
Thanks for all your help in advance</p>
<p>USC
UC Irvine
Georgia Tech</p>
<p>Are you asking for match and safety schools?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>What is your budget?</p>
<p>Most CS departments more or less follow the standard curriculum model recommended by the Association for Computing Machinery. And as far as I know, there is no reliable, up-to-date ranking of undergraduate CS departments. So, it will probably be fairly futile to try to differentiate colleges according to this one factor. One thing to consider though is the extent of research and internship opportunities for undergraduates. This can be affected by the size of annual research expenditures (tracked by the Washington Monthly rankings), the student-faculty ratio, and the school location.</p>
<p>Otherwise, look for a school that is a good fit for your qualifications, your personality, and what your family can afford.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help but I am looking for safe schools and reach schools.
ACT I will take next week expecting 30+
GPA 3.8
Many ECs and APs
Currently a junior
Soccer Golf Hockey
I have been looking at schools such as UNC, UMD College Park, UMich, Rose Hulman, Illinois Urbana,
BC is my 1st choice
Wisconsin is considered an already safe school
Do all of these schools fit a good category for computer science and possible acceptance for me??
If need be I can list everything I just found it to be irrelevant since there are many and a proper match cannot be calculated by a CC member only the admissions office at said university</p>
<p>Those are good schools for CS, (except I’m not familiar with the BC dept) as well as the schools listed in the first answer.</p>
<p>You don’t pick a grad school until you are ready to apply. When you are a finish Jr year, you will start to see which area of CS interests you most, then you will research professors in that area you’d like to work with. That will lead to departments where you may be a good fit. Fit is everything in a PhD acceptances.</p>
<p>But to get into a PhD program right from undergrad, you will need ability to do research with professors to demonstrate that you have strength and experience in that area, not just good grades. So it is very important to look into schools with good access to research…for some it is mostly grad students that do it. For other schools, like Brown with a strong active department and smaller grad student population, getting research is just about knocking on the door and asking to join a project. Also some schools have funding for grants for research and summer research projects and that can be extremely helpful.</p>
<p>These are all great schools for computer science:</p>
<p>California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Florida Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern College
Princeton University
Stanford University
University of California Berkeley
University of California San Diego
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
University of Kentucky
University of Maryland
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
University of North Texas
University of Rochester
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin - Madison</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no formula or look-up table to calculate the few choices that are most likely to (a) admit you, (b) give you the best CS education, and (c) help you get into Stanford for grad school. </p>
<p>To get good recommendations for safety, match, and reach schools, you need to share more information about your qualifications and interests. What is your approximate class rank? Have you taken the PSAT? What state do you live in? Is cost a major concern? What is it about BC that makes it your first choice? Given all this information, it will still boil down to judgment calls.</p>
<p>Almost any flagship state university will have a challenging, comprehensive computer science program. If you are a Wisconsin resident and are confident you can get into UW-Madison, then that may be one of your best choices. Why pay much more to attend an out of state public university with essentially the same program? Stanford presumably will be looking for evidence of high quality, imaginative work that matches the research interests of its faculty (not for a college brand name).</p>
<p>However, if your goal is to prepare for a doctorate in CS, and you do want to go out of state or to a private school, then you may want to consider some smaller ones that are strong in the sciences. Graduates of small liberal arts colleges have some of the highest rates (per capita) for PhD completion. An undergraduate-focused university like Brown would be a good choice, too (although Brown unfortunately is extremely selective).</p>
<p>*Thanks for the help but I am looking for safe schools and reach schools.
ACT I will take next week expecting 30+
GPA 3.8</p>
<p>I have been looking at schools such as UNC, UMD College Park, UMich, Rose Hulman, Illinois Urbana,
BC is my 1st choice
Wisconsin is considered an already safe school*</p>
<p>Also take the SAT, some do better on that.</p>
<p>Have you asked your parents how much they’ll pay for college? If not, do so. </p>
<p>Yes, you probably will get accepted to UW-M, but if you don’t have the funds, then it’s NOT a safety for you.</p>
<p>As TK said, virtually all flagship state schools are going to have a good, comprehensive CS dept. </p>
<p>Have you gotten your PSAT score yet? How do you think you did?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.
1st- BC is my top choice because I love the area. Chesnut Hill is a small area outside Boston city and its easy to access the city without being involved in to much commotion such as BU or NE may bring with a city like atmosphere.
2nd- I live in TN and the only school that may be a fit with the others is Vandy
3rd- I believe I did quite well on the past PSAT that I took this year (junior year)
4th- Money is a big concern but I am focusing on getting in and receiving the best education. Yes, I can’t go crazy and pick the most exspensive school, but I.E. BC costs roughly 55,000 a year; however, if I get in my rents are suportive and believe they can find a way to pay for it. Especially with the income based tuition which would help a large amount.
5th- Due to the help from previous posts, from your experiences what universities have excellent research programs that may help me grow and decide the specific CS field I want to pursue. (Preferably a school that does not require SAT II’s) I’d rather not take them unless completely necessary.
Thanks again this info is great</p>
<p>You might really like BC, but you should be aware it’s not the best fit for your long-term goal (PhD CS). Nearly every school listed in RML and mom’s posts are stronger CS schools, most substantially so. CS just isn’t one of BC’s strengths.</p>
<p>This is not to dissuade you (I love BC as well); but think about what you really want.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon, Harvey Mudd. Very underrated.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon may very well be the strongest CS undergrad program in the nation.</p>
<p>Some schools take the ACT in lieu of subject tests.</p>
<p>^ Yes, it is usually ranked up there with MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley for CS. If you want an urban location, you might like Pittsburgh. Plus, it’s closer to TN.</p>
<p>Another good urban school, one that was not on RML’s list, is Johns Hopkins. JHU is most famous for its medical school but it is an excellent all-around university with a balance of strengths in humanities, sciences, and engineering. It spends more money on research per year than any other school in the country, but has fewer than 5K undergraduates. Some interesting research has been done there in Natural Language Processing (the late Frederick Jelinek taught at JHU, see [Frederick</a> Jelinek’s home page](<a href=“http://www.clsp.jhu.edu/~jelinek/]Frederick”>Jelinek Fellowship - Center for Language and Speech Processing)) and there must be some synergy between CS and all the medical research as well. Some of the surrounding neighborhoods are not so great but the campus itself is beautiful. It’s a little less selective than the Ivies, a bit more so than BC.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>It’s very important to get a realistic grip on costs. I’m not sure what “income based tuition” means but it probably refers to need-based aid complementing your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You and your parents will need to estimate your EFC and plan a strategy around that. Many famililes find they really cannot afford what is “expected” even if there is no gap between EFC and costs.</p>
<p>Yes BC is very exspensive and the more I research the sadder it becomes that BC may not be the perfect fit for me. Although I have dreamed of attending this institution, it may not be what my dreams are but what I want to become after the schooling life.
I have a teacher that attended Duke and taught at JHU, I may talk to him to get some of his input.
Attacking the Carnegie Mellon topic, this was one of my top picks but the more I read, everywhere it seemed to say that 2 subject tests were required. (as well as Cornell).
Thanks for all the help its just I’m stuck. Although I am a junior its a hard decision to make which direction I want to take my life. I knwo CS is for me because I am already technology savvy as it is, but choosing a school is hard with out peer feedback.
Any more advice would be greatly appreciated.
I hope this thread as helped many more as it has and continues to help me in my College Search.</p>
<p>So why not take a few subject tests? Lots of solid CS programs would like to see them. Prepare yourself now so that you have flexibility when you’re applying.</p>
<p>But you also expressed concern about finances. A warning: CMU will be very tough in that area. I think that’s part of their mission :(</p>
<p>Things will fall into place. The country needs many smart, motivated people in this field and cannot afford to have just 10 or 25 schools provide all the training. So you’ll have options. Your challenge will be to sort through the good ones to find a few that strike the best balance in meeting your individual needs.</p>
<p>What do you all feel about Johns Hopkins? Is it known for its CS program. From what I understand, the research department is great and if looking for a graduate opportunity, JHU would be a good fit. How do you all feel? Thnaks for the posts!!</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins has a very fine CS program. But to me, it falls on the wrong side of the value curve for a CS degree. (Unfortunately, I’m a value guy).</p>
<p>So if cost is a concern, you’ll find that out-of-state tuition rates at a number of state schools actually offer even better programs for less money - Mich, UNC, UTA, Ill-UC, Wisc for sure, possibly a few others. There aren’t many privates that beat those schools, and they’re the usual suspects. Obviously many of the UC schools are attractive, but signs point to a volatile financial ride for the next few years in the Golden State. </p>
<p>Any any of these schools, you’ll be able to hook up with solid research opportunities - which is what counts if you want to pursue a PhD.</p>
<p>Can I ask what a value curve is, and how does it relates to JHU’s CS program (deficiencies/benefits)?</p>