Computer Science selections and concerns, help please!

<p>My info & Stats:
International student from China, currently in a school that follows the A-level syllabus.
SAT: 1840, but plan to take it again.
GPA: First two years: 3.8 and 4.0(out of 5), 3rd year not available until next week</p>

<p>My list so far:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley
Rice University
UCLA
University of Washington
U Mich
U T at Austin
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland
Purdue University West Lafayette</p>

<p>I know they all offer good computer science courses, but I also want to hear from others with the same concentration, including those who have been admitted and spent at least a year there.</p>

<p>Questions:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Problems with the college: For example, UC Berkeley is suffering from a big budget cut so they cancelled lots of courses. What are the problems (if any has one that is noticable as the example above) of other colleges?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any other recommendation on other colleges? (Some people suggested me to add University Maryland Baltimore County, SUNY Binghamton, Clemson or SMU as safety schools. I know even less about their computer science department!)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>xtra: Unfortunately in China we don't have as many interesting ECs as you have :-( and only pathetically few quasi-clubs grabs my attention at school and the rest are simply crap. I don't know what will happen as I try to explain these in my statement. I will go for the tech supportive job in my school's MUN and probably have my own club. But still all seems pathetic... Any suggestions or people have the same concern?
(Civil society is the last word when I think of my country. I guess the Gov. want less people to involve in those kind of social activities, but it is useless to blame)</p>

<p>This is my first post:-)</p>

<p>I go to Clemson and love the school. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!</p>

<p>As far as I know, there haven’t been any cancelled classes at Berkeley. In fact, they’re adding more subject offerings. The university has also acquired several faculty and the financial woes are gradually solved. But unfortunately, Berkeley is super reach for you especially if you’re applying for CS or EECS. I’d recommend that you set your sight on U of Washington, UT-Austin, UIUC and Santa Clara University. They’re doable for your stats.</p>