Computer Science: UMich Ann Arbor v. UT Austin v. UW Seattle v. UMass Amherst

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm almost completely certain as to my career choice. None of these schools were my top choice, and none of them are nearby (not that that matters to me). I got into the Commonwealth Honors College at UMass, but to be honest that's my least likely choice at the moment due to high acceptance rate, low SATs/GPA, lack of notable alumni in CS, and never having heard anything about the place from teachers/mentors/etc. Also, I was rejected from MIT, and I don't really want to go somewhere so nearby. That's probably not going to matter to me much in the future though. Of the other three, I'm having serious trouble deciding. UMich has alumni like Larry Page, Tom Conrad, Tony Fadell, Bill Joy, etc. None of the others have anything close, which is making me lean towards UMich slightly. It's also got the highest SAT/GPA etc. stats, which is a plus for me. However UT Austin seems like it might have a better overall program, based on rankings (yes, I know, still though) and the Gates Foundation grant given to them. I've also got a CS mentor who has friends at UT Austin, and he seems to think somewhat highly of it. Washington is on the west coast, which I like, and apparently has a research budget comparable to UMich. </p>

<p>Of the four, UMich gave me the best aid offer (although it also costs most), followed by a comparable offer from UMass, and then pretty bad offers from UT and UW.</p>

<p>Anyone have opinions? Anyone have experience with these CS programs? I'm not entirely sure how to compare the CS education for these schools, besides alumni, research, and rankings. I'm not massively worried about culture, I'd really be happy with anything new, but if you have useful information please share. Also, if you've got any knowledge of the recruiting habits of tech companies in regards to these schools, I would be very, very grateful.</p>

2

<p>What is the bottom line price at each to you? Are you a direct admit to UW computer science? If not that’s a worry. If yes, I’d say pick that if CS experience is the most important thing to you. Otherwise I’d pick Michigan. Then Austin, then UMass.</p>

3

<p>UT, UDub and Michigan are your best options academically. There is no better or worse in this case, although Austin and Seattle are very big IT centers. That being said, all the big tech firms, like Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun etc…recruit heavily on all three campuses. Assuming cost of attendance is not a concern, I would go with your gut.</p>

4

<p>Are you a direct admit to UW CS or are you premajor?
Since only 30% premajors are allowed into CS, it’s a key question.
Plus, of course, costs…
Can you give us (tuition+ R&B) - (grants+scholarships) = ?
What’s your parents’ budget?</p>