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

College Majors Math/Computer Science Majors
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<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. However I was not admitted directly to the CS major, meaning I would have to apply later, so there is a chance I wouldn't be able to major in CS at all.</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>

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<p>Net price at each school?</p>

<p>Also, are you in the major at each school, and, if not, can you declare the major easily? Washington is known for being highly competitive to get into the CS major if you are not directly admitted as a frosh.</p>

<p>Massachusetts is considered a good school for CS.</p>

<p>You can check the course catalogs to see what CS courses are offered, and schedules to see how frequently they are offered. You can also check the overall degree requirements at each school, including breadth requirements.</p>

<p>Smaller companies do tend to recruit more locally and regionally out of convenience, while larger companies are more likely to recruit widely.</p>

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<p>Do you know what kind of thing you’d like to focus your electives on? I can tell you more about Michigan but I can’t tell you anything about those other schools.</p>