Computer Science: Wisconsin Madison or Minnesota Twin Cities

College Search & Selection
1

Hi guys! I am an international transfer student and have been recently being admitted to University of Wisconsin Madison under College of Letter and Sciences and University of Minnesota Twin Cities under College of Science and Engineering. I would like to major in Computer Science but I still not sure which school should I go to.

Generally UWM has a better ranking in computer science in compared to UMN but I found that it doesn’t really differ much according to US News, QS and shanghai ranking. Some even rated UMN has better computer science undergraduate program than UWM.

Personally I prefer Wisconsin Madison more because of its reputation, prestigious and the environment there. Wisconsin Madison also has a better graduate program in computer science (they say that in order to see how good a university is in a subject, you must look at its graduate program) but I find that UMN is a really good school as well. I think the fact that Minnesota Twin Cities placing computer science program under College of Science and Engineering would provide me more chance to lay hand on engineering stuff and creating something (not really sure of it though). Besides that, the tuition fee at Minnesota Twin Cities is far cheaper than Wisconsin Madison, which mean very much to an international student like me due to conversion rate. I don’t mind paying extra if it’s worth, but now I really don’t know if it is.

My primary factor of consideration will be how much can I learn at that school and how much value can I generate from it. Also, for the internship during summer and job after graduation.

2

If price is the same, Id go with UWM cause it holds a bit more value

3

They both are very good schools. Wisconsin (just called UW; UWM refers to another campus, Milwaukee) does have an edge for computer science. One fact you should note is that UW-Madison usually accepts all students generally, that is, to Letters and Science. It does not mean that you will have difficulty being admitted to computer science. Unlike other top-ranked CS departments, UW doesn’t generally have a harsh limitation to be accepted into the CS program.

If money is a big concern for you, Minnesota will provide a very good education as well. The two schools still have in-state tuition reciprocity, which doesn’t apply to you; however, it gives you an idea of the relationship between the two universities. If you prefer Wisconsin and you can afford it comfortably, you may want to choose that – the acceptance you received is the normal one for all admitted students, and I wouldn’t let that hold you back.

4

@LordSwag , there is a difference in tuition fee between UW and UMN for around $10k per year though. As a transfer student, I estimated that I will be studying for 3 years there. I know that Wisconsin is more prestigious and it is really awesome there, just not sure if it’s worth the extra money.

5

@anhydrite , I mistakenly always thought that Wisconsin Madison is also known as UWM. damnn

Thank you so much for the insight! You seems to know very much about this.

yap, that is something I keep on thinking about. At UW, all students are admitted to Letters and Sciences generally, that provide students the freedom to take up any courses offered by College of Letters and Science, like finance, investing, physics, music. Students can express their interest freely first, take up any classes they interested in, and then only declare their major.

However, the hold back to me is that, UW offers computer science program under College of Letters and Sciences, not College of Science and Engineering, where many other top schools including Cornell, California Berkeley, Illinois Urbana Champaign place their computer science program under engineering school. I think that if CS program is placed under engineering school, students will have more opportunity to lay hand and get in touch with engineering stuff, and actually creating something. I’m not sure if it is like that but that’s what I’m looking for, to be engaged more in engineering stuff, applying computer science to engineering, creating stuff like artificial intelligence

UMN places computer science under their engineering school, and it seems that everything is good at UMN. but I think UW still has a better comp science department compared to UMN, and according to what I read, UW is really an awesome school which I’ll get many invaluable experience from.

My parents can afford sending me to UW, but not comfortably. They sacrificed a lot. Thus I hope to learn as much as I can and generate maximum value out of it. How does Silicon Valley view UW and UMN? which school has a better reputation?

6

For Silicon Valley, Wisconsin has a slight edge I believe. There are some prominent Wisconsin graduates, especially from graduate C.S. in Silicon Valley, and that has made a mark. I don’t know if you’ll get a perfect answer for your choice; they both have advantages and disadvantages – reputation, price, atmosphere, etc. I still don’t believe where the program is housed is going to make much of a difference at all. There is a difference between computer science, and computer engineering; that is roughly equivalent to the difference between programming and dealing with software, and designing and dealing with hardware engineering. That was something you should probably already have determined. But the fact that Wisconsin Computer Science is located where it is should not dissuade you from it, and comparing its school housing to other universities is not a fruitful comparison, imo. Each university has rather distinct histories and reasons for housing their departments where they do, and in highly ranked programs, it is not likely to detract from the quality of the respective programs and educations.

The quality of education and research on offer, internships, etc. should be your primary concerns, and that is excellent at Wisconsin. In terms of value per dollar, Minnesota could have the advantage. I don’t want to sell Minnesota short, but I also don’t know it as well in these departments. But you should also consider where you will be happiest and most fulfilled, both during college and after. Also consider alumni networks as an international: Wisconsin has the arguably stronger alumni network and reputation worldwide than Minnesota, and this could help you later in life.

7

Also, AI isn’t engineering at all (unless you’re talking about robotics).

Agreed that (unless you aim for a hybrid EECS or CompE major) where the CS department is housed makes zero difference at all. CS is CS.

8

If your parents have the cost concern you mention, then I would go with Minnesota. It is a tremendous program - no question. You won’t lose anything with internship opportunities (18 Twin Cities F500 companies) or placement after graduation.