hey guys I just wanna ask which school should I go to?UMD for CS or CU with Comp E and software Engineering minor? Any advice or information about the school?Thanks.
They’re very different environments. Can you visit?
yea I like both campuses(although cooper union has no campus). The thing I worried about is that job opportunities for cs at cooper union since google/facebook doesn’t come for career fair and nobody outside the greater new york area has heard of it while it is supposed to be famous for engineering and it has **** workloads . But I really like NYC. UMD, while is famous for its cs program, has a less intelligent student body as a whole and it will be very crowded. Cost is not the main concern here since we are extremely poor so I basically got full tuition FA for both. I just wonder which school will have better job opportunities and grad school placements in computer science.
Both places can prepare you just fine for grad school and jobs. What will make a difference is what you do during the four years you are in college. Some things that will maximize your chances at the best grad school and job opportunities include:
- GPA above 3.0
- CS or related internships every summer, and possibly also during the academic year (or co-oping)
- CS or related research for a professor during the academic year, possibly with a thesis or your own project
- leadership role(s) on campus
- extracurricular activities that demonstrate your communication skills (verbal and written)
- honors and awards (for academic achievement or winning individual or team coding competitions, hackathons, etc.)
- learning as many programming languages as you can outside of class (through free online courses, e.g.)
- certifications in the key computing skills you would like a job in, if relevant (programming, networking, etc.)
- related volunteering
- networking through professional organizations and conferences, etc.
- creating a website (personal or github or combination) showcasing your CS skills
- having a decent LinkedIn profile and making as many connections on there as possible
- starting a CS related business or creating a software product or app, and possibly getting a patent
- high test scores for graduate admissions exams
All of the above types of activities you can do at either UMD or CU, and they will set you apart from the other candidates.
Hi @mohanxue612 I’m a parent of a current Cooper engineering student. The career fairs for Cooper engineering are held at least twice a year and have so many great companies attending even if not google/facebook. Finding a job/internship is quite easy since the companies who do attend know they want the Cooper students.
While not many people outside the NYC area have heard of Cooper, to quote an uncle who is an engineer and went to school in the 60’s (not Cooper) “Anyone in the engineering field who hasn’t heard of Cooper has been living under a rock”
Cooper is a school like no other, you will be challenged beyond your imagination, classes are hard, but it would be a great experience!
Cooper only have housing for freshman so don’t forget to add renting an apartment in a NYC for 3 years
Yes, but if he’s getting a lot financial aid, (like he said) Cooper will also give financial aid to help with the apartment in subsequent years.
But NYC is expensive.
I think the CS versus CE difference is crucial here. I would venture to say that’s why Google/Facebook and others don’t go there. All of the things said about Cooper Union engineering is 100% true in terms of reputation. The problem is that CS is not really the same field as engineering.
If you’re looking at the CE/EE side and integrating with CS, Cooper is a great choice I think. If you’re looking to do what is standard CS at this point, I think UMD will offer better internship opportunities, more relevant classes, and possibly even better ones when it comes to CS topics.
The fit parts you mentioned are very true (UMD as a whole, larger class sizes). If you’re looking to really get that personalized attention, that’s a big plus at Cooper.
Everything listed by @mommyrocks is very true, but if you’re not learning as many CS skills in class, you’ll have to pick up a lot more out of class, maybe even things you haven’t even been introduced to. For example, web development doesn’t really have a place in CE, while it’s a very big applied area for CS. Only one class appears to even touch web development, if only barely, at Cooper (ECE 366). If you’re motivated to learn more out of class on your own, it may not matter, but I find even the self-starters are better when their classes align more with what they are doing.