What is the reason for CS and business? Would your goals be doable with majoring in just CS and taking a few business or similar courses for your out-of-major electives?
I agree with Renomamma about Cornell. We are from Connecticut and my daughter wanted to go to Columbia all these years until we visited Cornell last August. She applied to Cornell’s Dyson School (AEM) and got accepted. She will join Cornell with a hefty price tag, but could have gone to nearby state schools almost free.
Although we wanted her to go to a state school, we are still supporting her decision at any cost. BTW, we are not rich (nor do we earn less than $60K). We have minimal savings as we immigrated to USA only a couple of years ago. But still we did not get much in funding.
But if you have a family income less than $60K, you can go to Cornell (and many other private schools) on a full ride (tuition, lodging, and boarding all included). I think that will be a much better option than going to a state school offering only tuition waiver.
One more thing that I want to add is that you can get 30 credits or so from AP exams at Cornell unlike other private schools, so if you want to graduate a year early you can do so at Cornell.
I just wanted to clarify that the 30 AP credit advantage is in comparison to other Ivies. Most of the state schools offer those credits, exceeding 30 in many instances.
Dartmouth gives none. Others give very few.
Snowberry, congratulations on your daughter getting into Dyson!
Just to clarify, USC (University of Southern California) is not a state school; it is a highly regarded private university also not easy to get into.
@Renomama, thank you. I knew that USC was a well known private, but somehow UCB/UCLA dominated my senses when I wrote. In fact, one of the top students at my daughter’s school has decided to go there (also a sports recruit) declining some of the best public/private schools. The most important thing is the fit for a student.
Ok, Anne. I’ll tell you what would be my ranking, just for fun. But it’s all personal preference among good schools.
Cornell
USC-tied for 2nd
Berkeley-tied for 2nd
Wash U
UCLA
Vanderbilt
A CS-business double doesn’t make too much sense to me. Business is something you can always pick up with an MBA after making six figures out of college in a software engineering position. I knew a few CS-Haas at Cal, but they all end up dropping Haas because of how easy and boring it is. Perhaps something like CS and math or CS and stats would be more useful.
Just my two cents: Cornell’s CS Department has an excellent reputation, and if you are at all interested in business, you can couple it with a Business minor from Dyson, which is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the country.
Computer Science at Berkeley is very competitive and the grading can be harsh. It also is one of the top computer science departments in the country. For Haas, you cannot be admitted as a freshman. You’ll have to apply in your sophomore year for junior status. The Haas school is probably the toughest undergraduate business school to get into, especially compared to other business schools (including business econ. such as UCLA’s) in the West or maybe even in the country.
I am not familiar with the USC trustee scholarship. If it is a full ride, I agree that it is difficult to turn down. If not a full ride, you have a more difficult decision to make, especially if the cost of Berkeley is equivalent to USC’s.
USC’s Marshall Business School is good, but I am not sure how reputable is USC’s computer science department. Haas has more prestige than Marshall. Berkeley’s computer science is higher ranked and more favorably reputable than USC’s computer science.
Cornell is Ivy League and it is hard to turn down an Ivy League school. An Ivy League school can look impressive on a resume. However, Cornell is out in the middle of nowhere in NY, about 4 hours from New York City. Social and student life may not be great like USC’s or Cal Berkeley’s.
USC’s CS department is one of the best around. ARWU rates it at #11 in the world, and US News has it at #12 in it’s top 500 Global Schools.
http://www.shanghairanking.com/SubjectCS2014.html
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/computer-science?page=2
That said, for CS the school you go to for your undergraduate degree isn’t as important as it is for other undergraduate degrees.
So then, let’s say USC is $6,000 a year (room ect), Berkeley is $12,000 a year, and UCLA is $11,000 a year, Cornell $11,000 and NU is $8,000 a year, which of these would take the cake?
(And out of curiosity, would Duke rein in above all of these?)
Thank you for all the input guys, I really appreciate it. I think it would be wise, like you guys said, to get an undergrad CS degree and then an MBA later if I want it.
Also, on a side note, I know that I will likely be rejected from at least one, if not all, of these schools. I am just getting some information to make an informed decision later, should I have one.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems anyone considering turning down a Trustee’s doesn’t really want to go there. And if you can get a year of room and board in LA for 6k, that would be amazing. If they all cost you about the same, go where you want to go and feel a fit. All good choices.
I was thinking 6k cause I know that some of it would be covered with other aid I have already confirmed I’ll get (outside scholarship)
It’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s just that I’m so terrified I’ll make the wrong choice and regret it :(. It’s like, I can choose by rankings or just go with the heart, but either way I’ll feel like “what if I should have chosen the latter?” Idk I guess this is all just pent up worries about college and life thereafter
Feel free to re-start the thread when you get in. It is indeed about making the informed decision.
I agree with blue, OP is not that interested in a full ride at USC so if I were OP, I’d inform USC immediately and let another student have the Trustee Scholarship. Excluding USC, if it’s not HYSP, then it really won’t make a difference where OP goes.
It’s not clear to me if you want to do CS, business, or both at USC. I’ll assume you’re focusing on CS.
The relative quality of CS at the schools mentioned, along with the above listed costs, are close enough that none of the schools really takes the cake over the others. Go to the school where you feel most comfortable.
On other forums (such as the CS/Math forum,) when these kinds of questions come up, people often say go to a school in the region where you eventually want to work. It’s easier to get internships and jobs if you’re physically nearby. There’s some logic to that advice.
Duke isn’t really known for CS, although I’m sure its CS department is fine.
Even though tuition and room and board are likely to be covered by aid, your travel expenses won’t be. Cornell is hard to get to from the West Coast. Not sure about Vanderbilt. Wash U a little easier but still not as cheap as in-state. Do you care if you are able to afford to go home for Christmas break? How do you feel about winter? Cornell has serious winter, and even Wash U will be a major climate change from CA. Another thing to consider… if you come from a low-income family, will being around many wealthy classmates be annoying (e.g., what if all of your roommates can regularly afford to go skiing/ go to Europe over the summer/ etc)? You might not care, but just think about it ahead (you’d have a little less of that at Berkeley and UCLA, and (uninformed and possibly incorrect point of view) most of that at USC.
FWIW, I went to both Wash U (undergrad) and Berkeley (grad) and looked at Cornell for grad as well, and toured USC last year with my daughter. Not in CS or business, though. I think you’d get an excellent education at any of them, but the feel of the schools are all very different from each other. Of those, I felt like I personally fit in best socially at Berkeley, although I dislike the huge lectures for the intro classes. At Wash U I think you are more likely to form relationships with your professors early on (I was able to get a lab research position in physics as a freshman).
Anyway, good luck with your choices. I would encourage you to visit as many of the schools you end up admitted to as possible.
Vanderbilt is more of a four year life experience around a peer group of high achievers on a beautiful campus with a positive relationship with its host city.
Wow @Faline2! Before I had a kid there, I’m not sure I would’ve understood this, but I truly have never heard a more apt description.
You mentioned interest in entrepreneurship. The Greif Center in Marshall is highly respected. Entrepreneurship at Marshall is ranked #2 in the nation by U.S.News. The major is ranked #1 by the Princeton Review and #1 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Marshall students will be studying in the brand new Fertitta Hall, under construction.
Here are some companies that were founded by entrepreneurs from SC:
My Space
Kinko’s
Box
Quiksilver
Geocities
Dollar-Rent-A-Car
Casden Properties
California Pizza Kitchen -Co-Founder
Pinkberry
Public Storage
PMI Mortgage
Vizio
I am a native Californian who now lives across the country. It is a more of an adjustment to a northeastern climate than you might imagine. My suggestion is to visit Cornell and Washington U in the winter, if you can possibly afford the trip.I have lived in New England and abroad. It can be confining during the coldest months.
You have been selected as a Trustee Scholar. This is not only a huge honor, but also a generous scholarship. .It will go up, if tuition is raised. How will you fund the $100,000 (approximate) at another university?