My daughter got admitted to undergrad in CS in Arizona state ( net cost 43k ) ; U mass Amherst ( Net cost 40 k) ; UT Arlington ( Net cost 20k ) ; UT Dallas ( net cost 47k ) ; University of Florida ( Net cost 44k ) . She is an International student and main criteria are academics and cost. Any suggestions on which university we should decide. Net cost per annum after taking into consideration scholarships is also mentioned.
I work with many software engineers who graduated from U.Mass Amherst. It is very good for computer science. Amherst is also a nice university town. I do not know as much about the other schools that you mentioned.
I would only consider two from your list since they are all equally priced. The best - which is subjective - in cs is also the least expensive. The most selective and highest ranked overall - which is subjective - is nearly the same.
The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is a top 5 level USA university in artificial intelligence education. Top 20 type overall cs and solid math. A great option for an international student is that you can take classes at 4 local and very prestigious, smaller, beautiful colleges as part of a consortium. It’s a big university but not overwhelming. It’s in a quintessential New England college town but has a little of an mini city feel on campus… Best college dining options in USA. It’s cold in the winter. But has easy access to skiing and outdoors activities. Frats and sororities are a tiny and unimportant part of the school culture.
UF is awesome too. Considered to be the most selective of your schools. But not “better” in CS. Has a growing and highly respected reputation. Warmer and more school sports fun type vibe. But it does have a larger social focus on the fraternity system, which may not be ideal for a international student. But it has a lot of ethnic diversity.
UMass-Amherst is easily the best CS school out of all from that list. My oldest went there as a CS major and has a nice job in Boston now. And has the best dining hall in the US.
Thanks for your views and help.
In terms of cost UT Arlington cost us only 20k per year and U mass Amherst 40 K . I understand the U mass is academically better but is it worth spending 80 k ( in 4 years) on this . For us cost is also important. Ultimately she wants to go for best graduate school . In that case is it wise to save 80 k for graduate school by joining UT Arlington ?
If really depends on her skills and goals. Not to say she can’t be super successful from either school - but if she has a desire to be a competent programmer or security analyst, tech etc. UT Arlington will be an excellent choice.
If she is more advanced or has loftier cs goals in mind, and she wants to be stretched academically, or perhaps interested in advanced research or academia. I would suggest massachuetts.
Also the college student lifestyle, campus environment, student activities and the fun of collegiate sports etc added into the experience, it’s not really a close decision. Sometimes non flagship state universities have a bit of commuter feel. As an international student I would suggest a university with its own community.
If you can afford it without harming your personal financial future or retirement - and not endure any unnecessary hardships in the next four years, I would not miss the opportunity at Massachusetts. If the answer is different, any of the UT schools will offer a great education.
Thank you for your valuable feedback .
My D also got admitted to MacMaster in Computer science. ( Canada) .Now our options are U mass Amherst, MacMaster and ASU. Any suggestions to finalize?
Did your daughter accept both ASU and UMass?
I’d still take UMass Amherst but I’d investigate whether our daughter could coop.
As a girl in CS from Umass she should be able to have a summer internship that pays 6-10K for a summer starting sophomore year.