My son didn’t expect to get into both of his top two choices…but he did! Now he is having a really hard time choosing between the two schools. I feel as though either school should give him a solid education, but feel really inept at helping him with this decision. As far as how he “feels” at each school…he likes the feel at both, for different reasons.
We would love any first hand information from those currently in or having taken CS in the past, from either of these schools.
Currently his thought is software development, but he’s young & maybe that will change. He does love to code and loves math. Considering a double major in Applied mathematics, as well as a Masters in CS & down the road a PhD. He’s an academic at heart & I can picture him entering college and never leaving! He’s also interested in Gaming Design, but doesn’t feel as though it’s worth pursuing as a career path.
Both are great. On the graduate level, UNC is ranked higher for computer science, but there’s not necessarily a perfect overlap to the undergrad level, and both are really good. That corridor in NC is becoming a rapidly growing tech hub. NCSU is a closer to it - the epicenter is Raleigh - but UNC’s not too far, either. That could be good for internships, networking, and freelance work.
Also, I work in video game design! If he majors in computer science and has a solid plan B it’s not necessarily a bad career path to target. Computer science and software development are booming fields, and if he doesn’t end up in game design he may end up somewhere equally great (with good pay and career growth opportunities) instead.
@juillet thank-you! It helps to hear someone from the field say that both are good programs and would offer opportunities for internship. We’ve both worked at researching both schools, but find a lot of bias based on if someone went to one school over the other. Our school guidance isn’t much help as they want to push him into engineering & that’s not what he wants. My husband and I are just doing our best to try and help guide him into the right program. This is his future and he has worked so hard, to have the ability to choose 
Honestly he seems to excel at anything he sets his mind to, but we’ve tried to keep him grounded to the fact that this is his future. Pick something that you can support yourself doing and potentially a family down the road. But, be sure it’s something you enjoy.
We had hoped he’d get some merit $$ from one of the two schools & if so, he’d go that route as he really does like both schools and has spent time at each. As long as both have solid CS programs.
There are still a few scholarships he’s hopeful for through NC State & is waiting to make his decision, incase he gets one. Chapel Hill will give him $$ to study abroad & a research grant, which is great, but not what we were hoping. He did get offered $$ for several other in state schools, but we feel as though Chapel Hill & NC State are his best choices for instate.
When comparing course offerings at UNC Chapel Hill and NC State, note that Carolina students can take one class per semester at Duke, which is very solid in math and CS and has been one of the biggest innovators in digital humanities. The Robertson bus (free to ride) runs directly between the campuses every 30 minutes, making cross-enrollment pretty easy.
As someone who knows both well but has attended neither, I’d give UNC the edge in quality of life. The mix of a nice campus, academically driven but friendly students, great college town, and fun athletic and social scene is hard to beat.
@warblersrule ummmm…now that you mention it…I remember something about being able to take some classes at Duke, but for some reason I thought it was a solid semester. Not a back and forth. At a solid semester there, that held little interest. 1 class per semester, definitely worth my doing some research & asking the DS about it! <3