Deciding between Pitt v. Boulder v. IU for CS

College Search & Selection
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​D22 will be majoring in CS, and we’re all having a tough time figuring out which of these schools is best for her. We’re in the Chicago area so she’s OOS for all.
EDIT TO UPDATE: Crossing Boulder off the list due to cost. She can always move there after college :slight_smile: I’ll leave the info up in case others searching find it useful later

Budget: was $40k/yr but going up to $50k is doable with a little more out of my pocket and student loans.

So, which would you choose? More about D22 in the comments.

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
USNWR CS Rank: 60 | USNWR Overall Rank: 59 | CSrankings Rank: 42
Payscale Mid-Career Salary: $116.7k

OOS Cost: $46.5k/yr – Panther Pride Award $8,600/yr
Admitted to CS in School of Computing and Information after being deferred
Was her #1 choice until the deferral and has felt like they haven’t communicated with her much since she was admitted, so she’s cooled a bit.

Concerns: Communication seems sparse, their website and portal systems are not great, and it makes me wonder how hard it is for students to get help with advising, registration, access resources, get face time with professors, etc. May be more engineering-focused than she wants.

Raves: She loved PGH and the urban campus, and I like that it gives her the “going away” experience. Highest overall ranked school on this list, so it seems like intellectually it might be the best fit for her. Lowest price of the 3.

INDIANA UNIVERSITY - BLOOMINGTON
USNWR CS Rank: 60 | USNWR Overall Rank: 68 | CSrankings Rank: 42
Payscale Mid-Career Salary: $134.3k

OOS Cost: $51k/yr – Deans Scholarship $2k/yr, SSA TBD so hopefully a little more $ coming
Direct Admit CS in Luddy School of Informatics, Computing & Engineering
She literally swooned when we visited the first time. I heard her whispering to herself as we wandered around the Memorial Union “I could GO here. I could LEARN here!”

Concerns: Doesn’t give her the chance to “go away” to school. It’s a 3.5hr drive but still in the midwest. Party school and Greek life reputation is at odds with her personality, she’s never even been to a HS football game. Despite Bloomington being a blue bubble, Indiana is a very red state and I’m not crazy about sending my daughter to spend 4 years somewhere that doesn’t see her as fully human.

Raves: The Luddy school is not a traditional engineering school, which she likes. There is a lot more flexibility to switch majors, take classes outside of the major, get a well-rounded education. The new building is very impressive and it seems like they’ve invested a lot in this area. Campus is gorgeous, Bloomington is a great town, and it feels like Luddy does a lot to make it easy for these students to get advising and support. Gives her that small school feel with all the perks of a B1G school. She’s taken a couple of their CS summer camps (online for 2021) and feels like she would be a part of the school.

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO - BOULDER
USNWR CS Rank: 37 | USNWR Overall Rank: 99 | CSrankings Rank: 55
Payscale Mid-Career Salary: $143.6k
OOS Cost: $53k/yr – Chancellor’s Scholarship $6,250/yr + SWE Scholarship $2k/yr
Direct Admit to CS in College of Engineering & Applied Science

Concerns: Reputation (earned or not) as a party school. Will it feel overwhelmingly huge and impersonal? Wondering how my introverted girl will find her place here. Will she struggle with grades and lose the scholarship, making it too expensive to stay? The overall school rating is much lower than the other two, so how are the academics for the non-engineering courses she’ll want to take? Cost of living in Boulder is high.

Raves: We won’t be able to visit until mid-April, but from the virtual tours we’ve seen it is a stunning environment. Gives her the “going away” experience, and a totally different region of the country. I’m originally from Southern California so I like the idea of my kid heading westward. The CS program is highly ranked, Boulder’s known for being strong in science & engineering. She really likes that she can get a BA in CS instead of a BS, and have that wider range of academic experiences. They’ve been great with communication and making her feel wanted.

OTHERS
Also admitted to:
Iowa State: way under budget at $23k/yr — are we crazy for not going this route?
Michigan State: under budget at $39k/yr — lots of red flags with this one, doesn’t seem like a good fit

Also applied to:
William & Mary: not expecting an admit
CalPoly: not expecting an admit
UW-Madison: deferred to RD
Virginia Tech: waitlisted for CS
UIUC: waitlisted for DGS (ha, thanks a lot, Illinois)
Rose-Hulman: deferred to RD
Purdue: admitted ES (she declined), denied CS or Data Science
CWRU: denied

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A little more about D22:
She’s one of those “average excellent” students who has worked hard since 4th grade and has been placed in pretty much the top level of most of her classes since then. Not a superstar type, but still in the top 10% in the state (her HS doesn’t rank students anymore), and describes herself as nerdy! She’s played viola in the orchestra for 9 years, spent a few years on a robotics team that went to state finals, and is an intellectual who can sit down to dinner and have informed conversations about science, world events, and culture. She’s also smart-but-scattered and may be on the edge of ADHD. Not sure about that, but wanted to mention it. Her social life is pretty quiet.

She isn’t a partier, prefers small groups of friends (doesn’t really hang out with anyone though). She loves comedy, knitting, and animé. There was a time when I thought she’d make a great comedy writer in the style of Tina Fey. She gets along with everyone but is a quirky girl who doesn’t really relate to a lot of other kids her age. She’s never posted a selfie on social media, for example!

She applied broadly to a variety of school types because she genuinely likes things about each of them and because we were concerned that the competitive landscape for CS programs would make it hard for her to get admitted to the better schools. We were right on that one. She’s taken each deferral, waitlist, and rejection in stride, and has is excited by the idea of each of the 3 schools on the list.

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You should go to another, cheaper school where you can still get in like UAH for mid size or to skew large Bama or Arizona. No reason to take on debt. CS is employable period. You can find your people anywhere. UAH is in a tech city…lots of jobs. Don’t know her UW GPA and ACT but. Or sorry Iowa State since you mentioned. You are crazy for not going this route if a) you can’t afford the others and b) she can see herself there. But seems she wants more urban. Do a virtual tour of UAH. More suburban but mid size, in hot city. And cheap after merit.

CU will likely cost more when you move off campus. Many move to surrounding towns due to Boulder cost. But it’s a really nice campus.

IU is nice but not known for tech.

Pitt seems the right fit of the three. She loves everything about it except the Pre - contact experience which does not equal strength. That doesn’t impact the program itself. Ask the school or dept for outcomes. I’m sure they’re fine. Btw other than the ‘pre admissions, ie their portal stinks, etc, I’ve never read a bad word on CC about Pitt. Seems universally loved. And it’s clear it’s her preference. We never got there. No merit. Few get merit. So that’s a big congrats to her !!

But debt is a terrible thing if it can be avoided. Hence my first comments.

Sounds to me like she’s decided (Pitt) but you’ve gone to paralysis by analysis. Just don’t go to financial stress. Otherwise go Panthers. Good luck.

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I made all of those suggestions early on in the list-building phase, and she had zero interest in heading south, so she won’t be applying anywhere else at this point! Maybe S26 will consider them, but D is firm. We can afford all 3, cost is an element for sure, but she is not a bloom-where-you’re-planted type. Fit is important.

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That’s great. But RHIT is different than Wisconsin. Some cities like Huntsville are in the South but is all rocket scientists. It’s the #2 space city. UAH kids crush it on tech jobs. All the aerospace companies are there. They are not southerners. She’s got stereotypes in her mind. And Tucson is a big city and the campus a short trolley from downtown. In west, not south.

Of the three you mention, Pitt is clearly her favorite. See if you can make an appointment with a professor or advisor to talk further. Of the three Pitt is also smallest etc. that she got merit there is impressive. We didn’t get to visit. No merit. Few do.

Of course since you like paralysis by analysis, you know you’ll get into a few more of the deferrals. and it will monkey it up more :slight_smile:

Other than CWRU and maybe Wisconsin none seem to fit…,urban. RHIT would be one of few girls. Very rural. Even for terry haute as it’s outside. I love Va Tech but it’s massive. And rural. Beautiful campus though…I think nicest in America. None of them will make cost. Maybe Cal Poly but SLO is hard to get to and if you’re going to apply there, why not cheaper, more urban and easier to get to Arizona? You applied Iowa State, Michigan State so it’s certainly at levels you’ve applied to. It’s a simple app. It meets more of what she wants then most is why I put it. . I put the merit table below. Tuition about $38k. Only UW GPA matters.

Wisc and W&M won’t make cost if you’re already stretching. W&M is compact, awesome and nice. But very rural. Loved our visit. Reminds me of a small Miami of Ohio in many ways.

Good luck. But based on everything you said, Pitt seems a winner. Just don’t do like my college friend Whose family had to sell their home and move into a trailer to afford school. Ps. Don’t forget to add $3-5k a year over what they tell you the cost is at any school.

https://financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/incoming-transfer

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I appreciate your feedback, but we’ve thought out all the schools she applied to and she won’t be applying to more. She doesn’t like hot weather, so all southern states were removed as an option, it’s not because of stereotypes. We know there is a variety of types of schools on her application list. That’s because she likes things about each. Cost is a factor, but what I’m hoping to learn more about is the CS programs at the 3 schools she’s deciding between. We aren’t in danger of living in a trailer, I promise.

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I think u reach out to each then. Ask to talk to a prof or a student ambassador.

But as a student who needs to spend four years there day after day after day, seems she prefers Pitt based on all u wrote.

Good luck.

Sad story about the girl in the trailer. After two years had to drop out if The Cuse and ended up at home state Montana. She’s still in journalism. I’m not. It all worked out (for her, not me) :slight_smile:

Let us know who she selects.

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Has your D done a deep dive into each school’s gen Eds and CS major requirements? If not, she should. Look at the profs in each CS dept…what proportion have tenure/are on TT? What’s their research focus? What seems most interesting to your D?

She will be able to achieve all of her goals and meet peeps like her at any of these schools.

It’s reasonable to take the $27k max undergrad student loans, anything beyond that is on the parents, so I don’t recommend that. If any of these schools require parental loans, I encourage you to reconsider Iowa State.

It sounds like she prefers Pitt, so not sure I understand the issues. Do not let her make judgments about the rest of the school based on the communication prowess of the admissions dept.

IU and Boulder are probably more social, with larger proportion of Greek life. I also don’t understand why IU wouldn’t feel like a going away to college experience at 3.5 hours away….has she verbalized that?

If all of these schools are doable financially, I would let her choose. I encourage parents to only give input if asked (with the exception of financial considerations). Good luck on the visits, it’s great she will have that opportunity.

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Echoing that I wouldn’t judge Pitt by the post acceptance communications. Some students enjoy receiving many communications while others are quite tired of receiving so much college email. Pitt may be erring on the side of less communication from your daughter’s perspective but might also avoiding irritation from those who prefer less communication. Being offered admissions is the clearest sign of interest possible.

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@Freshcoastal - My pick would be UPitt.

Oakland part of Pittsburgh has a lot of colleges (CMU, UPitt, etc. ) and comes across as cosmopolitan, diverse, non-red. It’s close enough to Illinois but not too close. UPitt also allows serious-minded/studious students to optionally take honors courses if they choose to do so.

Most public colleges will have some party atmosphere but UPitt will be open to kids not interested in partying, in my opinion!

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It’s been interesting to watch — she applied to Pitt in September, preferred it from the get-go, and then as soon as Boulder was on the table she started feeling less drawn to Pitt and now isn’t sure. She really likes the CS majors at Boulder (BA option) and Indiana (not traditional engineering) which give the options for more well-rounded studies, so that is part of it.

IU is still in the midwest region, so that’s why it doesn’t feel as “away” as the other two. The other two FEEL like you’re in a different part of the country. I think that’s a valuable experience. We’ll support any of these choices, so I just want to help her find the program she will be able to navigate the best.

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IU alum here (transplanted to the west coast) - if she were concerned about finding ‘quirky’/not Greek or sports oriented people in Bloomington I can assure you that’s not a problem, and the IU music school brings a lot to the community. That said, it sounds like she’s more interested in Pitt and it’s more affordable than IU so it sounds like she’s got a great choice!

(We will be visiting Pitt soon to show DS 23, and I’ll be curious to see what he thinks.)

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I definitely get the sense that it would be a more serious environment academically. The funny thing is that it’s the one school that we’ve seen the Party Side of. We visited last year the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. Around 4pm all the house parties started and students were out on their lawns partying and having a great time. We even had to move off the sidewalk and onto someone’s lawn to get out of the way of a roving group of a few dozen kids having a mobile party around the neighborhood! Later that night we went for milkshakes in the south side neighborhood and got to experience the nightlife vibe. A bit wild for her taste, but we assured her every school would have that element and it was normal.

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The arts at IU is one of the things she loved about it!

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If she were to go there she should look into volunteering at the IU Auditorium.

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Is there a reason she isn’t more interested in Iowa State? Of note, Iowa State is part of NSE (National Student Exchange) which allows you to do up to a year at another participating school. There are 200+ participating schools across North America, mostly in the U.S. but a few in Canada and the Caribbean too. The 2 best things about the program are 1) That credits transfer automatically including credits in your major 2)you pay in-state tuition, and most of your scholarships transfer too. Cal Poly SLO is a participating school too.

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I think she feels like it’s a lower-tier school overall. She definitely likes it better than Michigan State. We visited campus (just a self tour, over Thanksgiving, so no presentations) and it’s nice. Ames is cute. Des Moines is nice. Iowa just isn’t clicking with her as much.

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Boulder is a much smaller city than Pittsburgh, but of course it has Denver 22 miles away should one want something is a bigger city (theater, sports, museums) and is very easy to get to on public transportation.

There is Greek life, but it isn’t as big as at some other flagships. Lots of visibility at football games, but it is only about 15% of the undergrads.

Artsy and funky? Welcome to Boulder.

It is expensive to live in Boulder, so most students share apartments or houses.

I don’t agree that ‘many’ students live out of Boulder to save money on housing. The surrounding communities cost just as much so why add on commuting expenses? Most students live very close to campus but with 30k+ students, some do have to live a little farther from campus.

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It was told to us during our visit. Louisville was mentioned and Broomfield. Someone wrote they disagreed but then a parent of a current student wrote that it’s absolutely true.

I do know the school / tour guide shares that info. Not everyone. But some do to the cost near campus. We did this for our hotel btw. Was much cheaper 15 mins out.

Anyway OP can review, seek more info if they’d like, and go from there.

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If it’s just those three I would choose Boulder. JMHO.

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