<p>So i'm a senior in high school right now and i'm currently interested in computer science. I have always loved computer and just technology in general and have enjoyed dabbling into coding here and there when I have the time. However completing college with few or no loans is very important to me.. I have a job right now that will help me pay for school while only working part time during school and full time in the summer. This job is also giving me IT experience and I could even potentially give me some basic programming experience. The school I would like to go to is a community college that has an accredited cs program which from my research seems to be one of the biggest factors for a program. Outside of maybe a highly recognized school that isn't accredited. However I would like to move out of state after I graduate given a good enough opportunity. So my question is will getting a cs degree from a decent accredited cc be sufficient enough to make me competitive in today's IT fields?</p>
<p>Great plan - limiting your debt. I think a CC is a great place to get started on a CS degree. Though there are probably plentiful jobs now with a 2 year degree, I think you’ll want at least a BS to make you viable for higher paid and less off-shorable work. CS can be a BRUTAL major, lots of people can’t hang with the coursload so, its a great idea to go local at first, then transfer.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Get that BS in CS. It’s worth it.</p>
<p>afaik, a good university will help in getting you that first job maybe but (very) shortly after that it’s how you perform in your job and if you’re good at it. Even if you are a CS graduate from MIT, if you are not good at your job no one will care (though rarely will an MIT graduate be bad at his job).</p>
<p>Inbox me if you want. Also planning on getting a CS degree (in community college right now). But if the name of the college matters or not I want to be the best at it which is why I am targeting (and by the grace of God) maintaining a 4.0!</p>
<p>What state are you in?
Be aware that if you have a good GPA and good SAT scores, going to community college rather than straight to the 4-year university could cost you a lot of money in merit scholarships (since transfers don’t have access to those).
CA is different from many states since if your goal is a CSU (Cal POly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, SJSU for instance?) or a UC, there won’t be much of a difference cost-wise.
However, even in CA, if your goal is to transfer to a private university (such as Stanford, CalTech, HarveyMudd…) then your best bet is to apply as a freshman - these universities meet full need for freshman applicants (if your EFC is zero, it’s as close to a full ride as you can get). Of course these universities are highly selective so in order to give you really good advice, we’d need to know your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, in-state residency, college considered, and how much your family can pay (if anything).</p>
<p>are you sure that the program you are looking at isnt CIT and not CS? ive never seen a 2 year CS program around me before. anyway the difference in wages from associates to bachelors is fairly great, honestly i would go for the BS.</p>
<p>as for differences between schools, as long as its not Devry or other online Uni’s your fine lol. theres really no difference in state vs private schools besides a better connected alumni network if you go private (generally more wealth in Privates). although, of course a degree from an ivy looks far better on a application than a state school.</p>