<p>My dad works at a tuition exchange school, which means I have free tuition at a select number of smaller private schools. I want to go into computer science, but none of these schools have a ranked computer science program. I live in North Carolina, near UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, and UN Charlotte, whose CS programs are ranked #20, #47, and #99 respectively. These are state schools, so they are affordable...but unless I pick up a lot of outside scholarship money, the tuition exchange schools are much cheaper (I would only have to pay for board, books and supplies). In your opinion, is the prestige of these programs worth paying the extra money for, or does prestige even matter that much?</p>
<p>I will definitely pursue graduate school after undergrad. I will no longer be eligible for free college for grad school, so I will likely be attending UNC Chapel Hill or NC State for my masters and doctorate degrees. With this in mind, does the prestige of the program at which I attain my undergrad degree even matter if I attain my graduate degrees at a highly-ranked institution?</p>
<p>One more thing: what is more important to employers, the prestige of the program or the prestige of the school itself?</p>
<p>Long answer: Graduate admissions are not done based on “whose alma mater is ranked more highly.” They’re done on a holistic basis that takes into consideration research experience, GPA, academic preparation, compatibility with faculty, GRE scores, etc.</p>
<p>Unless the schools you’re talking about are on the level of DeVry, etc., if you do well at them you’ll have a fine shot for graduate admissions.</p>
<p>Just be careful to research the CS departments before you decide where to enroll. Some small colleges have a computer science department with only 2 or 3 faculty, which is severely limiting in terms of course options. Also inquire about the job and graduate school placements of their recent graduates. This will tell you about the ambitions of their students as well as the how the department is perceived by the outside world. It will also help you get a better sense of your own options with a degree from that college. Not that you cannot be the first student in a decade to get into a top graduate program or be hired by Microsoft, but it might be an uphill battle. </p>
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Two things. First, PhD students in computer science are usually fully funded (meaning full tuition, health insurance and a stipend for living expenses). No reason to restrict yourself to in-state graduate programs because the better out-of-state programs will be free too! Oh, and you wouldn’t get a Master’s degree first if your goal is a PhD; you can enroll straight in a PhD program after college. </p>
<p>Second, most computer science majors do not go straight to graduate school unless their goal is to have a career in academia. There are some really cool and well-paying entry-level jobs for recent CS graduates out there.</p>
<p>You say that you will definitely pursue graduate school, but presumably you are 17-18. You really have no idea what you will do in 4 years. If you had asked me at 18 what I was doing after college, I would’ve told you law school. I’m in a psychology PhD program. You will also not “likely” be attending anywhere for graduate school, because you have to apply and be accepted first. Doctoral programs and many MS programs in comp sci offer funding, so your choices may not be so limited. Don’t try to plan your entire life out at age 17; it rarely works out the way we expect.</p>
<p>With that said, usually if there is some kind of ranking system for undergrad departments, it is based on the ranks of graduate programs. Remember that you will only spend 1/3 of your time taking major courses. The other 2/3 of your time will be spent taking general education requirements and free electives.</p>
<p>Here’s what you should do: flip through the pages of the course catalogs at the colleges you are considering, and see what computer science courses are offered. Is there a good number of breadth and depth courses? Are there interesting free electives? Do they offer the prerequisites required by most CS grad programs? Also look at adjacent programs and give yourself a little flexibility, realizing that you might change your major.</p>
<p>I would say that even if you went to Podunk undergraduate school, if you then went to University of North Carolina graduate school, you would be treated in the marketplace as a UNC quality person.</p>
<p>However, it is a tough decision you have.</p>
<p>I knew someone whose father was a professor at NYU, so he had free tuition if he went to NYU, but he also got into Columbia undergraduate.</p>
<p>He opted to go to Columbia, and obviously that cost a lot more.</p>
<p>So it may be that if you got into UNC Chapel Hill, it would make sense to go there, because that is probably significantly “better” than the undergraduate school you would otherwise attend, but as compared to NC State or UN Charlotte, the small undergraduate school might be good enough.</p>
<p>I am not sure you really need a graduate degree in computer science.</p>