Does your school really matter? (CSU vs CSU or UC vs CSU)

I feel like this answer to this is all over the place. That going to a UC is much more worth it for the name recognition and quality of teachers. Others say it doesn’t matter where you go as long as you get a degree, and work experience is worth much more. Then again I hear that UCs have a better chance of getting a job/internship with the resources they have. While other people say that a determined CSU student has just as good chances. Where is the truth in all this?

For me I guess I get bummed out since I’m at what’s considered a “low ranking” CSU . I’m a comp sci major and I’ve heard that for this degree in general it doesn’t matter where to go since it is fairly easy to get a job with this degree. I feel like I can get a job, but I want a GOOD job. Also I just can’t help the feeling that I’m missing out on something, like resources, opportunities, networking ect by being at a low rank school. I’ve even thought of transferring to a “better” school. Thoughts?

The bottom line is it can matter; to what degree it matters is up to debate. Can you be successful and fulfilled in your career having attended a “low ranking” CSU, absolutely but the journey might be a little bit harder or circuitous. It sounds like the die is cast for you and I would make the most of the opportunities at your current college.

Example, 2 of the 3 partners at my firm attended CSUs for accounting and were not recruited by the Big 4 right out of college, but they instead worked for the state government for a few years to gain valuable experience and then got a position at the Big 4. After many years of tax and accounting experience, they decided to start-up their own consulting business and are very successful today even after having attended their “low ranking” CSUs.

90%+ of your success will be due to your hardwork and perseverance and not your undergrad college.

I can tell you this as someone who does computers for a living. It really DOESN’T matter. Whether you go to UCLA or CSU, you’ll get an entry level job. The average length of time people spend in entry-level is about a year anyway. Here’s where it gets good. The tech industry is driven entirely on practical experience, which means in about 3 years, you and your friends from Berkeley will be on equal grounds. I went to a “no name” regional state university. With about 6 years of experience, in my most recent job search, I interviewed at Amazon, Google, USAA, GA Tech, University of KY, Target Corporation, and a lot more. I ended up taking a job for the state of Texas. You’ll be fine.

Completely agree with @coolguy40. Stay where you are, complete your degree and more forward with your life.

@cloudy2314 . . . let’s go through whatever process it takes:

  1. go to college, done => 2. get involved in hackathons => get as good of grades as you can, 3.4-3.7 or higher => 3. concurrent to enrollment or just subsequent to it, take internships at companies, plural, because you want to find your specific calling professionally, with your gpa and coursework being your ins => 4. good job waiting for you at graduation or shortly after it.

Your staying at CSU, with some of them being top CS feeders like SJSJ, Cal Poly, might be good for you with respect to grades, etc., because they might be less competitive.

All the best…

Does everyone from Cal and UCLA get a GOOD job? No, some may not do well in interviews or just not be very good at CS. Some have poor gpa’s. Some have done little to demonstrate their interest in the field and increase their marketability.

Reading your post it occured to me that a lot depends on whether you are a glass-half-empty person. Do you want to look for problems or opportunities? Sure a degree from a top school is a plus. But it is easily matched if not easily exceeded in importance to hiring companies by a student who takes part in student SW activities, and especially one who builds from perhaps on-campus involvment to internships at a chain of increasingly prestigious companies.

Just waving a degree around is not enough; employers can find lots of people with a CS degree, they want to see you’ve got exposure to the actual career. Often companies make offers to those that have interned with them. And a clever way to get experience with top companies is to do a semester-long coop. These are less popular since it stretches your time in college, but employers like them since in a 6-mos assignment they can give you a more significant assignment; and their unpopularity with college students means the competition for them is relatively light.

You should also be part of CS clubs on campus. Some students are going to be doing quite well; talk with them, find out what they’ve been doing, do the same things.

edit: I see from an earlier post you’ve been dwelling on this for at least 6 months http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/california-state-university-general/2145504-rejected-from-all-ucs-only-accepted-into-csuci.html And in another thread you wrote about feeling like you’re missing out on some college experiences. You can either keep feeling bad about how things worked out or do everything you can to make the best of them. Talking with a counselor might help you move the needle and learn how to get the energy and willingness to try again. I suggest you make an appointment at https://www.csuci.edu/caps/