<p>I recently took the PSAT as a sophomore and have been receiving many emails from a variety colleges. Two that particularly stood were to me were Rice and Emory. Before this, I had previously done some research and found a college in my state (U of M) was ranked in the top ten of computer science colleges, and given my GPA (3.96) and the scores I've been getting on practice standardized tests, I fairly easily fall within the range of what is average UM, not even including extracurriculars. Given UM's cheap in state tuition it also looks very appealing to me. Basically my question is, out these three colleges from personal or other experience, which you place highest for my intended major?</p>
<p>Michigan…no question.</p>
<p>I would agree, UMich.</p>
<p>I can give you some perspective on Rice’s computer science program, as my son is currently in his senior year at Rice as a CS major. While it’s a small program, it’s very strong. He’s had amazing research opportunities while there and has formed close relationships with his professors. He’s planning on pursuing a PhD in computer science and has applied to 12 Top 20 CS programs. So far, of the programs he’s heard back from, he’s 3/3 with acceptances (and these are programs that have an acceptance rate of about 8%). Those classmates looking for jobs have also been successful – Microsoft, Google, etc.</p>
<p>Rice also offers merit aid to about 1/3 of its accepted students, so don’t assume that it will cost more than in-state. Apply and see.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Top three on computer Science:</p>
<p>Caltech, CMU, UIUC.</p>
<p>Anyone who claims they know what schools are top for comp-sci has no idea what they are talking about. There are quite a few good schools for computer science, UMich being one of them, but at the moment the computer science field is changing so quickly that there is very little agreement even on what should be in the curiculum or even what department computer science belongs in (you will see this more as you get deeper into your search). Perhaps instead of trying to rank these schools by which one is “best” for comp sci look for which is the best fit for you as they will all give you the tools that you need to become a solid computer scientist. The rest my friend is up to you.</p>