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<p>Probably Cornell, if “first tier” is defined as the “big four”.</p>
<p>Anyway, ignore that distraction. All of the schools you named are quite respectable for CS. As a NJ resident, you may find Rutgers significantly less expensive than the others (unless you come up with one of the very large scholarships at Georgia Tech); the differences in “quality” with respect to CS academics are unlikely to be worth a significant difference in price between these schools.</p>
<p>Have you run the net price calculators on all of the schools to check affordability?</p>
<p>Out of state public schools with respectable CS and relatively lower list prices include Minnesota, Stony Brook, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State. If you want location close to employers over all else, there is San Jose State in Silicon Valley.</p>