<p>Hey guys, just wondering whether going to grad school is a good idea for a computer science major. Would it be worth it to go to a school that you an afford, but with no possibility of going to graduate school or would you rather take the less costly school with a lower ranking, but with the possibility of graduate school thereafter? Not going to go into name specifics here but lets say that higher ranked schools are in the 5-20 range, whereas the not-so highly ranked school is in the 30-60 range. Thanks!</p>
<p>There’s always possibility of grad school. Employers pay for it sometimes, sometimes colleges fund you. It really depends on the colleges. What’s the big secret?</p>
<p>There is a third option. Go to the lower ranked school, perhaps your state flagship university, and save $100,000 over the four years and just work. I am not against master’s degrees, but you should work first before you decide whether or not you need more education.</p>
<p>What kind of school are we talking about.? Go to a school that can help you find your first job as long as it’s not ridiculously expensive. Then the first job will help you pay for graduate school. </p>
<p>@BrownParent There is really no secret, I’m just searching for schools right now and the question popped through my head. Sorry if I made it sound like I was hiding something haha. @geo1113 Well, my state flagship is also ranked 5th for Computer Science so no guarantees there. Also the cost is fairly high for their engineering department (31.5k per year w/ no additional scholarships), so there will most likely be cheaper options with privates or even other out of state schools that would be more likely to give me merit aid. @DrGoogle What are the differences between a school like OSU (ranked 34th) and MSU (ranked 54th)? At what point does the ranking not really mean anything anymore (it already means little, but just prestige-wise for companies like Google and Microsoft)?</p>
<p>First, companies aren’t going to use grad school rankings for hiring undergrads. Grad school rankings are based on publication rates and stuff that has nothing to do with undergraduate quality. Realize also that there are no official rankings. When companies hire, they don’t wonder what U.S. News Magazine thinks. They think of what experience they have with grads from that college, and that might often be colleges in their area. So think in terms of respected programs, not their ‘ranking’. Someone I know who was recently hired had offers from a) a connection from college, b) a connection from an internship, c) directly from an internship. Two out of three resulted in offers. Did the college name have anything to do with it? Not sure. Suggest you look at the recruiting/internship ops at the colleges you are thinking of saving money at. Chances are they are a) companies that recruit widely and b) companies convenient to the college. I can’t say there’s not an edge for certain companies and certain jobs. But it has to be at a reasonable cost to you.</p>
<p>I am not sure what is the difference between OSU and MSU but I think if you do well there you will have no problem with grad schools.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle Again kinda going back to the original question. Is grad school even worth it at all?</p>
<p>It depends. I only think it’s worth it if your undergraduate is not as strong. I tell you what I told my daughter( when she was thinking of getting the BS/MS in 5 years) is to get a BS degree in CS, then work and do the MS part time. Lots of companies pay for MS degree in CS or engineering. In Silicon Valley, I’ve heard one is considered old if one is older than 35(back in my time it was 50), so the sooner she can start working the better. Gaining experience first hand is important. Graduate school should be a refuge between long term employments, like 6 months or more. There is no need to waste 6-7 years in graduate school when high tech is discriminating against older workers.
Another point is to get into a more prestigious graduate school then your undergraduate. For example, if your undergraduate is from a UC(top 20) then apply to Stanford or MIT(top 10) for graduate school. This way you get access to 2 alumni networks which is much better. I did the same thing, mine are one from each coast, so most people would have heard of one or the other.</p>