Help me find top computer science/security schools

<p>I am looking for somewhat prestigious schools that have great computer science programs. I am particularly interested in schools that also have strong computer/systems/network security programs. I don't think I have a chance for Ivy league and I really don't think I want to go to one but I would like to go to a well known school. So far I am looking at Johns Hopkins, USC, UC Berkeley, Purdue, George Washington University, University of Miami, and Rochester Institute of Technology. I know this is a fairly wide range of schools but I am aiming for JHU, USC, and UC Berkeley. Any thoughts on these schools or others with good computer science/security programs?</p>

<p>I’m also thinking about University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Maryland–​College Park</p>

<p>Tulsa refers to itself as a top security school?</p>

<p>Check the course catalogs of the various schools to see if the CS departments have courses of interest – operating systems, networks, security, and cryptography.</p>

<p>Note the distinction between CS and IT/MIS/etc. type of degree programs. CS is about designing computers and their software, while IT/MIS/etc. is about managing computers and their software (and business type of stuff).</p>

<p>Why GWU? I wouldn’t put them on a list of great CS schools.
Carnegie Mellon.
Security is a specialized area that can be studied at the Master’s Degree level. For example :
[SCHOOL</a> OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, Carnegie Mellon](<a href=“http://www.cs.cmu.edu/currentstudents/masters/]SCHOOL”>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/currentstudents/masters/)</p>

<p>GWU is just one of my fallback schools. I’m hoping I get into USC, UC berkeley, or Johns Hopkins. I’m also looking at UIUC and Purdue because they are closer to match schools but they are obviously not as prestigious as the former.</p>