Hey guys,
I’m an international student from India.
I was initially planning on attending UMass Amherst for Computer Science. It costs $37000/year.
I got the Full tuition+$2500 from UA making the cost around $12500/year (I think).
My parents are okay with sending me to UMass, which would leave me with $40000 loans after graduation.
But recently I discussed with them about UA, and they said that they would be able to pay for the whole cost, and for a Masters degree in the US or any other country(Since the COA is low). And they left the decision to me. They do not know about institutions in the US.
The low COA and the ability to also pursue masters is so tempting. But UMass is ranked 25th for CS and UA isn’t even ranked. UMass also has so many concentrations and different CS classes. And I hear that the professors are excellent. And that Valley companies visit and get interns from UMass a lot. I do not find the same stuff about UA.
I’ll probably return to India after studies, so I would need a degree respectable in India.
Is there anything special about UA’s CS program that would make me gladly choose this school?
Also, if someone can give me life advice about this, please do. I’m only 17 and this is frightening decision to make.
My senior daughter has the same scholarship to UA as you do, and UA is currently on her list of schools she’s been accepted to for CS. She’s visited the CS department and talked to some of the professors, and so far she feels like she’d get a solid undergraduate CS education there. It is ABET accredited.
She is still waiting to hear on some other schools before she makes her decision on where to go, but UA is high on her list. She’s planning on going to graduate school, so not having debt before then is very attractive to her.
On your end, you can do some research in India about how employers feel about degrees from U Mass and UA, and whether they make a distinction.
Finding people you connect with is also important-here’s one for UA:
FWIW, we’re nerdy white people, and culturally a mix of southern and yankee (I grew up close to UMass Amherst and a lot of my friends went there), and both schools offer a lot of good things both academically and socially.
I’m also concerned about the Liberal Northeast vs Conservative South. I’ve no clue. But I hear things.
@MotherOfDragons Thanks. I don’t really buy the ABET accreditation. I thought it meant a solid education. But then after looking into the ABET website, I realized that the shitty college next to my apartment is also ABET accredited. And all the dumb kids from my school go there, and it’s a really bad school.
The northeast is definitely more politically liberal than the south.
However, that does not mean that the Northeast has fewer bigots and racists. New Hampshire, Massachusetts’ neighbor to the north, is the headquarters for the klan.
Probably the biggest difference is the yankee bigots will act like you don’t exist and ignore you. The southern bigots will be nice to your face but never include you in anything. Pick your poison.
@MotherOfDragons Really? New Hampshire is the “headquarters” for the klan? As in the southern KKK? You said you grew up in western MA and you feel that the “headquarters” of the klan is in NH? You are the first person I have heard say that.
To the OP. I can say that this is not a view of the NE region. I am surprised a former MA resident would even claim such a thing.
Best to look into this deeper for yourself before you decide on a college.
My vote is you go to UA as it is a great school for the price and you would be a fool to pass up a full scholarship plus spending money. Being paid to go to school is an unbelievable deal. Because of the deal offered by UA, many of the students there are not from AL. It is very diverse.
55% of students at UA aren’t from Alabama. What reputation does UMass have in India? I can’t imagine they have much of one.
If I were given the option, I’d take UA and do my masters at a prestigious university. UA is not a school that lets everyone in. They have been climbing in recognition in the past 5-10 years.
I can definitely see your dilemma; I’m in a similar one. My parents would essentially pay me money to go to UA that I could use toward grad school or pocket. I’m on the fence as well because I have affordable instate options (UT Austin).
If I had to choose between Alabama+free grad school vs. UMass+40k of student debt, UMass would’ve left the equation a long time ago.
@Jpgranier I’d say no reputation. But I figured UMass’s reputation in the US would help me get better internships. And when I return to India, I’d have solid intern experience.
Oh god, I think I’m already leaning towards UA. The freedom to do anything to go anywhere after graduation might be the best thing for me.
@MassDaD68 I grew up next to Stonehill College in Easton. About 50% of my friends were a year older than me so I spent a lot of time over at UMass, so yes, I’m familiar with the area. My point about racists and bigots was that they are everywhere, and not to think that just because you’re moving to a particular part of the country that those people don’t exist. I really don’t want to derail this thread into that discussion.
@wolfwing123 we walked around campus when it was in session, and she peeked her head into a few classes, but neither of us saw what we would consider to be “overcrowded” classes. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous campus-if that matters to you it beats UMass hands-down, in my opinion.
One of the downsides that she did notice is that UA does not have a makerspace like UMD, Olin, and WPI have.
@STEM2017 Yeah dude. I was super excited. But then unexpected Dean’s scholarship from UMass and Full Tuition from UA, NC State kinda went on the higher price and not much value.
If you attend UA, take advantage of every opportunity you can while you are there, and keep up your GPA, you will be an excellent candidate for many upper-level grad schools. Plus, you will be able to afford them!
Employers don’t care about your undergrad if you go to grad school. If you aren’t planning on that, UA would still be a fine name here but probably not in India, although it sounds like employers in your country wouldn’t know UMASS either.
It’s a tough decision. Research what you can, and you’ll feel more confident with any choice you make. Good luck!
UMass may have slightly better internship opportunities. Can’t confirm, but just the location should bring more. UA is a decent CS school, but it’s definitely no something to laugh about.
I have an idea of another school, UT-Dallas. They have a VERY high international population, their number one program is CS (it’s what they’re known for), you’d have internship opportunities all throughout Dallas, and they have one of the best merit scholarship programs.
You won’t get the same feel from UTD, however. Their campus is not very nice and it is very commuter based. But if you want a more “at home” feel, they are perfect.
At Alabama, there are 4% internationals and 2% asian-americans.
At UTD, there are 23% internationals and 19% asian-americans.
If you plan to excel, I would choose the UMASS option, do research with a well-known professor, excel and perhaps go for a PhD, which will be fully funded) before you return to India. Having a well-known professor write that you are a top student is very valuable. This path can be a very lucrative option.
If you plan to be average go with the cheaper UA option.
Also, though UMASS a good honors college, in general, the average student at UMASS is probably at the same level as the average student at UA maybe a B to B+ student in HS. I don’t know your stats but if your math standardized test score is very high and your English is good, you have a very good chance of being able to excel at UMASS.
There is certainly risk, but the upside is higher with UMASS in my opinion.
@Jpgranier agree that UTD is a great school for comp sci and they give great merit aid but unless OP is US citizen or has documentation that would allow him to legally work in the US, he would not be eligible for stipends from UTD. which makes UA’s offer a better deal.
@ClassicRockerDad I don’t think I’ll be able to go on the PhD track. With $40000 loan, I’ll have to get a job somwhere and start paying that off.
I’ve always considered studying further after undergrad. That’s the main reason I’m considering UA. With the low COA, my parents would be able to pay for grad school, or I’ll be able to do a PhD without loans pulling me down.
I scored 1450 on the SAT(Math-790, E-660)
@3scoutsmom International students do receive the stipend according to what the AES office told me.
@Jpgranier I did apply to UTD. Surprisingly, I didn’t get their AES award despite having a superscore of 1470. Nothing I can do about that.
Moreover, I’m not concerned about the international population given the students are friendly and not racist. I get along with everybody.
@3scoutsmom Yeah I did see that.That’s why I emailed the office about it.
“may”.
It’s something like international students only get to work for 20 hours/week. And if you’re already doing that, you don’t get the stipend. Something like that. I’m not sure. But the office said that international students generally receive it.
Doesn’t matter anyway.
As my daughter considers her options, one of them is how well the kids do post-graduation. I do think you can do very well after either UA or UMass if you choose to excel at those universities, as evidenced by the kid above.