<p>First of all, I am international student. I live in Peru and one of the main reasons I applied to universities in US was that there I would have greater opportunities to work on what I love (gaming industry and A.I.).
I was accepted at the University of Kansas, Richmond and Oberlin, and still deciding which to attend.
Kansas is ranked 79 for tis Computer Sceince program while neither of Richmond or Oberlin are ranked. I believe this is because those two are liberal arts colleges.
Kansas is a much bigger university but for some reason I think Richmond or Oberlin will give me grater opportunities. The classes are smaller and I will not be just a number there,. Also the contact with professors is better. I am a dedicate student and I will put all of my effort wherever I go, but I think in Richmond or Oberlin I will have greater chances to outstand as there is not too much competition.</p>
<p>I have this in mind because I would love to apply to a top 10 school for doing my M.S. in the future. And this brings a new question: will the schools I apply in a few years for my MS give great importance to where I attended for my undergraduate education? And having that in mind, will it be better to attend KU or one of the other two liberal arts schools? Alos it is very important what employer look for somebody's undegraduate education. If I am willing to enter into the gaming indsutry will they give much importance to which university I attended?</p>
<p>Unfortunately for me, finantial aid is one of the most important things to consider (if not the MOST important) while choosing. KU has offered me a great finantial aid package and I would only have to pay 12K a year. On the other hand, I receieved Oberlins offer a few das ago and it is not nearly as good as KU's and to be honest I think it would be almost impossible for my parents to afford it. This lives only then KU and Richmond, whose finantial offer I am sill waiting.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time =) </p>
<p>ps: And yes, I know this is a weird set of colleges to choose. I applied to others but I believe these are the best ones. Because I applied through the Fulbright Asociation in Lima, they gave me a list of which colleges that offered finantial aid for international students. I had to choose between them. Also, for some reason I don't know, I get to know school decisions and offers one or two weeks after everybody can because I have to wait for Fulbright to tell me.</p>
<p>Just a parent of a HS Junior… no real expertise to offer.
I’d ask you which ones offer the best internship or Co-op programs. From the limited research I’ve done, it seems these work programs have the greatest impact on the ability to be hired than the rank differences between these schools.</p>
<p>If finances are an issue, that has to be seriously considered. People tend to over value what they can’t have and discount the value of what they can. Don’t fall into that trap.</p>
<p>I do not know about the strenght of the intership programs at Richmond or KU, but I will definitley gather for information as it is of much important when talking about finding jobs.
Thank you for your comment.</p>
<p>Try contacting the career centers at each school to find out what employers come to each school’s career center to recruit students in your major.</p>
<p>You may also want to see if putting “career survey” in the schools’ website search boxes comes up with anything indicating how successful recent graduates were in both jobs and graduate school placement. If they have nothing, ask the career center and your prospective major department if they have any such information.</p>
<p>However, if you are not a US citizen or permanent resident, you need to consider whether it matters in your country of citizenship which school you go to, since work visas in the US are not guaranteed (not all employers have the resources or willingness to sponsor employees for work visas).</p>
<p>Another factor I was considering for decidin which schol to attend is location. I have the impression that Lawrence (KU) is not a strong business or economical city. I f I want to get a good job in Computer Science I believe I may find it elsewhere. In that case will Richmond (Virginia, near Washington) be a better option?
That is one of the reasons taht disapoint me of KU. I have one friend that got accepted there too but is not enthusiastic about it. She is heading for biology as a major, but she thinks that Kansas will not be a good place to develop as a professional.</p>
<p>Kansas is a solid state university that likely will have a good computer science program. The first two years there will probably be bigger classes at Kansas than at UR or Oberlin, but after that your classes at each school will probably be small. Kansas also probably has a wider variety of research opportunities in CS die to state funding. It is good you got a nice FA package from Kansas, as FA is often hard for int’ls. Unless UR gives you a great FA package, I would go with Kansas.</p>
<p>Thabks.
It is good to hear good references for Kansas. Now that I think it is the only actual finantially possible option I had while I wait for Richmond’s FA.
My only concerns are what options will I have in the future as a graduate from Kansas. Will my possibilities stay in Kansas as I did not graduate from a much recogbised school in a city with greayer CS opportunities?</p>
<p>I am from Lima and also applied trhough te Fulbright asocaition. Could you tell me if your university decisions arrived on time? I also applied to Richmond but have not received anything form them yet :(</p>
<p>I believe it really doesn’t matter as long as it is ABET accredited. Obviously, this philosophy does not apply to well known engineering schools like MIT, UIUC, and Berkeley. All the major companies (Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, etc) recruit there because those schools have a world renowned engineering program. However, when you are talking about University of Kansas, or University of Illinois at Chicago (my school), they are decent schools that have an ABET accredited CS program. At that point, rank doesn’t really matter as long as your school as some sort of reputation.</p>
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<li><p>zeltraxnin: i have read your thread. I am sorry you have not heard from Richmond. For some reason Fulbright gives the results weeks after they are announced. My counselor there told me that on friday he received an update for all applicants’ decision. You should ask about that.</p></li>
<li><p>carc369: Thank you for comment. I would like to enter the videogame industry as a programmer and then ascend into new roles (like design or development of new AI systems or engines), or maybe some day create my own company.
Becuase of that I am cautelous whith which school I choose. As you say Kansas is ABET acredited but Richmond doesnt. However, I have the feeling that Richmond will give me a greater college experience, but more important, I may be closer to te faculty memebers as it a small school. Also I have the impression that as Richmond is near Washington I will be ble to make contacts or more opportunities while applying for jobs.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Richmond put me into an akward situation =S They say they can’t offer me admission and Finantial Aid TOGETHER as I am international student. hey say that if I can prove that I will be able to pay the entire university costs (more than 50k) they will offer me admission I will be able to enroll.</p>
<p>Therefore, I think I will be attending KU this fall…</p>
Washington D.C. is dominated by the government / defense industry and many positions require a security clearance. I have my doubts about your ability to get a security clearance, as an international student.
Sure, a more recognized university in a city with greater CS opportunities would be better. But that doesn’t describe Richmond at all, so don’t worry about it.
You and every other CS student. My understanding is that the gaming industry is very competitive.</p>
<p>You need to do some research on work visas…I am not knowledgeable on that topic, but from what I have heard it can be difficult for foreign students to secure employment following graduation.
Congratulations! Kansas is a great school with a classic US college-town experience.</p>
<p>Thank you nonimagination!
Your post has been helpful with my decision and now I am decided to attend KU (I had my doubts even when they offered me a great scholarship).
In fact, I’m thinking to apply for transfer admission to another university with a better CS program during my first or second year. But I will let myself enjoy the campus adn Ku as long as I am there :).</p>
<p>Good choice. For technical careers, the big state schools generally have more to offer. Oberlin is a quality school, but would have been a completely different college experience.
It is also likely that it would be easier to change majors at Kansas in case you changed your mind on the career path.</p>
<p>Being near Washington DC has nothing to do with finding a CS job. All the CS jobs are in the big cities such as NY/LA/Chicago/Austin and Silicon Valley area (where all the geniuses and intuitive/innovative minds are at).</p>
<p>As noimagination has stated, the gaming industry is EXTREMELY competitive. Not only would you need a strong knowledge of all main programming languages (assembly, C, C++, and Java to name a few) but you will need good grades AND experience to back it up. </p>
<p>I don’t want to put you down but most people don’t start off with gaming careers. You need to prove yourself and start from the bottom and work your way up. I’m sure if you get an internship with a gaming industry and prove yourself that way they might even hire you right off the bat. I wouldn’t place a bet on it though seeing as everyone applies for those internships. </p>
<p>Also accreditation is becoming extremely important nowadays so I highly recommend you go to an ABET accredited CS program.</p>
<p>I think you will be happy at Kansas. Remember to utilize the extra help that professors and other students offer when you need it! Professors and TAs will host office hours where you can go to get any extra help that you need on a problem set or concept. This will be especially useful in the large classes that you are hesitant about. Also I would recommend learning some programming before you matriculate this fall. See what language your school starts with and try to get a head start. Best of luck in all your endeavors, hopefully you rock it at Kansas :)</p>
<p>Thank you for your comments and nice thoughts ;)</p>
<p>Well, I accepted Kansas offer a few weeks ago and I ama bout to make my deposit and the housing contract :)I am happy with where I am going now. I do not know if I mentioned it in this thread, but I am planning to apply for transfer to another university with a better CS program. It will be difficult I know, but it doesn hurt to try.
I will give KU a shot anyways, I hope I like it and I know I will have a great time there.
I have been studying for over a year now at a peruvian university and it seems like I will be able to transfer some credits (Calculus and physiscs courses, discrete structures, and more). I am a great student I believe, so I don’t think I have probelms academically speaking. I will try to get involved in research adn other extracurriculars.</p>