So I was offered direct admit to UW’s CSE program (specifically Computer Science), and I am thrilled. However, I also got into some other schools that I used to dream of going to. If I’m interested in going into CS, would it be foolish of me to decline an offer at UW (because I am guaranteed to be in the major thanks to DA) in order to go to another school that is not as strong in CS (namely a LAC)?
Which LAC? However, most LACs are more limited in CS offerings than UW. Courses may be offered only once every two years, for example.
@ucbalumnus It is Bowdoin college. Also, I don’t have much experience in CS besides taking AP Computer Science this year, so I can not say I’m confident that I will end up wanting to major in CS.
UDub CS is very well-respected, but I heard that Bowdoin has pretty good CS for a LAC.
If costs aren’t an issue, if you still aren’t sure that CS is for you, I’d go with Bowdoin.
BTW, in terms of prestige and all that, UDub CS is well-respected in the software world, but people not in that world may not know anything about CS rankings and UDub CS may hold no prestige to them. Bowdoin is an Eastern LAC, and definitely well-respected by those who know Eastern LACs (movers and shakers on the East Coast and some other mostly-well-educated people). Folks who don’t know much about LACs (other than those near them) may not know anything at all about how good it is.
Bowdoin’s CS course list seems rather limited in typical core courses (e.g. no databases or compilers), though some unusual electives are offered:
http://www.bowdoin.edu/catalogue/courses/computer-science/courses.shtml
Bowdoin has 3 regular faculty, 2 visiting faculty, and 1 adjunct faculty in CS:
http://www.bowdoin.edu/computer-science/faculty/
Washington direct admit to CS is an obvious choice if affordable. If not… what other schools were you admitted to?
Oh dear what a choice. The DA is quite a prize these days FOR A CS MAJOR. It is too bad you are so unsure. It isn’t as if you can’t change or take other classes and see while you are there. But it isn’t a Bowdoin like environment.
These are very different places. Are you full pay?
No doubt Wisconsin has better computer science, but I would also argue, if you are full pay, you can pretty much do 5 years of Wisconsin at the same cost as 4 years of Bowdoin, and you can potentially have your cake and eat it too because Wisconsin is an academic powerhouse in terms of faculty quality in most areas, and Madison is just about the most beautiful campus I’ve ever seen (in May and July). Though neither of my kids chose Wisconsin, they both applied and considered doing a 3-2 program where both liberal arts and engineering would be in the same place so they wouldn’t have to uproot your life to do something like that.
Bowdoin is a liberal arts college and is a very different environment.
I received enough financial aid for both schools. I’m actually going to be visiting both schools soon before I make my official decision. Right now, I am heavily leaning towards UW because I have become a lot more certain that I want to be a CS major (although you never know what happens in college).
At this point, my biggest concern is really the size difference between the two. Bowdoin is less than 2,000 while University of Washington-Seattle is around 30,000. I thought I would thrive at a smaller community where I could have student-professor interactions (where the professors will actually know my name). However, I am extremely self-motivated so I don’t necessarily need my professors/advisers to look out for me for everything I do.
@ClassicRockerDad Also, sorry if I wasn’t clear about which UW I was talking about. I was talking about University of Washington-Seattle. Sorry for the confusion!
Were you admitted to other small affordable schools with better CS departments than Bowdoin?
I’d go to UW and think about joining the CS faculty at Bowdoin someday:
http://qz.com/343521/18-universities-produce-half-of-us-and-canadas-computer-science-professors/
If you’re extremely self-motivated, then a giant state schools shouldn’t be much of a problem at all.