I want to work in the Silicon Valley, is it necessary to go to college there?

State Forums
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<p>I am a senior currently living in the Silicon Valley and my dream is to work for one of the big tech companies here (Apple, Google, Facebook, ect). I'm planning to major in computer science and then get a MBA. During my college searches I have found Rice University to be my favorite, you could say its my dream school. I love everything about it, except its location. By going there would I be greatly hindering my chances to find the job I want in the SV?</p>

<p>Also what are some suggestions for colleges to go to? I know the standard is Stanford and Berkeley, but I don't think I can get in. I have a 4.4/3.8 GPA and a 31 on the ACT. The problem for me with schools like Caltech is I don't want to be confined to just c.s./engineer, because I'm not completely sure if thats where my passion lies yet. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Check out this cool graphic I found on Wired about feeder schools for Silicon valley.</p>

<p><a href=“The Schools Where Apple, Google, and Facebook Get Their Recruits | WIRED”>http://www.wired.com/2014/05/alumni-network-2/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>While there are a lot of California schools there are some others like Carnegie Mellon ¶ and University of Texas (UT).</p>

<p>For what it’s worth though, I went to college in Virginia and one of my class mates wound up in Apple. I won’t say it’s common because I have no idea, but it’s not impossible either.</p>

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<p>Any company in Silicon Valley or SF would be very happy to receive a resume from someone who went to Rice.</p>

<p>As long as you go to a top 500 school, you’ll be fine. Most of the programmers I’ve worked with haven’t gone to elite schools. In fact, most don’t even have CS degrees.</p>

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<p>GAFAM recruit widely.</p>

<p>However, it is the smaller Silicon Valley companies that may not recruit widely, due to less recruiting needs and less recruiting resources, so being at a local school is helpful in being recruited at these companies, or finding and applying to these companies.</p>

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<p>You can live at home in Silicon Valley every summer, even if you attend college elsewhere. You can use that time to intern and have the experiences that will get you hired after college.</p>

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<p>That is a very good point, thank you. :)</p>

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<p>We recently found out that that those companies recruit on campus. Google goes to Caltech, UCLA, Stanford and Berkeley to recruit their interns. Sending a resume from Rice couldn’t hurt.</p>