<p>So now that I've been compiling a list of colleges to apply to, what I'm wondering is how much of an impact on your college experience and life does getting into a "good" college make? By good I mean a highly ranked college (such as ivy league schools, or ones that are almost as good). Basically I'm looking for 2 major categories:</p>
<p>1) How much of an impact will being in such a school have on your salary and success? </p>
<p>2) Do you learn more going to such a school? Meaning is there information I will learn if I go to a highly ranked school that I simply won't be able to learn at a more mediocre (but still selective) school. I know many people say there isn't, but browsing course selections I noticed many interesting courses that are only available in the ivy league schools (ie quantum computing, matrices in computer science, etc).</p>
<p>So basically, how important is it that I go to a highly selective school? I'm majoring in computer science, and wondering if I should apply to a dozen selective schools just to get in one or apply to some selective ones and many more that I like, but perhaps are easier to get in and not as highly ranked.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, by highly ranked schools (for me) I mean ones like Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Brown, and my other category of schools would be Stevens, RPI, TCNJ, etc (I liked them all very much - some even more than the higher ranked ones- and even got a medal award at RPI, but am just not sure if I will learn as much) Thank you for any advice :)</p>
<p>There is an on-going debate on CC about this. On one hand studies show that success is not so much related to your school but more to the accomplishment level of the individual. On the other some people do better being creatively challenged by intellectual peers, and some specific jobs are certainly more recruited from top schools (such as ibanking). That being said, most employers recruit from local schools so it probably makes more sense to check how well college placement works after school.</p>
<p>I think it depends on a lot of factors, including career choice, personal characteristics (including individual drive to learn, learning style, etc), location, and a lot more.</p>
<p>For instance, if your goal is to go to the best grad school possible, you may be better off at a LAC with with excellent educational standards over a more prestigious school with less individual attention. But then this must consider your financial situation as well - if money is a concern, public universities can be a great option.</p>
<p>On the flip side, if you’re going into finance, you benefit greatly from attending, say, Wharton at UPenn over the same LAC.</p>
<p>No path is best for everyone. Not even Harvard.</p>
<p>For CS in particular, the introductory CS courses at more selective schools may run at a faster pace than those at less selective schools. For example, a three course (12 credit unit) sequence at a state flagship may cover the same material as a five course (17 credit unit) sequence at a mid-level state university in the same state. For upper level courses, you may want to compare the course offerings and descriptions in the course catalogs, since CS offerings can vary widely. In general, you want to see something like the following upper level CS offerings:</p>
<p>Algorithms and complexity
Theory of computation, languages, and automata
Operating systems
Compilers
Networks
Databases
Security and cryptography
Software engineering
Computer architecture and digital systems (hardware)
Electives like artificial intelligence, graphics, etc. (see which ones of interest to you are available)</p>
<p>There is ABET accreditation in CS which can assure that the CS degree program is at least decent. However, some very good CS degree programs (e.g. Stanford) do not have ABET accreditation in CS. But there are also some very poor non-ABET accredited CS degree programs, so check carefully.</p>
<p>Recruiting-wise, well known for CS schools (particularly larger ones) tend to be more attractive to non-local recruiters, but recruiters will be attracted to any decent local schools as well. But (unlike in some other lines of work) the importance of where your degree is from tends to fade as you gain more work experience. Note that in CS work, continued self-education on the job is a necessary part of staying current.</p>
<p>Note that the none of the “big four” in CS (MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU) are Ivy League schools. And many of the big state universities have fine reputations (attractive to recruiters) in CS.</p>
<p>Those who are accepted (but not necessarily who attend) do earn more in the long run. This says more about the students themselves than the institution. Google Stacy Berg Dale and Alan B. Krueger to see their research.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The learning comes from what the student puts into their class and study time. You can learn a lot at State U, you can waste 4 years at Prestigious Private U.</p>
<p>For CS in particular, I think it pays off to go to a prestigious university because it enhances your chances of being recruited by a top company. IT corporations like Google or Microsoft tend to be more selective in hiring than other industries.</p>
<p>Is Microsoft even a real player for top talent anymore? Seems more like the Kmart/Sears of tech firms. Its heyday was over a decade ago. In tech that is 100 years. Many more exciting places to work today.</p>
<p>barrons^^ very true! facebook is also like myspace of 5 years ago! (the clock is ticking)
however to the OP, unless they have some super secret stuff to teach you @ an IVY or MIT,etc…, it does not matter!</p>
<p>Google had about 200 universities on its recruiting target list back in 2007. Obviously, that means that they are not limiting themselves to high-prestige universities.</p>
<p>Ultimately with computer science, you are limited by what you can do more than the university that you attend. If you work your butt off at a less prestigious college, learn a lot, do internships, and get good at applying your knowledge, you will be in a much better spot than a slacker from Carnegie Mellon. Also, many places will have “coding tests” - if you can pass them (usually a small timed problem or a longer, intricate problem at your leisure), they’ll consider you.</p>