I am an incoming freshman that was recently admitted into the CoE for CMPE. They have not given me any scholarships, or need based aid, they only offered two loans.
The cost of attendance, being OOS, is around 56k. From my knowledge I know I have around 100k saved up, yet I am afraid after I graduate I will be in an insane amount of debt. Will majoring in computer engineering yield jobs that will be able to manage those debts, furthermore is it worth it at UW Madison?
The only other choice I have is UIUC for pre-engineerjng for a tuiton significantly lower than UW Madison. However knowing that I want to pursue a career in CS/CMPE I’ve heard horror stories of people failing to transfer into the CoE at Urbana and thus waste their money.
Sorry if this post turned into a dilemna, I just don’t know if it’s worth to study CMPE at Madison.
That is tough dilemma @teperloll. I have a sophomore CE at another Big10 university. I’d be hesitant to send him to a college not being a direct admit to his major. What GPA do you need to declare engineering at UIUC? What classes are you lacking to declare? At my son’s school, he says that some kids take classes at community colleges that are really hard. You just have to make sure that they transfer to your major before enrolling.
100K is a whole lot of debt. Perhaps you should have a conversation with your parents to get a clear picture of exactly how much money is saved and whether they can contribute anymore. They would still need to co-sign on any loans aside from the guaranteed student one. Would you take a gap year to save up some money?
To transfer into the CoE you need a 3.0, however these are for majors that are not so in demand (Engineering Physics, Nuclear Engineering…etc). For my case, CS at UIUC requires a 3.75 GPA to transfer along with a competitive review of your application. From what I’ve heard from friends and online, it is near impossible. I am fairly certain I want to eventually have a position as a programmer, therefore UIUC is a risky gamble.
I would love to go to Madison, however I’m worried it simply costs too much, and that I will heavily regret going there after I graduate because of all of the accumulated debt. My parents encourage me to go to Madison however it just doesn’t seem like it’s worth the money.
I do have safeties (UIC and DePaul) and have been accepted into their CS programs, however I would prefer to enroll in a more reputable university, as I feel that it would yield the more and valuable job opportunities. I was considering attending one of these schools for the first two years than transferring to UIUC or Madison or an even a better university.
Any more advice you can give?
@teperloll Based on your career path of wanting to get into programming, I can offer you my 2 cents. Go to the lower priced schools and also try to get some practical technologies once you have the basic theory, down firm. The bar has never been lower for one to set up a developer sandbox for Salesforce or Microsoft Azure or AWS and get started in gaining some hands on experience. All of these platforms have certification paths. I would suggest getting perhaps a Developer Certification in Salesforce. This can be during the summers or 1 or 2 years into your degree. While a degree from UWM would look great on paper and open up certain types of opportunities, this practical path will involve less debt and still help you meet your goals. Make sure to participate in Developer meetups etc and grow your network so that you are aware of job opportunities.
^^^ I like what mnparent2000 said. I think going to the lower priced schools is a much better option than having an insane amount of debt. If it is still affordable, I don’t see why you couldn’t look to transfer later. Best of luck to you:)
With computers, you could graduate at a regional state school and easily find an entry level job. There’s absolutely no benefit taking out extra loans to go out of state. UIUC is a great school and you could save that money for graduate school.
Engineering is NOT going into programming. For that one would want computer science, post # 4. Think- hardware versus software.
No school/program is worth a huge amount of debt. Programming comes in many flavors- from the AA degree to the high ranked universities that teach a lot more math and theory. Much depends on the ability and the desire of the student. All programs are not created equally, even at four year colleges (I have a friend who was required to teach less in a semester course than she TA’d in a quarter). This student needs to know his final goal- midlevel work or at the cutting edge in one of the national firms.
OP- This is a discussion for you and your parents. Consider the finances. Since your parents encourage you to think UW you need to have a reality check discussion in case they haven’t gone over the costs in depth.
Also consider whether you think you are a strong candidate for your proposed major, ie if you think you can get the needed grades. If you believe you can do the work you can take the chance without a direct admit (very possible if you in at UW). You may discover a variation of computer work, such as found in CS, is more to your liking.
@wis75 good point - meant to say that earlier - CE is more about hardware / VLSI (or whatever is the latest technology these days - probably quantum computers?).
You could go to a cheaper school to study CS, then, if you still have money and feel that you need the prestige, get a CS masters from UIUC or the U of C.
Not all go for a masters in CS. Some will feel intellectually satisfied with a bachelors (BA or BS- depends on which breadth reqs are met). Your undergrad school can make a huge difference in the quality /depth of courses taken. There is a reason some U’s have the prestige- they teach more in their classes than the average schools. It is not a matter of saying you went to school X but how much knowledge and skills you were able to obtain for your time spent. Also- getting into a masters program could be as or more difficult than getting into the undergrad program, especially with a so-so undergrad one.