<p>Lets say money is not a problem.</p>
<p>Stony Brook Computer Science is ranked 40.
University of Illinois Computer Science is ranked 5.
So Is it worth it to go to a different state for computer science?
I know that you shouldn't base everything on ranking...but...</p>
<p>is it worth it how? is distance the issue? then how do you feel about being distant from your family and friends? have you ever been away from home? will being away from home disrupt your ability to study? </p>
<p>ranking doesn’t matter much because the curricula for CS are quite similar. both schools can land you internships and jobs. </p>
<p>Money is always a problem for someone, OP. There’s no way for you to do this without your parents help. What are your parents saying about cost and what they will contribute?</p>
<p>So, too, are grades and other stats. What are yours like? Is there a chance you could get into UIUC as an OOS student?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s worth paying OOS tuition for a CS degree.</p>
<p>At the undergraduate level computer science is typically a structured discipline. Courses often follow a handful or two of well regarded textbooks. So the coursework at Stony Brook is unlikely to differ significantly, at least for the core courses, from that at a Univ of Illinois. The students and the reputation of the school might matter. But this is difficult to quantify. Almost always the best answer to your question is “choose your instate public university”.</p>
<p>A lot can depend on where you intend to work and live after graduation. If you want to return to New York, Stony Brook and any other school in the area could be just fine. If you want to head for Seattle or Silicon Valley, UIUC might be the better bet, as those grads will be offered opportunities that Stony Brook grads would not.</p>
<p>There is a third option that has been known to work, and that would be to get the cheaper degree at Stony Brook and use the money you save to head out to Seattle or SV after graduation and become a local while you scrounge for any job you can get. There is a risk involved in doing that, but since many of the companies won’t pay moving expenses but will hire you if you are already there, I’ve seen it work in some circumstances.</p>
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<p>This is pretty good advice - usually. I don’t think a distant school is worth paying a big price premium over an in-state public school just because of a higher CS ranking.</p>
<p>On the other hand, CS courses probably will comprise less than half your undergraduate program. If you care about getting a broad liberal education, your in-state public university may or may not be your best available option.</p>
<p>Have to agree with most posts here. CS undergrad programs are certainly a lot more alike than they are different. The field is now mature in comparison to where it was 25 years ago. Liberal Arts content will vary from school to school so do your homework.</p>
<p>Learning C++ or java at MIT or Illinois is just like learning it at your local state school. Plus, Illinois’ program is in the Engineering School - MUCH harder to get into.</p>
<p>The real question is what your long term goal is? If it’s to get coding right away in 4 years, then find a school you love and ignore the big names. If you’re really hardcore into computer engineering and want to get a MS right away, then go for the rigor of a big name program and get ready to dive into sometimes needlessly tough classes that will feel more like hazing than training.</p>
<p>I think I pretty much disagree with everybody who has posted so far. </p>
<p>CS is a huge and vast field. There are no hard and fast rules. </p>
<p>There CAN be a benefit to EXCELLING in a top program in terms of getting into a top graduate school or in terms of access to the most lucrative positions. A recommendation from a rock star professor at Illinois would carry a lot of weight. A place like Michigan has UROP where it’s supposed to be easy to get involved in research. </p>
<p>Research is where the cutting edge things happen. If that turns you on and you can rise to that level, getting access to the faculty at the top of their game can be a real career booster. </p>
<p>Excelling at a top school can be a signal to a recruiter that you have serious ambition to rise to the top of your game just like going to a highly selective school can signal that you are exceptionally smart. </p>
<p>If you’re just going to be average, it probably doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>I work in the Boston area for a large firm that hires mostly CS and EE. We recruit at Illinois, Michigan and Purdue. We do not recruit at Stony Brook even though it’s much closer. Why? </p>
<p>We have a limited recruiting budget. At the Big 10 schools we get large numbers of applicants, but we also get access to world class graduate students. We hire at all degree levels. </p>
<p>That said, Stony Brook is a fine school. If you went there and sent us your resume, you’d likely get noticed. </p>
<p>There CAN also be a benefit to going to a smaller research university where faculty NEED undergraduates to help with research and there are more resources to support students who need help so that you can excel. </p>
<p>There are also differences in the curriculum at many universities. Some emphasize theory, some emphasize projects, some are balanced. What makes sense for you depends on your interests and your mathematical maturity. </p>
<p>Emphasis on the practical prepares you for your first job. Emphasis on the theoretical prepares you for a 40 year career and paradigms that don’t even exist yet. You may need both. Not everybody can handle the level of abstraction that theoretical computer science provides and for many it’s the courses they do the worst in. </p>
<p>Try to go to a place with a strong computer science culture. </p>
<p>Where does a small engineering school like Rose-Hulman fit in this discussion? Do small class sizes and greater professor interaction help in the CS field?</p>
<p>Actually, there can be significant variation in CS curricula:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Introductory course organization can vary, even though most of the same topics are generally covered over the several courses. The variation can make it difficult for transfer students to get subject credit for courses previously taken. Some schools have more intense introductory courses, covering the material in fewer courses or credits than others. Also, some schools introduce several programming languages as needed (preferable), while others focus on one.</p></li>
<li><p>Upper division course offerings can vary in two ways. (1) Small CS departments may lack some important courses, or offer courses only once every two years (usually not an issue for big CS departments at big universities). (2) Some elective topics may only be offered at CS departments where that is a subarea specialty within the department.</p></li>
<li><p>Engineering-based versus non-engineering-based CS major. Engineering-based CS majors require more physics and math. There may also be differences in selectivity to enter the major. Some schools offer both types of CS majors.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, you can get a quality CS education at many schools, even though they may vary in the above characteristics (except at the schools where the CS departments are too small to offer all of the important CS topics courses). But that does not mean that there are no differences in academic fit for the given student.</p>
<p>It does appear that Stony Brook is being underrated by most posters in this thread.</p>
<p>ColdinMinny</p>
<p>Small class sizes always help, but not if that means small lab resources too. Computer Science is largely a self-taught endeavor when you get down to it and the more you can expose yourself to, the better.</p>
<p>Now before people go nuts arguing this point, let me explain…</p>
<p>Lectures on coding, structures, algorithms, systems, etc. don’t sink in until you apply concepts yourself to solve a real problem. Much like the medical field where you’re not really employable as a doctor until after internships and residency, CS employers expect that you’ve done something useful and can do something useful for them without too much hand holding or mistakes.</p>
<p>Small class sizes are always good when learning anything, but it’s the time you put in on CS lab work that matters more. Curricula that emphasize project work will make you more generally employable in the short term than curricula that focus on research. CS research is not like archaeology though, since you are creating, far more than discovering.</p>
<p>While slower than in the past, the technology is still evolving so fast that much of what you learned in your college CS curricula will be stale by graduation. CS grads never stop learning in order to stay current and relevant, so learn how to teach yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks, TTurge. This is very helpful, especially since my computer knowledge is fully displayed in posting these messages. :)</p>
<p>The total cost to attend UIUC for an OOS student is about double the COA at Stony Brook for a New York resident. </p>
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<p>Browse the CVs of PhD students in CS at Stanford and other universities with tip top CS departments.
Yes, you’ll find that a majority of domestic students did attend elite undergraduate institutions (more selective than UIUC in most cases). However, at Stanford, half or more of the represented baccalaureate institutions are not even US schools. The number of CS PhD students at Stanford who came in from top state flagships (UIUC, Texas) appears to be in the single digits, or not much more than that (with a couple more from nearby Berkeley than from any other state school).</p>