I am currently a high-school junior with highly competitive stats. I attend a top 15 public school in in the nation. But, unfortunately, I am on an H4 Visa and wouldn’t be able to qualify for many merit-scholarships. Instead, I would have to pay the international student fees. Finances are a big issue for me, as my parents are unable to contribute more than 10k per year. Currently, I am considering pursuing CS + Economics Major at the UMCP, which would be around 215k debt for a 4+1 CS BS+MS degree. Luckily, despite my “international” qualification, I received in-state tuition at the University of Delaware and am positive I can secure a full-scholarship. But the problem is that UDel holds less merit in the Computer Science field than state-flagships like UMCP, UT-Austin, UNC, and UW-Madison. So would a flagship public school be worth the extra debt for a BS + MS program, or should I attend UDel for undergrad and then, hopefully, transition into a top 15 CS school for graduate school. Thank you in advance to anyone who would be willing to provide feedback on my conundrum.
I would take the full ride at Delaware and save money/reserve dept for graduate school. $215K in debt is a lot to carry.
I agree. Although UMD is a very good flagship school, I’d advise going to Delaware or looking into higher ranked CS schools in the top tiers if you wanted to study comp Sci with your good stats, and maybe paying their tuition would be more “worth” the prestige level. With good networking and internships, you’d be making money sooner studying at Delaware than if you had to pay full tuition and room and board for UMD whilst in debt. Also, their CS department right now is very overcrowded, not to deter you but just something to consider.
Thanks for the advice! In terms of prestige level I definitely don’t see myself going to one of the big 4 CS schools, or schools with the prestige of CalTech and such. I believe I have comeptetive stats for schools similar to Georgia Tech and UIUC. But which schools would immediately jump out other than those mentioned?
@College4life1234 Given your situation any school that is least expensive should be the one that you should be looking for. That said Iowa State is one I believe can be a good fit. It has a decent engineering and CS program, great internship and job opportunities. You may be able to get in state tuition there.
Ohio Stateis another good school, and will offer scholarship for out of state students but not sure about international.
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private university in Chicago, has a good reputation and can be affordable if you have good stats as they will offer merits scholarships.