@applicant1308, I sent you the links via direct message as I am not sure we can post links to Quora and sites like it on CC.
I agree with many of the other comments. The first three schools on your list are excellent, and UCI is also quite good for CS. I don’t see any point in taking the risk at UW in terms of whether you get into CS, there will be many very strong students there who also want to go into CS.
As such I also would go with “UMass-Amherst or Wisconsin since you are a direct admit to CS”. I believe that you can get used to the winters, and both will have stores nearby that will have the winter gear that you need. You might end up spending $1,000 on gear for the winter (boots, coat, hat, mittens, …), but that is a pretty small cost spread over four years at schools with excellent CS programs.
You must be quite a strong student to have such a strong list of schools to attend. Congratulations!
I agree that UW-Seattle is too risky and I personally would choose UW-Madison as it has the better college town, B10 sports (you’ll get in to it), and greater international recognition.
I think for UW, applying as CS rather than CE would have been preferable. You would know whether you had a spot in your major rather than than just a spot in the college of engineering. But what’s done is done. If you intend to pursue computer engineering and no other engineering major at UW appeals to you, I’d choose one of the colleges that offered you a spot in CS just to eliminate the uncertainty. You have great choices among your other acceptances.
22, except if you ask:
http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2017.html
http://nturanking.lis.ntu.edu.tw/DataPage/OverallRanking.aspx?y=2017
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings?page=2
http://www.leidenranking.com/ranking/2017/list
http://www.webometrics.info/en/world
I’ll give you QS:
https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2018 (Filter North America)
23, of course, OP could also apply to CS general admission (35-45% admission rate), and going in, OP has “top of the class” math and science acumen, as shown by the standardized test scores.
@PengsPhils I will look more deeply into the program at UMass. Thanks.
@UWfromCA Thank You. I got the links.
@DadTwoGirls Thank You so much. To be honest, I am really nervous about the weather at Wisconsin-Madison but I think I will get used to it if I choose to go.
@PurpleTitan Thank You. I will look into what you suggested.
@UWfromCA, what are your links suppose to show?
I said I would personally eliminate UW-Seattle because it would be too risky and I would choose UW-Madison among the rest for the reasons I stated. Without even looking at those links, I doubt those other schools would be ranked above UW-Madison.
@PengsPhils @UWfromCA @PurpleTitan @DadTwoGirls @AroundHere @MYOS1634 @Publisher
I doubt whether what I am saying is actually even considerable but hear this out. Since I really want to go to Uni of Washington and take the risk, should I go, work very hard, and try to get the major CE? If I do get it, that would be the best thing. If for some reason, I fail to get the major, I can take a transfer to UMass Amherst/ Uni. of Wisconsin and continue CS there.
Transferring in to UW-Madison may not be easy. If you don’t have the grades to get in to CompE at UW-Seattle, you may not be able to transfer to UW-Madison. I don’t know about UMass.
@applicant1308 No. i don’t think you can assume that you can transfer and that they will have space in CS for you.
^^^^this. There is no guarantee you can transfer to any prestigious state university because most reserve the majority of transfer places for their community college feeder schools. (This is usually required by state law.) If you can transfer, there’s no guarantee there will be space in the major you want.
You would have to build a transfer college list that includes less selective/prestigious universities to make sure you got what you wanted somewhere.
27, your post in #23 only mentioned Wisconsin and Washington, and the links I posted were intended to show which had “greater international recognition.”
28, I recommend that you speak with the advising staff at the UW College of Engineering about your prospects for successfully entering the CE major as a sophomore in light of the new Direct to College regime. They might be able to give you an idea of how many Direct to College students are expected to apply to the CE major and how many the department intends to accept. Then you can more accurately assess your situation. Your test scores indicate that you are at the very top of the class for math and science ability, so you should mention your scores when you speak with them.
Transferring is tough for a lot of reasons, both academic (will your classes even transfer? How many years is your graduation delayed?) and social (All the possible friends you’ll leave behind - what about how it’s harder to make friends as a transfer?). It also means you have to be admitted as a transfer. The reason everyone is saying no to UW is because even if there’s an 80% you make it into the program, the downsides of that 20% are really rough. Unless you’d hate every other option, it’s hard to justify that risk.
I don’t know how you think Wisconsin has the higher international reputation for CS. Washington is arguably a top 5 CS school, certainly known internationally. Half the CS people on the coasts won’t put Madison in the top 20, if they’ve even heard of it. That doesn’t change that it’s a good program too regardless of who knows about it and that graduates from there will have great opportunities, but I don’t think your claim that Wisconson is more known in either national or international reputation is accurate.
For what it’s worth as well, some of us also avoid big sports colleges/towns. I certainly personally would not have gotten into it. It depends on what OP wants.
^ PurpleTitan clarified his comment in #27.
Thank you, @UWfromCA.
Ah, I see, sorry didn’t see page 3, sorry for the repetitive post. Though when it comes to Madison vs Amherst, I think the reputations would still point Amherst for CS, especially for AI/ML.
I’m an outdoor person but I detest snow, tolerate rain, and absolutely hate sweltering humidity. Any place I’m going to live for four years will have weather as a major consideration, yet few tend to mention it. So for me, UCI would be at the top of the list unless another school was heads and shoulders better academically.
@UWfromCA - I wrote them an email. Would be in contact with UW and assess everything very carefully.
@PengsPhils - I guess if I decide not to go to UW finally, I would go for UMass as you suggested. Sorry for still having hopes for UW. You know, it is so difficult to convince myself for the other direction. However, I’ll make sure I decide with keeping in mind what all of you have told me.
@BennyBop - Am I wrong to say that though UCI is very good, the other 3 schools far surpass the academic rigor of UCI ? Can you please elaborate more on why you think UCI would be a nice option ?