^ The $22K+ UCLA net price I cited above is from UCLA’s online net price calculator, based on the assumptions I stated. Again, that would be an estimated net price (after an $11,541 grant award) for a California resident. For a New York resident, the estimated net price is much higher ($61,618).
I never understood what this obsession is with “elite” colleges. Computer science is the most employable degree you can get out of college. Almost all computer professionals work high paying jobs without ever stepping foot in MIT or Stanford. Why go into more debt for the same degree? Get a scholarship.
One good, rational basis for considering “elite” colleges is that they tend to offer excellent need-based aid. Depending on circumstances, attending one of these schools can mean less debt, not more. Consider the next-to-last column in the following list:
https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php
But yes, CS is a very marketable major; you don’t necessarily need to major in it at an “elite” school to get a high-paying job. Furthermore, if your family doesn’t qualify for n-b aid but you need a big merit scholarship to afford college, “elite” schools usually aren’t the best places to look.
@sunnyschool UMich meet the needs of OOS with less than $90k family income and all in state students. They do have merit scholarships for OOS students. The typical large ones are $20k per year, however, it is very competitive.
Some kids have self-taught computer programming for years before college. They are going in with a lot of knowledge and have aspirations to learn AI and other unique aspects of computer science. Wouldn’t the program at UC-Berkeley or MIT better fit for those students, than an average state school or small LAC (which are sometimes behind on teaching current languages and don’t have the resources for teaching AI, etc).
Then there are other kids who “want to major in CS because it makes a lot of money” . They don’t have a true passion for the field or patience for programming.
So if you are the first kid, to me you belong more at a top CS program due to passion. I’ve heard of a lot of kids in the second category dropping out of CS majors because they really can’t do the work or don’t like the work.
Meanwhile, seems like ALL the programs are getting to be very hard to get into, especially out of state, because way more students want CS than the spots colleges and universities have in that major.
The curriculum is going to be mostly similar. One may graduate faster or perform better with previous knowledge. For research and grad school, there will be major differences among schools.
@sunnyschool daughter is really interested iin CS. She has paid summer internships.
@coolguy40 It is not about job as daughter explains me. It is more finding critical mass of kids who are as driven as she is, that is why she left public school to go on a full scholarship to go to prep school. Prep school has provided her opportunities and connection that were not available in the public school. Even though her summer internships previously were free, she got scholarships for her travels
I would say that if you’re an undergrad and particularly interested in AI or other unique aspects of CS like data science or games, then you’d want to find a school that offers CS with a particular track or specialty in the area you’re interested in. Lots of schools offer those now, so there’s no need to confine yourself to schools like Berkeley or MIT.
Otherwise, most CS programs are more broad than deep, and generally cover the same core set of topics. For electives, you may be able to take single, introductory classes in topics such as AI or data science, but if you want to go deeper into a subject, you go to grad school.
@nynycasino1234 More to consider in your area include CWRU, RIT, RPI, Waterloo, and Rochester.
BTW, didn’t your elite boarding school give alternatives worth considering? The college counseling is normally better than average.
@onthewestfence College counselling is very good, We are just collecting information. Every kid is different, some are happy at cursing along, some like fast pace. My daughter is more into networking and knowing people, she is a computer geek who is also a very good people’s person.
some are happy at cursing along, some like fast pace.
@nynycasino1234 - I think you meant cruising along; although there may be some teens that like to curse along too. 
Your DD sounds similar to my DS, although he is a year younger than your daughter, so thank you for starting this thread. Have you looked at the scholarships offered through the Department of Defense?
@Redslp Yes sorry for typo it is not cursing. I meant cruising along. No we have not looked into department of Defense.
Williams and Carleton both terrific in CS and very generous FA. Great choices for LAC’s.
UT Austin and Michigan for big public schools with good FA. U Pitt Honors another solid choice.
She should have plenty of excellent options.
^ Those schools may all offer good FA in general but the net prices still could differ significantly, depending on family circumstances. For an Ohio family making $120K with 1 child in college and $60K in cash savings, the UMichigan NPC shows me a net price of $53,173/year. For Williams, it shows me a net price of $26,200. YMMV. Run the online NPCs on any schools that interest you (and investigate merit scholarship opportunities as appropriate).
No daughter told no department of defense funding, as she has already lined up paid internships.
@Redslp Department of Defense funding? I might to start looking into that. Is it through NSA?
@nynycasino1234 I tried to post a link, but I couldn’t get it to paste. The website to look into the various options is dodstem.us Good luck!
@nynycasino1234 DOD STEM scholarship is called SMART. https://dodstem.us/stem-programs/scholarships
@ma2012 Thanks you so much