<p>Student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.</p>
<p>Large amounts of student loan debt can take a very long time to pay off.</p>
<p>To put it in perspective, the Stafford loan limit (total for four years) is about the amount an average new car in the US costs (though there are obviously much less expensive new cars than that, and even cheaper used cars). But some people have student loans which are more like the price of a house (and not one in Detroit).</p>
<p>I’m really hoping I can get some scholarships. Besides that my parents have a fair amount saved up. Then the stafford loan might cover it but it could very well be more. I’ve also seen that the average salary for a comp sci major out of a lot of these is over 60,000 a year so student loans should be manageable with budgeting.</p>
<p>Try the net price calculators so that you know what you are looking at.</p>
<p>I will do that. The truly unpredictable factor, unfortunately, is whether or not I will receive scholarships and how much they will be for.</p>
<p>What are some less expensive but still respected and academically challenging computer science schools. Preferably with strong greek programs.</p>
<p>IntBacc, looks like you have a solid list.</p>
<p>I would personally recommend taking Math II and Chem. I took practices for both Math I and II and got a higher score on II (780 and 800 I think). You can miss like 6 questions on II and still get an 800. If you’re strong in another area, take that test too. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what did you get on the ACT on your previous attempt?</p>
<p>The less expensive and well respected school with strong greek programs will most likely be a state school. Do you live in California? (just guessing by your list) If yes, I would guess that many of the mid-lower UCs would be solid safeties.</p>
<p>I would also suggest Iowa State, Virginia Tech and NC State. All should be safeties (guessing by your list, again).</p>
<p>No, I actually live in Washington. I have heard a few people mention that UW Seattle has a good computer science program, is this true? If so I have full tuition, room, and board payed for at UW but I don’t want to go there if their program is subpar.</p>
<p>UW has an excellent computer science program! If you have a full ride there, I would definitely put it at the top of your list. Graduating debt free from a top computer science school sounds like an awesome deal to me.</p>
<p>I’m a little worried about the job market, though. I keep reading about how amazing and easy it is to get a job at UC schools (especially berkeley) because it is close to silicone valley. Would the debt at a UC or other good compsci schools not be worth it compared to full tuition at UW?</p>
<p>How could you not know what is right under your nose?! Here is a quote from their website -
[Computer</a> Science & Engineering](<a href=“http://www.cs.washington.edu/]Computer”>http://www.cs.washington.edu/)
Ever heard of Microsoft? Amazon? more - look here [Daily</a> 206 LIVE: 10 Great Companies for Geeks](<a href=“http://daily206live.blogspot.com/p/10-great-companies-for-geeks.html]Daily”>Daily 206 LIVE: 10 Great Companies for Geeks)
OR here…[Current</a> Affiliate Members | Computer Science & Engineering](<a href=“http://www.cs.washington.edu/industrial_affiliates/current/]Current”>Current Affiliate Members | Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering)
Silicon Valley is one of many hotspots for high tech industries (granted perhaps the biggest and most famous one) - greater Seattle is another, as is Boston/Cambridge, Triangle Park… Here is a cool article showing you exactly what you have in your backyard relative to Silicon Valley [America?s</a> Leading High-Tech Metros - Richard Florida - The Atlantic Cities](<a href=“http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/06/americas-leading-high-tech-metros/2244/]America?s”>http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/06/americas-leading-high-tech-metros/2244/)</p>
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<p>There is no good reason to go into debt to go to another school for CS if you have full tuition or full ride as a direct admit to the CS major at Washington. If you are worried about rankings, Washington is typically ranked higher for CS than most of the schools in your first post.</p>
<p>The main concern with Washington is that if you are not directly admitted to the CS major as a frosh, you need to be aware that getting into the CS major later is extremely competitive.</p>
<p>You are not better off going to Cal if you will be taking on a substantial amount of debt (40k+). If the debt is less than 20k, then maybe… but like the others have said, UW is excellent in computer science and if you are directly admitted with a full ride its almost a no brainer. </p>
<p>You will have no trouble finding a job with an excellent company from UW. Cal may have a slight advantage, but it really is almost negligible.</p>
<p>What do you guys think about this? My mom is recommending (because she did this) doing 4 years ROTC after college and getting a full ride at one of the schools I want to go to. I haven’t looked extensively at whether these schools offer ROTC but if I can get full ride for 4 years active duty would it be worth it</p>
<p>The full ride ROTC scholarships are very competitive. Also, you have to want to be an officer in whichever branch of the military it is.</p>
<p>Why do you appear to dislike the idea of going to the University of Washington?</p>
<p>Just a list of why I don’t want to go to UW (based on very little research besides word of mouth so it might be bs)
-computer science department is competitive because it is underfunded and can’t afford enough professors+other things
-at UW I would be just a number because there are so many students
-it is very difficult to get the classes you want because there are so many students
-the social life can suck unless you are in greek (I want to join a frat but have anxiety so don’t know if ill be able too)
-The school isn’t prestigious
-I don’t know how to weigh prestige vs having no debt</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus Thanks for the info about Berkeley!
@IntBacc - ucbalumnus sounds very knowledgable 
That’s the beauty of CC!
By the way, I looked a bit further into our curriculum at Miami and there is a class that focuses on different languages. Also, from what I’ve read (recently - I’ll admit I’m new to the whole computer science thing!), it doesn’t really matter exactly <em>what</em> language you learn, but that you know the general ideas and structures of how programming works.</p>
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<p>If you can be direct-admitted to the CS major as a frosh, you likely have registration priority for CS courses. (Of course, if you are not direct-admitted to the CS major as a frosh, then your concern about getting into the major is valid.)</p>
<p>As far as it being too big goes, what does going to one of the other universities on your list gain you here, since they are also big?</p>
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<p>At many schools, fraternities and sororities may seem to be more prominent than they actually are. Big public universities may have large-looking fraternity and sorority scenes, but the percentage of students in them may not be very high, meaning that there are lot of students and activities outside of fraternities and sororities.</p>
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<p>University of Washington is very prestigious for CS, more so than most of your list, and only a tiny bit less so than the few on your list that may be more prestigious for CS. If you get a direct admission to CS as a frosh with a full ride at the University of Washington, there is not much of a reason to go into debt to study CS anywhere else.</p>