Note that U.S. News does not provide a general top 100 ranking for colleges in the United States. For example, if you were to concentrate on just one category, you might miss a school such as Macalester, which offers an excellent data science program and the potential for need-based financial aid. Moreover, Macalester has a history of welcoming applications from international students. Hamilton, Denison, Davidson and Wesleyan University offer other examples of this type.
In any case, I concur with a few of the other suggestions that have been made so far, notably Georgia Tech, Purdue, the University of Georgia and the University of Iowa.
If you are sure that you will do graduate studies post bachelors and if you don’t care much about brand name recognition to your friends and relatives in India then go for LACs. You can get pretty good ones for your profile at that cost with need based and/or merit aid.
If you want name recognition in India then 50K is too low a budget except may be Purdue. If you want to get a job immediately after Bachelors LACs might not be best choice as well.
Also CS/DS will be hard to get into. Instead Math/Econ with a minor in CS/DS might be better options. Of course if you go LAC path then you can do any major or double major. There are situations where you can get admitted for one and then later switch majors as well.
Also considering that you play basketball etc. I think you will enjoy LAC life where 30%+ of the students tend to be athletes and there is lot of scope for intramural sports and even college level sports participation if you are really good.
I am not that well educated in how a LAC would differ from the other colleges? And yes , I am sure that I’ll be doing Post-Graduation as well from the US (If I get into a bachelors program there).
Can you explain , or link me to some article , So that I can get to know how different it would be if I complete my masters in Lets say , Data Science/Computer Science
from an LAC instead of the others?
Can you tell me or educate me on how an LAC would differ than a “Big” School? I’ll be doing Masters as well , there is 0% chance of me dropping out after Bachelors. So can you please tell what difference would it make for me to get jobs/good salaries after Major in CS/DS through a Liberal Arts School?
Academically, LACs tend to be similar to the arts and sciences divisions of universities. Provided a school offers the programs in which you are interested, you could reach your indicated goals from either environment. Some rankings, btw, include LACs and universities together, e.g., College & University Rankings in 2024. By this standard, colleges such as Hamilton (#18), Wesleyan University (#57), Macalester (#59) and Davidson (#70) all represent T-100 schools.
Slightly difficult question to answer crisply. Let me try to say a few things based on my understanding and bias:
Small student body Vs large student body.
Large percentage of student body in LAC will be affiliated to some sport, so if you play something very quick to make friends.
Generally excellent student/Professor ratios at LACs 8-13. For public schools they will be 18+
Engineering folks generally should not do LAC. 3+2 programs are bit of a pain.
CS folks can do LACs but research schools may have better departments/opportunities for these since generally CS is part of Engineering in most colleges. Although all LACs will generally have a CS department.
Formal undergraduate major in DS is quite rare and may be only 6-7 LACs have that.
Generally easier to get affiliated in undergraduate research since LACs are by definition undergraduate, so professors don’t have an option of working with graduate students for their research. However, the quality of research may be weaker as compared to the good research at research Universities.
If you are keen to do advanced graduate level courses in junior/senior year that is generally not possible since there is no graduate program. Some of the top LACs or hyper rigorous places like Reed, Harvey Mudd may be exceptions.
In my view, which may be controversial for an international student in terms of learning experience, opportunities post graduation especially for graduate school: Private Research Universities >> LACs >> Public Research Universities if you are a non-Engineering major.
As you said , In your opinion Private>Lacs>Public for non-engineering majors. Since Most of My choices fall under “Science” , Should I consider LACs to be a good choice for me?
And What private institutions can you suggest for me?
Also , LACs are Generally only for Bachelors? Implying I’ll need to look for another college for my masters?
There is no such thing as “zero percent chance” of “dropping out” after a Bachelors.
It’s not a race. Many people graduate with a Bachelors, get a job, do well, and head off to grad school with a renewed focus (or better focus) on what they want to accomplish in grad school. You don’t “drop out” if you finish your degree and then head out to get actual, real life experience before getting more training or sharpening your skills.
I work in corporate recruiting- I’ve met thousands (no joke) of people who regret the Master’s degree they did and would love a “do-over” except time, money, etc. (i.e. real life) intervene.
Pick the right college for you right now. You have a decade plus to worry about grad school.
By academic tradition, it is typically recommended that students pursue their graduate degrees at a different institution from their undergraduate school, irrespective of the undergraduate school they attend.
Have you not liked any of the suggestions that have been made in your topic thus far?
You should plan on doing this anyway. In most (not all) disciplines, it’s a disadvantage to get your MA at the same institution as your BA university. There are exceptions*, but that’s a good rule of thumb, because it works to your advantage to study with different mentors across the discipline. Moreover, you’ll have to apply for entry to your MA program even if the program is at your undergrad institution, and admission is not a guarantee. For all these reasons, chances are you’d end up someplace else.
Exceptions: if your BA-granting institution is especially high-ranking in your field, if you’d be moving from one division of the university to another (i.e., the college of arts and sciences to a professional school) and therefore working with different people, if you are training in a profession for which it’s an advantage to get a local license or certification, and your BA-granting institution is in a desired location and has a grad program, or if you’re in a discipline in which intellectual cross-pollination is not as much of a priority.
Ok. In Berkeley it was EECS department and from proximity perspective CS building was next to Mechanical and Electrical engineering building :-). However, things may be different now and also in other colleges.
For internationals getting a job immediately after bachelors may be tougher. Also usually speaking they do not have money/loan pressures since they come from fairly well to do families if they are coming to USA for Bachelors (unless they come on tuition waiver/full ride).
It isnt that I dont like the suggestions , I have over 24 Schools in my list now! I will be shortlisting from these schools , Its just that most of the schools I have on my list are Public , so I thought I should add more Private Institutions as well
Getting a job in the United States could be more difficult. International students need to assess the job market for what they intend to study in their home country. In the many cases, they will be expected to return to their home country after getting a bachelors her.
Well, I’ve recommended seven private institutions (and four public institutions) in your topic so far, in all cases for specific reasons. As one example, Wesleyan University offers an interdisciplinary quantitative analysis center, which would help you in integrating your particular range of interests: Welcome, Quantitative Analysis Center - Wesleyan University.
For STEM visa sponsorship etc. Is feasible. You get 3 years and also EB5 route is available if you are rich enough…generally for STEM you can live in USA if you really want to. Whether you should or not that is another story :-). Education in USA is better than most places in world. Post education life not so clear cut anymore.