Narrowing down CS schools

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

I am in 11th grade and working to narrow down my list of colleges to apply to for a computer science degree. I am interested in applying to some schools in the northeast and am wondering which will provide me the best overall education. Ideally I would like smaller class sizes (don’t really care about the size of the overall university) and to be in or near a big city although this is not absolutely necessary. I do like the idea of a co-op program, but summer internships would also be ok. My list is:

RPI
WPI
RIT
Stevens Institute of Technology
U Rochester
Northeastern
Drexel
Lehigh

I am not from the northeast and would ultimately like to land a job on the west coast. However, I want the experience of living there for at least 4 years. Do any of these schools have good job placement in Seattle or San Francisco? Ultimately I will probably only apply to 4 of these schools, so any help with making my decision would be greatly appreciated.

2

Do you want a school with just engineering/technology types
RPI
WPI
RIT
Stevens

or do you want a variety of students in other majors?
U Roch
Northeastern
Drexel
Lehigh

3

@swampdraggin I think it would probably be best to apply to some from both categories.

4

Have you found out from your parents what they will contribute to your college costs? Have you used each school’s net price calculator and shown the result to your parents?

If your state of residency is NY, NJ, or MA, then you have in-state public flagship options with good CS departments.

For class sizes, try looking at each school’s online class schedule. Be aware that the rising popularity of doing a major in CS means that CS classes tend to be popular and large (or, if they cap enrollment, hard to get into).

5

There is a math and CS majors forum where you might find some discussion.