Narrowing down CS schools

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.

I would really strongly consider UMass Amherst. It may not be as prestigious as RPI, WPI, or Northeastern… But, UMass’ ranking for their CS program is leaps and bounds better than any of these schools. It makes the top 25 US World News Report Ranking for CS each year.

Strongly disagree. While it is ranked the best, it’s not Stanford or Harvey Mudd.

RPI
WPI
RIT
Northeastern
UMass Amherst

These would be the four I would apply to from your list in no particular order, plus UMass Amherst which is a very good option as well though not near a city. I am a CS student at NEU who applied to 3 of these four as well as U Rochester.

RPI - very tech focused, low social life level (vibe I got from accounts of visits + guide info + location in Troy), for a very specific type of student. Did not appeal to me socially, did not apply, but top notch CS

WPI - better social environment than WPI, close to their level, unique academic quarter system, good experiential learning without a co-op program

RIT - my safety school with co-op. Solid school but a bit of the outlier here

Northeastern - small program relative to school size but growing, great attention given to students, separate CS college, co-op program. Also fits a particular type of student because of the co-op emphasis. I am biased here but if you need specific info on the program I can link you to other posts I’ve made about the program.

UMass Amherst - Top notch CS, did not apply due to location, best ranked of these programs though ranking carries relatively little weight in the CS industry, more about experience. Name recognition for CS is more important than specific ranking UMass has both, but many schools here have the name recognition to match. RPI is highly respected for CS in particular, as are the rest.

@rainbowunicorn1 According to your posting history you are currently a CS major at UMass and you are applying to transfer to Northeastern. Why are you transferring if UMass CS is “leaps and bounds” better than Northeastern and the others as you claim?

@TomSrOfBoston I am attempting to transfer because of a family illness and some personal issues I am not willing to disclose to a stranger on a forum… Ultimately if it were up to me I would remain at umass for my 4 years.

@Hosley17 - Yes, UMass Amherst has a very solid program and in general is quite good school… but all these schools should be great options. I would look into how much each would cost you per year and weigh that.