Is 27k in debt worth going to UVA over OU? Again OU has given me a leadership position opening me up to more opportunities.
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I think weāre all trying to figure out a way to get you to BU or UVAā¦but Iām sticking with around a $5k/year shortage which isnāt impossible to overcome but you need a plan for it. And then thereās $27k in loans.
I punched in flights from Ok City to Charlottesville. Iām seeing around $300 one way. Add Uber. Multiply times 4 flights per yearā¦and thatās not including any holidays. Probably $1400 for travel.
Books and supplies at $1k which I think is low. New computer thatās good enough for CSā¦$2K or another $500/year on averageā¦laundry, clothes, cleaning supplies etcā¦and then thereās walking around money for a coffee with friends or Pizza and beerā¦ the days of quarter dollar beers and 10 cent wings are long gone. Just being realistic.
You will succeed at OU if that is your choice!
As noted we are trying to point out that you might just have a choice
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Yeah this is great advice, but for one itās just opening my eyes a bit more on how unpleasing being broke in another state sounds. Plus the starting salary of 70k at OU compared to 90k at UVA isnāt even like that different when taking into account COL.
Given a choice I would recommend a private school over a state/public school, even if the cost a little higher. The state schools have over crowded classes, not enough guidance and not so caring attitude. One is mostly on his/her own in chasing internships and other opportunities. Also depends on how much personal value one wants to attach living in a certain place for 4 years.
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Both of the colleges this student is considering are public. The outlier is BU.
UVA meets full need. BU isnāt as generous I donāt believe.
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Donāt think of it as āwhere will I make the most money when I graduateā but rather
1Ā° āwhich experience do I want?ā
Norman is very different from Boston or Charlottesville.
The environment is very different at UVA, BU, and OU.
4 years isnāt nothing - do you want to be in a familiar environment or do you want to discover a new region of the country?
2Ā° ādo I want the different jobs that I could get at UVA/BU v. at OU?ā There are excellent CS jobs in OK (or anywhere). Boston and Northern Virginia happen to be Tech hubs, which Norman or OK arenāt. It means the companies that recruit there, the type of positions, the internships availableā¦ will be different. Are you interested in that?
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By trying to find a way to get you to UVA or BU we convinced you to go to Oklahoma. Mission accomplished. Lol.
Last piece of adviceā¦if OU has an honors program see if you can get in.
Good luck.
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Okay, yeah that makes sense. Although going to a different state sounds fun, it also sounds scary and if Iām broke it will most likely suck lol.
Okay will do, thanks a lot!
Congrats to you - in those programs you get a lot of 1:1 advising and attention. You become a rock star.
My daughter is looking at a ālesserā program - College of Charleston but sheās an intl scholar - there are 12 which is part of the Honors College. Sheās in at U Miami, American, Washington & Lee - but Charleston is cheaper and will get her personal attention - and well in our case we are going for cheaper. Your major is much more employable than ours - and youāll be fine either way you choose.
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Iām not sure where people are getting these numbers, but take it from someone who does computers for a living. Prestige doesnāt matter! And itās not worth taking out large loans for. After about 3 years of experience, no one asks where you went to school.
Whenever I hear āstarting salaryā stats, I usually laugh. Technology is based exclusively on hands-on experience. No company in their right mind pays big bucks for entry level employees that are going to seek further employment in a year or two. A bigger salary means that the company can hire an experienced professional to do the job.
Employers recruit locally and regionally because itās cost effective. This means that you canāt compare starting salaries. $95k in CA doesnāt mean the same thing as $95k in Texas. Having a lower starting salary in TX, for instance, could buy a far more comfortable living than CA could, despite the higher salary.
My advice, pick the affordable school and donāt look back. Practice interviewing skills. Youāll find a job, I promise!
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That makes sense, Iāve heard many programmers say the same thing! Iāll stick to instate most likely as I just donāt want loans and if it wonāt make a difference, why even consider it.
Wise choice. I like to look at it this way. By the time youāre driving a Lexus, your student loans are going to be paid off anyway. Less debt means more money for you. Some of us even opt-out of the āLexusā salary because of job stability and benefits. Less debt gives you that option.
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For the vast majority of jobs and companies it makes no difference where you got your degree. Skills are what matter.
However, for one small subset I firmly believe it matters. Start-ups/VC. I live in Pittsburgh. Lots of CMU start-ups over the years. Thereās a pecking order. Thirty years in IT.
But OP isnāt talking CMU, MIT, or Stanford. Good luck.
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UVA does have an advantage beside prestige, though: recruitment opportunities that donāt exist in Oklahoma. And based on research that was published (and which someone posted on another thread) UVA places very well, even ranks in the Top 40 for placement* - so, the salary for the same job would likely be commensurate with the location and, once adjusted for cost of living, would be the same for the same positionā¦ but some jobs would be available in NOVA for a UVA graduate that wouldnāt be available at all in Oklahoma.
That being said, Norman is cool, Oklahoma Honors is strong, the personalized attention really helps, and CS is employable. I suppose that in addition to OK, youād be able to look for jobs in Texas, although youād be competing with UT, UTD, etc. Plus, Tulsa is actually paying people to relocate there and telecommute. 
https://www.ou.edu/career/career-fairs
Most importantly, I donāt hear you say you want to discover another region of the USA, or want to live away from OK, or that you want to push yourself to work in high tech jobs. Not everyone wants to create their start up or work for Amazon, Verisign, finance or government contractors.
*that surprised me but itās not an impression from a VA poster, itās based on actual number of graduates/CS placements overall, and ratio graduates/hi tech placements - and tied to the very high number of āhigh levelā employers in the NOVA/MD/DC area. Iāll try and find the reportās references so you can look it up.
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I think OP made up his mind. This thread should be done.
OP - Congrats and GOOD LUCK!!!
I was offering another perspective that OP might not have considered, but totally understand. There are certainly worse things in life than attending a strong Honors college brimming with NMFs in order to study CS . 
CONGRATULATIONS!
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Every perspective and opinion is still appreciated, I am not 100% set so please donāt be discouraged to share what you think!
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Iām back to this thread late but yes, while you can get a coding job anywhere, UVa would give you better access to that big defense contracting/government consulting ecosystem around DC, which pays quite well.