NEU vs UW-M vs UoF vs UC Davis for CS

College Search & Selection
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I am a prospective CS major for fall 2022. I have got into a few schools in early rounds and still waiting for a few T20s I have applied to (don’t have any hope of acceptance!). As of now, I am contemplating between these universities: Northeastern, University of Wisconsin-Madison, UC Davis, and University of Florida.

Northeastern

Pros: I like the location as I always wanted to be in a bigger city. CS program seems to be good even though not that highly ranked by US News. Combined majors are also an attractive option. Small class sizes. The most significant advantage as an international student who wants to work in the US after degree completion seems to be its structured Co-op program which would almost guarantee me job experience along with my degree.

Cons: Coming from a warm climate, I don’t know how I would cope with the cold weather. Northeastern is the most expensive of my choices at around $78K.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Pros: Highly ranked CS program (US News rank 18 for CS). Good social life. Though Madison is not Boston, it still is a great college town and seems way better than Gainesville. Much cheaper than Northeastern at $57K

Cons: It seems that upper-level CS classes are difficult to register for, and many people have trouble graduating on time. Big class sizes. Not sure about the availability of internships for international students. Too cold. Colder than Boston.

University of Florida

Pros: Highest-ranked among my four choices. Typical US college experience with lots of school spirit. Warm climate. Relatively smaller class sizes as compared to other public universities. Cheapest of my options at $44K

Cons: Not a well-known CS program and I am unsure of its quality. Not much to do in Gainesville as compared to Boston and Madison. Seems to be lacking diversity, especially in regard to international UG students. Hence, I fear that I may feel out of the place. Not sure about the availability of internships for international students.

UC Davis

Pros: Decent CS program. California weather seems perfect to me. Near Silicon Valley. Relatively cheaper than NEU at $70K

Cons: The quarter system may be too fast-paced. The location seems uninteresting to me. Big class sizes. Class registration may be impacted. Again not sure about internship options but I feel that due to the proximity to silicon valley, I may have better options here as compared to UoF and UW Madison.

My parents would be paying from their savings without taking any debt for all four choices, so cost is not a deterrent. Though if I choose a cheaper college, the saved money can always be put to some other use. My main priority is having good internship/co-op opportunities which may put me in good stead for getting a job during STEM OPT.

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Of these choices, I’d pick U of Wisconsin.

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I am not a CS person and I don’t know much about the other 3 schools beyond UF. I have a family member who is a freshman right now at UF. It is one of the largest universities in the country with lots of diversity. My family member is surprised about Gainesville. There is more to do than he expected and road trips to the beach, Jacksonville and other Florida cities make life interesting. However, Gainesville is not Miami, and it can get cool/cold on occasion. You will not have a hard time at all finding internship opportunities. Also, along with Austin, there is a huge tech shift to South Florida which provides more opportunities.

They are all well respected options and you really can’t make a wrong decision. Congratulations!

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I would start by ruling out UC Davis. It’s a great school and a great value for in-state students, but for what you’d pay, it doesn’t offer tangible value-added over your less expensive choices.

At cost parity, I would pick Northeastern. Opinions on this will vary, but IMO they offer a terrific CS program, and as you say, the combined majors add a great range of options, with more flexibility than public universities can provide. However, it’s a big difference in price. For that cost to be justified, I think it would have to be clear that the co-op program would offer you a foot in the door for work experience that, as an international student, you’d be unable to access at UW or UF. I am not sure whether this is the case or not, but IMHO that’s the question it comes down to, value-wise.

Even if it took longer to graduate from Madison, five full years there would still cost less than four years (well, five total but four enrolled in classes) at Northeastern. UF is even more affordable and they are very focused on getting students through in four years.

If I were you, I would narrow down my choice among the public U’s first. As I already said, I think Davis should be the first one cut. Between UW and UF, there are solid points in favor of each. But I think your next task should be to eliminate one of those. Then you can do a fair head-to-head evaluation of your top public choice vs. Northeastern. Bottom line there, is the difference in access to work experience significant enough to pay an additional amount of money that could alternatively pay for a masters degree? For a domestic student, I’d say no; but for an international student, it’s possible that it might make that much difference - I really don’t know.

Congrats on great acceptances, and good luck with the T20’s!

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Academically I think that they are all very good. You have some very good choices to pick from.

I have worked in computer science with graduates from the University of Wisconsin, and at one point worked on a software project with a team of students plus one professor from Wisconsin. They were very good and Wisconsin is well known as being very good for CS.

I did get my master’s degree from a university that was on the quarter system. One issue is that you do not want to fall behind in your class work. The end of the quarter comes up quickly and is upon you sooner than you expect if you are used to the semester system. I liked the quarter system partly because I got my masters when I was older (after working for a couple of years) so I was mature enough that I did keep ahead in my class work, and partly because you get to take more classes. For subjects that you love (eg, stochastic processes in my case) you can take the next course in the same subject the following quarter. For subjects that you only wanted a little bit of (econometrics in my case) you just take one quarter, you learn a significant amount, then you are done with it and on to something else.

I do not think that there is any bad choice here.

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I would not worry about rankings. All the schools are perfectly fine for CS. NEU has a different approach to teaching with its co-op program, so perhaps that appeals to you. As for the others, there probably isn’t much to distinguish their CS programs unless one offers a specialty track or certain classes that the others don’t have.

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If you are international (I assume based on your comment), will NEU still get you co-ops? As you know, it’s difficult for international students to get employed here.

Me - i’m going UF - it’s cheap, Gainesville has more going on than you think due to the school - and frankly, all are great - probably NEU and the UW first - but for CS, all are going to get you a fine job and saving $100K over the next option is a lot of coin!!!

Plus it’s got the weather you like - really the only one that does. You have to be there four years - day after day - and yes, that matters.

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Uh, you should pick the most inexpensive program available because after you complete your degree, you are expected to return to your home country.

So out of the choices you have, pick the least expensive.

You are not allowed to work in the US after graduation.
You can use OPT during schooling and a limited time after that, but you cannot expect to be employed without US citizenship or sponsorship. Employers are required to employ US citizens first before considering non-citizens. Most employers do not want the hassle of sponsorship, waiting times, and fees. Many corporations with CS jobs have web sites indicating that they cannot sponsor non-citizens.
So, pick a school that will not cost your parents a fortune.

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Thanks for such a detailed reply. It definitely gives me some direction for my decision-making.

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I do want to return to my home country after my graduation. But if the current laws allow me to gain valuable practical real-world experience, then I would love to have that experience which would be a launching pad for my future career. If I am not mistaken, current US immigration laws allow an international student to participate in up to 365 days of CPT while still in school (internships and co-ops would be covered under CPT) and one year of OPT after graduation. STEM students are eligible for a further two years of STEM extension which amounts to a total CPT of three years.

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Make sure you understand the rules:
From the website:
All OPT must be directly related to your major area of study. If you are an F-1 student, you may be eligible to participate in OPT in two different ways:

  • Pre-completion OPT: You may apply to participate in pre-completion OPT after you have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for one full academic year at a college, university, conservatory, or seminary that has been certified by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to enroll F-1 students. You do not need to have had F-1 status for the one full academic year; you can satisfy the “one full academic year” requirement even if you had another nonimmigrant status during that time.

If you are authorized to participate in pre-completion OPT, you may work part time (20 hours or less per week) while school is in session. You may work full time when school is not in session.

  • Post-completion OPT: You may apply to participate in post-completion OPT after completing your studies. If you are authorized for post-completion OPT, you may work part time (20 hours or less per week) or full time.

If you participated in pre-completion OPT, USCIS will deduct that amount of time from your post-completion OPT authorization period. For example, if you participated in 10 months of pre-completion OPT, you would be eligible for only up to 2 months of post-completion OPT."

“Are employed by an employer who is enrolled in and is using E-Verify”

Also, the trick is having an employer enrolled in the program.
My husband, daughter and son’s different employers don’t participate in the program.