I have recently viewed several rankings for the best CS programs in the United States, and the schools available to me in my state (AL) are generally rated on the low end of these lists. As far as I can tell, going to any strong program at an out-of-state school will shred my poor peasant wallet, not to mention the fact that the admissions boards will probably tear me to pieces since, well, I’m out of state. Please give me guidance, I already suffer from hypertension and this issue isn’t helping.
Are you competitive for the best CS programs? if so, you could qualify for merit aid at those schools. Also, do you qualify for significant financial aid (in other words, have you run a NPC)- if so private colleges can be a good bet if you have the stats
I would not go into debt to attend an OOS schools. If you can get into to your state flagship and do well you should be just fine. You might also look at some private schools where your stats place you in the upper 25% or so and see if you get merit aid.
Undergrad rankings for CS are meaningless. Good heavens…there must be over 400 good programs in the US…so why would someone freak out if a school’s CS ranking isn’t one of the top?? means nothing.
CS programs don’t have to be ABET accredited, but many are. And several of the ones in your state are.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with UA. It’s a great university. You should know that getting out of state with a potential future on stake is very irrational. I mean, at the end you get to be taught the same thing: computer science.