Hi guys,
I recently got accepted to both schools for computer science. Penn state seems to have a better program, but UC Davis is much closer to silicone valley(not sure if it helps to find internships). Which school should I choose?
Any help is appreciated, thanks!
Cost? Have you visited both campuses? What’s your preference?
Are you in-state for either? CS or CSE for Davis? Is it direct admit for PSU or do you need to qualify to get in for CS?
The cost is cheaper at penn state, 51000 vs 60000 at UC Davis (out of state and no scholarships (yeah i failed all of the scholarship apps)). I visited UC Davis before, not penn state because of school stuff. I personally prefer California because of the weather and probably better internship opportunities, but Penn state offers more structured computer science program and more information on co-ops. Both campuses have great academic atmosphere though.
I got in CS (not CSE) for Davis, and direct admit for PSU at university park campus. Out of state for both.
There definitely will be lots of employers coming to job fairs at UC-Davis for CS. It gets really hot in the summers at Davis (over 90 most days) but chances are you’ll miss most of the heat since the school year is end of Sept to early June.
Both programs are pretty equal academic wise I would think. PSU being in the Big Ten will definitely have more school spirit, if that’s important to you. I think both are equally good choices.
Thanks a lot! Honestly school spirit does not matter too much to me, maybe I’ll choose UC Davis. umm what about graduate school? Is there going to be a significant difference between UC Davis and Penn state when applying to MS programs at other colleges?
To be frank I think Penn state offers more opportunity they have one of the bigggest career fairs… I would checkout a YouTube on the program I think they invested heavily on CS
@nico380576 you might want to post your questions on both the PSU board and/or the UCD board. I unfortunately don’t know anything about the grad programs at either place.
@aquapt might be able to help, he knows a lot about a lot of schools
The better option is usually to take part in a 5-year BS/MS program at your undergrad college so that you minimize the time to get the degree. Each year out of the workforce as a CS major is going to cost you $80K to $120K in lost income.
I hope for these 2 schools cost isn’t an issue. For those to whom expenses matter then their instate public is usually their best choice. CS is a pretty standard subject, and interviewers can assess how well you can do it. A kid from any decent college with good grades, some projects they can discuss, and an internship or two is going to be a strong candidate.
p.s. As a CA taxpayer I suggest you attend Davis, and I thank you in advance for your $100K contribution to the University of California in OOS tuition
Thanks for the shoutout, @ProfessorPlum168 - I don’t have much in-depth knowledge about Penn State, though. Davis is a good school with a good undergraduate quality of life, but I don’t know that there’s any objective metric that justifies the difference in cost, since PSU has a comparably solid reputation.
Davis is certainly close enough to Silicon Valley (no e - silicone is for breast implants - make sure you never misspell it in a cover letter! 
) to get there for an interview if you had to, but it’s a two hour drive best-case if you avoid traffic, and a world away in many ways. So what you want to know is the strength of the recruiting connections at both schools, relative to CA employers vs. other regions. Worth doing some more digging on that point.
What are your interests within CS? An ABET accredited program isn’t necessarily essential, but it does sound as if the program you’re admitted to at PSU is, whereas your Davis program (CS in Arts & Sciences) is not. If you were to broaden or shift the focus of your program, what are your other interests? PSU has really interesting options in Data Science (in the same department) and Social Data Analytics (in the College of Liberal Arts)… plus PSU is definitely stronger in business if you wanted to consider the business minor or anything like that. At Davis, the CS major is easier to blend with other A&S majors/minors like Cognitive Science or Math or Linguistics or the social sciences, etc. There isn’t a business school per se, although there is a managerial econ minor in the ag school. Are you more of a CS-plus-liberal-arts person or an engineering-adjacent-CS person or a business-adjacent-CS person?
And how important is that extra $25K+ over four years to you and your family?