Well, I have gotten into Purdue CS and UW-Madison L&S, too. I didn’t apply to Penn State and UCSD, but I have applied to College Park CS (RD) and haven’t gotten decision yet. Since I seem to be in similar situation to yours, I will comment on it.
I just want to know how good the department of CS is.
//College Park > Purdue > UW-Madison
How good is the CS Department’s faculty?
//I believe Purdue and UW-Madison are sitting in some rural areas. Aside from that, I’m sure College Park > Purdue > UW-Madison.
I have heard that Purdue CS is rigorous. Many students drop out of CS in the 2nd year. How true is that?
//Purdue is very notorious for having zero grade inflation, making the GPA of 3.0 the most “common” grade. Also, Purdue CS is known to weed out a lot of CS students in the first two years in college with very tough tests. With these two combined, it is very true.
How rewarding is a Bachelor’s Degree in CS from Purdue?
//BS diploma from Purdue CS should help you VERY much. While it is very notorious for its course rigor, Purdue is also acknowledged by many CS and engineering companies for their course rigor, making Purdue graduates look invaluable.
Finally, can someone help me rank the universities mentioned below in terms of the CS Department( please take other factors like job opportunities, MS Program, UG Research, Faculty experience into consideration)
//Overall, CP > Purdue > UW-Madison. However, UW-Madison is also very well known for its researches, so in terms of research papers, UW-Madison should rank top out of the three.
Purdue, UW-Madison, UMCP, Penn State, UCSD
//I had no prior knowledge as to Penn State and UCSD, so I didn’t talk about this. But as far as I know, Penn State doesn’t have good CS program, while UCSD has a great CS program.