I am an international undergraduate student and have been offered admission to the computer science programs at Purdue University and UT Dallas university.
UT Dallas has offered me a $41000 scholarship per academic year and I have no scholarship from Purdue.
I know Purdue is much better ranked than UTD in CS (9 vs 80 a/t US News) but is it worth the extra money?
Few facts about my family’s status:
1)Upper Middle-Class making around $80,000 per year (but a much lower cost of living than in the US)
2)Business strains in current times(minor ones)
Few things I want to consider:
1)Ranking for Machine Learning and statistics.
2)An environment conducive to academic study, I do not care much for greek life.
3)Average Salaries for people graduating from these schools
4)Research and job opportunities in these institutions.
5)Campus opportunities like Learning communities and other such things which will expand my horizons and enhance my learning.
6)Subjects apart from CS like Entrepreneurship and Statistics to Minor in.
7) Co-op opportunities where I graduate in 5 years instead of 4
I know that Purdue is better than UTD in each and every one of thee aspects. Substantially so in the rankings and Campus opportunities and environment. Respectably better in Research and job opportunities and other subjects. and marginally so in the average salaries(just $6000 difference).
So, in the end, would it be worth the time and money(a big difference of $160,000 in 4 years) to go to Purdue?
ps: I have stats like 35 ACT and 800 in math2 and physics subject tests so it might be a little belittling for me to attend a school when I deserve better so if you are recommending UTD (i know that this choice makes business sense) please make a case comparing UTD reputation wise with Purdue as well.
ps: (for Purdue) how many scholarships of some value are available after getting admitted? like certain subject scholarships etc. and how affordable will the pay from a co-op opportunity make attending Purdue
@ThePoliteBoy
I think not. I can’t respond regarding post-admission scholarships at Purdue, but a $160K delta is too much.
Is your objective an academic career or employment?
Where are you authorized to work?
And in CS, where it is mostly about your own ability, there is no way to justify PU over UTD. Especially since both are publics. Have you looked in to the UTD CS honors program, CS2?
BTW, you may not want to look down on UTD when the top students there (the McDermott Scholars, etc.) seem to achieve as much success as grads from the most elite schools on a per capita basis.
Typically, the scholarships post-admission anywhere in the US tend to be small.
First of all, where will this $160,000 come from?!
Purdue is a better ranked school. But it is expensive if you are not a resident of Indiana. DO NOT EXPECT ANY SCHOLARSHIP MONEY FROM PURDUE. If you don’t have the funding in place for 4 years of study, do not go to Purdue.
UT Dallas has an advantage over Purdue…Dallas is a major US city filled with opportunities. The students from my local high school who attend UTD tend to be very bright and motivated students who didn’t get into UT Austin (which is extremely competitive for a Computer Science Major) and whose families didn’t see the value in paying for a very expensive OOS university).
Make sure you compare the degree plans and review the course offerings for both schools.
I echo @txstella - do not expect any scholarship money from Purdue. The department awards are few and far between, and are very small. They will not make a dent in the $160K difference.
UT Dallas. Top-notch in CS (Hewlett Packard funded it or something!) and excellent internship opportunities. AES and McDermott make for a very strong scientific community.
Save the money, invest it, and use the returns to attend any Master’s program of your choice without money worries. MUCH better ROI.
@PurpleTitan I could work in both places given that it is part of my CPT(Legally allowed job training while still being an undergrad) or an on-campus opportunity.
I have looked into the CS2 program and I feel I am extremely likely to get into it. Since I have a 92% predicted, 35ACT, 800 in math2 and physics, various extracurriculars in debates, music and foreign exchange programs.
I am not looking down on UTD but the fact remains that if you are not a top-notch scholar like a McDermott or a Collegium V or CS2 the crowd is not that accomplished and motivated.
It is only in these selective programs that you get to work and study with smart people.
I don’t see why you think there is a huge difference between the UTD and PU student bodies. UTD’s 75-25 percentile ACT scores are 32-26. At PU, they are 32-25.
Granted, most of the PU CS students would be in the top quartile, but that probably is true for UTD as well. In any case, you could get in to the UTD honors programs, no?
@ThePoliteBoy I live in the Dallas area. Born and raised here. I’ve known UTD since it was a Masters only institution, was in high school/college during the era when it opened up for undergraduate degrees, have watched it blossom and explode into the institution it is now. I have had 5 cousins, my nephew and dozens of other kids of family friends go through UTD who have excelled, and not any of them were in the three honors groups you’ve mentioned. I’m not too sure where you’re getting the idea that the general student population outside of those three programs aren’t “accomplished or motivated or smart people”. You do sound like you’re looking down on UTD and very elitist.
Fact: every graduate of UTD in my family is making a high 6 figure income in their respective fields. They had amazing research and intern opportunities and made the most of their time there.
If you want to give away free money because of some preconceived notion about lack of prestige at UTD, go ahead, but as many others have pointed out here, it doesn’t sound like a very smart idea.
@ThePoliteBoy It might be worth contacting the honors program if you have not already been admitted. I know of one student who missed the deadline because she applied later in the admissions cycle, but then explained her situation and they waived the deadline for her. This was a couple of years ago, so things might be different now. Do a search on this forum and you will see how UT-D is making great strides in terms of facilities, number of National Merit finalists, etc. The girl we know there went from out of state, in part attracted by a generous merit scholarship. She is having a great experience.
Lots of tech opportunities in the Dallas area and easy to fly there internationally. You might find the weather more amenable there too.
@Momof3B@MYOS1634@PurpleTitan Thanks for your very valid points. I spent today searching more about the schools and saw that the “huge difference” is just prejudice in my mind against newer institutions. I am being more and more inclined towards UTD by each minute.
I dropped a mail to the person-in-charge of the CS2 program but he is yet to respond.
I feel I have made the decision not to go to Purdue but still any comments citing reasons I should are most welcome.
But all this has made me reconsider a suggestion from my father to not give U Arizona any thoughts. His reasoning was that if we can compromise on the ranking from 9 to 55(UA ranking) we might as well go down till 80 for a better scholarship and a more internationally accessible city.
I posted another thread(since it is now that I have reconsidered the choice of dropping the idea of going to U Arizona otherwise I would have posted all three in the same thread)(sorry) where I implore you guy to please help me with this too.
I will be looking at similar aspects since what I want from my college doesn’t change.
'Zona has some top departments and faculty but their student body composition is quite different from both UTD and PU. Just look at their 75-25 ACT scores.
It’s known as a big party school and there will be plenty of students there who are more interested in partying than learning (for better or worse).
Yes, they revamped it because Barrett was too attractive. However it WAS paltry and beside brand new honors buildings I’m not sure what they have changed.