I have been accepted to all 3 of these schools and intend to major in computer science. At UCSD, I was admitted directly to the major; at Berkeley, accepted into L&S, and Rice is cool because choosing majors is flexible there. I know each school has strong programs in CS, but Rice isn’t typically ranked as high due to it focusing more on the undergrad experience and being slightly less well known. Will I have the same opportunities with a CS degree from Rice as I will with a degree from Berkeley or UCSD?
Are any of the school’s environments so much better than the others that I can’t miss out? I have visited Rice and I liked the campus and the residential college system. I have not visited either of the UCs.
If you’re out of state for the UCs and received little/no financial aid, you’re looking at paying roughly what Rice would cost you, assuming you did not receive substantial FA at Rice.
In that case, this Berkeley alum would advise you to chose Rice: for the same price as Cal or UCSD, you will enjoy the privileges of private schools - more customer service, more access to professors, greater attention as an undergrad, nicer housing options, etc. Cal in particular is a bit notorious for its bureaucracy, and while top students do have very good opportunities at both Cal and UCSD, they still have to fight for them, the onus is still on them to learn about reach out for those opportunities. At Rice, all that will be easier, the way it’s often easier at private schools. Computer Science is a field where the school matters less than the things you’ve done there, and I believe it will be easier to be a standout at Rice. Plus, Rice has phenomenal contacts within the tech industry, and excellent alum support. Whatever little you might lose by getting your degree from a school that has less international renown than Cal, you will more than make up for in personal attention as a student, and after graduation.
All three schools attract smart, outgoing, multifaceted students. All three will offer a great education and career prospects. So you can’t go wrong… but you’re likely to have a more personal experience at Rice.
If money is not an issue, I would go with Berkeley. It is one of the top computer science programs in the world and the proximity to silicon valley offers amazing internship possibilities. I agree that you will not have the personal attention that you get at a private school, so if that is important to you Rice would also offer an excellent education.
UCSD is a great school, not as well know as Berkeley for CS and a very different vibe. If you like their college system and want to be in a less urban area, by the beach, it has much to offer.
My son is a third year CS major at Cal and loves the atmosphere. Students work hard together in study groups and participate in lots of hackathons and other events. Companies recruit constantly, he had an $18k summer internship his sophomore year with a start up and has a better offer with a more established company this summer (but not one of the big 5). This company said they only recruit from MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and Berkeley. So some companies do consider schools.
Thanks for the input so far. I have gone to small private schools my whole life, so Rice would fit that more. However, part of me wants to try going to a bigger university (like Berkeley or UCSD) because I think it would force me to become tougher and seek out opportunities on my own more, rather than being constantly assisted by teachers.
Another thing that Berkeley has the advantage of is the name of course, proximity to Silicon Valley, higher rankings in CS and other related fields than UCSD and Rice, all of which can matter when pursuing jobs/internships. If I do choose Rice, I’m kind of worried that it will be tougher to get jobs/internships outside of Texas than if I chose Cal or UCSD.
Also, I’m not sure that what you do at a school is more important than the school itself (as @katliamom said) because some companies definitely favor graduates of Stanford, MIT, Cal, CMU, etc. when it comes to CS and related fields.
Some companies favor Stanford et al., but many top tech companies also recruit at San Jose State, clearly not nearly the caliber of Rice or the UCs. (Plus, let’s not forget just how favorably the booming tech sector in Texas would look upon a Rice grad!)
Also: here’s something to ponder. It’s a post from the “Prestige at Davis or Connections in the Bay Area” thread:
I found out that I kinda know someone who works at Google (nephew of my mom’s boss XD) and I got to email him and ask. He gave me an response that I think is worth posting:
“It is not the school that decides your fate, it is the amount of study and hard work you put into your time at school that will determine if you are ready for a career at the top companies in any area.
I work with people that have gone to Berkely, Harvard, Yale, University of Phoenix, and community college. Shoot, I even know Googlers that were plumbers and have no college degree. And in the end, it’s not the school they went to that makes them successful, it is the hard work and dedication to being the best they can be that makes them superstars to work with.
My advice, pick a school that you WANT to go to. One that has the program and classes you want to attend, in an area that you enjoy being in.”
If you want the best college experience, choose Rice for the reasons @katliamom mentioned.
If you want a “big school” experience - to get you out of your comfort zone - and you are going to make the effort to connect to the local IT startup culture, and your goal is to get hired into a Bay area tech company straight out of college - then choose Berkeley.
Re @katliamom 's last post, I want to add that when it comes to CS, your demonstrable skills are more important than your degree. I have a friend who is a programmer at Google and another who is a senior engineer at Red Hat, and neither finished high school, much less went to college - but they are talented self-taught programmers. Having a degree from a prestigious university like Berkeley will make it much easier for you to get interest and interviews from companies (esp. bigger ones) - but the degree won’t get you the job (or won’t get you promoted once you have the job) - your skills (well as your work ethic and soft skills) will.
If you are thinking strongly about Berkeley, make sure you visit it first to see if you would feel ok with the surrounding neighborhood and walking to and from the campus when it is dark.
You do understand that you will have to petition to be a CS major at Berkeley L&S after getting at least a 3.3. in the three introductory CS courses? Some folks consider that to be a gamble because a couple of mediocre grades could keep you out of the major entirely.
The Tech industry in Texas continues to grow (no personal income tax versus high taxes; much lower cost of living, no two-hour commutes) – there are plenty of start-ups and other opportunities. Rice sounds like a much better fit.
There’s also something to be said for a well-funded career services office (CA budget cuts have hit all the UC schools hard, even UCB).
@mrstat That’s correct, but that may only be a 50% chance given the CS course curves. Of course, a strong student with substantial incoming CS background will probably have better than that 50% overall chance.
@goldenbear2020 Is there anywhere I can find the grade distributions for certain classes? I don’t have a great CS background, but plan to do some self-studying if I choose to attend Berkeley. Even if CS doesn’t work out, I’d be just as happy trying out other majors like Applied Math. Also, do you have any thoughts on which school I should choose?