@BuckeyeMWDSG UIUC CS is also ABET. https://cs.illinois.edu/about-us/accreditation
Toledo remains a good deal though.
UIUC and Berkely are among top 5 CS program in USA. Because they are OOS for us, thus not applicable to us. Otherwise my third kid will choose them in a heartbeat for CS.
There are several CS programs- 2 year, 4 yr, Masters, Computer Science (no engineering designation).
The 11 listed was from an ABET search for only 4 year “Computer Science and Engineering”
http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx
UIUC would be category 1 easily. Incredibly hard to get into. Did not realize it was mentioned, but as others said, is a reach in state.
ABET Accreditation only matters for engineering, not CS. Many of the top CS schools do not offer ABET CS degrees. “CS and Engineering” programs usually go by other names like CS/CE or CS/EE. Many more than 11 schools offer programs with accredited engineering parts for it. I’m also not sure why it was brought up, as OP is looking for CS programs and has not mentioned anything about engineering.
I think this thread has veared a bit off topic OP was asking about schools that have decent CS programs ** AND** offer merit aid, not what the are the best CS programs.
I’ve spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of various CS programs and for us UT Dallas is the best value and the best fit (I have a nerdy kid, not into foot ball, partying, we have visisted and toured the school…) With their National Merit Scholarship UTD will cost less than $1k a semester for tuition, room, board and books. It’s a very up an coming school with loads or research and internship opportunists, they have an honors computing program with smaller classes and more advanced work. Their CS program is ABET certified (and yes some employers do look for this). They are very generous with AP/DE credits so it’s likely that DS could double major or with their Fast Track Program he could finish a BS and a Masters in 4 years.
DH works for a large, well know international high tech company and they hire from UTD just as they do from the schools like MIT, UIUC, WPI… They do not base their pay scale on what school someone graduated from. I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of new hires that got his BS at UTD. He was very complementary about the school and felt their program gave him a solid background. He also mentioned the great value of being able to graduate debit free.
@TheJFamily If you are not National Merit, look into their stats based, very generous AES awards https://aes.utdallas.edu/prospective-freshmen/awards
Your son will likely qualify for full tuition plus a $1K a semester scholarship.
“good computer Science Program and a school he will qualify for their Merit Scholarships”
My bad to bring up engineering I guess. I think the addition of engineering to CS imparts additional problem solving qualities that employers seek and fulfills the ‘good’ adjective OP used. I was focused on providing an option to study CS for $3,000/year or less for tuition at a four year university since the OP stats qualify for $15,000 in merit aid which I think is a stellar value. But if engineering is too hard/or has no interest in, you are right, it won’t be a good option for OP.
Engineering is not inherently harder nor a skill that most CS employers look for. If they want those skills, they look for CE/EE degrees usually. The underlying problem solving of both fields are very similar. U of Toledo is still a great option for CS indeed, but the engineering part is neither here nor there.
Re ABET: There are a few rare employers that care about ABET here and there, but there are more companies that don’t even care if you have a CS degree at all, which I think speaks to the industry’s opinion on that well. In the end, it’s about the skills you have when it comes to CS, with most interviews still using coding tests to screen and hire developers. If a program is not ABET accredited, it’s usually because it lacks a requirement in physical sciences or advanced math, not a lack of CS courses. Of course, with schools that are both not already known and without accreditation, it’s good to check that the CS courses are sufficient (ex. compare with a known good school’s CS class requirements).
My intent of mentioning the 4 “tiers” was actually to make the point that where you go to school doesn’t matter much, particularly if you’re outside of those tippy top options. Employers don’t pay differently for different schools, true, but the frequency of each school in said companies is usually where you see the tiers show up, not in the pay of individual employees. This is usually a reflection of a variety of factors, some concerned with the quality of input students, some with the CS program’s teaching ability, some with reputation. Regional factors also play a role, as no matter where you go, local universities will be much more abundant.
The point is that within the same “tier”, the cheaper option (+ best fit) will likely be the right choice. Even between tiers if outside of the first. That would be the relevant takeaway for OP. Any school that has a sufficient CS program will do fine in the end.
Stevens was the first university to be accredited for computer science by ABET, which merged with the original Computer Science Accreditation Commission and renamed it the Computing Accreditation Committee (CAC) of ABET. It is still ABET accredited today. You should add it to your list of accredited programs.
ACCREDITATION
Stevens is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The B.S. program in computer science is accredited by ABET. Enrollment and graduation data are available online.
The CAC Commission of ABET
111 Market Place, Suite 1050
Baltimore, MD 21202-4012
Telephone: (410) 347-7700
@Engineer80 I have heard Stevens is a good CS school but the big question is how much the OP will need to pay after merit. I have friend with a son there and he’s loving it but do you know how much merit they give, it’s a pricey school to start with.
The comment was about “Computer Science and Engineering” which is an uncommon name for a degree that is essentially CS/CE or CS/EE. That’s why there are only 11 programs listed. Again, all of this is very off topic. There are tons of ABET accredited CS schools and listing them does no good.
ABET lists 405 accredited programs with the term ‘computer’
295 if the search is ‘computer science’
11 ‘computer science and engineering’
246 ‘computer engineering’
There are many different degrees and differently accredited programs.
http://main.abet.org/aps/Accreditedprogramsearch.aspx
@PengsPhils OP is in Illinois. He mentioned UIUC (just U of I for short actually). That would likely be his baseline for both cost and quality comparison.
While many of the privates listed give merit money, I don’t think they will be cheaper and you confirm giving it a category 1 rating, better.
I mentioned it was an instate reach with a 33 ACT. OP should have his son do his best on all other parts of the app including the essay. He might get in as an instate student. Especially if that unweighted GPA is close to a 4.0.
The problem with UIUC is that admission to CS is incredibly competitive - I would bank on getting rejected there for planning purposes, though of course I’d hope for the best for OP. The point being, a cost baseline would have to come from a safety, not a reach, to be of any use for deciding whether to include a school on the list.
I suspect we’re on the same page here and just have some small differences in how we’re defining things. OP has enough info to work with, so all is well I think.
Drexel University is a good not top CS school that offers merit. Still your COA with merit will probably be about 35K a year. BTW it has ABET for CS and CE but neither is a 4 year program. Being a Co-op school the program is 5 years with 2 Co-ops. It’s a good choice if working in industry is what you want to do when you graduate.
@PengsPhils I agree. Which is why I suggested Alabama could be his true safety (low 20s per year). And why I was pointing out the admit rate for UIUC was 8% though in state helps. (Not sure if OP knew how competitive it is) As I read it a 32k a year college (like UIUC) was high for the family which is why I pointed out some of these privates would not likely be less than that with merit.
I only meant UIUC as a baseline for us the CC audience because OP has already indicated he was looking for a lower cost. Probably wasn’t careful enough with the wording. Edit: Just reread. You are correct @PengsPhils . That certainly implies UIUC a safety. Not what I wanted to convey which was 32k seemed high for the family based on OPs reaction and we might want to include lower cost options. @BuckeyeMWDSG gave an interesting one with Toledo which seemed affordable.
I do think ABET is helpful for figuring out if one is comparing apples to oranges. Often someone says X has a great CS program and Y is terrible. But often they aren’t comparing similar programs of study since they are actually comparing a CSE or CE to a CS.
I believe 50% of the COA is typical. Here in NJ for example our state university (Rutgers) is quite expensive for out of state students. Stevens tuition with the financial aid is comparable to Rutgers, and Stevens is a far better school.
Stevens is aboat $70K a year COA and merit would bring it down to $35K so it’s still a more that UIUC for instate. If I were the OP I’d run the numbers and Alabama, Toledo and UT Dallas to figure what the out of pocket costs would be for each school and then look at individual programs and student fit.
One of my classmates who did his undergrad in CS at Stevens went to UIUC for his master’s in CS. He thought that Stevens was superior to UIUC in some respects. That of course is anecdotal, but having gone to both schools he was in a good position to render an opinion. Most private universities are going to be more expensive than public ones for instate students, so it’s sort of an apples to oranges comparison.
@Engineer80 If UIUC is not comfortable affordable for OP, how exactly is it helpful to be promoting more expensive options like Stevens which is guessed to come in at 35k?
With UIUC at 32k instate