I’m a Liberal Arts, STEM emphasis major at the CC I currently attend. I’m trying to get in to the Information Technology (not computer science) associate’s program in the Fall '16 semester.
I’m wondering if I should consider an LAC as a transfer out option from the CC.
I know some good LACs with hard (and ranked) IT-related degree programs in NYS (not NYC). Some good examples include:
Union College - Schenectady (probably the hardest IT/CS/Engineering-related programs)
Colgate University
Canisius college - Buffalo
Hamilton College - Clinton
Swarthmore College
probably more LACs in the Northeast with hard IT-related programs
I’m just considering these as a backup plan (I have many backup plans).
I know a lot of LACs offer 3+2 programs to prestigious Universities (ex; Columbia in NYC). This could be another reason to attend a LAC.
I’m just wondering based on my situation, if I should even consider attending a Liberal Arts College as an option.
Those are hardly back ups for anything. Swarthmore? Are you kidding? That is one of the most competitive schools in the US. They are hardly back ups-unless you are a shoe-in for Harvard, MIT or CalTech-then maybe.
I could not stop laughing at the Swarthmore backup line. I am going to screenshot this and send to my buddy - he is a Swat alum and is on their alumni president’s council or something like that - he will probably die of a heart attack. this is beyond funny. Seriously do you have a 4.0 plus a spectacular resume? They are going to have a ridiculously low acceptance rate this year. I cant stop laughing. This is serious pull buddy’s leg material. Thank you so much!
I attend Columbia Univ in City of NY but this is the first time I heard Swathmore as backup.
If Swathmore is backup for you, so is Columbia, MIT, Harvard, CalTech, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Duke, and the like
Swathmore has a great engineering program. It isn’t at 3+2 or anything like it. It’s just a 4 year program. But as others said, at least one of your “backups” are reaches for everyone. You don’t understand the difference between LACs and universities. LACs are focused on undergraduates. They usually don’t have grad programs (at least not beyond a few MA programs). Some are among the most competitive (to gain entry to) in the country.
I don’t know why one use all that energy for “very competitive” schools to major in CS. It’s an area where employers very rarely care about the school that you attended.
The 2+2 grad who does 2 years at a basic community college and two more years at ANY SUNY university will get the same job (and similar money to start) as the CS major from the super-competitive school.
“The 2+2 grad who does 2 years at a basic community college and two more years at ANY SUNY university will get the same job (and similar money to start) as the CS major from the super-competitive school.”
Sorry but that is simply not true. Even though everyone was well behaved not everyone gets trophies. By the time a CS major from Stanford, CalTec, CMU, MIT, Michigan and (and at least another 20 schools) graduate they have already interned at places like Google, Microsoft, Fb, and on and on. They are heavily recruited as interns by their first or second summer. They are recruited for full time jobs before they are a month or two into senior year. I’ve asked students on SUNY campuses about their experiences and it is nothing like that. I am not saying that “any SUNY” isn’t fine. But the idea that a graduate of SUNY has the same opportunities as would be offered a graduate of “super-competitive school”(s) is simply not the case. Naturally some students from sUNY may end up at the same kind of places. There are tons of graduates from SUNY and these companies are seeking to fill slots, but I assure you that, on average, there is absolutely no comparison between opportunities easily available to graduates of top CS schools and those available to SUNY graduates. Sorry to bring reality onto these threads because being left with the feel good idea that all schools are equal would feel better. On the other hand, most things are possible for those who are brilliant and work very hard to get them.
Swarthmore is nothing like SUNY. A graduate of Swarthmore would be very competitive.
Because there is more to learning than just earning money in life…
Honestly, it’s like asking why study philosophy, literature, history, art, music etc. for many people.
Well… cause we can and cause we only live once. Why can’t we? Money isn’t everything.
And also, because we live only once, experience is something we cherish over time. Don’t you want to try competing against some of the best students in the world and see how you compare against them? Don’t you want to constantly challenge yourself? I rather learn Calculus using Apostol or Courant’s book over a Calculus book using Stewart’s anyday (no offense Stewart) while getting graded out of a curve of the top students.
And for this:
Nice to note.
However, an average 2+2 grad in this case will probably never have experienced as much rigour as you could have faced in a more competitive environment.
You get the same high school diploma whether you graduate last or graduate first. That said, are both types really the same?
I thought the purpose of education is to get people educated, not get people jobs (which btw is very important in real life).
It doesn’t sound like the OP is necessarily gunning for a top corp CS job, more like one of the hundreds of thousands of perfectly solid IT jobs available instead. So if the CS snobs could stand down for a minute… OP, if you are looking to work in programming or other IT roles, you can go either way – LAC or university. IT is very much a “what can you do” field vs “where did you go”, so you pribably can do as well from a SUNY as an LAC if it is cheaper. But if you like the LAC atmosphere and it is affordable, go ahead.
I am not sure how easy it is for transfer students to do a 3+2. Very few students actually do the 3+2 path, and it extends your college expenses by a year. If you want an engineering degree, transfer straight to a 4 year eng program, don’t go the LAC route.
If you are interested in Information Technology, I’d recommend looking at a school which has excellent Co-ops where you can get some real world experience before you graduate - RIT and Northeastern come to mind. RIT also has merit scholarships for transfer students, which most schools do not. http://www.rit.edu/emcs/admissions/apply/transfer/how-to-apply/scholarships-for-transfer-students
There are more companies than just Google, Microsoft and Facebook. There are branches of Amazon, Google and other bigger name corporations in the Washington DC area and experienced software engineers still say “thanks but no” if the commute, salary or career goals are not to their liking.
Employers care if you “do the work”. The name of your past employer means nothing.
Plus those big companies recruit everywhere. I work at Microsoft and there are lots of UW grads of course, but there are lots of grads from WSU, Central Wash and Western Wash too. Some folks from Seattle U and SPU. And then people from all kinds of colleges and universities across the country. Yeah, some of the top schools are a bit overrepresented but a path from a smaller college to a top CS company is not unprecedented, especially if you work at other companies before coming here (which frankly is the trajectory for a lot of people). (And honestly, there are probably more WSU grads here than there are grads of some of the smaller elite schools. I’d imagine that companies like to recruit locals because they know that the locals will like the area and stay - they’re already here - and because relocation packages are expensive!)
And, as others have mentioned, there are hundreds of tech companies and thousands of other companies that require IT and tech expertise.
You must really be a prodigy. 