<p>I've never been able to find undergraduate rankings in computer science, but here are the 2008 graduate rankings:
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
1 Stanford University
1 University of California--Berkeley
4 Carnegie Mellon University
5 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign
6 Cornell University
6 Princeton University
6 University of Washington
9 Georgia Institute of Technology
9 University of Texas--Austin
11 California Institute of Technology
11 University of Wisconsin--Madison
13 University of California--Los Angeles
13 University of Maryland--College Park
13 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor
16 Columbia University
16 Harvard University
16 University of California--San Diego
19 Purdue University--West Lafayette
20 Brown University
20 Duke University
20 Rice University
20 University of Massachusetts--Amherst
20 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill
20 University of Pennsylvania
20 USC</p>
<p>That is so helpful, momofchris!! I did learn hear from another CC mom as to the great comp sci program at UIUC...something people outside the field (such as I) would never have realized....!</p>
<p>Will show that list today, to son. I think he's leaning toward warm-weather schools. To me, U of MD seems like a great distance from our house (2.5 hours) -- far enough to get away; close enough to come home if homesick, has a problem, etc.</p>
<p>It will be his call, though, ultimately.</p>
<p>Again, thank you to all for the great, substantive info!</p>
<p>But wait: Do these graduate school rankings correspond to undergraduate departments and experiences? I wonder.</p>
<p>p3t, we asked ourselves that question too. Unfortunately that's all the info we have. The top rated departments have more professors who are doing more published work. I think that trickles down to better experiences for undergrads, but it's hard to be certain.</p>
<p>In the SCA, the characteristics that produced the national reputation also seem to result in phenomenal opportunities and learning experiences for undergraduates. I think that the same can be said for the undergraduate music program. You might hage to go department by department to sort this out, but my sense is that USC overall is strongly committed to the quality of its undergraduate education, and that as departments beef up on the graduate level, the impact for undergraduates is more than a trickle down.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts! I looked to for "best comp sci undergraduate programs" and couldn't really find any listings on the web, either. </p>
<p>Appreciate the insights!</p>
<p>Computer Science undergraduate rankings from collegehelp</p>
<p>
[quote]
Here's to give you some ideas:</p>
<p>Gourman Report computer science undergrad rankings (from collegehelp)</p>
<p>MIT
Carnegie Mellon
UC Berkeley
Cornell
U Illinios UC
UCLA
Yale
Caltech
U Texas Austin
U Wisconsin Madison
U Maryland CP
Princeton
U Washington
USC
SUNY Stony Brook
Brown
Georgia Tech
U Penn
U Rochester
NYU
U Minnesota
U Utah
Columbia
Ohio State
Rice
Duke
Northwestern
SUNY Buffalo
U Pittsburgh
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
U Mass Amherst
Rutgers NB
Indiana U Bloomington
Penn State UP
UC Santa Barbara
Syracuse
Iowa St
RPI
UVA
U Michigan AA
U Iowa
U Conn
Southern Methodist
US Naval Acad
US Military Acad
U Houston
U Kansas
Washington U St Louis
Mich St
Stevens Inst
Case Western
Texas A&M
U Oklahoma
Kansas State
Vanderbilt
Washington State
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Top engineering program graduate program from UCB website.</p>
<p>
[quote]
2008 Graduate Rankings</p>
<p>UC Berkeley's College of Engineering has placed third among the top schools nationwide, following Stanford and MIT. The 2008 U.S. News & World Report graduate rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students.</p>
<p>2008 Top 10 Engineering Schools - Graduate
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2 Stanford University
3 University of California, Berkeley<br>
4 Georgia Institute of Technology
5 University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
6 Carnegie Mellon University
7 California Institute of Technology
*7 University of Southern California *
9 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
10 Cornell University
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Rankings</a> Archive — UC Berkeley College of Engineering</p>
<p>Thanks, that's really helpful, ColumbiaStudent!!</p>
<p>Interesting though, another comp sci dad here mentioned that Stevens (highly ranked on that list) did not have a very cutting-edge or forward-thinking comp sci program.</p>
<p>However, a general ranking is still exceptionally useful! Appreciate it!</p>
<p>Informative that Drexel (an engineering-focused school near us in Philly which is well-regarded by area employers) did not make the list. Son is v. interested in Drexel, but since it's out-of-state for us, it's as expensive as others on that list and apparently they are more widely-known/highly ranked.</p>
<p>Completely confirming blue's post #28. Test scores are major element of merit aid at USC. A couple of years ago (hope that's not TOO long ago, but as in "computer years", it could be, with college admissions) classmates of D got merit aid at USC with 3.55 gpa but high test scores. Cheaper for them than in-state CA (non-merit) tuition.</p>
<p>Berkeley is terrific for CS. However, OOS status for admissions is a tough one.</p>
<p>Just a thought. USC is an amazing school that offers a lot of merit aid. However, if it were me, I would hesitate to pay full tuition at a school that big, especially when the OPs state universities are good. If he wants to do techy stuff, and has the scores, how about looking at Harvey Mudd or some of the smaller schools. I just hate thinking that you may pay $50000/year for him to be competing for professor's attention and lab space.</p>
<p>Thanks, epiphany. Not sure how son would fare, even w/high test scores. Do you recall, by chance, if you D's classmate who got into USC has a weighted or unweighted 3.55? </p>
<p>Thanks DHRBC! Interesting about hesitating if in-state Us are good. We're from NJ, so that would be Rutgers. Would you still think it better to go there than pay (a lot) more for an out-of-state school? I noticed U Mass Amherst was on the list....someone on CC had debated between that & Drexel for a while, and most advised him that U Mass was better known...</p>
<p>I do indeed recall. At our school, it's always unweighted. I know her exact GPA because it was on Naviance. She did take quite a number of AP science classes. (Definitely interested in the science area at USC.) She had a 2300 SAT.</p>
<p>Since you're looking nationwide, he may want to also consider Purdue. It has a highly rated department and if you look on the collegeboard site</p>
<p>College</a> Search - Purdue University - Purdue - At a Glance</p>
<p>You can gather
29% out of state
11% had GPA's between 2.5 and 2.99
18% had GPA's between 3.0 and 3.24</p>
<p>79% admitted.
Middle 50% SAT
CR 490-610
M 530-660
ACT 23-28</p>
<p>OOS Tuition+Room and Board ~ 30K</p>
<p>I'm guessing your son gets in no problem. </p>
<p>LOL, they also give credits for CLEP exams, so he can get 5 credits just for passing College-Algebra-Trigonometry among other things.</p>