I was accepted to both of these universities, but I am torn between which one to choose. Can anyone help me? Should I pick Madison because of the ranking, or is there some other factor that makes Penn State better?
Unless cost is an issue, pick Madison.
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There isn’t much of a difference for out-of-state tuition. Madison is 4k more expensive.
Is there a reason why you said Madison?
The ranking, plus the Professors and overall opportunities for CS are better at Madison. When I had only those 2 options for CS, I had done my research, and Madison had come out on top.
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Thanks!
Can’t go wrong with either … I’d marginally lean towards UW
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Compare direct versus secondary admission to major, if applicable.
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Is there a reason for that?
I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. I have been accepted into the CS program for both if that is what you are asking.
- UW Historically has been a CS powerhouse (mostly it’s Grad School reputation)
- Madison is a fantastic college town
- Madison is easier to get to
- Penn State is gigantic and is in the middle of nowhere
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Thank you!
UWisconsin is nationally known for CS. If you can afford them without loans, then UWisconsin is your best pick.
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Computer Science, B.S. (Engineering) | Penn State describes the requirements to declare the CS major at Penn State.
Undergraduate Programs in Computer Sciences – Computer Sciences – UW–Madison describes the requirements to declare the CS major at Wisconsin.
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Thank you! This was super helpful!
You’ll likely get similar educations at either school. If you’ve visited both and you clearly feel more at home at one of the universities, go there. If you can’t decide based on that, look at the list of available classes and see if one school offers more interesting classes than the other. (I don’t see any big differences, myself.)
After that, you get into intangibles like which has the better football team or which university has the better ice cream shop on campus.
If you still can’t decide, then I’d probably go with Wisconsin simply because it has a slightly better reputation. But as mentioned, CS department reputations are mostly based on their graduate departments, which don’t always translate down to the undergraduate programs.
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Madison for sure. Much better location and stronger reputation.
Which one makes better ice cream and cheese? The Creamery is awesome.
Penn State is gigantic and remote. They have an airport but not sure how many daily flights go in and out. Something to think about but I wouldn’t make that the main factor.
For undergrad, go to the one you like best. For basic CS like programming or software engineering probably comparable. If you’re interested in something specific like AI then probably UW. Do some research into the programs and what you want to do.