UCLA CS and Engineering or University of Michigan CS. Both around the same price.
UCLA Pros
A lot of tech opportunities in California
Small campus
Warm weather
Good curriculum
Already accepted to major
UCLA Cons
Bad student to faculty ratio (18:1 I think)
Not as highly ranked
Never visited in person
Michigan Pros
Highly ranked
Better student to faculty ratio (11:1 I think), which probably means smaller classes and more research, but idk the statistics
Visited in person
Michigan Cons
Bad weather
Very large campus, and having to take the bus between North and Central Campus
Fewer tech opportunities in Ann Arbor
I’m admitted to the School of Engineering. They say that although they let people in engineering choose whatever major they want, that might have to change soon because so many people want to do CS. This could potentially mean I would have to apply/ do something extra to major in CS.
Those are the pros and cons I have so far. I would appreciate any more input to help with my decision.
UMich only admits around 1,300 students to the CoE and you can also get a degree in CS from LSA, but I don’t believe nor have I heard that UMich will limit admits based on a major that they won’t declare until 2nd semester sophomore year.
They’re both fantastic schools. I wouldn’t worry about the CS rankings. Close enough for horseshoes. If you do well, then you’ll get a great job either way.
Seems like the OP’s concern is that Michigan CoE CS may soon require a GPA higher than 2.0 to declare the CS major (currently any CoE undeclared student needs a 2.0 GPA in prerequisites to declare any CoE major including CS). Michigan LSA students need a 2.5 GPA in prerequisites to declare the CS major. There is no apparent web site mention of the GPA thresholds being raised, so the OP may want to ask the department directly for more information.
@ucbalumnus@sushiritto I’m not worried about the current GPA requirement. When I visited on campus day a couple months ago, someone asked if you could declare any major you wanted. They said that as of now you could but because of the growing popularity of computer science, they weren’t sure if it would always be like that. It was a very vague answer, which makes it seem like they haven’t worked out the details yet. There is a good chance it won’t change by the time I am declaring my major, but it is something to consider. Also, it makes it seem like there are too many computer science students right now, which might lead to larger class sizes, fewer opportunities, etc. that could be solved by going to a school where they accept a certain number of people for specific majors, like UCLA where I was accepted for CSE.
Just wanted to note that UCLA is currently in the midst of hiring an additional 100 E/CS professors. It’s going to take a while because E professors with PhDs are like unicorns; there aren’t an abundance of them – well, maybe a bit more abundant than unicorns, however. (Edit:) Additionally they need to be good teachers as well as be able to conduct research – which adds to the task of finding them.
Based on the above, it hopes to increase enrollment from the current 3,956 undergrads and 2,193 graduates (1,111 MS and 1,082 PhD candidates). They have plans to add 1,000-1,500 more E students from its total of 6,149 to 7,000-7,500 or so, and thereby become more STEM oriented.
All the while, E/CS has pulled up its standards considerably over the last five years, with the median gpa being 4.0/4.6+, uw/w, and > 1,500 SAT of those who enrolled. Still a low yield, however, at 30-31% presently.
It has a new E VI building on campus which was completed in 2017 and was built mainly to house CS.
So it’s going to take a while to address your concerns of rankings, etc., but it’s in the midst of pulling up the E program, and hopefully the rankings will show forth.
From an employer’s standpoint, there won’t be any difference between a CS degree from Michigan and UCLA, unless the hiring manager graduated from one of those schools.
I’m assuming that both of these schools are out of state. Both are bad options, and there’s a lot of bad advice here. It’s like saying, “Which $300,000 Toyota Camry should I buy?” Buy the one for $25,000. I As a programmer myself, there’s no rational reason to pay triple the tuition to go to one of these schools. CS is ridiculously employable.
Silicon Valley has a lot of tech jobs. So does Dallas and Houston. So does Louisville, KY, and you could actually buy a house in those states! All you need is one job after you graduate. The real education comes on the job through experience. In fact, after three years of experience, employers won’t even ask where you went. The vast majority of employers hire locally and regionally, and none of them, including Silicon Valley are going to give you any more than an entry level salary out of college. If they pay more, they can hire an experienced professional to do the job. If I were you, I would choose a nearby school you can afford.
What kind of a comparison is this? You go to the Rose Bowl maybe 6 times a year for football games. You can go in between North and Central Campus 6 times a week!
^^^^My point is everything is fairly close at Michigan. Walking to and attending football games in Michigan Stadium is a big part of the collegiate experience. Try walking to the Rose Bowl…
Football is a big deal at Michigan. It’s not a big deal at UCLA, so distance to the Rose Bowl from UCLA’s campus likely won’t matter for most students. I didn’t see anything in the OP’s original posting that indicated football or sports were a relevant factor.