UCLA or UW for CS?? Please Help!!

<p>I'm so very torn between these two schools and it's really coming down to the wire. With regards to who I am, I am from the Boston area so I am OOS at both schools, and academically above average (3.86 GPA, 11 APs (all 5s so far with 4 more tests to take this May, 2210 SAT, 790 Math II, 770 Chem). My grades aren't the best but increased motivation should help me maintain or do better in college.</p>

<p>Both have excellent reputations for CS in their areas of LA and Seattle as well as out of the region recruiters. I'm still not sure which one actually ranks better.</p>

<p>Both have great campus culture as far as I'm aware.</p>

<p>Cost wise I will be paying full tuition + expenses at UCLA ($55,000) while UW has given me a $7,500 scholarship per year making total costs around $35,000.</p>

<p>I have been accepted to UW Honors while UCLA I have not yet applied for Honors.</p>

<p>The kicker: I am not pre-admit to CS at UW while UCLA will garuntee me CS (they accepted 13% of CS students this year).</p>

<p>The uncertainty of not being able to get in at UW is a serious problem, but on the other hand cost at UCLA is another. What do you guys think is the better school in CS strength, reputation, student life, and campus culture? Which do you recommend overall? Thanks for all your help guys!</p>

<p>A big factor you need to consider for CS is where you want to work after you graduate. Companies tend to gravitate and hire alot of local candidates (even from schools you may consider substandard).</p>

<p>The software engineering job market in Seattle is very prosperous at the moment, lots of opportunities.</p>

<p>There aren’t nearly as many software engineering positions in SoCal (although Santa Monica’s startup scene is really starting to grow).</p>

<p>Personally, I’m a developer in SoCal, but as I look for the next possible job to move on to Seattle seems to have MUCH more opportunities (with higher salary offers as well).</p>

<p>You can get a feel for entry level CS jobs in each of these cities here:</p>

<p>[Computer</a> Science Major Jobs in Los Angeles, CA - MajoredIn](<a href=“http://www.majoredin.com/jobs/Computer-Science/Los-Angeles,-CA]Computer”>http://www.majoredin.com/jobs/Computer-Science/Los-Angeles,-CA)
[Computer</a> Science Major Jobs in Seattle, WA - MajoredIn](<a href=“http://www.majoredin.com/jobs/Computer-Science/Seattle,-WA]Computer”>http://www.majoredin.com/jobs/Computer-Science/Seattle,-WA)</p>

<p>yeah but 90% of silicon valley companies fly both to seattle and los angeles to recruit. in my opinion it doesn’t matter which uni you choose. pick the one you like more based on location/weather/</p>

<p>the UW CS program is very competitive to get into. probably 30% admission rate.
On the other hand, if you go to UW and do applied math, EE, etc, you can still pretty much get into the software field.</p>

<p>Go to UCLA for CS. I need CS friends haha. 13% for CS is pretty surprising to me.</p>

<p>UCLA also doesn’t have an Honors Program for Engineering students. Only Letters and Sciences.</p>

<p>UW CS ranks in the top 10(#6) and UCLA ranks in top 20(#14) for graduate program. UW is definitely stronger.</p>

<p>“yeah but 90% of silicon valley companies fly both to seattle and los angeles to recruit. in my opinion it doesn’t matter which uni you choose. pick the one you like more based on location/weather/”</p>

<p>I disagree with the statement that 90% of Silicon Valley companies fly to both Seattle and Los Angeles. Only a very tiny percentage of Silicon Valley companies do campus recruiting.</p>

<p>I agree that it doesn’t matter which uni you choose, though. Both schools have good reputations in CS.</p>