<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>I am an int'l admit to UIUC and UCLA's CS programs. Here's what I know and what I'm considering in making a decision. Please advice me accordingly.</p>
<p>Since I'm an international and neither of these schools offer scholarships/aid to us, I'll basically be paying full tuition at both. UCLA would cost me some 4~5K (?) more than UIUC.</p>
<p>1) I really liked UIUC's CS curriculum and its rigor. I haven't looked into UCLA's in a detailed manner though. How do they compare ?</p>
<p>2) I don't know what I would do after 3~4 yrs. after my undergrad - Maybe grad school or maybe a change of streams to business/consulting via a business school etc. Would a UCLA degree help me better in this regard ?</p>
<p>3) West coast. Now I know 'it-all-depends-on-you--how-you-utilize-those-4-years'. But is it true that UIUC recruitment would place in midwest only and not in Cali? It's been like a dream for me to work in silicon valley...
How does UCLA fair in this regard ? I mean, won't recruiters go to much better schools for CS like Stanford, Caltech, HMC, Berkeley before coming to UCLA ? Is UCLA CS even valued before these ?</p>
<p>4) I don't base my decisions on weather conditions. Either place is fine. Though the only reason I am even considering UCLA is coz LA > Chambana and UCLA is a better university overall.</p>
<p>I know this might be a very common question - University prestige vs Strength of a major but I really can't find any recent thread on this so I started this.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>2) No, the UCLA name will not hurt or help you. Grad schools don’t look at your undergrad university “prestige” much.</p>
<p>3) It’s true UCLA is behind all these schools; but CalTech and Harvey Mudd are small schools that really don’t crank out a significant number of students while Berkeley and Stanford are in Northern California. That still leaves UCLA as the southern California superpower and attractive to recruiters. </p>
<p>Regardless. you’ll probably still have an advantage being in California.</p>
<p>4) I’d pick a university based on the balance of prestige, overall academics, and the strength of the major. Remember, most undergraduates change their major at least once through their academic careers so picking a well-rounded university is not a disadvantage.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’m sure UCLA’s undergraduate curriculum is on par. From my experience, it has been pretty good at teaching the fundamentals and providing just enough interesting electives.</p></li>
<li><p>You have good opportunities here as long as you work hard, do research, get internships, and do well. There are enough resources at UCLA to do all those things, and I’m sure that you can find similar resources at UIUC.</p></li>
<li><p>Silicon Valley definitely recruits here. I would suggest looking at the career center websites for both schools to see who recruits where.</p></li>
<li><p>You’re spending about 4 years at one of these places, so give both a visit if you can.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>^ Thanks grape and sentiment. I know it boils down to the better ‘fit’ when comparing two institution of similar academic rep. and it is better to visit the schools. Being an international, I can’t do that. So I’ll try to predict what would suit my needs better by my research only.</p>
<p>I welcome more/any-other opinions.</p>