UCSD vs UIUC - Computer Science

Hello all,

The deadline to submit SIR is coming near, but I still can’t make up my mind…

As a transfer student from a community college in CA, I came to a final choice between UCSD and UIUC.
I’m accepted to UCSD as Computer Science major, Muir College.
However, I also got the alternate major in UIUC, it’s Statistics and CS (College of LAS) instead of CS (College of Engr).

I’ve heard that it’s possible to change major to CS later in UIUC, is it true? If so, how hard / long is it?
Which one offers better opportunities for startups, internships, jobs, etc.?
I’ll also greatly appreciate if anyone could share their life experience in either university.

I’m not a resident of neither state, so I don’t really care about the tuition fee factor.
I also think that I won’t have any problem to adapt to the huge climate difference.

Thank you!

Would you be happy with a B.S. in Stats/CS if you couldn’t transfer, or does CS within engineering appeal to you much more?

I’m only familiar with UIUC’s engineering. Personally I like the Stats/CS combo, but it is relatively new I believe. Check this out along with the general ed requirements:

http://provost.illinois.edu/programsofstudy/2014/fall/programs/undergrad/las/stats_comp_science.html

I would make special note of the language requirement.

Good luck with your choice! I hope other, more knowledgeable people, chime in with their opinions.

Stats+CS at UIUC has been around for a while.

BTW, as a Stats+CS major at UIUC, you’d already be a CS major (you’d take the same core classes that all CS majors take, and while CS electives aren’t required, you may take those as well), so there’s no way to “transfer in to CS” as the CS department would already consider you a CS major. However, it’s extremely difficult for non-CS students to transfer in to any of the CS majors (CS in Eng, Math+CS, Stats+CS, and CS+X) at UIUC anyway.

They’re both good schools for CS, BTW. You should probably make the decision based on fit (or the non-CS courses you’d have to take, like stats in Stats+CS).