UCSD vs UIUC vs RPI

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Sorry for the long post, but..
I am an international student, I would really appreciate that if you can give me some constructive advices/comments down below, as I couldn't go to any of the open houses.</p>

<p>Seems like I would have to choose among UCSD/UIUC/RPI. I got admitted to:
1) UCSD - Computer Science
2) UIUC - Mathematics and Computer Science (**College of Liberal Arts and Science)..i know.. if its College of Engineering.. it would be way easier to choose one out of these 3...
3) RPI - Computer and Systems Engineering.</p>

<p>I think I would have to declare first, honestly I am good to go with Computer Science/Computer engineering, I'm interested in both.</p>

<p>In terms of <strong>job prospect and grad school prospect</strong>, which one would be better off for me, disregarding financial aid/location(whether I can adapt to the weather, etc.) ?</p>

<p>Thanks so much guys. I would really appreciate this.</p>

<p>California will be better for job opportunities however all three will land you a great job. UCSD is expensive than UIUC. Decide between those two.</p>

<p>Thanks for the prompt reply XtremePower.
I thought of that too because i guess if anything UCSD is near silicon valley?
But then on the other hand, UIUC’s Computer Science is generally more prestigious (always rank higher in any ranking tables?) than that of UCSD. So that might also compensate for the location factor?
… Just that I wasn’t admitted to the college of engineering… which really bother my decision…as I have no idea how much less respected will that be, to graduate with a Computer Science Degree in Liberal Arts and Science…</p>

<p>“Just that I wasn’t admitted to the college of engineering… which really bother my decision…as I have no idea how much less respected will that be, to graduate with a Computer Science Degree in Liberal Arts and Science…”</p>

<p>Which University are you talking about ? Some universities have computer science in a different department than engineering. I am sure you can internally transfer to that college if you get a high GPA></p>

<p>oops, i meant for UIUC, i was admitted to College of Liberal Art and Science, instead of College of engineering…</p>

<p>Well that means you won’t be able to study computer science at UIUC if you cannot get a high GPA and internally transfer to it. I heard its very competitive. You need to play safe and choose between RPI and UCSD.</p>

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<p>It will not matter for CS.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon CS grads are doing just fine graduating from CMU’s School of CS</p>

<p>U-Maryland CS grads are doing just fine graduating from UMD’s College of CS & Math Sciences</p>

<p>U-Texas CS grads are doing just fine graduating from U-Texas College of Natural Science</p>

<p>U-Wisconsin CS grads are doing just fine graduating from U-Wisconsin’s College of Letters & Science</p>

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<p>for UIUC, they actually offer CS in both College of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts and Science. Its just UIUC’s prestige in CS generally refers to the CS in COE :O</p>

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<p>well true enough! thats why i guess i am having such a hard time on choose one among 3? :/</p>

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<p>Here’s the kicker…</p>

<p>That hiring rep at some company in Chicago may know that there is a CS for Arts/Sciences and a CS in the COE, but…</p>

<p>That hiring rep at some company in Philadelphia has no knowledge whatsoever that UIUC has 2 CS degrees in separate internal colleges. All that hiring rep in Philly sees and bragging to his/her boss is…</p>

<p>“I got a UIUC CS grad that I am trying to recruit”.</p>

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<p>hahaha thats sth i also have to take into account! overlooked that.
any comments on UCSD/RPI?
UCSD is near silicon valley, whereas the average salary of RPI graduates is like 60k?!
I would probably work for 1-2 years after undergrad, and go back for grad studies, probably a business degree? therefore i would really also love to know info about grad school prospects! thanks :D</p>

<p>I think hiring reps would be knowledgeable about computer science at such a big and popular university like UIUC.</p>

<p>RPI is a very highly respected engineering/science school. You can do well graduating from any of these three schools - so look at the costs and take it from there.</p>

<p>If costs are similar, consider weather factors.</p>

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I do notice that, especially in the states i guess? But considering that im an international student, it is not necessary for me to stay in the states for jobs. Would its comparatively lower reputation (among these 3) put me into a disadvantage if i apply for foreign companies? –> obviously im just at the age of a normal freshman, i wouldn’t know exactly how people in the industry think. if you ask me, in my country, anyone at my age group who is also interested in pursuing an engineering degree, wouldn’t know about RPI… probably 1 out of 10 of them would know…</p>

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<p>Not unless you consider an 8 hour car drive or 1.5 hour plane ride “near”.</p>

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<p>I meant compare to UIUC/RPI… -_-</p>

<p>Have any of these schools given you a financial aid estimate?</p>

<p>Since you are obviously out of state, UIUC and UCSD will most likely make you pay full price. RPI is pretty generous with merit-based aid, especially if you have high stats. Everyone I know who has gotten accepted so far has gotten at least 15k and I’ve seen people get as much as 25k in merit aid alone. However, I don’t know if this applies to international students, but it’s worth it to check.</p>

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<p>thanks for reading my thread! ya i actually did check it, and i hv i guess 12k from RPI? i know tuition fee can play a huge factor when considering colleges. but honestly, either my parents, or myself, just wanna choose the best out of the best(C’mon…these schools are still good, even tho i can’t make it to even better ones :stuck_out_tongue: ), therefore we want to disregard the tuition at the early stage of decision making.</p>

<p>bump…</p>

<p>You said

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<p>It doesn’t matter what kids know about an engineering school’s reputation, it matters what graduate schools and employers know.
So I think RPI is your best choice because UIUC didn’t admit you to engineering. I think RPI > UCSD.</p>