UCSD vs UMass for computer science

College Search & Selection
1

Hello,
I’m looking for some feedback on University of California - San Diego and University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Here’s my case and the pros and cons :

I’m a US citizen ( residing in India ) and my intended major is Computer Science. Money is not a deciding factor issue but of course it will factor into my decision. I’d like to be surrounded with people who give priority to studies first no matter what.

UCSD :

  • Data Science
  • Fees (Rounded-up) : $60,000 [no scholarship/aid]
  • Warren college, which is aligned towards Engineering and Sciences
  • I think internship and employment opportunities are way better in UCSD because it is in California and the school has a better brand name than UMass Amherst
  • I have done 2 internships in A.I and Data Science and hope to do it in college but being admitted into Data Science constricts me from exploring other CS disciplines. I am scared that I might like some other CS discipline in college and become unale to pursue it because I got admitted into Data Science.
  • Also, the Data Science program at UCSD is pretty new and still developing, and I have read that getting a degree in CS is preferable to employers than getting a degree in Data Science.
  • Much more expensive than UMass Amherst (about 100,000 more over 4 years)

UMass :

  • Computer Science (B.S)
  • Fees (Rounded-up) : $30,000 [after accounting for the $14,000 scholarship]
  • Computer Science department is great - has a great variety of course selection and great research opportunities.
  • But, internship opportunities and employment after school is far inferior to that offered by UCSD because it is not in California.
  • Since I was admitted into CS department, I have a great chance to explore all CS disciplines based on my experiences
  • The CS department in Umass is also established and held very highly but does not have the brand name like UCSD
  • Umass is much cheaper as compared to UCSD because of scholarship and the tuition fees are less.

What I’d love to know is, about the people in both the universities, the academics rigor, student motivation, professors, facilities and career opportunities after graduation. And if the brand name, internship and employment opportunities are worth the extra money at UCSD.

Also, can anyone tell me how hard it is to transfer from any major to CS in UCSD.

Thank you

2

If it will save you $30K a year, I would go with UMass. The 2 Universities are pretty close in ranking as far as CS goes. Finding internships and jobs in the Boston-New York corridor is pretty plentiful. And I wouldn’t say that it is inferior.

3

UMassAmherst has a very good CS department and is ranked among the best CS grad programs in the country.

4

I applying as an undergrad. Should I still trust the graduate school rankings?

5

There are many different undergrad rankings if you do a Google search. Here’s one that seems pretty commonly used and seems fairly accurate to me:

http://csrankings.org/#/index?all

6

Three things.

The ranking above is a good one. Number 10 and number 20 are basically a wash.

If you are an AI focused CS person. Massachusetts is at the forefront of that world. It’s as good as it gets and ranked accordingly.

San Diego weather is considered the finest in world. And it’s a busy place. Amherst will basically seem very tranquil and small town.

7

So, basically, how much does GPA matter vs the reputation of the university while applying for grad school and also for employment? I’d also like to know the difference between the reputation of UMass and UCSD.