Yes, although my son is not a recent grad. But, I still keep up on things and get back to Charlottesville.
Programmer hereâŠit doesnât matter. CS is ridiculously employable. Most employers recruit locally or regionally, because itâs more cost effective that way, so thereâs no need to rely on rankings. Most everything will be learned on the job anyway. In fact, after about 3 years experience they donât even ask where you went to school. Itâs definitely not worth paying triple the tuition to go out of state.
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UVa has a better rep for women in engineering on the lived-experience level (based on feedback from the gradschoolkidâs Women in Engineering and Women in Physics friends & contacts).
I love UVA but would choose VT over UVA for CS or engineering. The engineering school markets itself at UVA as being more interdisciplinary which is good for kids who are not sure what they want to do or who want to have cross over into other areas (when we toured with my oldest every student we encountered who was an engineer was minoring in business, wanted to go into consulting, chose UVA because they didnât want to get locked into engineering and wanted options to switch, etc. - all variations on the same theme). As much as my kid loved UVA, he decided against going there for engineering (ended up at Georgia Tech). VT has a better engineering school and better job recruiting/prospects from what I understand. VT also has a much more robust engineering and CS research program than UVA. If her goal is to work at FAANG companies, I think VT is the better choice. That doesnât mean you canât get a job there from UVA but I think chances are better from VT.
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GT is about 60/40 female to male and has been for years. It feels pretty even - maybe because the females tend to be more social overall than males. There are 8 or 9 social sororities which are all fairly large and lots of women targeted clubs to join to meet others. It is really no longer an issue. Not sure when your cousins were there but Midtown Atlanta where GT is located is the hot young place now where all the hip people live. It has changed tremendously over the last decade or more. It is definitely urban though.
As far as the geek factor, MUCH less than CMU (my son is at Tech and one of his best friends is at CMU - no comparison) . . . The kids that rise to the top are the ones with the smarts (they all are) and who have the social skills and those kids have no problem at all getting jobs.
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Thank you @srparent15, @sevmom, @coolguy40, @collegemom3717, @VirginiaBelle
@VirginiaBelle, what does your son think of GT? My daughter is still waiting for decisions from GT, CMU and UC schools. As I mentioned in one of the other posts, she does not like super-geeky vibe. The best way I can describe is part-geeky-part-chill is the vibe that resonates with her. Her perception is that GT may not be the school for her; CMU and UCs are up in the air. Any thoughts?
@sevmom, I agree about the fit. Are there certain differences in âprofileâ that you have noticed with UVA, VT and CMU students?
Thatâs great to hear about the ratio and youâre probably right about timing as theyâre in their late 20âs now so that would make sense. I think when they attended it was only about 19% women. Even when my son was applying to schools in 2014 it was about that low so theyâve come a long way to bring it up. Where my daughter goes there are more women in COE and CS than male which is incredible but that equality is hard to come by and something they really worked hard to achieve. Sounds like GT will get there shortly as well.
@rj2021 Your daughter once she has her admission decisions sounds like she will have a lot of things to think through. One thing that @VirginiaBelle said about UVA that some may view as a negative can be highly viewed as a positive and at the same time a negative at those schools that are primarily tech. For instance, my son like your daughter was accepted to Purdue CS. They have a fantastic CS program, very deep program with a ton of professors with great backgrounds. But not a lot of opportunities to do other things or change if major which I donât expect but the versatility and opportunity would be nice. UVA on the other hand (or a UIUC) has the whole package. Yet UVA is much smaller than UIUC which also makes it more attractive. My daughter is a CS major minoring in Business and that has given her an advantage. Even if she decides to go into software engineering she also will have some business sense which in itself is valuable. Sheâs in both Engineering clubs and Business clubs and a sorority. Even though she is generally an introvert it has opened a lot of doors for her and not just labeled her as sort of âgeekyâ as you describe your daughter as well. One other thing to consider as well, your daughter is obviously very bright. One thing my daughter has really liked at her school is being around very bright people and being challenged. Your daughter is more likely to find those people at VT, GT or Purdue as opposed to UIUC or UVA. Sometimes itâs a trade off but your kid needs to go where they personally will be happiest.
The best thing for them to do is to find a female to talk to at each school theyâre interested in. Theyâll get much better first hand experience than what we as parents can tell them. It may be reassuring for us to find out as much as we can but the kids have different things that are important than we do.
One question that may be relevant to you but not them is who is teaching their classes. I just assumed theyâre all taught by professors as my kids have mainly had professors but apparently at some schools it isnât so now thatâs a question I will be asking. My son however doesnât really care!
He absolutely loves it. It is a great fit. He is a social kid and wanted a school where he could have a social life 
He also loves the Division 1 sports and being able to go to the games. That being said he grew up in a college town and loves the urban setting. He has really found his people. If you have not visited, I would encourage you to do so if you can. One of our friends went down there a few weeks ago and walked around with her senior daughter and took a self guided tour and both loved it - and were surprised how much they did. It moved way up her list (she is in there and UVA and waiting on some others). I met someone at admitted students day from Chicago and she and her son were both blown away - he was in UICU and ended up at Tech (and loves it). Her comment was âI donât know what I was expecting being in the middle of Atlanta but it feels like a real collegeâ. It is a very pretty campus (it is an arboretum).
We toured CMU and my son decided not to apply. When he asked the tour guide what they do for fun (priorities, right 
), he said we go to Pitt to their parties and football games which was not the answer my son was looking for!. Even though it is an urban campus, Ga Tech has a much different feel. Also weather much better in Atlanta needless to say
I know I sound like an infomercial but I think there is something for everyone. The one thing is that Tech is HARD and good time management and excellent study skills are rewarded. My son was used to juggling time intensive ECs, classes and his social life so it has been an easier transition.
My current senior wonât show his hand but think he will likely end up there too. Both would have been a very good fit at UVA as well (oldest got in and senior deferred).
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Fit and cost important in engineering and computer science. CS interest has exploded in the last decade.
UVA, VT, CMU , UIUC, GT, all will get you where you need to go. Paying extra on top of state school cost is a personal choice. Full pay for us at our state schools was plenty for our family. Good luck to those making decisions!
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Yes! all those schools have Women in Engineering chapters- reach out to them & ask for perspective
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@VirginiaBelle thanks for sharing your perspective. We will have to find a way to visit the campus.
@rj2021 I would actually try to find regular students, not necessarily Women in Engineering students. If your daughter wants to go more away from the âgeekishâ aspect of schools, she needs to find the more mainstream groups. Not saying, that Women in Engineering is all geeks, but your daughter sounds a lot like mine who is involved in a lot of activities and looking for a good mix and sometimes itâs hard to get the full picture of a campus that if youâre only looking at one group. For the same reason she has Purdue not at the top of her list if you know what I mean.
I am sure you know but no school can get your daughter a job. Itâs what she does on campus to set herself apart etc. Sorta like applying to college 
.
But CS is in demand. VT is such a great under appreciated school but with a good reputation in engineering circles. She will get a great job coming out of there.
Is it worth an extra $25,000/year fir UIUC? First thing can you cleanly pay for it⊠No loans or mortgaging the house? Will you Child have to take our loans they normally wouldnât have to? There is no advantage to starting life in debt if one doesnât have to.
So⊠If a graduate from each of your school choices gets hired by X company they will all start at the same pay. So going to UIUC doesnât mean they will have that advantage per se⊠Itâs like #5 In CS and engineering but what does that buy you?
So we are local to Chicago but my son is graduating this year from Michigan. We did feel it gave him advantages and more importantly the types of students he wants to study with. We had 529 and paid out of our current income. My wife m went there and we grew up in Michigan. So that was there also.
Was it worth it to us. Yes, but it was because of that fit thing⊠He blossomed there. Could he at other places? AbsolutelyâŠ
So the answer is more personal. I wouldnât again struggle to send her there or anywhere. So many great choices for engineering.
BTW being ranked 24 and 29 in engineering is pretty damn good⊠Personally I would stay put.
Good Luck.
Purdue might be your best choice if going OOS⊠I can summons a Purdue expert if you wish? Their Wise and SWE are supposed to be great there. They âareâ a ânationalâ brand for engineering with great Co-op/internship opportunitiesâŠ
VT is ranked #13 in undergraduate engineering. It has a program for women, Hypatia. Their post grad survey is online and has detailed info on jobs, salary, etc. It is a great option for instate students, unless the fit is not there or a cheaper private or OOS public option is available. UVA is currently ranked #37 by US News,a very respectable ranking and a great, smaller program. Very good outcomes. I would not focus on rankings (as all have very good programs) and concentrate more on fit and cost( unless money is no object). I would not pay more for Purdue or UIUC or CMU but that is just me and how much you want to pay for college is a personal choice.
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Hi, I was looking at the major CS at the respective colleges and that rank⊠Lol. But yes itâs number 13 with like 6 other great colleges⊠Itâs all so silly⊠I agree not to spend more but Purdue is not that much more of she had to get awayâŠ
At VT and UVA, you would take general engineering classes the first year. Some kids do change their minds about their area of interest , so the computer science focus could change. Agree that other schools are certainly worth considering, as some costs can potentially be brought down by need based or merit aid. It can definitely be interesting to explore other states, and can be an opportunity for some kids if they are legacy or have relatives in another area they want to be near, etc. Lots of options and opportunities from many schools
I think Purdue OOS is less expensive than UIUC OOC when I did a quick google search, maybe substantial, something like $38K for tuition and R&B vs 54 for UIUC.