<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>The reason why Stanford and Cal have larger placements in Silicon is undoubtedly because: 1) Both schools are local and there are plentiful no. of grads from those schools desiring Silicon, so there’s a high economic benefit with relative low cost to taking so many from those schools. 2) Of course, both are excellent in CS.</p>
<p>The other schools, Cal Tech, HMC, are just prodigious in the sciences, with super-smart grads who could go into any science position regardless of their majors. Grads from these two colleges don’t even have to major in anything like CS, but they would be good candidates anyway.</p>
<p>UCLA undoubtedly trails these four 1) because its a good half a state away, combined with not knowing if UCLA CS majors desire Silicon 2) UCLA’s program isn’t as highly ranked 3) UCLA isn’t a science “academy” like HMC and Cal Tech.</p>
<p>The admissions to UCLA CS is undoubtedly higher than the rest of the school, add that there are the weed-out intro classes all this which would weed out the chaff –> UCLA CS majors are highly competent. Maybe the standards, grades, etc, might have to be higher than the others, but Silicon firms/companies will undoubtedly look at you if you do well. I’m sure UCLA has at least a decent name in the Valley.</p>
<p>As an international candidate, you need to know whether one of these is more likely to get you a job in your home country. Yes, you can work for about a year in the US on a visa extension, but even with a CS degree it will be extremely difficult for you to find an employer who will be willing and able to get an H1B (work) visa for you. If the person who interviews you for your F1 visa doesn’t believe that you intend to return home after graduation, you won’t even get that visa, and you won’t be able to come here for college. Be sure to have a solid “when I graduate and go home” plan.</p>
<p>UIUC is well known in Silicon Valley. UCLA CS is also excellent. However, I rarely met anybody graduated from UCLA, they tend to work in Southern Cal.</p>