UIUC vs. Umich Ann Arbor vs. Purdue vs. CMU for computers

<p>Hey guys</p>

<p>I got through Umich, UIUC, Purdue for comp science engineering,
and CMU for computer and electrical engineering.
i basically wanna do comp science, n have heard that cmu is one of the best for it.
Also as far as the costs go-
UIUC-$40000/annum
UMich-42000
Purdue-$25000(includes scholarship)
CMU-53000</p>

<p>Between umich,uiuc and purdue-
1.Umich
I intend doing an MBA(finance) later...n i have heard that umich has a GREAT brand name, so its easier for me to get recruited by the likes of goldman sacchs,jp morgan(n other finance companies) and then its easier to get into wharton harvard stanford for mba
2.UIUC
Has a GREAT engineering program from what i ve found out..especially comp science engineering...and great research in the field too.
3.Purdue
People have told me its 'good' but doesnt quite match up to the other 2, but the cost definately goes in its favour.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help</p>

<p>i thought it was CMU hands down after just reading the title.
but i guess i understand your concern about cost... </p>

<p>on a side note, cornell is going to be *almost free starting either this year or next year for families w/ incomes < 75,000. Cornell</a> Financial Aid</p>

<p>I've always wondered why CMU's cost is always so much higher than other schools. It's even higher than NYU's. Pittsburgh is a pretty low cost-of-living city, so where is all this money going? RacinReaver, I'm looking at you! Any ideas?</p>

<p>Definitely go to CMU if you can afford it.</p>

<p>CMU's got a pretty small endowment relative to the rest of the top schools, so I think to keep their facilities and offer professors competitive salaries, they have to make up the slack somewhere (this also explains why they're a little more stingy with scholarship money). </p>

<p>CMU does offer a lot of technological perks to it's students, most of their public computer labs are updated every two years. And, the sheer number of computer labs is massive compared to most other schools. Just off the top of my head, there's Margaret Morrison, Hunt Library (two clusters + normal library computers), Engineering & Science Library, 4 clusters in Baker/Porter Hall, 7 clusters on the fifth floor of Wean hall, one cluster in West Wing (a dorm), a cluster or two in Morewood (another dorm), the clusters in Cyert Hall, and apparently a new one in the student union center (finally). Almost all of them are open 24/7. Then there's also all of the department-owned clusters, my department (one of the smallest in the school) had two. I know ECE has a couple, and I'm sure CS has some hidden.</p>

<p>A few years ago, CMU built it's first Collaborative Innovation Center which houses a whole bunch of companies (I think it's the only building in the world that has Apple, Microsoft, Google, Intel, and AMD all within it). Hopefully that'll help bring a lot of money into the school, as well the second building like that they're planning to break ground on within a few years. I think one of the biggest problems for CMU is that it's in a relatively "dead" area for these big million-dollar companies that like to give a lot of money away, so they have a hard time raising the capital that schools in Boston, New York, and California might not.</p>

<p>I really hope CMU gets the inflation of their tuition under control, as Andrew Carnegie originally founded the institution to train his mill workers in night classes, and provide a very affordable education to their children.</p>

<p>When I visited CMU, one of the IT guys said that there were three times as many computers as students on campus.</p>

<p>You wanted to do CS but you're in for CE at CMU? That might matter. What's the procedure for switching majors at CMU? I'm not sure but I believe CS has its own school there (rather than being part of engineering) so it may be difficult to switch in.</p>

<p>I'd go with Purdue out of that list because 60-100k is a steep price for better name recognition. Once you have the MBA, the business school name will trump your undergraduate school.</p>

<p>CS is difficult to switch into, but if you manage a 4.0 or close your freshman year, it should be possible.</p>

<p>My old roommate also did an ECE (computer emphasis) with a minor in CS, and probably could have done a double, but he didn't want to take all the low-level classes he wasn't interested in. Also, as a CE from CMU you'll be able to get a lot of CS type offers; it's not too uncommon for people to switch over.</p>

<p>hey thanks alot guys, even though cmu is d best i ve dropped it from my list, its tooo heavy on d pocket,im not gettin comp science, and i guess i have a better chance of scholarships in sophomore year in d rest...
so out of d other 3..which one?????</p>

<p>You could always go to Purdue and transfer to UIUC or UM junior year, saving some money but getting the other college's brand name. I don't think they're too hard to transfer into because quite a lot of people drop out of engineering by junior year. First two years is mostly foundational math/science and gen eds anyway and there won't be much of a difference between the three.</p>

<p>Since cost seems to be the most important factor in your decision, I'd go to Purdue and then apply to CMU for graduate school.</p>