<p>Hello. I am a Computer Science major at Northern Virginia Community College and is going to transfer by Fall to a four year university. Out of all universities I had been accepted to, I picked out University of Illinois and Texas to be the best. Yet I'm still arguing with myself about which school of two is best in Computer Science. Honestly, what I'm interested in the most, is prestige and quality of education that I will get, education that will attract the big employers the most. I do not care as much about which school has more parties, nicest weather, or better sport teams. </p>
<p>Statistically according to USNews Illinois is #5 in CS while Texas is 8. However in google ranking Texas is 5 and Illinois is 6 overall, of course it is assembled by a University of Wisconsin alumni and it claims that Wisconsin should be #3 overall when its not even in top 10 in USNews. Bottom line is that my priority is to to go to a school that would prepare me for my field the most and is most attractive to the employers like previously mentioned(best for my future). So please let me know if any of you have any suggestions that will help me make my decision easier.</p>
<p>For all practical purposes, I would consider the schools to both be equal(UT is slightly better overall, but UIUC is better for engineering).</p>
<p>I would also consider location. UIUC is located in a small town in the middle of cornfields and UT-Austin is located in a big city.</p>
<p>Hmmm, interesting, but I’m more interested in prestige rather than location. Although location-wise, UT Austin seems a bit nicer(except for Summer).</p>
<p>There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between these two schools in terms of prestige. They’re both excellent schools where you can get a superb education. There is no way you can know what some theoretical employer down the line is going to think. People in some part of the country probably think UT is the better school and people in other parts of the country may go with U of I. It’s your research that matters. Forget about rankings! Look at the class listings. Read about the faculty. What are the library facilities like at each of these places? What about student organizations in your area? Etc. Though you say you don’t care about the campus, remember you’re going to be LIVING where you transfer.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Misleading much? By whose measure? The only common measure is the US New ranking, where UT is ranked 45 and UIUC is ranked 47. That is also known as a wash. There is basically no difference. Forbes has UIUC ranked 70 spots ahead of UT. Finally, the ARWU has UIUC ranked as #25 in the world vs. UT at #38. Basically, don’t spout off facts that you don’t know. It is all subjective, but by most measures, UT is not the more prestigious college (and these are overall rankings). They are VERY similar.</p>
<p>Honestly, going to either isn’t going to hurt anyone’s chances at a CS job. Both have very good departments.</p>
<p>I see what you both mean. I looked at other stats on US News in terms of college life, financial aid, etc. and both universities seem to be pretty equivalent with an exception of UIUC having a better graduation rate toward bachelor of science degree. Of course that may be so because UT Austin is known to be a party school and freshman and sophomores are a lot easier to get rid of.</p>
<p>I also noticed that I may not had been accepted into my primary major(which I thought was Computer Science taught by Engineering) instead I got into BS of Computer Science and Math taught by Liberal Arts. Personally I don’t know how powerful that Math and Computer Science BS degree would be plus I’m not sure if I want to narrow my major this far. So maybe it would be better if I got to UT at Austin…</p>
<p>I’m from UIUC, but I have heard great things about the CS program here. I recall one time, I was in a restaurant on campus…a CS UIUC alumni is boasting about he and his friends are making 6 - almost 7 figures. So job prospect/payment is good I suppose.</p>
<p>UT overall is great and I think is known more for Business right?</p>
<p>I can assure you that UIUC weather right now sucks 
and safety wise is not so great. There was a shooting a few days ago, there is robbery, and there are homeless people…I don’t know about UT but I’m just noting the cons of UIUC</p>
<p>UIUC is a party school too…even if UT is like a hardcore party school…uiuc is not that far behind</p>